Hello, friends. Here we are well into February and so far this month seems to be flying! It feels like a big change from last month when January just dragged on forever.
In January... we began our drive to FL on New Years Day, making stops along the way to visit my cousin and some old friends. Once we got here, there were repairs to attend to, friends to catch up with, a barrage of disturbing national news, and record-breaking cold. As a result my reading got off to a slow start, but picked up again toward the end of the month.
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BOOKS READ IN JANUARY
A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi
fiction, in translation, 4 stars, my thoughts
Oranges by John McPhee
nonfiction, classic, 3 stars, my thoughts
I've Tried Being Nice: Essays by Ann Leary
nonfiction, essays, 4 stars, my thoughts
How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard
fiction, 4.5 stars, my thoughts
FEBRUARY READING POSSIBILITIES
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (in progress)
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkinson (MMD February selection)
Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan
You Are Here by David Nicholls
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
Our daughter and son-in-law have been here visiting since the beginning of the month and are planning to stay for another week or so. They're fortunate to be able to work from home and I love having them around! Obviously, I haven't had quite as much time to read, so I expect February will be a slow reading month. If I'm lucky I'll finish two or three of the titles listed above.
How was your January reading? What was your favorite book last month?
I hope you have more time for reading this month, JoAnn. With all of our cold and/or rainy weather, I'm not listening to audiobooks, but I am reading more print editions than normal. That may have something to do with staying off my computer as much as possible. The news is so disheartening and I'm working on staying calm and sane! I've gotten back into puzzles, too, which is a good distraction. With regard to January, I read a whopping 9 books. My favorites were The Guest Book (Sarah Blake), Amy and Isabelle (Elizabeth Strout) - reread, and Naked Prey (John Sandford). But really, all were very good. Nothing below 4 stars!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your family time and beach walks. I need to bundle up and get back to my daily walks!
Les - January and February are historically been my lightest reading months. Between getting down here, opening up for the season, and visitors there is never much time to myself just for reading. Glad you had such a great month... reading, puzzles, and more. Avoiding too much news is key for me, too. I'm also behind on my blog reading, but will have a week between visitors to catch up. Hope you can get back to walking soon.
DeleteI'm reading Good Dirt at the moment and it's wonderful so I hope you read that one! [LyzzyBee]
ReplyDeleteLyzzyBee - I'm glad to hear you are enjoying Good Dirt. I'm very close to the top of the library hold list now. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI agree February is flying by and I haven't read much (been busy). I'm glad you are going to read Good Dirt and can tell me if it's any good. I still need to get to Black Cake! I have read David Nicholls novel You Are Here. It has a good premise and I liked the hiking but perhaps I was expecting a bit more? A bit more of something. But it's light enough. Enjoy the sun for me and have a great week.
ReplyDeleteSusan - I finally read Black Cake near the end of last year. It was a solid 4 stars, I liked it quite a bit, but didn't love it. Good Dirt is on my list because MMD is talking to the author at the end of the month. Hope I can read it before then! David Nicholls will be a new author for me and You Are Here was on quite a few 'best of' lists last year. I've heard the audio is quite good. Did you read or listen?
DeleteI still want that Grimaldi book. Next time I get to the library I will ask them about it via Hoopla. I did sign up for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm at the end of part 2 on Testament and I sent you an email, explaining more. The death of the old tablet had me behid and bit frustrated with posting and how my time was taken up running off to AT&T. But I have a new tablet now so I can communicate again - yea!
Did you change the font on your blog? It could be the settings on my tablet, just curious. Still getting things organizied. Great that you can spend time with family!
Tina - I did not make any changes on my blog font. Is it too small for you now? Strange...
DeleteThe Grimaldi book is well worth reading. I hope the other members of my World Lit book club like it. My library staff is super helpful with tech issues. Hope they can help you get set up!
It sounds like we're at the same spot in Testament of Youth now. I'm glad it's finally picking up for me.
I sorted it out. It was my new tablet and I had to make changes ot the setting. I could still read your blog but things looked different. Same on mine too :-)
DeleteTestament is a slow going book but it's picking up a bit for me as well. I just saw the Classic Club announced their spin so I am making my list. The selection wouldn't be due until April 11 so, I'm in!
Tina - Glad you got the settings sorted out on your new tablet! Testament is a slow book for sure, but it is picking up. Haven't had as much time to read this week as I'd like (my daughter and SIL are still here) but I am into Part II now. I'll email you at the end of the week :)
DeleteIn January I found myself reading books to mentally combat the ugliness of the new administration. I've got both The Briar Club and Good Dirt on my shelves to read.
ReplyDeleteHelen - That's a great strategy! I'm hoping to get Good Dirt from the library soon and have The Briar Club waiting on my kindle. Doubt I'll get to them both this month, but I sure hope to read one of them.
DeleteAnother lovely picture! Thanks for sharing those, JoAnn. Glad you've had your daughter and son-in-law around for a bit. I'm doing OK in the reading department, still making my way through the Ruth Galloway books by Elly Griffiths. I see that you've got The Briar Club on your list of Feb possibles. I really want to read that one soon. Several at my mystery book group meeting were recommending it.
ReplyDeleteKay - Thank you! We've had some issues with red tide lately, so I haven't been to the beach as much this week... gotta get those photos when I can! My daughter and SIL are staying another week and it's been so much fun to have them around! The other couple will be here in early March. So glad they can all visit! We'll see which of us gets to The Briar Club first!
DeleteI hear you on the political events taking a toll on reading. I'm all over the place with multiple books going at once. But a highlight of January for me was In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. It started slow, and then I was just so caught up in the characters and the place that I didn't want it to end.
ReplyDeleteAmy - In This House of Brede has been on my list of possibilities for years! Glad to hear it was a highlight for you. I'm primed for slow starts now that I'm finally into Testament of Youth! Adding it to my tbr list.
DeleteI'd love to hear your thoughts on it! It almost made me want to take up the contemplative life. And I'm not what you'd call religious.
DeleteAmy - Now that makes me even more curious!
DeleteMy February is about to get very busy. I hope you are enjoying your reading! The Briar Club is one I hope to read and I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. Enjoy the rest of your daughter and son-in-law's visit, JoAnn, and have a great week.
ReplyDeleteHI Wendy, I had a hard time getting into Testament of Youth, but am finally there now. It's going to take a while to finish though. Hope February is off to a good start for you!
DeleteI think it's great that your daughter and SIL can visit for awhile. I love my work from home days. Only two a week now but I am hanging onto them for as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful beach pic too.
Ti _ It's so nice to have them around. Another daughter is going to have to give up her work-from-home days soon and is none too happy about it! I can understand why...
DeleteI recently listened to You Are Here and really enjoyed it. Love this kind of book. Now, I really want to do the Coast-to-Coast trek.
ReplyDeleteJaneGS - I doesn't look like I'm going to get to You Are Here this month (too many visitors!) but it's on my kindle and I hope to get to it soon. Sounds like my kind of book!
DeleteJanuary seems to my most busy reading month. I'm exhausted after the holidays and spend way too many hours resting (reading.) I always have several going at once. Life is getting busier, though, and fixing to still my reading time. I"ll have to talk to people now. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteMidlife Roadtripper - Funny how we have different reading rhythms throughout the year. Jan/Feb tend to be busy months for me - getting back to FL, then all the guests. March and April are usually better reading months for me... hope that holds true this year! February has been a bust so far.
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