March Newsletter

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Welcome to the March 2023 newsletter for the Book By Book blog!

E-mail me at [email protected] to let me know what you think of this newsletter and what you would like to see here in the future.

Book Quote of the Month

“Even in the darkest night, it’s still within our power to hold on to faith. We can still embrace hope. And although we may ourselves feel unloved we can still stand steadfast in our love for others and for God. All this is in our control.

… And whether you believe in miracles or not, I can guarantee that you will experience one. It may not be the miracle you’ve prayed for. God probably won’t undo what’s been done. The miracle is this: that you will rise in the morning and be able to see again the startling beauty of the day.”

---from Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, a wonderful coming-of-age novel with a mystery at its center, set in rural Minnesota in the summer of 1961. This quote was from the narrator's father, a minister talking to his congregation after a terrible loss, but it feels relevant to all kinds of losses. I talk more about the book in this video, and it's available from Bookshop.org (which supports indie bookstores).

Blog and YouTube Channel of the Month

Some of you may already be familiar with Melinda's wonderful blog, A Web of Stories, since she participates in What Are You Reading Monday ... but if not, check out her blog at the link. Her Monday posts include mini reviews of the books she's recently finished.

But did you know that Melinda also recently started a YouTube channel? I was excited to see Melinda join the Booktube community, since we've known each other in the blogging world for a long time. I'm enjoying her videos very much. Her daughter is her videographer, and her videos range from weekly reading updates to book chats with her son to tag videos (memes in the BookTube world) and other fun stuff she comes up with. It's always fun to watch/hear someone speak whom you only knew through writing for so long, and Melinda's channel is off to a great start!

My Reading Life

My laid-back winter reading life is starting to ramp up for spring! Booktopia is a wonderful weekend book event I attend each May (tickets are available now - just click Events at the link and scroll down). Here's my wrap-up video from Booktopia 2022, to give you a better idea of what it's like. The list of Booktopia books and authors (9 this year) was just released, so I will start reading those as soon as I can get some of them.

I'm also participating in two BookTube reading challenges in March: March Mystery Madness and Middle-Grade March. I know that sounds like a lot, but there is some overlap and both of them are pretty relaxed. In my March Reading Plans video, I talk about some of the books I hope to read this month.

A Look Back

Since my blog recently celebrated its 17th blogaversary, I went way back to one of the very first reviews I wrote on the blog, almost exactly 17 years ago today. Most people discovered author Suzanne Collins from her best-selling series, The Hunger Games, and its very popular movie adaptations. But my family discovered her back in 2006 when my husband and I read the outstanding middle-grade series, Gregor the Overlander, aloud to our two young sons, then ages 12 and 8. All four of us absolutely loved this fast-paced, wholly unique fantasy series. We knew right away that Collins had something special as an author. Seventeen years later, we all still remember this series fondly as one of our favorites.

What are some of the favorite books or series you read/are reading aloud to your kids?