What I read in February 2023
After the longest January on record, February seemed to fly by! I read 12 books, and failed to watch any serieseseseses.
Writing-wise, on the surface, February didn’t look as productive as January because I didn’t finish anything - but I wrote c. 3,500 words of a max. 5,000-word short story due for a competition on 6 March, which is slightly more than the two stories I completed in January combined. I don’t believe it’s my best work, but it still feels good that I produced something. Now I need to write the rest of it. In three days.
Also, The Routledge History of Loneliness came out this month! I don’t expect anyone to buy it because it is £££££, but having been approached to contribute to it in 2019, and written the first draft of my chapter in 2020, it was really nice to finally have it in my hands.
Our Missing Hearts, by Celeste Ng - AMAZING. 5*
Clara & Olivia, by Lucy Ashe - 5*
Mouthful of Birds, by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell - 5*
In the Meantime, by Alex Fragnière - 5*
(Four 5* reads in a row? Pretty sure I’ve never done that before.)
Violeta, by Isabel Allende - 4*
Mort, by Terry Pratchett. Re-read - 4*
Watching the Wheels, by Stephen Anthony Brotherton - 4*
Sensitive: The hidden strength of sensitivity and empathy, by Hannah Jane Walker - 3.5*
The Space Between Us, by Doug Johnstone - 4*
The Dead of Winter, by Stuart MacBride - 4*
Bad Dreams and other stories, by Tessa Hadley - 4.5*
Bleeding Heart Yard, by Elly Griffiths - I usually adore Griffiths’ books, but this one got a bit silly and nonsensical towards the end. 3.5*
Looking ahead…
I’m light-ish on the tours in March, so I’m mostly planning to pick from my TBR as my mood takes me. But I will be continuing to work my way through the Discworld Death novels.
Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee, has been on my wishlist for ages, as it sounds right up my street, and I got it for £1.99 the other day, so I’m looking forward to finally getting to read it.
I picked up The Rules of the Road by C. B. Jones after enjoying reading a short story of his in an anthology, and I’m really intrigued by the blurb!