February wasn’t the easiest month, but as it ends, I’m feeling optimistic – winter is nearly over and I’m starting to feel better. In a month or two, I’ll be planting my garden and reading in the sun.
February was an up and down reading month. I picked up and put down four books, I struggled with a few that I expected to love, and I leaned toward some lighter reads. I didn’t do too well writing reviews this month, but I did write about literary podcasts, books that too few people are reading, and comfort reads.
Here’s what I read in February:
- The Glass Diplomat by S.R. Wilsher
- Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
- A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
- Ghostwritten by David Mitchell
- Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
- Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
- The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
My favorite read: the standout read this month was A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza. This is a book I recommend to nearly anyone, but especially anyone who loves a good, complicated (and sad) family drama. Plus this book gave me a better understanding of the Muslim religion and Indian culture, and it’s a story about an immigrant family in the U.S. This book checked all the boxes! Washington Black was also excellent. And Ghostwritten was fascinating and fun to read, even though I didn’t always understand it. There’s no one who writes like David Mitchell.
Disappointing read: I didn’t love Warlight or Heart Berries, though I know both are highly regarded. I suppose this was a month where I needed lighter reading, but both of these novels felt like work. I also DNF’d The Idiot and Gilead, but I may go back to them. Would you recommend them?
Books for challenges:
- TBR Pile: Ghostwritten
- Nonfiction: Heart Berries
- Read Harder Challenge: The Body in the Library (a cozy mystery)
- Back to the Classics: The Body in the Library (a 20th century classic)
- Reading Women: A Place for Us, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Heart Berries
What I’m reading now: Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Talents, the sequel to Parable of the Sower.
What’s coming up: I have Anna Burns’ Milkman from the library, and I also have Susan Cain’s Quiet, Jose Andres’ We Fed an Island, and Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers.
Things that made me happy this month:
- Two shows on Netflix: Russian Doll and Sex Education. Give them at least a couple of episodes before you decide. Russian Doll gets really good about 3 episodes in. Both are pretty short series, so not a huge time commitment. I just wish they both came with a soundtrack, though I’ve already downloaded Harry Nilsson’s Gotta Get Up.
- And, in addition to my (hopefully) new and improved nose, we finally chucked our lumpy old mattress and I’m loving our new one. We had to haul a 150 pound box up two flights of stairs, but it was worth it.
Happy March and happy almost-spring! What was your favorite read last month?
