February 2024 Reading Recap
New genres, old favorites, and some audiobooks!
In work and life, February was a real challenge! We had medical issues, tons of meetings, big projects, family management, and so much more. Looking back at my calendar gives me a little bit of a headache, and makes me glad to be moving on to March.
Despite feeling like I didn’t read a lot in February, I was surprised to discover I finished six books! Here are some thoughts on February’s reads:
📘 House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
House of Flame and Shadow is the third book in The Crescent City trilogy, the set of Sarah J. Maas books that most reads like urban fantasy to me (although I don’t know if that’s technically the genre). This book leans a lot into mythology and lore as our heroes finally try to pull together and defeat the Big Bads once and for all. Not all of the storylines in this installment worked for me, but overall I liked the way this book wrapped up the overarching conflict, and was delighted by the highly-publicized crossover with other well-loved characters. My time deep-diving into Sarah J. Maas is finally done… but I’m sure I’ll be back eventually.
🎧 The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
The Bullet That Missed is also the third book in a series, this time Richard Osman’s look at mystery-solving pensioners living in a senior apartment complex in Kent, England. My favorite part about this series is how the community of characters around our central group keeps growing, and the real kindness that Osman shows nearly everyone we meet. Despite all the murders, these are quite big-hearted and charming books, which I have particularly enjoyed on audio.
📘 The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
I haven’t historically read a lot of middle grade novels, but this one has convinced me to start! The Ogress and the Orphans is the story of a small town, Stone-in-the-Glen, that has fallen on hard times. A series of calamities has destroyed their library, school, and park, resulting in isolation, suspicion, and the subtle takeover of a dragon-slaying Mayor who promises he alone can help solve all of their problems. Can a kindly Ogress living on the edge of town and a group of clever orphans help save their community? This book was such a soothing balm, with an ethos of kindness that reminded me of The Good Place (with some additional pointed political commentary). I cried a bunch and loved every minute of it.
📘 The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
The Plague of Doves was one of my 2024 backlist reads, because I love Louise Erdrich and want to read all of her books. Set in a small North Dakota town, the book starts with the gruesome, unsolved murder of a white farm family. The impacts of the murder and what happened directly after haunt the residents of Pluto and a nearby Native American reservation for generations to come. I loved the way this book played with storytelling and shifted between narrators, building up the connections and impacts of generational trauma through these interwoven communities. It’s a slower book than I expected, but I’m glad I read it.
🎧 Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why by Alexandra Petri
Alexandra Petri is one of my favorite humor writers, and so I thought this audiobook would help get me back in my reading groove. Published in 2020, the book is a collection of new and republished satirical political essays about “the routine horrors of the present era.” Her take on language, feminism, anger is very funny, but revisiting topics from 2016 to 2019 was kind of a trip. Mostly, this one made me want to read her new book even more — Alexandra Petri's US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up).
📘 The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Every 10 years, six uniquely talented magicians are recruited to compete for a place in the Alexandrian Society, a secret group dedicated to the protection and development of knowledge housed in the Library of Alexandria. Only five will be able to stay after their first year living and learning at the library. This book follows most of the first year of a new class of recruits as they learn how and why they were chosen for this opportunity. I read through this one pretty quickly and enjoyed it, but am currently making my way through book two and think maybe the middle book slog is coloring my otherwise positive view of this one.
Final Thoughts
Late last year, I stumbled across the David Gates poem “Year of Weird” on Instagram:
I loved it so much that I bought a print and have it sitting on my bookshelf right now. In my head, there’s a thread between this poem and the vibe I feel about reading this year… fewer books, less pressure, and no pull towards a particular genre or author. It’s a reading life that doesn’t fit anyone but myself.
If 2023 was the year of going deep (on Sarah J. Mass in particular, and romantasy in general), then I wonder if 2024 is going to be a year of going wide (and weird?) into genres or authors I haven’t made space for in the past. I’m curious to see!
What was your favorite book of February? Share something great in the comments!
I am not doing this but in my soul all I want to read is cozy mysteries. Not all the Important Non-Fiction I have, not the thrillers everyone is talking about, just cozies. Maybe someday I’ll give in and do just that haha.
Looks like you had a great reading month! :)