February was a surprisingly good reading month for me - it's a short month, but I was able to finish 9 books! Several of these I listened to on audio, one I read on Serial. I have been relying a lot on audiobooks to get through books quicker this year, and it seems to be paying off.
Without further ado, the books I read in February! I don't regret reading any of these, and there were several winners in the bunch.
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend - This book was about Morrigan Crow, who is a "cursed child" destined to die on the eve of her 11th birthday, until she is rescued by being whisked off to a fantastical world called Nevermoor, where she competes for entrance into the Wundrous Society. This is basically middle-grade fantasy, and I thought it was really quirky and fun overall! I probably wouldn't let my kids read it until they are older though (if at all), because some of the characters are traditionally evil creatures that are portrayed in a sympathetic light (ex: a lovable, melancholy vampire). I like to be careful about that sort of thing until my kids' worldview and sense of good/evil is well established. So as an adult I enjoyed it, but for my kids, we are going to hold off. Other content notes: There is a lot of talk of "curses", ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena in this imagined world.
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb - This is a memoir by a professional therapist about her experience giving therapy, and receiving therapy herself. I thought this was a really fascinating look into the world of therapy. I don't know that I agree with everything Gottlieb says in this book, but mostly it was just a well-written, interesting story. Content Notes: Language, some talk of intimate relationships, etc.
In Cheap We Trust: The story of A Misunderstood American Virtue by Lauren Weber - I'll say it again, I don't love the title of this book since the traditional phrase is "In God We Trust", which makes the title seem sacrilegious ...but, the subject of this book was very interesting. I picked it up because I am interested in reading more about frugality this year. This book doesn't give many frugal tips, but is more about the history of Americans' attitudes about frugality, and they way it has been interwoven with ideas of patriotism throughout our history. Pretty sure I don't agree with the author's politics, and there were the typical shots taken at Puritans which I find annoying, but overall it was full of a lot of interesting information. I'd recommend if you are interested in frugality as it relates to American history.
America's Expiration Date by Cal Thomas - Are you aware that most "empires" throughout history have either started to decline or fallen by around the 250 year mark? And that America is approaching it's 250th birthday? This book addresses what exactly led to the fall of different empires throughout history, and how America may be on the same track - and what conservative Christians can do about it. This book was worth it for the last two or three chapters alone. I love how Thomas points out the ways we can help America make a turnaround, and his ideas are not what you might think. I found it encouraging and inspiring overall, and I'd recommend it to those of the same political persuasion as me. It's also short, a little book that packs a punch - bonus!
The Woman In The Window by A. J. Finn - This book drew my interest because the protagonist is a woman with agoraphobia (meaning she can't psychologically leave her house). She witnesses a murder while looking out her window, and has to try to convince those around her that she isn't imagining it. In my opinion, this book was just okay. Typical physchological thriller with an unreliable narrator. The ending was creepy, and not that satisfying to me, and it wasn't clean. I wouldn't be apt to recommend it. Content Notes: Inappropriate relationships, an inappropriate scene I skipped (I listened on audio), too many curse words.
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton - This book is the memoir of a man who was falsely accused of murder, and spent 30 (?) years on death row before he was proven innocent and acquitted. I did not agree with the author's viewpoints on everything, and the theology was sometimes questionable. The most interesting parts to me though were about his time in prison, how he overcame bitterness over his wrongful conviction, and particularly how he helped bring hope to the inmates living on death row.
Raising Grateful Kids In An Entitled World by Kristin Welch - I read this book because my book group wanted to try it. I have mixed feelings about it. I don't think it was a bad book overall, and I thought she made some good points in some of her parenting ideas to prevent entitlement in kids. However, most of it seemed pretty common-sense to me. I think my parenting style is very different from the author's, and I have different struggles, so I'm not the target audience for this book. Others may find the advice more helpful. I did not appreciate some of the very personal stories she told about her kids, which in my opinion would have been better left private. My one other beef is that these types of books often talk about "the gospel" a lot, but without ever actually explaining the gospel - why we need to be saved, how one can be saved, or what Christ has done to save us. This book talked a lot about being a Christ-follower, but never explained the message of salvation. When a book focuses on "Christian living" without explaining the gospel fully, what we are left with is a kind of moralism, and I felt like this book fell into that. So it wasn't one I'd recommend.
The Hound Of Baskervilles by Sir Conan Doyle - Would you believe this was my first Sherlock Holmes book ever? I thoroughly enjoyed it. Holmes and Watson have to track down a supernatural hound that is chasing members of a "cursed" family to their deaths. I really enjoyed reading a classic mystery novel from someone besides Agatha Christie (my go-to), and I thought the similarities between the detectives (Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot) were really interesting to see. I'll probably read another Holmes book in the future! Content Notes: Overall, clean. Possibly mild curse words (can't remember now).
For March I am focusing on middle-grade books for "Middle Grade March" (check out this post I wrote last year about why I think middle grade books are good to read as an adult). Hopefully I can have another long book post for you in a few weeks!
Have you read any of these? Did you read anything good in February?
I read the Lori Gottlieb (sp?) memoir and liked it- I agree with you that it was well written and interesting. I have not read any Sherlock Holmes books before but now I just may! I want to read The Sun Does Shine as well.
Love to read these posts!!
I read Maybe You Should Talk to Someone a few years ago and found it very long but fascinating. Her story about her patient, the producer (I think?), is one that I still think about sometimes.
I read A Study in Scarlet recently and LOVED it. I can't believe its taken me so long to read the Sherlock books--they're so good!
Read the Gottleib book too and totally agree with you about the content! It was such a fascinating read though...it was like very rare mix of non-fiction and novel!
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