Well I do seem to be in danger of forever repeating myself – but I haven’t had the best reading month in some ways. The number of books read is again very low – I look back on the days when I would regularly read 9-10 books a month and more and wonder how on earth I did it – and where did that extra time come from. I can’t really blame February for being short as it’s only two or three days shorter.
Anyway I have a plan of sorts to try and utilise my time better – I think that’s what I probably used to do – as I have always watched quite a lot of TV. I’m fortunate to get home from work fairly early, so I have a lovely slot of time there – before I need to be getting dinner etc – when I can have a good read. The trouble is that lately I have been so exhausted I rarely use that time for reading, I often just slump in the chair with the TV on – not really watching it – scrolling through my phone, and generally falling asleep. I do struggle with fatigue in the afternoons, but I am hoping that with the slightly lighter afternoons, that may improve slightly. I have so many great books I’m looking forward to getting to, that it’s a shame if I continue reading so little. I’ll let you know how it goes.
So, only six books completed – although one was over 500 pages – and I have started a seventh but that can go onto March’s pile as much of it will be read in March. I am taking comfort in the fact that I enjoyed all these very much – and at least one could easily be on my books of the year list.
My first book of February was The Gosling Girl by Jacqueline Roy (2022). It’s a moving and powerful novel, a thoroughly gripping story of institutional racism. It examines the deep psychological effects of a crime committed in childhood, alongside society’s ideas of evil and its reluctance to forgive and forget.
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (2020) was chosen by my book group as our February read – and was a great success. It gave us such a lot to discuss and was an enormously compelling read into the bargain. The author based her novel around the Vardø witch trials which took place in Finnmark, Norway in 1621.
In 1617 around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø a terrible storm arrives with appalling suddenness taking with it most of the men of Vardø who were out fishing. One young woman, Maren stands watching helplessly as the sea takes her father, brother, and fiancé. Now they are an island of women, fending for themselves, until a stranger arrives with his new wife, with orders to bring the women to heel.
My Caravaggio Style by Doris Langley Moore (1959) published by Dean Street Press was a good fit for #ReadIndies – I didn’t do as well with this challenge as I had hoped.
This is a novel about Byron obsessions and an audacious literary fraud. The novel is narrated by bookseller and author Quentin Williams, who decides to try and create a copy of Byron’s lost memoirs – burned by his friends after his death. The author herself knows a good deal about Byron, having had a lifelong obsession with him, and even makes a brief appearance herself in this novel.
The Narrows by Ann Petry (1953) a book I bought with those Christmas book vouchers and was so looking forward t reading. I knew it would take a while, as I was reading slowly, but part of it I read during half term, when I could speed up a bit. Unforgettable characters in a novel about love, lust, class, racism, tabloid journalism, the truth and betrayal – Petry writes her story flawlessly, giving us characters we won’t easily forget. Most of the characters inhabit the area of Monmouth, Connecticut called The Narrows – a black community within what is a largely white town.
The Dear Departed by Brian Moore (2020) – a collection of stories all of which seem to date from the 1950s and 60s although this edition was produced more recently. Published by Turnpike books it was another for #ReadIndies. Eight tightly written little stories, which I had intended to read last year during the Brian Moore centenary. It may be hard to review a couple of the stories – so I may just write about a few of them. Brian Moore is such a good writer though.
Random Commentary by Dorothy Whipple (1966) is there any better combination? A Persephone book and an unread Dorothy Whipple – it was just what I needed as half term came to a close. Compiled from notebooks and journals kept from 1925 onwards, I found this to be utterly charming and revealing. I shall keep most of my thoughts for my review – but oh my how I loved this book, it makes me want to reread all my Whipples – but then I remember that tbr! Another one that counted for #ReadIndies too – so I did manage to join in a bit.
Moving on to March – and with March comes the promise of spring – though we still face a lot of rainy, cold days – it feels like it’s getting closer. I have no reading plans at all – for even my book group read, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is one I read fairly recently. Which means I am going with mood all month. I may join in with the Librarything themed read which is authors of just one VMC – you’d be amazed at what a long list of possibles there are.
As ever I would love to know what your reading plans for March are if you have them – and what brilliant things did you read in February?