what I read in february

Hi everyone! It’s mid-way through March, so what better time to come out with a Feb wrap-up? I read a lot more than I usually do in February, finishing 6 months in a shortened month so that was great.

I have pretty much not set any TBR’s or goals with reading this year (except to read more translated fiction) so my reading has kind of been all over the place in terms of the kind of stuff I’ve been picking up. But it’s been nice to have a variety of things I’m reading at once. I read a mix of fantasy, classics, historical fiction, non-fiction and contemporary this month. Let’s get into the books I read

these violent delights by chloe gong: This book was so super hyped up on twitter, which is how it initially caught my attention. It’s a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set in Shanghai in 1926. Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov are heads of opposing feuding gangs. I really loved the set up of this book but it started to drag a little for me in the second half. The relationship between Roma and Juliette and the spin on Romeo and Juliet was definitely the highlight. I’m not sure if I’l read the sequel, but if people are interested in the premise I would definitely still tell them to give it a try.

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the autobiography of malcolm x: as told by alex haley: One of those books ‘everyone should read’ which I am so glad I finally got to. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Laurence Fishburne which I HIGHLY recommend, he did such a good job. This is just one of those books where there isn’t much to say, it’s all been said. But I really think everyone should read it. It delves into Malcolm X’s life, his relationship with Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, his politics and some of the pivotal moments of his life.

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the raven king by nora sakavic: One of my favourite series which I started rereading last year. This was my first time reread the raven king (I always reread the third one) but I’m glad I decided to read it again because it was a super fun experience! There was definitely a lot of things I picked up that I missed the first time reading, and some stuff I completely forgot happened. Also.. Andrew Minyard favourite boy deserves the world

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the city of brass by s.a chakraborty: I actually tried to read this on audiobook last year and didn’t like the narrator, so I got the physical copy. And I ended up… not finishing it again. I just couldn’t get into it. I thought it was super slow, the politics wasn’t really well explained and I didn’t really care for the characters or their romance. I had 250 pages left but it felt like a chore reading this.

giovanni’s room by james baldwin: My favourite book I read in Feb. I’ve been meaning to start reading James Baldwin for a long time and I’m so glad I started with Giovanni’s Room. This book was stunning. The writing is so lyrical and beautiful, which was probably the highlight for me. I also loved how it explored it’s themes, particularly sexuality, manhood and queer spaces and experiences in 1950’s Paris.

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season of migration to the north by tayeb salih: In 2021, I set myself a challenge to read more translated novels, and this was my first one (It was translated from the original Arabic by . Set in Sudan, this is a postcolonial novel inspired by Heart of Darkness (I book I had to read for Literature in Uni twice, and super hate) so I was excited to see what Tayeb Salih did with this. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book overall. I liked parts of it, but I felt like other parts totally went over my head. I liked the setting and the spin on Heart of Darkness, but it’s probably not a book that will stick with me for a long time.

That was everything I read in February. As a March spoiler, I can tell you this wrap-up is much bigger than my March one will be. I really enjoyed this reading month, both Giovanni’s Room and The Autobiography of Malcolm X are early front-runners for my favourites of the year list.

Let me know what you read in February, or what you think of any of these books if you’ve read them!

until next time