An Open Book: March 2026

Carolyn Astfalk hosts the Open Book linkup: Share what you're reading and get recommendations from other readers.

Welcome to the March 2026 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler's Heart AND Catholicmom.com.

An Open Book is all about what my family is reading this month, from the adults down to the little kids.

Share what you're reading by linking up your blog post below.

Simply write about what you're reading. You can make it personal or, as I do, extend it to the whole family. Your post can be as simple as a few lines about the book or as in-depth as a 700-word review. That's entirely up to you. You can even forego writing all together and record a video or simply post cover photos.

No blog? No problem. Please share what you're reading in the comments.

Here are the books my family and I have read this month:

I’ve spent way more time chauffeuring my children to and from activities than reading in the last month, which is evidenced by the fact I have only one book to add here this month—and of this writing, I’ve not finished it!

The Ultimate Blindside by Catholic Mom contributing writer Leslea Wahl is the third book in the author’s Blindside series for teens. Snowboarding superstar Jake and his journalist girlfriend, Sophie, are pulled into another adventurous mystery as filming takes place for a movie about Jake’s life. On the set, Jake’s heroic actions in saving a young mother and her daughter from drowning entangle him and Sophie in her life.

I’m sure the stakes are rising soon and, as always, Leslea Wahl will deliver a faith theme that’s encouraging to teens. My middle school daughter read and enjoyed this one even before I was able to get hold of it. Perfectly timed for the Winter Olympics!

The Everlasting Man: A Guide to G.K. Chesterton’s Masterpiece by G. K. Chesterton with commentary by Dale Ahlquist was a Christmas gift to my oldest son. It is an attractive Word on Fire edition worthy of five stars. My son says, “The book is, in my opinion, GK's greatest work from what I have read, the highest wave of his social thought and common philosophy expressed throughout his life's works.” He also appreciated Ahlquist’s notes throughout. In the end, he recommends that “Everyone with a stake in Christianity, from orthodox Catholics to agnostics riding the West's fumes, ought to read it.”

My son listened to two books regarding 16^th- and 17^th-century battles. Both The Battle of Vienna (1683): The History and Legacy of the Decisive Conflict Between the Ottoman Turkish Empire and Holy Roman Empire and The Battle of Lepanto: The History of the Decisive Naval Battle Between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League are by Charles Rivers Editors.

Both battles were fought between the Christian West and the Ottoman Empire, with the Battle of Lepanto being especially noteworthy to Catholics as the victory is attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. While both books were informative, my son could not independently verify the historical accuracy and thought that perhaps they were a bit partial to Islam.

My son’s former Latin teacher loaned him The Making of the Roman Army: From Republic to Empire by Lawrence Keppie. From his review: “Though primarily a military history, the book does provide an approachable sketch of the history of Rome from the last Roman kings, the development of the senate and the people of Rome and ending on the beginning of the Roman Empire under Augustus Caesar.” He found this to be a good foundation for reading more about the Roman Republic and even Roman archaeology.

1812: The War That Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman is a popular history of The War of 1812, a war often overlooked in the classroom. My son was struck by the naval battles on the Great Lakes, and I’d like for us to visit the US Brig Niagara, a reconstructed vessel located at the Erie Maritime Museum. The book credits the war with creating a national identity for the United States. This is the only resource he’s read on this war, but the bibliography lists some resources for additional reading and study.

With her class, my high- school senior read William Shakespeare’s MacBeth, the oft-adapted tragedy about Macbeth’s murderous pursuit of the Scottish throne. I have fond memories of seeing a live production of this classic starring Christopher Plummer with my high school classmates in the late 1980s.

During Lent, my daughter is reading The Spear by Louis de Wohl. The author considered this novel the pinnacle of his literary career. Longinus, the Roman soldier who thrust his sword into the side of Christ as he hung on the cross, is the subject of this book set during the final days of Jesus’s earthly life. I read this many years ago and enjoyed it. My daughter has been moving through it more quickly than she expected and has been eager to pick it up and keep reading.

My middle-school daughter requested that I pick up the first of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple mysteries from the library. She quickly read The Murder at the Vicarage. A colonel is found shot dead in the vicar’s study, and Miss Jane Marple’s keen senses allow her to solve this whodunit.

  Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk was one of my daughter’s selections from our school’s book fair during Catholic Schools Week. This award-winning novel follows Ellie as her family starts over on Echo Mountain after losing everything in the Great Depression. When Ellie’s father is severely injured and Ellie blamed, she seeks out a local healer on the mountaintop.

My daughter chose another book by Lauren Wolk from the book fair as well. She didn’t like Beyond the Bright Sea quite as much as Echo Mountain. Crow, abandoned at birth, lives on an isolated Massachusetts island, where she is raised by the man who rescued her. A mysterious fire across the water leads her to danger.

We celebrated my daughter’s confirmation in February, and her sister chose a book about her patron saint as a gift: Saint Rose of Viterbo: The Girl Who Spoke for God by Graslam Cutter. This 13^th-century mystic Franciscan lived only until seventeen, but is still celebrated in Viterbo, Italy. My daughter said the book, which doesn’t have any Amazon reviews, was good but a little repetitive.

Ashes: Visible and Invisible by Catholic Teen Books authors is a Lenten-themed compilation of stories, some tied to the authors’ novel-length works and others not. I’m a contributor, but my daughter picked this up without my prompting (and did not bother to comment on my story). During Lent, Catholic Teen Books is sharing many of the authors’ reflections on their stories on their blog.

Treasures: Visible and Invisible is another Catholic Teen Books anthology centered on a relic of St. Patrick that travels across continents and oceans and throughout time in each of the author’s stories. The authors wrote independently, and we were thrilled at how well the varied stories connected with merely an object keep them together. This is probably my favorite of Catholic Teen Books’ five anthologies.

My middle-school son read Faker by Gordon Korman. My two youngest children have read quite a few of his books and enjoyed them. In Faker, Trey’s dad is a con man, and he moves Trey from school to school (private schools with rich families) for his next con. Trey, tired of running and lying, has had enough, but how can he make it stop?

Woodsong by Gary Paulsen is a short biography, which is probably why my son chose it in partial fulfillment of his 7^th-grade reading requirements. Paulsen is the author of Hatchet and many other middle grade novels. In Woodsong, he shares the personal experiences that served as inspiration for his novels.

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Copyright 2026 Carolyn Astfalk
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