I’m working on a poem that’s so true, I can’t show it to anyone.
I could never show it to anyone.
Because it says exactly what I think, and what I think scares me.
Sometimes it pleases me.
Usually it brings misery.
And this poem says exactly what I think.
What I think of myself, what I think of my friends, what I think about my lover.
Exactly.

Excerpt from A True Poem by Lloyd Schwartz

Do you write poetry? Do you share it with anyone? I’ve written some poems before and even had some published in college journals. Quite a thrill I have to say. I love poetry and to me it really is a perfect way to explore feelings and thoughts.

So happy National Poetry Month to everyone. I mentioned in my previous post that my goal is to get in more poetry in my life this month. To that end, I’ve signed up for a Poem-A-Day and will be dipping into some of my favorite collections. Will you be reading some poetry this month? Share with me some of your favorite poets.

As I’ve recently started a new book it’s pretty safe to look back on this month and count up the books read – six. Not too bad and definitely better than February when I only finished two books. I still can’t believe that.

Anyway, March has been mainly a fiction and mystery month as I read three of each. Typically I like to have a bit more variety in my reading but I read two very wonderful books so I’m focusing on that. My two wonderful reads were Someone At A Distance by Dorothy Whipple and One Day by David Nicholls. Reviews of both to come.

Looking forward to April, I plan to get in some poetry as it’s National Poetry Month, maybe get a jump on my Once Upon a Time challenge reading, and pick up some of the wonderful ARCs that have arrived. I’ll share some of the new titles with you soon.

How about you? Got some reading plans coming up?

“Was he running? Yes, in a way. Running from a failed marriage and a botched romance, and from a job that had threatened, for the second time in his life, to send him over the edge with its conflicting demands, its proximity to violent death and all that was worst in people. He was seeking a temporary escape, at least.”

I have a lot of new books I want to read and books for book groups that are also vying for my attention, but last night the only thing I felt I could settle down with was with an old favorite. Not a book I’ve read before but a character I’ve come to know pretty well now that I am 12 books into the series.

Close to Home by Peter Robinson is the 13th book featuring Detective Inspector Alan Banks. In this book Inspector Banks is on holiday in Greece but his time spent enjoying the peace, reading Greek classic stories and playing chess in the evenings is about to come to an end.

The skeleton of a boy is discovered and Banks must go back to find out what happened. What makes this discovery so compelling is that Banks knows who the boy was. I can’t wait to see how Banks will solve this mystery.

I think this is what makes good series books so special. You already know the characters so you almost feel like there is no effort being made jumping into a new story. And, what keeps drawing you back in is that you still want to know more of the characters, how they’ll change as time goes by and/or what is coming their way.

What about you? Have you visited with an old favorite series character recently?