February Reads (2020 Edition)
February feels already as if it was months ago! Here’s what I read last month.
Literature
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
I wasn’t sure if this was one that lived up to its hype. It’s definitely complex with layers of a slightly different sort than I normally read. I’m still thinking of the characters long after reading and that’s the answer — it is a good book.
Mystery
- White Nights (Shetland Island #2) by Ann Cleeves
Layers upon layers. This one took a while to get into I think because I’m not as familiar with Shetland as I am able to guess about the North of England.k I like the Vera series better.
Science Fiction/Fantasy
- The Watchmaker’s Daughter (Glass and Steele #1) by C.J. Archer
I discovered another light series that’s fun to listen to as audiobooks and work on knit & crochet design samples. I’ve now read the first three and unfortunately my library hasn’t yet acquired rights to the rest of the Glass and Steele series so I’ll be reading what other books the library has. - The Secret Chapter (The Invisible Library #6) by Genevieve Cogman
I enjoy this series because it’s not serious, it’s comfortably predictable, and good for when I want to read something and not think very much. Plus it includes books! - The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I enjoyed The Night Circus when I read it seven years ago. Would her second book deliver? I found the layers upon layers a bit challenging and sticky with the honey and bees, but the books drew me and and kept me through to the end. This and The Night Circus are on my list for rereading. - Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan, Ken Liu (Translator)
There is a lot in here to unpack. It’s a fascinating look at technology, class, and culture. - Qualityland by Marc-Uwe Kling
The blurb on the cover says it’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide meets 1984“, and I think that is a really good way to explain this book. It’s fun, humorous, and hopefully it’ll make you think a bit differently about the technology you probably use every day. Because algorithms are never wrong. - The Eye of the Heron by Ursula K Le Guin
This was an audiobook and until I added it to goodreads I hadn’t realized it was a reread. I guess that explains why something about it felt familiar but I couldn’t quite figure out why. It’s super short and interesting. I’ll keep an eye out at booksales and hopefully acquire a copy of my own.
Non-Fiction
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk
I forget where I had this book recommended to me. It wasn’t what I expected, parts were really good, parts I glossed over. I want to followup on most of it and see what’s changed in the past 6 years. - Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
This is an ongoing project, I purchased and made first way through the workbook last year. It’s hard work. It’s work that needs to be done by me (with introversion, anxiety, social anxiety, & perfectionism). I’m trying to do better and rereading/working through this & other books is my one of my imperfect steps. - Figuring by Maria Popova
This has been on my reading list since it first came out. I had a hard time reading library books because I wanted to annotate everything. It took me almost a year to finish (library holds can be torture), I definitely need to purchase a paperback copy and reread this. My to-read list has also multiplied as I wamt to read through every work cited throughout because this is the education I wish I had. I first discovered many of these women as an adult and wish I knew of them all earlier. Reading of Rachel Carsen’s final days as word of Katherine Johnson’s death at 101 was announced was hard. - Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth by Rachel Maddow
I’m not part of Maddow’s crew, while I didn’t intend to read this, it was an available to borrow as a library audiobook and I was curious. I found it very well written and balanced. If it’s Maddow’s normal mode of doing things (and several friends confirmed it is), I see why she’s so popular.
Next reads
Among other things, I’m reading Wastelands and Wastelands 2. Given the current state of the world, I’m not sure if this type of reading is the best or the worst choice. (I read The Hot Zone one weekend shortly after it came out while I had a fever.) I hope to focus on NetGalley review reading and write at least two reviews during March. Many events I had planned to attend were cancelled, so I definitely have extra time to read! What are you reading?