Here in London, we ended February on a very cold (and snowy) note, which meant I had plenty of lazy reading time to squeeze in one final book at the end of the month. I reached mid-February and felt very unaccomplished with regards to reading, but managed to pull through and read 6 books in the short month.
In other news, we finally moved back into our house and have a new kitchen. This means that time I normally would have spent reading was spent unpacking, organizing, and shopping for home goods online. Lots of content about our new kitchen/home decorating will be coming soon so keep your eyes peeled if you’re even remotely interested! Now, back to the books! Here is my February 2018 Reading Roundup, which I’m linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy for:
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. To read more about affiliate links, check out my Disclaimer.
Books I Finished
I read the following 6 books in February. I have linked to my review of each of them:
- The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo ★★★★★
- The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking ★★★★
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys ★★★★
- The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden ★★★★★
- The Liar’s Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard (ARC) ★★★★
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Audiobook) ★★★★
ARC = I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review. You can read my review by clicking the link above.
Book of the Month
This one is a toughy because I don’t think one book in particular stood out above the others like The Bear and the Nightingale did last month. However, I am going to go with The Light We Lost as my February pick for book of the month! Because I literally DEVOURED it!
As I’ve mentioned many times, I love Reese Witherspoon’s book club and this was her pick for February. Thanks to a Kindle Daily Deal, I managed to snatch it up for 99p! I started reading it one evening after work and stayed up until like 1am finishing it. I just couldn’t put it down! It’s a story about an addicting love, and how a relationship like that follows you throughout your entire life. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and I really want it to be a movie. (UPDATE: Apparently it will be!!!!) I would not call it a lighthearted read, but it is a quick read, so I recommend it if you’re in a reading rut or looking for something easy.
Books I’m Currently Reading
- You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- A Short History of Drunkenness by Mark Forsyth (Audiobook)
- The Power by Naomi Alderman – My current book club selection!
Although I hate to admit it, I am actually struggling through A Gentleman in Moscow. It’s been a very weird reading experience because I like everything I’ve read, but just keep picking up other books over A Gentleman in Moscow. I could do with a day just sitting down and reading it and only it. I’m sure I’ll get through it eventually and will finally be able to move it to ‘Books I Finished’!
A Note on Audiobooks:
Audiobooks and I don’t generally get along. I have tried (and failed) so many times to get into them, but I just don’t think we’re meant to be. I love being able to set my own pace and I find myself getting way too distracted while listening.
However, this month I actually found some success listening to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, thanks to our Amazon Echo Dot. I listened while unpacking our kitchen and cleaning, and it was actually really nice. I do think I missed out on a few things that I wouldn’t have missed while reading, but it was nice to mix it up a bit. Sean and I are also listening to A Short History of Drunkenness while cooking in the evening and it’s hilarious. So I may become an audiobook convert after all. I just need to find the right books!
Next up: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – I watched the HBO series and know the story, so thought listening to the book would be fun!
Click here for a free trial of Audible to try it out for yourself!
Books I Purchased/Downloaded/Borrowed
This month, I spent £17.97 and bought 4 new books and 2 audiobooks, averaging £3.59 per book. I also made my big return to the library, now that we’re back in Clapham, but restrained myself and only took out 2 books.
- Neighborly: A Novel by Ellie Monago (Kindle First) – Available on Kindle Unlimited
- The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden (Kindle)
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (Library)
- Swing Time by Zadie Smith (Library)
- The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen (Kindle) – only £1 on Kindle!
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Audible)
- Mothers by Cath Weeks (Kindle) – currently only 99p on Kindle
- Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (Audible)
The first of many photos from my new bedside table!
Alright, I was doing pretty well in the book buying/spending department in February, but leave it to the last day of the month to screw everything up! On February 28, I purchased 3 paperbacks on Amazon for £28.95 (#sorrynotsorry):
- Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo – I just joined the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club and this is her pick for March. It sounds like an incredible story and I can’t wait to read it!
- Beartown by Fredrik Backman – I’ve been wanting to read this for awhile now and, for some reason, just really wanted it in paperback. I think it’s because I already see myself recommending it and want to be able to loan out a copy!
- Entrepreneur Revolution by Daniel Priestley – Sean just listened to this on Audible and is convinced I’ll love it. But I much prefer to read business and finance books in paper form so I can highlight, take notes, etc.
Our bookshelf is filling up, so I should probably cool it a bit. But don’t worry – we have plenty of surfaces in the house that aren’t covered yet! Also, side note, we’re on the hunt for a new bookshelf so give me a shout if you have a recommendation for one that holds a lot but doesn’t look bulky.
Note: Deals mentioned are active as of 1 March 2018
Reading Challenge Progress
- Popsugar Reading Challenge: Progress This Month: 3 – Overall Progress: 9/40
- Reading Goal: Progress This Month: 6 – Overall Progress: 13/60
For those of you following along with my PopSugar Reading Challenge progress, I ticked off the following prompts this month:
- A book from a celebrity book club (The Light We Lost)
- A book set at sea (Salt to the Sea)
- A book about mental health (Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine)
Let me know what you’re reading at the moment! Also, if you follow any of my recommendations, let me know what you think. Happy Reading!
6 comments
Oh my gosh…. I’m half way through The Bear and The Nightingale and there are no words to describe how much I love this book. Thank you so much for your amazing and beautiful blog and for introducing me to what might just be my favorite book so far this year.
You are too kind! I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying The Bear and the Nightingale – it’s easily one of the best books I’ve read in recent years! 🙂
How was Salt and the Sea?! That’s been on my list for awhile
I really enjoyed it! It definitely feels very YA, so was a quick, effortless read. But still a good (and emotional) story. And I learned about an event in history I had no idea about before, so double win!
The Light We Lost sounds interesting!
It was a really enjoyable read – I highly recommend it if you’re looking for something quick!