I know February is a quick month, but yeesh!
My goal for February:
“I’ll set a goal of 4 books for the month again.”
Let’s see what I actually read… (Link to my Goodreads 2017 shelf where you can find individual reviews that may or may not differ from what is posted here.)
Burial Rites – Hannah Kent – 3* – (Feb 7)
This book was recommended to me several times before I finally picked it up. It has many components that should’ve made me love it – a mysterious murder, a historical setting, and complex characters. But for some reason, it didn’t come together for me. I had trouble getting into it and trouble connecting to the characters. I love complicated characters, but I didn’t feel a lot of compassion for them. The ending left me a little empty.
The Two-Family House – Lynda Cohen Loigman – 4* – (Feb 16):
Two brothers live together with their families. One has all girls, the other, all boys. The wives are the best of friends until they both become pregnant and give birth on the same winter night.
I’m glad the twist wasn’t hidden – if you didn’t get it, you weren’t paying any attention. But it was interesting to see the characters discover the truth.
The Trump Survival Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Living Through What You Hoped Would Never Happen – Gene Stone – 4* – (Feb 18)
I’m going to do some focused reading on political resistance and activism this year. Consider it a late-added goal. Several of us are reading these books together so if you’re interested, look us up: #readToResist #rtrbc and readtoresist.com.
This book includes 12 topics such as Women’s Issues, Environment, and Health Care. Each chapter goes into a history of the issue, Obama’s approach/accomplishments, and what Trump may do before providing a list of actions, links, and organizations. It was a great primer on the current state of the country.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Iain Reid – 4* – (Feb 22):
Well, this was a ride… As I read, I found it interesting how much focus was on internal dialogue and picking the relationship apart. There really wasn’t much action until the end when the entire book went off the rails. I don’t mean this in a bad way – it was fascinating, and there were signs throughout of where things were going.
I started with three reading goals this year, but I’m adding a fourth:
- Read 40 books: – Currently at 12, which is 6 ahead of schedule according to Goodreads.
- Complete the Rhymes with Croatia 2017 Reading Challenge: There are 24 categories, and I’ll count no book for more than 2. I also decided not to count re-reads (unless the category specifies it must be a re-read). Numbers below are new/add’l categories completed.
- January – 5 (set somewhere you’ve never been, set in a school, thriller, library, kick-ass woman protag/female author)
- February – 4 (teaches something new, recommended by a friend, embarrassed to be seen with in public, takes place during winter)
- Decrease my TBR:
- January 1 – 88 physical/29 digital
- January – 91/29 (read 2 physical, added 5 – 2 were gifts)
- February 28 – 91/30 (read 1 physical, bought a few, donated and otherwise updated my shelf to reflect what’s actually there)
- Read more political/activism books: I read one this month and plan to read at least one per month going forward.
Diversity? Only 4 books and most were suspense/drama. I did read one non-fiction political piece.
Star ratings: I base this on the flat stars Goodreads displays in list-view, not the quarter-star system I assign in my reviews.
- 5 stars: 1 books
- 4 stars: 7 books
- 3 stars: 4 books
- 2 stars: 0 books
- 1 star: 0 books
- 0 stars: 0 books
Pages read:
- January – 2936
- February – 1075
I had a couple of slow reads this month and then the end of the month involved unexpected travel to deal with a family emergency. Still, I met my goal of 4 books, so I’m OK with that.
For March, I’m going to stick with the same goal of 4 books. If you haven’t joined the Rhymes with Croatia 2017 Reading Challenge yet, there’s still plenty of time!
