I read eleven books in February. A lot of them were nonfiction. I started several others but I was in a mood apparently and kept bouncing around. But I’m satisfied with my progress for the month.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
I will start by saying I thought this was a great adventure. It was a brilliant storyline and great details and beautiful characters. I didn’t feel like it was too wordy – like some of King’s books tend to be – or like the ending was pulled out of a hat. This was a fully formed tale (ha) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Also, the dog lives. That was the number one thing I saw people were worried about going in. And Radar is fine in the end.
I only have one little complaint. Charlie is supposed to be seventeen. And he sounds like a middle-aged man home from his hard day of running a bank branch. But it’s such a little thing that I will still say I loved the book.
The Girl With all the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Watching The Last of Us, I found a lot of similarities, but the story is fun and original. And by fun I mean dark and disturbing.
The backstory and world building were dropped in perfectly. No giant paragraphs of info dumping, but I still had a great sense of how the world worked.
The ending pulled on my heartstrings and the deaths were gruesome and hard to take. Except for the scientist – eff that bitch. Haha.
Haven’t decided if I’m going to read the followup, but this was a good book.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
I really enjoyed how each tip was accompanied by a story of how the tactic works. And it wasn’t all about him and how great he is at forming habits.
The tips are incredibly helpful. I’ve implemented a few already. And even if they seem a little obvious, having them listed out for you is the nudge some people need.
“Until you work as hard as those you admire, don’t explain away their success as luck.”
I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
This book was so heartbreaking. And even if acting was never what she wanted to do, she was definitely good at it because I never would have guessed any of this.
I can’t imagine the pain she’s had to work through to get to where she is now – able to look back with a clear eye and put it into words.
My heart aches for the eating disorders and body images issues because I can relate so hard.
If only there had been someone to advocate for her – something her mother was supposed to do.
I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.
The Deep by Nick Cutter
This book was totally horrifying. The idea of weird creatures at the bottom of the ocean is so creepy and one of my real life fears.
However, I was not emotionally connected to these characters. I didn’t care what happened to them. And the ‘gets’ disease was not a big enough part of the beginning. The plan to get them to the bottom of the ocean could have been better laid out. All the flashbacks were unnecessary and messed up the pacing. So I had a love/hate relationship with it. Very creepy, yes. But I felt 100 miles away from it.
Shelf Life by Nadia Wassef
I really enjoyed this book. It felt very open and I thought I was one of the family for the duration.
Life struggles paired with work struggles mixed together with the world of books and reading *chefs kiss.* And I loved the new things I learned about another part of the world.
Beautiful writing.
The Conscious Closet by Elizabeth L. Cline
A declutter book I never knew I needed. Will need a physical copy ASAP so I can really utilize her tips.
Great insights into the problems of the fashion industry and great plans for how anyone can help make it better. And it wasn’t ever pushy sounding or holier than thou attitude.
I can’t wait to start taking better care of my clothes.
The Patient by Jasper Dewitt
I wish there was more to this story. It was dark and twisted with a perfectly ambiguous ending. The twist was not what I expected, but very satisfying. I need like a ‘ten years later’ sequel to hear about the mayhem that has happened. But I loved this book nonetheless.
Will be looking for more by this author.
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Overall, this was an interesting story. The post-apoc world was different and the world building was nicely done.
However, I had a hard time keeping the characters straight (haha, pun not intended, iykyk) in my head. Even the man. They all kind of acted the same. And thought the same. And spoke the same. I don’t know, they were great, but not unique.
The book as a whole was good, but I feel like it could hav used a little more work.
The Creative Habit by Twlya Tharp
My craft book for February. I enjoyed all her stories and feel like she had a lot of great advice to share. I can’t wait to work through her exercises n my own and see what other golden nuggets of wisdom she had to offer.
Accounting for Authors by Mark Leslie Lefabvre and D.F. Hart
Another great read for my author business life. I highlighted a lot of information to come back to. I really liked how the technical pieces were broken down into ways that made more sense to my non-math brain. A good resource to add to my shelf.
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With my new kindle, I expect my physical reading to increase. But I’m still very happy I can rely on audiobooks to get me to my reading goals. There are way too many great books waiting to be read for me to limit myself in the forms.
What books have you been reading? Which ones have been your favorite and why?
My favorite read of February was I’m Glad My Mom Died, and I’ll be going deeper in my thoughts on it in another post.