Wrap-Up: March 2020

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March Snapshots

1. Feel free to skip this section because it’s depressing. Like other responsible humans, I spent most of March doing the social distancing thing. I haven’t gone to a store or left my neighborhood since March 17. My job situation is confusing. Am I going back to my old job? Am I getting a new one? If I’m going back, when is that happening? I WISH SOMEONE COULD TELL ME THESE THINGS! I spent March doing yoga, meditating, walking the dog, and trying to be very chill about my precarious future.

2. Another year closer to death. It was my birthday in March! I had Chinese food, chocolate cake, and social isolation. It was actually pretty awesome because I’m antisocial and lazy. I spent my birthday eating food and reading Sherlock Holmes. That’s an ideal birthday for me.

3. Furiously pretending to stop the spread of disease. We taught baby Brooklyn how to wash her hands. We’ve been washing her hands so often that she starts rubbing her hands together whenever she hears the sink turn on. I’ll be doing dishes, and she’ll be standing next to me, pretending to wash her hands. It’s hilarious and kind of weird. Are one year olds supposed to start furiously rubbing their hands every time they hear water? The hand washing is bizarrely successful, but babies don’t understand why they’re washing their hands, so this also happened:

4. I’d like to speak to the government’s manager. I live with my sister, who works at a gun store. When Colorado got its stay-the-heck-inside order, I thought my sister’s store would be closed for sure. But, nope. The government decided that guns are “essential items,” and she’s an “essential employee.” Her store is going to stay open during the virus. Since people love guns, and pretty much everything else is closed, her store has been packed every single day. Part of me is thrilled that she’s still getting a paycheck because so many people aren’t, but also . . . REALLY? We’re putting my family’s health at risk because people can’t wait until after the pandemic to buy guns? It turns out that guns (and marijuana) are so essential to the state that they’re on the Critical (critical) Retail list twice. I’m laughing really hard right now, but I kind of hate this place.

5. I did a thing to make myself feel better. I’m having a hard time accepting the fact that I’m not a superhero who can stop a virus. To trick myself into feeling like I’m helping, I wrote a blog post about new book releases that are being impacted by Coronavirus. If you want to grow your TBR, please consider picking up one of the books in that post.

Wayward Googlers

Here are a few amusing Google searches that led people to Read All The Things! last month. I’m sorry to the unfortunate souls who ended up here instead of finding what they were Googling for.

“All stuff to read.” This Googler isn’t actually wayward! “All stuff to read” is exactly what this blog is about.
  

“Buy Amazon reviews.” I don’t know much about Amazon’s review policy, but this seems naughty.
  

“lesbian ships.” Okay, I realize this person is probably looking for romance novel recommendations, but when I saw this search, the only thing that popped into my head was a fleet of spaceships full of lesbians. Someone needs to write that story.

Books I Read

Since I’ve been stuck in the house since March 17, I’ve read a lot. I read over 1000 pages of Sherlock Holmes! Altogether, I finished 9 grown-up books and 6 baby books.

Grown-Up Books

Son by Lois Lowry: I enjoyed being back in Lois Lowry’s bizarre Giver universe, but I think this book is my least favorite in the quartet. It has some major pacing issues.

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio: I didn’t know enough about the characters to believe their actions. I loved the setting and plot, though.

A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle: I finally know how Sherlock and Watson met and became partners! (This is why you should read series in order.) This mystery is full of twists but is also very disjointed. Definitely not my favorite Sherlock story.

The Sign Of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle: So much racism but more action-packed than the first Sherlock book. It has a missing treasure chest, a boat chase, and a very random love story.

The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: I finally read the story where Sherlock dies! Well, “dies.” I thought it would be more dramatic. I was a little disappointed in that story, but I liked the rest, especially the one about the missing racehorse.

The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle: Best Sherlock book! Atmospheric and unpredictable. A creepy setting, a supernatural mystery, big twists, everything you could want in a mystery.

The Return Of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: Surprise, Sherlock isn’t dead! What a happy development. I’m impressed that the author could write so many short stories without them feeling repetitive. There was only one story that I found predictable.

The Valley Of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle: That ending? OMG, people. I did not see that coming. The middle of the book drags, but the beginning and ending are excellent.

His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle: Watson describes the stories in this collection as “grotesque.” I’d agree with that. I like that many of the tales are darker and grittier than the average Sherlock story.

Baby Books

Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman: Bright illustrations and simple words. I loved this book as a kid, and baby Brooklyn loves it, too.

Pout-Pout Fish: Easter Surprise by Deborah Diesen: It teaches kids to help others, but the book is not preachy about it. There are a lot of words on each page, so Brooklyn got squirmy.

Potty by Leslie Patricelli: I have an immature sense of humor, so me and Brooklyn both liked this one. Funny illustrations teach kids about using the toilet.

My First I See You: A Mirror Book by Eric Carle: I found this book forgettable and kind of meaningless, but Brooklyn loves it because there are mirrors on every page. She’s an itty bitty narcissist who likes looking at herself.

Never Touch A Monster by Rosie Greening: Our biggest reading success! Clever rhymes and silly monsters with rubbery textures for kids to pet. A book that is entertaining for adults and kids.

Open The Barn Door . . . by Christopher Santoro: One of Brooklyn’s favorite books. We have read it approximately a billion times. The story is tedious for adults, but Brooklyn loves lifting the flaps to see which animal is hiding.

Best Book Of March

The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

Most-Viewed March Blog Posts

1. Can’t Wait Wednesday: More March 2020 Book Releases

2. Coronavirus Is Hurting The Book Community. Here’s How To Help.

3. Wrap-Up: February 2020

March Bestsellers

Here are the books that people bought on Amazon or Book Depository last month after seeing them on Read All The Things! (Don’t worry, the link-tracking robots only tell me which books people are buying, not who is buying them. That would be creepy.)

1. Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

2. Children Of The Cave by Virve Sammalkorpi

3. The Deep by Alma Katsu

4. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World by Elif Shafak

All The Things!

Number of unread books on my TBR shelf = 59 books

I’m currently reading = Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

What did you do in March?