My March 2019 Reading!

Can you believe I've met my goal of reading 72 books this year!!!  Well, if you believe that, you have been April Fooled by me!!  Actually, I am on-track for meeting my goal.  I read six books this month and enjoyed all of them.  I have read 19 of 72 books.  I'm one book ahead, in case I have trouble finishing a book at some point. 

March 2019

I loved The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin.  This book has humor and romance, along with a theme of betrayal.  The characters are a group of close-knit medical students, who the reader follows throughout the storyline.  Zadie Anson is the "heart" of the novel, and you will fall in love with her daughter, Delaney.  The author is also an emergency medical doctor, which adds greatly to her knowledge of the ER when writing this book.  Spivey's Club, an online book club you can join on Facebook, recommended this book.   It became one of their March Book of the Month choices.  I had just received the book from the Orlando Public Library, when I found out Kimmery Martin was doing a book talk about The Queen of Hearts at Quantum Leap Winery in Orlando, Florida.  The talk was sponsored by Writer's Block Bookstore in Winter Park, Florida.  It was a very intimate group that night, and Kimmery was a wonderful speaker about her book and her blog, in which she reviews books and interviews authors.  The Queen of Hearts is her debut novel, and she explained to us the process a new author goes through to get an agent and eventually get published.  Because The Queen of Hearts was Spivey's Club's Book of the Month, members of the club wrote questions this week to Ms. Martin about the book, and she answered them for us.  Kimmery also has another book coming out in February 2020.  It is a spin-off of The Queen of Hearts with one of the minor characters, Georgia, a urologist.  I can hardly wait for the sequel.  Also, at the book talk, I bought a paperback version of The Queen of Hearts. Kimmery signed the book, and I also had my picture taken with her!

Kimmery Martin (l), LaDonne Oaldon (r)

As you may recall, last month I read The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict.  Because I enjoyed that book so much, I read her two other novels this month, The Other Einstein and Carnegie's Maid.  The Other Einstein is the story of Albert Einstein's first wife, Mitza Maric.  The novel is based on many exchanges of letters between the two through the years.  Some information is not known for sure, so that is why the book is fiction.  I learned much about Einstein, and what happens when there are two geniuses in a marriage during a time period when most married women did not hold jobs.  Carnegie's Maid is a book about Andrew Carnegie and his rise to riches during the industrial 1860's.  Set in Pittsburgh, the book features Irish immigrant Clara Kelly, who becomes a lady's maid to Andrew Carnegie's mother, and meets Andrew.  This novel has romance as well as class overtones between the well-to-do Americans vs. the plight of the Irish at that time in history.  Carnegie does become a huge philanthropist, and the book attributes this, in part, to Clara Kelly.  It is not known for sure just how much of this book is true, but it is still a fascinating look at Carnegie and that time period in America.

If you want to read a romance, you must read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.  This was Niffenegger's debut novel and was published in 2013. The time travel took me a while to get used to in the book, especially with the age differences between the main characters Clare and Henry.  But there was a deep message to this book about acceptance of things you cannot change, and how time affects every marriage in some way.  It is beautifully written, and the love and commitment between Clare and Henry is what is I will always remember about this novel.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn had been on my "Want to Read" list for a long time.  I had heard good things about the book from Spivey Club members.  When I found out that Ms. Quinn had a new book out, The Huntress, I thought I better read her first novel now.  The Alice Network is set in two time periods, World War I and post World War II.  Two women with completely different backgrounds, are brought together in 1947.  One is searching for her cousin, and the other is searching for revenge.  The story is compelling with spies, romance, and betrayal. I highly recommend this novel.  

The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin was the Barnes & Noble Book Club pick for the month of February.  It is the story of a mother who has four children, and how they make their way through life after a family tragedy.  The children bond together after this incident, however each child copes with their home life in a different way which follows them into adulthood.  It is a well-written book, narrated by Fiona, the youngest child.  I like the way the author organized the book beginning with Fiona in the year 2079, and then telling her family story.  There are many secrets kept throughout the family, and the author brings it all to a close in the end.

So what will you be reading in April?  Maybe you can try one of the above recommendations.  I am currently listening to More Than Words by Jill Santopolo.  She is the narrator of the audio edition, which makes the book even more special.  Ms. Santopolo also wrote The Light We Lost.

I am also reading the hardback edition of The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See.  It is the Barnes and Noble Book Club March pick.  

In addition, I am plan to read Otherwise Engaged by Lindsey J. Palmer, The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves, and Daisy and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  These are all books that are books of the month in Spivey's Club.  Otherwise Engaged was one of the March picks that I didn't get to, and the other two are the April picks.  That totals five books, so I will choose a book on my "Want to Read" list for the last read.  Believe me, I have a long list, so that won't be hard to do!  Happy Reading!