Welcome to Quick Lit: March 2025 Edition, where I share books I chose for my own reading enjoyment in a mini-review format. These are not books I received for review but books I’ve wanted to read or that have caught my attention. Most of them have been talked about ad nauseam or have been on my to-read list for a long time, so they don’t really need a full review. But I’d still like to give them some space here on the blog, so instead, I’m offering mini-reviews of the books that won’t get full-page space here.
I’ll be linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy and her monthly Quick Lit link-up. Be sure to head over to see others share their Quick Lit posts.
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Did you know I also regularly review children’s books? Check them out HERE.
I’m currently reading LIGHTHOUSE and SIX WEEKS IN RENO. I’m listening to OUTLIVE, and I’m dual listening to and reading GOOD DIRT.
I recently reviewed HOOPS, a children’s graphic novel based on a real girls’ high school basketball team. Even though it is written for kids, I really enjoyed it. A great read for the March Madness fans in your house!
Follow me on Goodreads, HERE.
We recently watched the movie Here with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. It’s a story of multiple generations that have lived in the same house. It was different in the way the story was told, but I still enjoyed it. It is a sad and melancholic type of story.
This month’s list includes two five-star reads and only one audiobook. Traveling for 2 weeks in February left me little time for reading in the last month. The reviews this month cover fiction, historical fiction, romance, and Christian non-fiction reads.
OLIVE, AGAIN
Olive, 2
By: Elizabeth Strout
Narrated By: Kimberly Farr
Published: October 15, 2019
Publisher: Random House
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby
One of my all-time favorite books is OLIVE KITTERIDGE. I’m not sure why it took me 5+ years to read the second Olive book, but I’m so glad I finally did. I did a combined audio listen and read the physical copy, but mostly listened. Farr did an excellent job of narrating Olive and the various people she came into contact with. I enjoyed the listening experience immensely.
I read OLIVE KITTERIDGE in March 2012, before I was doing as much reviewing as I am now, so I don’t have a link to that review. But in 2016, I wrote a review on Goodreads, sharing my love for Olive. OLIVE, AGAIN follows the same format of OLIVE KITTERIDGE with each chapter being its own short story about a person or people that have a connection or history with Olive Kitteridge. You might learn about a former student of Olive’s or a neighbor or a complete stranger who happens to bump into Olive. As the reader, you get a small peek into their life and how Olive has affected it.
“Olive, you’re the kind of person people want to talk to.”
I love how Strout places Olive in people’s lives, sometimes at a critical moment for that character or for Olive. The chapters, even though they are about different people, flow seamlessly, and I couldn’t wait to find out who we would meet next.
At the close of this book (and series), Olive is in her 80s. She has been widowed twice, is a grandma many times over, and is happy with the way she has lived her life, even if others think she is mean, cranky, or rude. Olive has never been afraid to speak her mind, to impart some wisdom towards someone’s life choices, or to help someone who needs it. I kind of wish I was more like Olive. Even if people didn’t like her, they respected her. I loved how Strout ended our time with Olive and look forward to reading even more of her books now.
THE DO WHAT YOU CAN PLAN
21 Days to Making Any Area of Your Life Better
By: Holley Gerth
Published: January 1, 2013
Publisher: Revell
Christian Non-Fiction
Format: eBook
For the Christian gal who has made a resolution and not stuck with it or needs motivation to keep after it, Holly Gerth has the steps to get you back on track and accomplish that goal.
Each chapter starts with a Bible verse, and over 21 chapters/days, she encourages you to start a new habit or complete your goal. Research states it takes 21 days to make a new habit stick, so that’s her purpose for this book.
The end of every chapter includes a specific task to complete related to your goal. Gerth breaks down the steps with a Christian perspective and Bible verses to motivate you. She also makes sure this goal is really what you need to do by asking questions from a faith perspective. I especially liked this advice:
If we’re taking on things that God never intended us to do, we’re using time, energy, and emotion that’s needed somewhere else…In other words, it takes saying some difficult “nos” to get to the big “yes” that matters most. Saying this kind of “no” isn’t selfish or unkind. It’s actually the best thing you can do for those around you.
I’ve shared other Holley Gerth’s books HERE, and I always learn something from her. I also appreciated this reminder:
“You will always be tempted to compare. And there will always be someone further along than you. There will always be someone just a bit back from where you are too. As Jon Acuff says, ‘Never compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.'”
This book is only available as an eBook and is just $1.99.
TAKE MY HAND
By: Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Published: April 12, 2022
Publisher: Berkley
Historical Fiction
Format: Hardcover
I hope to be a Dolen Perkins-Valdez completest by the end of the year. I only have two more to go. She has a new novel coming in April, HAPPY LAND, and I’m looking forward to reading it. TAKE MY HAND has been on my shelf since its publishing date. My BFF even highly recommended it, but it just hadn’t made it into my hand until my friend chose it for book club. I breezed through it, and we all loved it.
Civil is telling her adult daughter that she must take a trip, and she isn’t to stop her, even though she is possibly too old to be starting out on a long road trip. This dual-timeline story flips back and forth from Civil traveling and visiting people that she needs to make amends with and then back to the 1970s when she worked as a nurse at a Family Planning Clinic in Montgomery, Alabama.
“Sometimes love can kill you, just like hate. You love too hard and you can lose yourself in other folks’ sorrow. You hate too hard and you know the rest of that story.”
One of Civil’s first patients was two black girls, 11 and 12 years old. She was to administer the Depo shot to both of them, even though one of the girls hadn’t even started menstruating. Of course, Civil had issues with this not only because they were so young and black, but they were also extremely poor and had an illiterate father and grandmother.
“The past doesn’t work that way. You can’t just make it disappear. You can’t pretend certain things didn’t happen.”
This story is based on a real case, Relf v Weinberger, in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1973. I knew nothing about this case and was deeply invested in this story. My only issue with the book was the gaps related to how Civil became a mother and her path to becoming a doctor. Otherwise, I absolutely loved this book.
THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR
By: Ally Carter
Published: September 24, 2024
Publisher: Avon
Romance
Format: eBook
This book was EVERYWHERE around the holidays. Surprisingly, it was a Kindle Deal over the holidays, so I ordered it for myself, my daughter-in-law, and my daughter for us to read together. I didn’t hold up the bargain, however, and just finished it.
This is a mashup of romance and mystery, which made it more interesting for me than just being a holiday romance. Set at Christmas, Maggie, a mystery author, has been summoned by her favorite author to come to her estate in England for Christmas. Unfortunately, she isn’t the only author who has been summoned. So has her most hated author rival, Ethan. Of course, you know this is an enemies-to-lovers trope, and it actually worked really well.
“Of course, I’m not offended that you’d accuse me of murder. I’m offended you’d think I’d be bad at it.”
Throughout the weekend at Eleanor Ashley’s estate, various family members arrive to celebrate Christmas, and Maggie is very confused as to why she and Ethan are included in this affair. Then, Eleanor goes missing, Maggie is shot at, and another guest is nearly poisoned. Oh, and there is a snowstorm, and they are trapped due to the bridge being out while there is a possible murderer among them.
“Gravity and Ethan Wyatt: two incontrovertible forces of nature were conspiring against her and Maggie was just too tired to struggle.”
Short chapters, witty banter, a few twists, and a fun conclusion made this a great read. If you are one of the few people left on the planet to read this one, add it to your upcoming holiday reads this Christmas. But it is a great read any time of year.