Books Read in 2026: March

In March I read books that I had picked up at previous community book swaps.  Because there was another book swap coming up near the end of the month and I wanted to be able to take in books I'd finished in order to make room for those I would undoubtedly find and the next swap and bring home.  Gotta have priorities, right? 😉

Here is the list of what I read either fully or partially:

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult.  You know, I just can't decide if I like this author.  I've read (I think) three books of hers over the last ten-ish years and each one I kind of like but don't like.  And yet, here I am having read another.  There were parts of this book I was sucked into, and parts I felt like I slogged through, but I did read it all the way to the end.  Which, yet again, left me with mixed feelings.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger.  This book was weird.  Sorta supernatural, sorta old Western-y, very much about family ties, and some just Midwestern goodness (wholesomeness?).  Some parts were kind of predictable, and others had me saying "What?!?" I did read it all the way through, mainly because I wanted to know how it turned out, if (and how) the family would be reunited.

Fiction Can Be Murder by Becky Clark. This book was definitely more interesting than I'd expected it to be.  It has the look of a cozy mystery on the cover, and the blurb on the back had me thinking it is of that genre.  Yet when I read it, with the exception of a few parts, I did not find it annoying like I tend to find most cozy mysteries written in the most recent decade.  I liked it and will keep my eye out for other titles by this author.

Girl in the Mirror by Cecelia Ahern. I found this book weird. It was composed of two unrelated short stories.  The first was almost horror-ish and I will say I did not like it.  The second was more my style although it was kind of sad. Overall I did not enjoy this book as much as her full length novels but had the second story been developed into a full length novel I would definitely have read that one cover to cover, just not the first.

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg.  I have had this book for several years, and tried reading it once years ago but didn't get past the second chapter.  I almost didn't pick it up this month, but then I decided now was a perfect time to try it again because if I couldn't get into the story, it definitely needed to go to the book swap at the end of the month.   Well, even with this second try and at a different point in my life than the last time I'd tried getting into this book, when I still wasn't interested at page 60ish, into the book swap bag it went.  Maybe it would have interested me more as it went along, but I didn't want to put that much effort into it.

Touch by Olaf Olafsson.  This I read it all the way through.  It wasn't quite the story I'd thought it would be by the blurb on the back.  Was it good?  Yes, overall it was well written and the story was interesting.  

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist. This was my fluff reading after the previous very serious toned book.  I picked it up at the book swap on Saturday and finished it by Sunday night.  In a few spots it had the trite Christian romance novel things, but those were not annoying enough to take my interest from the story line and make me not finish reading it. I really had a hard time putting it down (and being extremely under the weather on Sunday gave me the chance to sit and read it for most of the day).  Historical, and yes, a romance, but not in the tripe category in my opinion.