February Wrap-Up

So how did I do with my TBR?  I started The Bear and the Nightingale, Born a Crime, and Pride and Prejudice.  I’m reading The World According to Narnia as part of a book club, and it moved slowly, so I will be reading that for a bit.  This is a fair bit better than I normally do, so woohoo!  🙂

• The Poet X – Elizabeth Acevedo
• King of Scars – Leigh Bardugo
• The One and Only Ivan – Katherine Applegate
• The World According to Narnia – Jonathan Rogers
• The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden (Re-read)
• The Girl in the Tower – Katherine Arden
• Black Leopard, Red Wolf – Marlon James
• Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Serpent’s Secret – Sayantani DasGupta
• Born a Crime – Trevor Noah
• Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

February was a pretty good reading month.  Here are my stats:

• Books Read – 15
• Pages Read – 3998
• Average Pages/Day – 143
• Average Days Per Book – 1.87

5-Star Reads

Black Leopard, Red Wolf: I highly anticipated this book, and it did not disappoint.  I spent the entire first section remarking about how weird it was.  It is weird.  🙂  But the story telling is immersive and so solid.  I am very much looking forward to the next!

Interpreter of Maladies: A collection of solid stories.  I read about half the stories last year and then put it down for about six months or so.  I was pleasantly surprised to remember all of the stories.  They are solid; the kind of stories that settle inside and sit with you.  I am very much looking forward to reading more by Lahiri.

The One and Only Ivan: I read Wishtree last year and loved it, so I had expectations for this one (and of course, it’s not unknown).  Applegate does such a great job creating depth with simple story telling.  So great.

4- and 4.5-Star Reads

Letters to the Lost: I really enjoyed this story.  The characters are compelling and interesting.  Both of the main characters have relationships with many people (and even with adults, which is often so lacking in YA).  There was a bit of plot at the end that took a little bit away from the story for me, but overall I still really enjoyed it.

More Than We Can Tell: This is a “follow-up” or “companion” to Letters to the Lost.  I wasn’t sure I would like this as much, but I ended up liking it more.  The characters were again compelling.  I did not love Emma.  She was spoiled and self-centered, but the author doesn’t suggest that these are good traits.  She ends up growing as a character, which I appreciated it.

My Lady Jane: What a fun and delightful read.  So silly, but fun.  I am looking forward to the next installment.  🙂

Art Matters: I love Neil Gaiman.  And Chris Riddell’s artwork is wonderful.

3- and 3.5-Star Reads

The Ghost Map: This would have been a 4- or 5-star read for me if the book had ended at its conclusion. Instead, the author adds an epilogue that has lots of commentary about how it’s essential that we all embrace Darwinian theory and that a city-planet would be the most awesome-est ever!  Also, it would have been great to see all the maps he was referencing in The Ghost Map chapter. 🙂

The Poet X:  I did not love the writing style and ultimately I think it detracted from the author’s ability to tell a more fully realized story.  But I also appreciated that X grows throughout the novel and attempts to repair her relationships in a healthy way.

King of Scars: Disappointing, but okay.  I really enjoyed Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, and I was hoping for more development of characters (as opposed to the Grisha trilogy, which I did not enjoy as much).  Unfortunately the plot felt contrived and there was little character development or growth.  I hoped for more.

Comics

Black Panther (in space): I struggle with comics because storylines can be too underdeveloped and this is the case here.  We see maybe-T’Challa fight.  A lot.  But very little else is explained or developed.  I might enjoy this more as a trade paperback, when I am able to enjoy more of the story.

Shuri: I quite enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of Shuri’s story!

(Home) School Reads

Li Lun, Lad of Courage: I appreciated this for the lessons of courage and perseverance.  The illustrations were lovely.  There was not as much exploration of Chinese culture as I hoped for, but it was an enjoyable story.

Coming to America: I quite enjoy Betsy Maestro’s books, and this was no exception.  The book highlights and celebrates America as a nation of immigrants.  She is straightforward (and sometimes blunt for a children’s book) about negative aspects of history but also positive in her overall approach and outlook.