February by the Numbers
Total Books Read – 10
Total Books Finished – 8
DNF – 1
To be Continued in March – 1
Total Pages Read – 3,301
Average Pages / Day – 114
Hard Copy Books – 1
E-Books – 4
Audio Books – 3
I wouldn’t say that I officially ran into a reading slump in February, but generally for me, February is just an overall slump of a month… Fortunately, for the most part, the books I read were stellar and highly entertaining. I didn’t give out any 5-Star ratings, but I don’t know if that’s just because I’m picky or maybe because I’m still a little slumpy.
Top Reads of February, 2020
The Rooster Bar by John Grisham
In a nutshell, The Rooster Bar is a story about three law-school drop-outs who figure out that the education that they’re banking on to get them back in the red from school loans is basically defunct and a dead-end career. From there, the students embark on a series of very questionable life choices, which lead them farther and farther down the rabbit hole.
Now admittedly, I know absolutely NOTHING about law school, becoming a lawyer or having hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt looming over my head, so as far as I know, this story could either be dead on the mark and nearly and expose of the state of affairs… OR…. this could be about as crazy a fantasy novel as flying monkeys… The important thing is that John Grisham SOLD me on the plot being believable. I went on a wild adventure with the three main characters and each time they were faced with a life decision, I was on board saying “yeah, that might work out”, only to be dashed against the rocks again and again.
It was an incredibly entertaining journey… Just glad that I didn’t have my student debts or future prospects riding on it.
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
This book was the only book that I read in hard copy format in February, mostly because it took the better part of February to read it. This is the first book EVER that I am genuinely glad that I watched the T.V. Series before reading the book. it was a great help in getting through this, because I’m not sure I could have kept all the characters straight without that reference in my head. But the story was very solid, the T.V. Series clearly kept fairly true to the story and format of the books and I found the overall reading experienced enhanced and enjoyable. I’m not sure if March is going to be the right time to take on the second book in the series, but I’ll try not to leave myself hanging as long as I had to wait for the T.V. Seasons to be released.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
I borrowed this on a short (7-day) rental from the local library and was just hoping that I could get it done before it had to go back and be put on hold or purchase it. I had heard mixed reviews about this one and wasn’t sure I’d be able to dig right into the plot. The plot, however, was pleasantly surprising. I found that I immediately became invested in multiple characters, on both sides of the many, many disputes / conflicts in this story.
Sitting here, I find myself struggling to describe this book or its plot lines. without crossing into spoiler territory. I guess what I can say is that it’s a lively, fast-paced story about the definition of family and what makes a “family” from many different perspectives.
March TBR
I’m not sure exactly what I’m planning to read in March yet. So far I haven’t got too far down my 2020 TBR, so maybe it’s time to pick up the first Harry Potter book, since I have them in hard copy and ebook, or maybe try out A Curse So Dark and Lonely. I’m nearly finished The Flatshare which is an exceptional audio book, but then I have a big, gaping hole in my TBR shelf. Maybe I’ll give myself a few days into March and see how I feel. Right now I’m just so glad to be done with February, that it’s hard to focus on reading when there are so many other things to do (spring cleaning)…
Book-Nook Call Out:
Looking for a really good “can’t put down” page-turner book to kick off March. Open to any suggestions, but something a few years older that I might find in my local library’s collection would be appreciated…
Thanks for reading this… hope everyone’s out of their February blahs and fingers crossed for an early spring into March!
Book Nook 