February Reading Wrap Up

January was such a great reading month for me. I fell in love with a bunch of new books AND classics. It seemed every book I picked up was better than the last. Sadly, all good things come to an end, and I did not experience that same kind of book-high in February. Instead, every book I picked up felt less interesting than the last, and I ended up bailing on a few, and watching a lot of TV. Still, I did find a couple gems, so here are 3 books I loved, one that was not for me (NFM), and what I’m currently reading. Once again, special thanks to the podcast What Should I Read Next?, from which I am totally ripping off this format ♥

Three Books I Loved

1. Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

“The shriek of the wind seems savage with pleasure.”

Confession — I’m not a huge King fan. While I think he’s a great storyteller, his actual writing style is not for me. I just find the story gets lost in all the run-on sentences and unnecessary asides. His books are also HUGE, and I never feel ready to commit to him for that long. But when I saw how slim Cycle of the Werewolf is (128 pages, including illustrations), I decided to give it a go. I’m always on the hunt for good, SCARY, werewolf books and this one fit the bill. I read it in one sitting and was completely satisfied. I’m even looking forward to checking out more of his short stories and novellas.

2. Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

“I thought about my ma’s family back in Virginia, fair as Frenchmen and floating like ghosts through a white world. Afraid of being seen for what they truly was.”

This book really quenched my thirst for historical fiction about black people that dealt with an issue other than slavery (I have nothing against slave narratives, I just wanted to read about black people in a different historical context this time). The story follows a group of black American and German jazz musicians (of various shades) as they make the dangerous decision to travel from Germany to France just at the outbreak of WWII, unsure of the degree to which they will be targeted. It was so fascinating, and beautifully written.

3. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

“What doesn’t kill you makes you not dead.”

I came across this Carrie Fisher memoir when I was browsing audiobooks available through my library. The cover and title caught my attention and since I didn’t know anything about about the actress other than that she was, of course, Princess Leia, I decided to press play on the sample. Her crassness surprised me, and immediately hooked me. Unbelievably dark humour about life’s hard times was just what I needed at the moment, and I loved every minute of it.

One Book NFM

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

I ended up bailing on this book after realizing that it was straight up giving me anxiety. The story sounds really fun — a 29-yr old happy newlywed, pregnant with her first child, falls and hits her head. She wakes up a moment later to find that she is suddenly 39, divorced, and a mom of 2 (or 3, I forget). The first few chapters follow her as she slowly realizes that she has missed a decade of her life, and it was just way too stressful for me. I had actual nightmares… and I read and watch a lot of horror, so that was really weird. I put it down, deciding that for whatever reason, I was having too visceral a reaction to the story. I just really hate the idea of losing a chunk of time I guess.