If ever there is a time when you need some good books to loose yourself in, it’s early March. Where I live, the month of March is a split personality that looks something like this:
On those days when Grumpy Bear shows up, you need a good book to get you through. That book for me in the last few days was What Alice Forgot. It’s a great winter read. I suspect it could also be an awesome beach read as well, judging by the fact that the library copy I had was all gritty and there was a Damaged Noted sticker on the inside of the book that read “Type of damage: sand in cover.” It was strangely comforting to think I was holding a piece of someone else’s warm, sandy, summer vacation while I was wrapped up in warm pajamas, a bathrobe, two blankets.
What Alice Forgot had my from the first page. I read it in 27 hours and sacrificed a good bit of sleep for it. The story goes like this:
Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes.
Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over. (from Goodreads.com)
That plot line may not sound like anything special, it’s been done before, but it’s handled really well by Liane Moriarty in this novel. I’m still thinking about it a week later. Maybe because I could relate so much to Alice. I’m 30, I’ve been married for nearly ten years, I’ve had three kids in the last six years, I keep thinking what would my 20-year-old self think if she woke up in my life?
The character development is great, and the novel manages to deal with some pretty hard stuff like marriage problems and infertility while maintaining a joyful undertone all throughout. I found Moriarty’s writing style to be insightful, humorous, and easy to like.
What books have been getting you through the cabin fever?
The Mysterious Tadpole
The sweet crocodile in this book only wants to be loved, so he goes above and beyond his calling as a picture book illustration to squeeze his way into the hearts of the family who owns his book. Who is picking up the toys? The dishes should be dirty! I might be okay with almost any kind of pet who does my dishes while I sleep. I love that the real kicker is when he brings the parents a really great cup of coffee. “Okay, you can stay!” Coffee is like a love language to some people.![IMG_3231[1]](https://i0.wp.com/miathereader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IMG_32311-e1424966581463.jpg)
A few days later, it snowed. My house was the warmest, coziest place it has ever been, but I found my eyes wandering out to those same little birds that I had watched a few days before. It turns out they were chickadees. I was watching them, and I was actually worrying about them. Where are they going to find any food? Why don’t I have a bird feeder? What kind of horrible human being am I? Wait, why am I worrying about this?
Giglio went on to explain that a swallow is a very plain bird, brown and ordinary. The swallow in these verses was going about her natural work, being a mother, but the thing that stood out is that she was mothering in the presence of God. It was such a beautiful reminder to me that I don’t have to wait to seek God until all is quiet and still, I can bring my young and be with God in all things. I can dwell in my daily life, and the work of motherhood- the building the nest and having the young – can intersect with the sacred God who loves me as I am, ordinary and plain.
Bird by Bird
Own Your Life
Our other favorite from the week is 
In the chapter book arena, we are reading