In February I had my surgery, which went well, and it was nice to have time off from work to recover. There are things I can’t do for a little while, but I’ve learned some workarounds and I try to ask for help when I need it (not my strong point). With increasing stress at work and in the world, it felt good for me to put my health first. I had extra reading time and time to organize my blog and social media use. You can find me on BlueSky at curlygeek.bsky.social and on The StoryGraph at curlygeek04.
In the first two months of 2025 I’ve read a lot more nonfiction and backlist books than I normally do. I’m also catching up on some of the highly-rated 2024 reads I missed (with mixed results as you’ll see below).
I’m looking forward to the announcement of the Women’s Prize longlist on March 4. Their new nonfiction longlist was just announced, and has one of my favorite authors on it, Jenni Fagan.
What I read in February:
- Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (audio)
- Happy Place by Emily Henry (ebook)
- Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein (ebook/ARC)
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (audio)
- Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (ebook)
- The Rainbow Comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt (print)
- The Rural Diaries by Hilarie Burton Morgan (audio)
- Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture by Emma Dabiri (audio)
- Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey (ebook/ARC)
My favorite reads:
In addition to the books I’ve reviewed this month, all of which I recommend, Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange was excellent. At first it was hard to keep up with all the narrator changes, but the second half of the book was focused on the lives of three teenagers, Orvil, Luther, and Lony, and their parenting grandmothers Opal and Jackie, and that’s where the story came together for me.
I always enjoy Emily Henry’s books, but I particularly liked Happy Place because I could relate to the main character, who tries to make sure her family and friends are all getting along, at the expense of what she needs for herself – and who sets herself on a path academically that she isn’t sure is right for her. I really like “second chance” books where the conflict between the couple is fully developed. At first I found the friend group really annoying, but all of Henry’s books take a little time to flesh out and this was no exception.
Disappointing reads:
There was so much hype for Ministry of Time, and it seemed like a book I should love because it blends time travel, history, romance, even government work – but for a book with an interesting premise, it was surprisingly slow, and the love story didn’t do much for me either. If you enjoyed this book, I’d love to hear why.
On the blog:
I wrote reviews of Black Woods, Blue Sky, Twisted, Fagin the Thief, and The Rainbow Comes and Goes. For Valentine’s Day I also wrote about ten favorite love stories I read in the last year.
Books for challenges:
- Nonfiction: The Rural Diaries, The Rainbow Comes and Goes, Twisted
- Jewish Genre Reading Challenge: Fagin the Thief
- Backlist: Twisted, The Rural Diaries, The Rainbow Comes and Goes, Godkiller, Happy Place
What I’m reading now:
I’m reading an ARC of Swordheart by T. Kingfisher, which is fantastic. I’m also reading Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner, and I just started listening to The Husbands by Holly Gramazio.
What’s coming up:
I have two ARCs to read in March. Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil Rights Movement by Elaine Weiss and Barely Visible: Mothering a Son Through His Misunderstood Asperger Syndrome by Kathleen Somers. March is also a reading month for books from Wales (at BookerTalk) and Ireland (at 746books), so I hope to read something for each of those.
Added to my TBR:
I added a few romances to my TBR from Top Ten Tuesday, including Finding Mr. Write by Kelly Armstrong (recommended by Bookshelf Fantasies) and The Alphabet of Heart’s Desire (recommended by What Cathy Read Next).
Things that made me happy this month:
Mr. CG has been amazing this month, taking care of the cats and doing the cleaning around the house that I can’t. And when I feel bad about being lazy, he keeps reminding me I need to rest and take care of myself. I’m so lucky to have him.
I’m addicted to Severance, which took a little while to get into because it’s just so weird (but the office environment definitely resonates).
I started a leadership training at work, and one of the questions they asked us to think about is “what are you doing when you feel you are most yourself?” My mind immediately went to this blog. It’s an interesting question. What makes you feel “most yourself”?
That’s my February wrap-up. Hope you’re reading something good!