February has flown by for me and probably for many of you, too. I had a week off, but even that was over before is had barely begun. I can’t say I’m sad to see March arrive because it means something very important to me. Spring! Like much of the country, I’m sick of winter and ready for longer days and more sunshine. Despite the doldrums of February (or maybe because of them), I manage to have a really solid reading month with 10 books completed. Even though I only have a single book on top, I feel good about my month overall. Even the books I could have skipped, I was still engaged with while reading.

{My February, Books & Blog}

The Cream of the Crop

Book I enjoyed the most…

Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala – This beautiful, heartbreaking coming-of-age story stands alone above all others this month. (review next week)   

 

 

A Cut Above

Great stories with minor flaws…

• The Glass Forest by Cynthia Swanson – A young wife finds her husband and his entire family to be not quite what they seem to be. (my review)
• Rosie Colored Glasses by Brianna Wolfson – Mom is all fun and laughter, and Dad, all rules and schedules, but Willow isn’t feeling quite right in either parents’ home. (my review)
• Educated by Tara Westover – A young woman raised with no formal education and disdain for both medicine and the law discovers the power of knowledge. (my review)
• Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny – A quirky story about a man who finds himself in a world that includes his aloof first wife, thoroughly extrovert second wife, son with Asperger’s, and so much more. This was a backlist book that I’m opting not to review, but I loved it. Both Heiny’s story and Cassandra Campbell’s audio narration were wonderful.
• Laura & Emma by Kate Greathead – A fifteen year chronicle of a quirky NewYork woman and her daughter. (review the week of 3/12)

Subpar

Books I could have skipped…

• Promise by Minrose Gwin – Historical fiction that bogged down in flights of fancy. (my review)
• The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu – More a series of connected short stories than a novel. (mini-review coming soon)
• Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao – Beautiful writing of a really, really tough story to read. (review next week)
• The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian – Easy, fast read, but not much substance. (mini-review coming soon)

DNF

• Sadness is a White Bird by Moriel Rothman-Zecher

Top Blog Posts

• My new Wrapping It Up! format debuted in January and it was a big hit!
• For the second month in a row The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, a book I didn’t particularly love, was the most visited review. (my review)
• As for February reviews, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah had more people reading it than any other. (my review)

{From the Book Blogging World}

Favorite Reviews

Links take you to these wonderful reviews…

• I wasn’t able to finish How to Stop Time by Matt Haig when I tried it last month, but enjoyed reading reviews from both Michelle at That’s What She Read and Lynne at Fictionophile.
• A copy of Storm King by Brendan Duffy landed in my mailbox this month, but so far I haven’t had time to read it. Luckily, Chelsea at The Suspense is Thrilling Me has written a review to pique my interest.
• Many readers loved Jane Harper’s debut last year, The Dry and according to Amy at Novel Gossip, she’s done it again with Force of Nature.
• In a month dedicated to love the stunning cover of The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin has to take the gorgeous prize and according to Tara at Running ‘N’ Reading the story is also a winner.
• Over on Literary Quicksand I spotted a great review for a book about loss, Modern Loss by Rebecca Soffer and Gabrielle Birkner, that I’m adding to my nonfiction TBR list.
• And finally, a book I haven’t seen much about, The Song of a Captive Bird by Jasmin Darznik: Catherine at Gilmore Guide to Books gave Captive Bird 5 stars and that doesn’t happen often. It might be time to check this one out!

Fun & Useful Blog Posts

• I don’t know about the rest of you, but I haven’t had a lot of luck with book clubs. I’ve been in a few, but quickly grew weary of either the books selected or the lack of good discussion. Death by Tsundoku did a great post on Building Better Book Clubs: How to Join An In-Person Book Club.
• Over on Off the Shelf they shared a list of books about female friendship, one of my favorite bookish themes. Of the eleven books they shared, I’ve only read five. Looks like I have some catching up to do.
• I love my Kindle, really enjoyed what Norrie from Reading Under the Blankie had to say in her post, I Don’t Like Books, and Here’s Why…
• I’m loving the way Ottavia at Novels and Nonfiction is tackling her Book of the Month Club selections for each month in a single post. This month she shared the three books she ordered from November.
• In case you’re not aware, Sarah at Sarah’s Bookshelves ran a Reader Survey for her blog and last week she shared the results of that survey. I think all bloggers and most who aren’t bloggers will find the results both interesting and hopeful. I was particularly pleased to see that so many people who responded to her survey come to her blog for the reviews. I’m betting that answer is applicable to most other blogs, as well. Since reviews are why I started Novel Visits, I’m pleased to hear that. Sometimes, numbers are low on reviews and that can be disheartening, but I’m going to keep in mind that they’re appreciated.
• To wrap it up, from Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy, something that has nothing to do with books: What I Learned from Living With All White Walls for a Whole Year. As a person with quite a bit of color in my house, I’ve been feeling a pull toward white for the last couple years.

That’s a wrap! How was your February?

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