What I Read in March

Last year, I had an inkling that I read quite a lot, since, in addition to other books, I read all 25 books in Sue Grafton's Alphabet series (Z was never published). So this year, one of the items on my "19 for 2019" list is to keep track of the books I read. I thought it would be fun to share what I've read each month, and I'd love it if you'd share what you're reading in the comments so that we can all find new books! Note: I picked these books all on my own (no sponsors involved), and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them! You can read CFO's full disclosure here.


The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert - This book won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2015, and for a nonfiction science book, it was a fairly easy read. I learned an awful lot about how human beings have changed the world, not just through the increased carbon in the atmosphere and ocean, but also in the way we make it possible for organisms to travel from one habitat to another - something they couldn't do without us. The book's conclusions are more than a little daunting, and have spurred me to be more aware of environmental issues.

Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin (audio) - Gretchen's voice is so familiar to me from her podcast that I knew I'd enjoy this (audio)book. It's straightforward advice on eliminating, or at least reducing, physical and visual/mental clutter (an example of the latter would be all the icons on the screen of your smartphone), as well as some discussion about why decluttering affects our happiness so much. One of the things I enjoy most about the way Gretchen dispenses advice is that she never advocates only one method, but for everyone to find the method that works best for them. It's very empowering and gives me an "I can do this" attitude. I borrowed the audiobook from the library, but I'm contemplating buying it so I can listen to it when I need a boost while cleaning the house, which is one of my least favorite tasks.

Dust, The Black Cat, Vertigo 42 and The Knowledge by Martha Grimes - These are part of the Richard Jury mystery series, which I started reading at the suggestion of my eighth grade English teacher, Ms. Riddell (yes, that long ago!). I was recently reminded of the series, although I can't remember how, and it prompted me to borrow what I hadn't read yet from the library (they have Kindle versions of all of the books I wanted to read except two or three). It was very much a reunion with long lost friends.

Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - I'm always looking for books I think my kids will like, and my older son and I share a love of thrillers. I think this one was recommended by Amazon, but it was just okay and something of a slog. It's possible it gets better as the series goes on, but I'm going to pass, at least for now. James Rollins and Matthew Reilly are much better.

Death by Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson (audio) - I was looking for an audiobook to listen to during a dental procedure, and stumbled across this one. Madeleine L'Engle spurred my interest in particle physics and astrophysics more than twenty years ago, and even though I don't understand all of it, it's still awe-inspiring.

Year of No Clutter by Eve Schaub - I'd read Eve Schaub's Year of No Sugar a few years ago, so when I came across this book, I decided to give it a try. It took me a while to get into it, but by the end, I couldn't put it down. The part when she goes through her daughters' art work made me laugh out loud, especially when they're trying to figure out who made what. Been there! If you like de-cluttering, or thinking about de-cluttering, you should definitely read this.

What are you reading now?