March Review | 2026

March just flew by! No kidding, right? I didn’t make a single blog post in the month of March, much to my chagrin. But the snow is basically melted and spring bulbs are starting to come in – the opening picture is our first crocus of the year! And I want to get caught up really quickly so that I can fall back into a blogging routine without making it awkward. So here’s a quick snapshot of what we’ve been up to in March:

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Home

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We were busy in March in all sorts of ways. Our homeschooling year is chugging along and we’re doing pretty good. We made it to the Currier Museum earlier this month for the first time in quite a while and B+B had a ton of fun. There was an exhibit called Embellishment that showcased work using all sorts of media that was stunning. And it made art seem accessible and possible for all ages and abilities, which is the whole point of getting the kids to the museums at a young age. We were able to renew our family pass so I’m hoping we can go at least one more time this spring before the craziness of summer is upon us.

I’ve been working extra hours at the library. We’ve gotten new computers so I have been behind the scenes downloading programs and adjusting settings to protect the privacy of patrons and our new hardware. It’s been a fun challenge for me! Last Friday was the big set up day and I’ve been in a little bit extra to make sure our regular patrons aren’t having any issues with the new operating system and to adjust a few settings that aren’t working well. That project is nearly over so we’ll see how I’ll fill that time now. (Hopefully get back to my Substack plans?)

Knitting

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I finished those sweet pea socks early in the month! This is before washing and blocking (which I still haven’t done) and I still haven’t been able to accurately capture the pinks and greens in this colorway. Oh well.

I’m over halfway through another pair of socks. Maybe I’ll be able to share a picture next time? I am almost completely stalled on the cowl I was working on. I need to either come up with a real plan for finishing or just pull the plug on the project because it’s keeping me from casting on anything else that I’m actually excited about. I’ll keep thinking about it.

Reading

The fact that I haven’t shared my reading with you at all this month is overwhelming! I started a few drafts with my thoughts about what I’ve been reading but it quickly became far too long. No one wants to read all of that at once and I definitely don’t want to spend hours writing something that no one wants to read. So I’m going to write a sentence or two about each book:

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Vigil: funny and a hard look at greed and its impact on our lives and the people around us.

The Bluest Eye: My fourth reading of this book was just as moving as my first.

The Glorious Heresies: I loved how these characters were all entwined and trying to deal with the rotten hand dealt to them.

The Odyssey: listened to Claire Danes narrate while reading along with my copy and it was fantastic.

Heart the Lover: I was giddy for the first third, confused for the second third, and devastated through the last third. I loved it!

The Fellowship of the Ring: So enjoyable, especially in the early spring. What an adventure. And hobbits are the best.

Evil Genius: so funny. Claire Oshetsky is one of my favorite writers.

What You Are Looking For is in the Library: Interconnected stories that show how our lives can be changed by the library and the community it creates? Sign me up!

Kingfisher: A heartbreaking little book that had me confused yet intrigued.

Hungerstone: Victorian oppression and female rage simmered in these pages. This would be a fabulous contemporary read for anyone studying gothic literature.

Milkman: Finally read this Booker winner and I couldn’t stop listening to it! Anna Burns is a modern day Proust.

Currently Reading:

📖 Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi: I’m slowly reading this book about a Palestinian man born just before 1948 and forced to leave his family home as Israel was forming. On one hand, I’m loving Sufien’s story and journey. There are parts that are emotionally resonant and beautiful. On the other hand, it feels like those emotions are cut short and interrupted throughout — and that’s probably purposeful given how Sufien was constantly shuffling from one place to the next, with no real home for his life or his emotions. I’m about 130 pages in and it’s felt like a chore to read. I’m hoping that changes soon!

🎧 I just finished Milkman yesterday and don’t have anything else solidified! It depends on my Libby holds!

🐌 Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust: What can I say? I’m smitten! This novel is so funny – the narrator’s observations (is the narrator Proust himself? Is it a characters he’s invented? There’s so much I need to learn about Proust) are spot on and dig into our little crannies. The sentences are so complex that I often have to reread them a couple of times and will still lose the thread he started with and have to go back to the beginning and find the subject and verb yet again to work through it. I love getting lost like that, especially since so much can be found along the way.

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Okay – hopefully this was motivation enough for me to fall back into the blogging groove! There’s so much I want to do, I am full of ideas, but finding the time to execute those ideas has been quite a challenge lately. Mostly because of my own distractions which I’ll probably tell you about soon. (nothing exciting or life changing, just literally distracting myself by dissociating with a mindless activity.)

What have you been reading? What do I need to add to my second quarter TBR? What is new in your life? Let’s catch up!

I hope the rest of the week treats you well and you find time for the things that you love. Take good care.