March has been a bizarre month. The COVID-19 pandemic leapt across the pond and has spread virulently throughout my state. I’m not here to write about that, except to say that as a submariner I’m ideally suited to long periods isolated from the greater community. And I don’t think you want more information. I hope you are safe and enjoying some good books while we get past this problem.

My reading has gone up somewhat, as I’ve consumed a few writing craft books, but here are two notable works:

In nonfiction, I read Craig Jarrow’s Time Management Ninja: 21 Rules for More Time and Less Stress in Your Life. It’s a no nonsense sort of book that has practical tips that, though you’ve read them in other places, have been collected in a way to help you feel on top of a hurried world. I’ve known Craig for almost two decades now. He’s a great friend and his Time Management blog has been something I follow daily for small tips of conventional wisdom. Worth a read.

I also picked up James Calvert’s Silent Running. It echoes some action submarines saw during World War II, but condensed a bit. It's like Harry Homewood’s Final Harbor, only I feel it’s a better book by comparison.

On the fiction side, I read Dennis E. Taylor’s For We Are Many (Bobiverse #2), the sequel to We Are Legion (We Are Bob). It’s a fun, interesting book, but it loses something when all the characters are essentially the same person. Taylor still holds my interest as the Bobs encounter another race with a different agenda.

I’m reading Brandon Sanderson’s penultimate Mistborn series, starting with The Final Empire. Sanderson’s YA works aren’t great reads for me, and i struggled to maintain interest in his first Stormlight Archive book, The Way of Kings. Mistborn, however, has a better pace, is engaging, and has a fascinating magical system.

Book news: I imagined my novel writing would pick up, but at the very least I am maintaining my writing pace. The novel is on track for about a 150-160k range, not the most that I’ve written in a draft, but this might be about where the novel settles near the final draft. I’ve set higher daily goals for myself for this year, and I’m on track to write more this year than I have last year by the end of April. What does that mean? Rise of Avalon draft will be complete in May, and with a short break, I’ll turn back around and revise and strengthen it and get it ready for beta readers and my copy editor later in summer.

What have you read that’s been interesting? Anything that surprised you (good or bad)?

If you’re a Kindle Unlimited reader and you’re looking for something new, here are a lot of science fiction reads:

Link to Science Fiction in Kindle Unlimited (including Invisible Enemy)

That’s it for this month. Until next month, be safe and keep reading!