February in Books
February might be the shortest month, but I still managed to cram in plenty of reading!
My first read of February was actually a book I started in January, Anna Karenina, written by Leo Tolstoy and translated by Louise Maude and Alymer Maude. This one had been on my to-read list for a long time, and it felt good to finally read it.
This was a lo-ong book, but not at all a slog to read, and even though there were plenty of moments which felt like good places to pause - as the plot follows multiple characters and storylines - I was always eager to pick it up again. I have to admit that I lost track a little of some of the minor characters, but following the main cast of characters was, for me, the chief delight of this book. I was repeatedly struck by how incredibly complex and believable the characters are. I also really enjoyed discovering so many interesting things about the time and place, and I definitely need to add more Russian literature to my to-read list.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
After such a long read, I felt in the mood for some short stories, so I picked up The Complete Short Fiction by Oscar Wilde (edited by Ian Small).
I’ve read quite a few of these short stories before, in The Happy Prince & Other Stories and Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories, but I enjoyed revisiting them, especially after reading the enlightening introduction to this collection, and I really enjoyed reading the stories that were new to me. The stories in this collection are brilliant, funny, moving, and delightfully unexpected.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Next up was Silence Is a Sense by Layla AlAmmar, which I won in a giveaway run by the wonderful @TwoFondOfBooks.
Silence Is a Sense is a rich story, which creates a narrative arc that feels true to the character and world it has created. AlAmmar writes about her protagonist's journey in a sensitive and evocative way, and she has created a powerful story that doesn't overwhelm its reader. I was deeply impressed by this book, which I enjoyed reading very much, and I look forward to returning to it soon, and discovering everything I missed the first time around.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My next read was one I was very excited about, Breasts and Eggs, written by Mieko Kawakami and translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd.
If I had to describe Breasts and Eggs in one word it would be: compelling. This book sucked me in and wouldn’t let go, and I ended up staying awake too late to finish it. The title gives away this book’s interest in women’s bodies, and there are so many really interesting and insightful moments, thinking about what it might mean to be a woman. I particularly loved the edge this topic takes on in the novel’s Japanese setting, which becomes most pertinent when the single Natsuko starts to think about having a child.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of my highlights of February was discovering the first four Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books in a charity shop. Having reread the first book over Christmas, I immediately started The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe was every bit as hilarious and brilliant as I'd remembered, but I definitely think this is a series best enjoyed in order.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It had to be Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams, the third in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, next.
Life, the Universe, and Everything felt a little different in tone from the first two books in the series. It takes that title pretty seriously, and there's a lot more exposition to get your head around. But it's still a delightful and compelling read, and the slightly fewer laugh-out-loud moments are balanced out by slightly more utterly brilliant moments. I cannot begin to fathom how Douglas Adams came up with all of this.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams was the last in the set of 4 that I bought, and the only one that I hadn't read before.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is very different in tone from the first three books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. It’s a brilliant book that works nicely as the continuation of the Hitchhiker’s trilogy, as what could Arthur possibly do with himself after all that excitement. But it’s not quite, for me, the five-star read those first three books were.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I wasn't convinced that Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford sounded like my kind of book, but I couldn't resist the lure of the Booker Prize longlist.
I really enjoyed this book. It's a compelling read whose alternating characters and timelines keep you interested, and I loved the way Francis Spufford carves out individual personalities and stories for each of the protagonists. I liked that I could tell the characters and years apart without needing to remember what chapter I was reading, and I liked that I could visualise each character at the different points in their lives. A solid four-star read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Next up was Lord of the Flies by William Golding, finally making up for the fact that we didn't read it at school.
The concept of this book is an interesting one, as a group of schoolboys who crash land on an island, in the midst of some unidentified crisis, have to decide for themselves how they want to live. But it all feels a little heavy-handed. There are a lot of topographical descriptions, which have never really appealed to me, and I found the story as a whole rather distasteful. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, or wasn’t impressed by it, just that it’s not really my kind of book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The last book I read in February was Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller, one of last year's Women's Prize for Fiction nominees which I didn't get around to at the time.
I loved the way Unsettled Ground talked about money, often an uncomfortable or unrealistic subject for writers, and there is a superb scene set in a shop where Jeanie is making decisions about what to buy based on how much money she has left. I really enjoyed the details of Jeanie's life, tending to her garden and trying to make money from the produce. Claire Fuller has a beautiful writing style, which struck me from the opening sentence, and which really suits what is being written about. I didn't think I would finish Unsettled Ground in February, but ended up staying awake until I had finished it, because I just couldn't put it down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My first read of February was actually a book I started in January, Anna Karenina, written by Leo Tolstoy and translated by Louise Maude and Alymer Maude. This one had been on my to-read list for a long time, and it felt good to finally read it.
