March is known as the month where even non-sports fans fill out brackets predicting which college basketball teams will win based on a team's players, coaches and match-ups (or more accurate indicators like the cutest mascot or best team color combinations). March Madness brings together the 68 "best" teams in the nation and whittles the remaining teams down to a Final Four and, eventually, the National Champion. 

Just like when you meet somebody for the first time that you just know you’ll become great friends with, it’s wonderful when you find an author whose writing "clicks" with you. This is the kind of author whose books you would buy the day they came out, without having read any reviews, simply because you just know they will be good. It's the kind of author that makes you nod your head constantly while reading, thinking, “I know, right?!” For me, Rainbow Rowell is one of those authors. I can mentally sink in to Rowell’s books as my body would a familiar, comfy chair.

If you could travel to space, would you?

Many people, including myself, have dreamed about becoming an astronaut and visiting outer space. This past Monday, Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline, brought that dream one step closer to reality. VG's SpaceShipTwo successfully completed its first full-powered test flight and has entered the final phase of development before it begins offering sub-orbital commercial space flight to those who are able to pay the hefty fare (ticket prices starting at $200,000).

On any given day I find myself falling into the make-believe world of my favorite stories. Losing myself in the wonder of what my literary friends are doing. Is Elizabeth Bennet reading or out for a walk? Is Daenerys Targaryen on the way to Kings Landing with her dragons? And what awaits her when she gets there? Will Lyra Belacqua find solace after her parents' betrayal? I feel guilty spending so much time pondering the lives of people who don’t really exist. But then I remember the laughter, joy, anguish or wonder that I felt when I was reading about their story.