Monthly Wrap-Up: February

It’s time for another monthly wrap-up! Despite being the shortest month of the year, I managed to read more bookS in February than I did January! I didn’t manage to read any from my 2013 TBR List, but I did read another Classics Club selection. Here is a recap of what happened in February!

Best Book of February

The World Without You by Joshua Henkin is my favorite book from February. It is about family that comes together one year after the death of one of their own. It’s a  realistic portrayal of a family disintegrating in the face of sibling rivalries and family resentments.

Reviews

Mrs. Dalloway was one of my picks for the Classics Club and I was really excited to read it because it’s so immensely popular. Unfortunately, I found the stream of consciousness writing to be difficult. I enjoyed it in patches, but it was not a pleasant experience.

Y is a great book by debut author Marjorie Celona that I received from Rebecca at Love at First Book, who had received it from Jennifer at The Relentless Reader. To do my part, I then sent it to Leah at Books Speak Volumes and am curious to see where it ends up next! Y was an IndieBound pick (for good reason) and tells the story  of a girl left at the YMCA as an infant and her struggles with identity. Told in the first-person, it’s both realistic and heartfelt.

Sad in a way that is realistic, Vinegar Hill is about a family who moves in with the husband’s parents (who disapproved of their marriage) after he was let go from his job.

Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions is a collection of essays by the famed Gloria Steinem. Most of the essays were written several decades ago, but this new edition includes notes and thoughts about the current state of the women’s movement.

In Between Days is about a college-aged girl who is expelled from school for reasons that we find out about halfway through the book. Her actions alter the family dynamic of her divorced parents and can be enjoyed by both adult fiction and YA readers.

The Secret Lives of Wives is a collection of stories from various women who have found creative ways to make their marriages work. While there is an emphasis of the importance of a life outside of the marriage, it is overall pessimistic and I didn’t care for it.

The Good Father is told, for the most part, by a man whose son is arrested for assassinating a presidential candidate. It is a harrowing tale where the father questions every decision and moment in his son’s life, trying to prove his innocence while simultaneously trying to understand what changed his docile boy into a killer.

Other Neat Stuff

• Love at First Book and I started a book club!

• I continued the 365 Project and have a lot of great photos
• I participated in the Classics Club Spin and will be reading Appointment in Samarra before April 1
• I found a great site that pairs fiction with fashion
• I watched the Atlas Shrugged movies and am so mad!

Reviews to Look Forward To

 

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