This was a lo-ong book, but not at all a slog to read, and even though there were plenty of moments which felt like good places to pause - as the plot follows multiple characters and storylines - I was always eager to pick it up again. I have to admit that I lost track a little of some of the minor characters, but following the main cast of characters was, for me, the chief delight of this book. I was repeatedly struck by how incredibly complex and believable the characters are. I also really enjoyed discovering so many interesting things about the time and place, and I definitely need to add more Russian literature to my to-read list.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
After such a long read, I felt in the mood for some short stories, so I picked up The Complete Short Fiction by Oscar Wilde (edited by Ian Small).
I’ve read quite a few of these short stories before, in The Happy Prince & Other Stories and Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories, but I enjoyed revisiting them, especially after reading the enlightening introduction to this collection, and I really enjoyed reading the stories that were new to me. The stories in this collection are brilliant, funny, moving, and delightfully unexpected.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Next up was Silence Is a Sense by Layla AlAmmar, which I won in a giveaway run by the wonderful @TwoFondOfBooks.
Silence Is a Sense is a rich story, which creates a narrative arc that feels true to the character and world it has created. AlAmmar writes about her protagonist's journey in a sensitive and evocative way, and she has created a powerful story that doesn't overwhelm its reader. I was deeply impressed by this book, which I enjoyed reading very much, and I look forward to returning to it soon, and discovering everything I missed the first time around.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My next read was one I was very excited about, Breasts and Eggs, written by Mieko Kawakami and translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd.
If I had to describe Breasts and Eggs in one word it would be: compelling. This book sucked me in and wouldn’t let go, and I ended up staying awake too late to finish it. The title gives away this book’s interest in women’s bodies, and there are so many really interesting and insightful moments, thinking about what it might mean to be a woman. I particularly loved the edge this topic takes on in the novel’s Japanese setting, which becomes most pertinent when the single Natsuko starts to think about having a child.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of my highlights of February was discovering the first four Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books in a charity shop. Having reread the first book over Christmas, I immediately started The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe was every bit as hilarious and brilliant as I'd remembered, but I definitely think this is a series best enjoyed in order.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It had to be Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams, the third in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, next.
Life, the Universe, and Everything felt a little different in tone from the first two books in the series. It takes that title pretty seriously, and there's a lot more exposition to get your head around. But it's still a delightful and compelling read, and the slightly fewer laugh-out-loud moments are balanced out by slightly more utterly brilliant moments. I cannot begin to fathom how Douglas Adams came up with all of this.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams was the last in the set of 4 that I bought, and the only one that I hadn't read before.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is very different in tone from the first three books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. It’s a brilliant book that works nicely as the continuation of the Hitchhiker’s trilogy, as what could Arthur possibly do with himself after all that excitement. But it’s not quite, for me, the five-star read those first three books were.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I wasn't convinced that Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford sounded like my kind of book, but I couldn't resist the lure of the Booker Prize longlist.
I really enjoyed this book. It's a compelling read whose alternating characters and timelines keep you interested, and I loved the way Francis Spufford carves out individual personalities and stories for each of the protagonists. I liked that I could tell the characters and years apart without needing to remember what chapter I was reading, and I liked that I could visualise each character at the different points in their lives. A solid four-star read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Next up was Lord of the Flies by William Golding, finally making up for the fact that we didn't read it at school.
The concept of this book is an interesting one, as a group of schoolboys who crash land on an island, in the midst of some unidentified crisis, have to decide for themselves how they want to live. But it all feels a little heavy-handed. There are a lot of topographical descriptions, which have never really appealed to me, and I found the story as a whole rather distasteful. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, or wasn’t impressed by it, just that it’s not really my kind of book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The last book I read in February was Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller, one of last year's Women's Prize for Fiction nominees which I didn't get around to at the time.
I loved the way Unsettled Ground talked about money, often an uncomfortable or unrealistic subject for writers, and there is a superb scene set in a shop where Jeanie is making decisions about what to buy based on how much money she has left. I really enjoyed the details of Jeanie's life, tending to her garden and trying to make money from the produce. Claire Fuller has a beautiful writing style, which struck me from the opening sentence, and which really suits what is being written about. I didn't think I would finish Unsettled Ground in February, but ended up staying awake until I had finished it, because I just couldn't put it down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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