Beth’s Books Reading List: March 2019

I had a reading comeback this past month! I read 9.25 books: 2.25 non-fiction and 7 fiction.

Here’s what I read in March!

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Fiction

DI Hillary Greene Series by Faith Martin

I just found this series last month and it’s fun so far! The series follows a Detective Inspector in the UK. She recently went through a divorce, lives on a longboat and solves mystery after complicated mystery. Obviously this is a formula I can get behind. Since these books are all on Kindle Unlimited, I have zero guilt about reading them. I read three books in the series this month:

• Murder on the Oxford Canal
• Murder at the University
• Murder of the Bride

Jenny Starling Series by Faith Martin

This series is also set in the UK (near Oxford) but instead of a policewoman, it follows a traveling chef who solves mysteries. Descriptions of yummy food and whodunit. I can’t complain. These are also free to read on Kindle Unlimited. This month, I read:

• The Winter Mystery
• The Riverboat Mystery
• The Castle Mystery

Cozy Corgi Mysteries by Mildred Abbot

This month, I read Perilous Pottery, the latest in the Cozy Corgi series. Fred, bookshop owner and amateur sleuth, solves yet another murder with her trusty corgi, Watson, by her side. I’m not sure if it’s the canine antics or the descriptions of the pastries concocted by Fred’s best friend Katie, but I always find myself coming back to this series.

Non-Fiction

Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

Confession: I didn’t finish this one. I actually didn’t realize that Sheryl Sandberg had written this book until I saw it mentioned on a blog post. I knew that she would talk about her husband’s death, but I expected the book to be more about general resilience than about grieving.

I must admit – I made it about 25% through before I had to take a break. This book is good, but it’s heavy. It lacks some of the easy-reading flow of end-of-life memoirs like When Breath Becomes Air and Chasing Daylight. I plan to go back to the book next month after a fiction break.

Juliet’s School of Possibilities by Laura Vanderkam

A story about a young consultant and a cautionary fable about spending your time on things that aren’t important. How could I resist? This book is an extremely quick and informative read. It follows our young protagonist, whose life is going down the tubes because she can’t put down her phone, ignore an email or reject a meeting invite. We’ve all been there.

When she spends the weekend at a women’s leadership retreat, the main character meets the inspirational Juliet – who runs her own media empire and still has time for stormy walks on the beach. The message of the book is that we always have time for the things that are important to us. I found myself nodding enthusiastically throughout.

This is a message that people need to hear because I don’t think people in general are very good at spending time on the things that bring the most value to them. I’m going to start handing this book out to colleagues and friends like candy. Love it!

Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin

I am a semi-regular listener of Gretchen’s Rubin’s podcast (Happier) so I pre-ordered this book back in December. I read it a week or two after it was released.

At first, I was underwhelmed because it’s such a short book. But as I absorbed the advice I realized that this book is really handy. First of all, it’s very accessible. It gives you a clear approach to achieving outer order.

The book also contains a lot of different ideas. One of Rubin’s observations about people, based on some of her other research, is that what works for one person might not work for another. So she always gives a lot of different ideas in her books, hoping that a few will resonate for each reader. I love that everyone can get something out of this book!

What did you read this month?

I’m ALWAYS looking for the next book!