Best of the Bunch (March 2025)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in March.

Of the seven books I read this month, I had three 5-star reads:

The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

The Penderwicks book was the last in the series and thus not one I'd recommend as a standalone, but deciding which was best between the other two was very difficult! I think Green's book should be read widely as a layman's introduction to tuberculosis, but I can't pass by the sheer magnitude of the accomplishment that is The Only Plane in the Sky.

This book is an incredible achievement, both in its original construction and in the care that was put into the full-cast audiobook. The book itself is similar to a documentary, jumping from person to person to tell the full story of each hour of September 11, 2001. Trying to recount the scope here would be futile, but Graff really tried to provide a complete history of the day from every angle, and I think he succeeded. It's hard to capture everything I took away from this book, but you really get a sense of what it was like to live through that day, whether you were a victim's loved one, a survivor, a first responder, a member of the government, someone in New York City or Arlington or Shanksville, the press, or just an average American watching the events unfold on TV. I don't know what else I can say that can add to the experience of listening to this book, except to join the chorus of those urging that this is worth a listen.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Dead in the Garden and Death Comes as the End
Five years ago I was reading: Paradise Lost, The Left Hand of Darkness, V for Vendetta, and The Sea of Tranquility
Ten years ago I was reading: Jesus Calling, Angle of Repose, Baby-Led Weaning, These Is My Words, The Rosie Project, and Mary Poppins