March Reading Wrap-Up + April Goals

Hey, everyone! March has been a busy month for me. At the beginning of the month, I was honored enough to travel to a college campus out-of-state with my campus ministry and pray, support, serve, and encourage the students on the campus during their midterms week while also serving the campus pastors. It was a huge honor and I had a wonderful team. It was the highlight of my month and since then I've been busy. On April 8th, I'm taking my state teaching test called the Praxis for the Content (specifically English) and I've been studying. Please pray for my success and that I don't have to retake this test! God has been doing so many wonderful things this month in my life and it has been such an honor to walk in His light and serve Him the way I have this month and I pray that I can continue to do so vigorously and lovingly. My reading month was pretty productive, but that's because I finished a lot of audiobooks that I had started months prior (YAY for books coming back from the library).

Books Read in March:

Beartown by Fredrick Backman- 5 stars WOW. This book packs a punch. It follows a small hockey town in Canada and what happens when the star JR league player rapes the hockey club's manager's daughter. It was a beautiful audiobook and it hurt my soul. I can't wait to read the sequel. The ending was BEAUTIFUL.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman 3.75 stars I have been meaning to read this short story for ages and I said I would read some Kindle books that I own, so here is my attempt at doing that. I actually really liked this one. It was weird and it wasn't a favorite, but I loved the concept and the feminist themes. Check out my mini review here.

Bleed Like Me: Poems for the Broken by Azzurra Nox- 1 star (DNF) This was horrible. Some of these poems were okay, but the majority of them were these weird macabre and grotesquely violent poems. I wasn't a fan. Check out my review here.

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy- 2 stars This novel sucks. I don't want to say I hate coming of age novels because that's not true, but this novel reminds of The Catcher in the Rye. It has a horrible and cruel human being at the forefront who offers a lot of hypocritical and hateful commentary. Dumplin' was a mess. The movie was better, but even that movie wasn't that good. 

Sadie by Courtney Summers- 5 stars This novel is perfect. For me it marks the story of humanity behind the eyes of a hurt a vengeful girl while following a podcast about her being missing six months later. It's intense and beautiful. Check out my review here.

Worry Less, Pray More: A Woman's Devotional Guide to Anxiety-Free Living by Donna K. Maltese- 4 stars This was a nice devotional book. It was my absolute favorite, but it has some wonderful verses and thoughtful little nuggets. Check out my review here.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath- 4 stars I wanted to adore this novel, but I just liked it. I appreciate this novel and its social and political commentary towards women's mental health during the 1950s. It has so much going for it, but I just wasn't able to fall in love with it. That makes me a little sad, but I'm glad that I finally got to read this famous novel that I've been wanting to read for over a decade.
A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell- 2.5 stars This could've been a fun ending because the drama was so ridiculous, but it was a sour and cold Gone Girl rip-off with not much imagination. I'm disappointed.

Overall Thoughts:

March was a better reading month for me than February. I'm pretty proud of the month in general. I do wish that I read more of my physical books that I own because I've only been reading ebooks and audiobooks and I just haven't had time to sit down and finish a physical book. That makes me sad. Here are my 5-star reads:

1. Sadie

2. Beartown

These are hands down some of the best novels I've read this year. They are just that good. So dang good.

2019 TBR:

 *The Bell Jar

*Beartown

*The Yellow Wallpaper
*A Simple Favor

Total Read: 8

 Currently Reading/ Hoping to Finish in April:

 

Already Finished:

Netgalley ARCs: Optimisfits: Igniting a Fierce Rebellion Against Hopelessness, Whispers and Wildflowers: 30 Days to Slow Your Pace, Savor Scripture, & Draw Closer to God, Snow White Learns Witchcraft, Never-Contented Things, What the Wind Knows, A Darker Shade of Magic,

Physical Books: Searching for Spring: How God Makes All Things Beautiful in Time, The Spiritual Gifts Handbook: Using Your Gifts to Build the Kingdom, Gone with the Wind (and audio), Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, East of Eden,

Audiobooks: Bird Box

E-ARCs:

Some 2019 ARCs I Haven't Gotten to Yet: Disciple Her, Dark of the West, Sick of Me
April Releases: Here, Now, How to Make Friends with the Dark, The Ash Family, The Stillwater Girls, The Invited

Audiobooks:

Books I Own:

I'm reading a bunch of physical books, but I would like to get to at least one old e-book that I've own for a long time.

Have you read any of these books? What was your last month like? What books do I need to prioritize finishing? Let me know down below in the comments!