March 2016 Wrap Up

My month of reading about strong women went pretty well.  I made it through several novels, both fiction and nonfiction, that featured women at their best.  Across everything I read, one theme emerged- the idea of leaving fear behind and taking risks.  Agnes Grey and Jane Goodall both didn't let anyone stop them as they broke through the barriers of their time periods and began careers.  Jenny Lawson and Fig both found ways to cope with their mental illness and keep on living.  Elizabeth Gilbert and Erin Gruwell used creative thinking and determination to veer away from the ordinary and accomplish incredible things.  When I look over everything I read this month, the connections between the stories, both real and fantasy, are everywhere.  To be successful, especially as a woman, is to stop being afraid.

Books Read
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
How To Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Freedom Writers Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell
Jane Goodall by Dale Peterson
Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein

Best of the Month: Fig
Worst of the Month: Big Magic, Black Dove, White Raven

New Record - Longest Book I've Ever Read for Pleasure:
Jane Goodall (714 pages)

Super-Inspiring Reads:
How to be a Heroine
The Freedom Writers Diary
Jane Goodall

Books I didn't get to, but am saving for later:
None - I got to everything this month!

New Favorites:
Fig, How To Be a Heroine

This has been a really enlightening month of reading for me.  Logically, I know the mechanics of how to be strong and brave. I know the kind of stuff that I should be doing. Reading examples of strength and bravery, however, gives me a much stronger push in the right direction.  I've got a professional opportunity in the works right now, and this month has made by feel capable of pursuing it.

I absolutely love seeing how my reading life is creeping into my real life.  I've always considered reading to be my escape from reality, but maybe I should be considering it as something more essential to it.