March 2024 Reading Recap

The first quarter of the year is OVER! And I am OVER IT, lol. Honestly, the past three months have flown by, and I feel like I am kind of wildly off-track…but I also know I’m not THAT off-track. 

Checking in on my GOALS for the year: I whoopsied on  the “no book buying” rule during bag day at the Junior League Rummage sale, because I needed to fill the bag, and 98% of what I bought was strictly to put in Little Free Libraries. And the ones I kept were copies of my favorite childhood books.  I STARTED one of the “books I’ve had forever”–the 4th American Royals book–but I haven’t finished it yet. Didn’t touch Flannery O’Connor this month. Oh well.  I did start a PD book this month…but didn’t make it very far. I swear I’ll finish it early in April and do another one by the end of the month. 

Did I read a ton of books this month? No. That’s okay–I think! I focused on creativity this month and did a few arts projects, and hung out with friends, and actually started watching a TV show…so I’ll take it. I won’t live with it—I want this month to be BIGGER and BETTER when it comes to reading, but February was rough, and March was a recovery month. 

Now…to look at March. Be Kind! (I whisper quietly to myself as I look in the mirror)

In March I read 38 books, including: 

• 7 Heidi Heckelbeck chapter books
• 4 entire audiobooks and 5 hours of another audiobook (ongoing)
• 16 picture books
• 2 graphic novels
• 1 YA biography for my book club
• 1 YA fiction book that I’m still reading
• BIG but I read it probably 15 times with school groups
• 1 adult novel: Vaster Wilds
• 2 Middle Grade books to review: Puzzleheart and The Other Side of Perfect
• Eagle Drums, the final Newbery Winner/Honor of 2024 that I hadn’t read yet

Now…this is an estimate, because I’m not as good this year at tracking my reading. I still haven’t set up my formulas. I do my best to remember but…it’s my best.

So in April…I’m going to set some VERY ambitious goals for myself. My April goal is to read 100 books. Picture book time is now, they are starting to arrive, and I am going to set at least 3 times this month where for 2 hours at a time, I am going to just sit and read picture books. Depending on how much mail comes, there might be more. I’m doing a Jon Klassen author study with my school classes, so I’ll have those books as well. 

I’m going to finish Reign and Mayflower, the two books I am in the middle of right now, and I’m also going to read at least 7 more Heidi Heckelbeck chapter books, because they are a good palette cleanser between brain-heavy activities, and why not? 

I want to read at least 3 graphic novels this month, and I want to read at least 5 more Flannery O’Connor short stories, I guess, lol. 

Am I being too hard on myself? Probably. But there were a lot of nights in March where I just turned my brain off on the couch and while I need those, my brain also misses the focus of a good novel.