Hey hey! Happy Thursday! Thanks for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I share something on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same. Today I'm sharing the books I read in March.
In March, the book club I'm in at our local library decided we would each choose our own banned book to read. I picked The Giver by Lois Lowry. Hearing about everyone's book choices was interesting. Some of the other choices were A Farewell to Arms, As I Lay Dying, Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird, Alice in Wonderland, and Kite Runner. Back to the book I choose. I saw this quote by Lois Lowry and that's when I knew I wanted to read this book ~
“I think banning books is a very, very dangerous thing. It takes away an important freedom. Any time there is an attempt to ban a book, you should fight it as hard as you can. It’s okay for a parent to say, ‘I don’t want my child to read this book.’ But it is not okay for anyone to try to make that decision for other people. The world portrayed in The Giver is a world where choice has been taken away. It is a frightening world. Let’s work hard to keep it from truly happening.”
Here's the summary of The Giver ~
In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community.
Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas.
Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test—when he must try to save someone he loves—he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late?
Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.
The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time. Don't miss the powerful companion novels in Lois Lowry's Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Lucy Score's second book in a three-book series, Things We Hide From the Light, came out in March and I couldn't wait to read it! I loved the first book, Things We Never Got Over. Both of these books are free with Kindle Unlimited. This book has some pretty steamy pages, so if that bothers you skip this one. Here's the summary ~
Nash Morgan was always known as the good Morgan brother, with a smile and a wink for everyone. But now, this chief of police is recovering from being shot and his Southern charm has been overshadowed by panic attacks and nightmares. He feels like a broody shell of the man he once was. Nash isn’t about to let anyone in his life know he’s struggling. But his new next-door neighbor, smart and sexy Lina, sees his shadows. As a rule, she’s not a fan of physical contact unless she initiates it, but for some reason Nash’s touch is different. He feels it too. The physical connection between them is incendiary, grounding him and making her wonder if exploring it is worth the risk.
Too bad Lina’s got secrets of her own, and if Nash finds out the real reason she’s in town, he’ll never forgive her. Besides, she doesn’t do relationships. Ever. A hot, short-term fling with a local cop? Absolutely. Sign her up. A relationship with a man who expects her to plant roots? No freaking way. Once she gets what she’s after, she has no intention of sticking around. But Knockemout has a way of getting under people’s skin. And once Nash decides to make Lina his, he’s not about to be dissuaded…even if it means facing the danger that nearly killed him.
I love the way Kristan Higgins writes. She weaves serious with comedy and it makes for very enjoyable reading for me. This one was a real page-turner and I loved the story. Here's the summary ~
Ainsley O’Leary is so ready to get married—she’s even found the engagement ring her boyfriend has stashed away. What she doesn’t anticipate, after eleven years together during which she nursed him through cancer, is being blindsided by a breakup that he chronicles in a blog . . . which (of course) goes viral. Devastated and humiliated, Ainsley moves in with her older half sister, Kate, who’s struggling with a sudden loss of her own in upstate New York.
Kate’s always been the poised, self-assured sister, but becoming a newlywed—and a widow—in the space of four months overwhelms her. Though the sisters were never close, she starts to confide in Ainsley, especially when she learns her late husband was keeping a secret from her.
Despite the murky blended-family dynamic that’s always separated them, Ainsley’s and Kate’s heartaches will bind their summer together as they come to terms with the inevitable imperfection of relationships and family—and the possibility of one day finding love again . . . .
I was having a bit of Taylor Jenkins Reid withdrawal, so I reached back to one of her old ones. One True Loves was written in 2016 and is coming out in film soon. The story sucked me in immediately and I read this one in record time. Here's the summary ~
From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a People Magazine pick—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.
In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.
On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.
Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.
That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.
Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?
Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.
Overall, it was a good reading month. I would highly recommend the last three books and would mildly recommend the first one. Have you read any of them?
Now it's your turn. What are you thinking out loud about today? Link up and share!
