This month has been my best reading month since submitting my PhD in November, and I’m really enjoying getting back into reading. The weather here in Spain has definitely helped, and I’ve enjoyed getting to sit outside and read in the sunshine.
I’ve also been pretty much exclusively reading from my own shelves, and have been seriously tackling the TBR (much needed).
As part of taking part in the 75 Hard Challenge, I’ve been reading non-fiction every single day, completing two books this month which makes it three non-fiction books finished since starting the challenge in January.
I’ve had a really mixed bag with book ratings this month, experiencing very high highs and very low lows, but I’m so happy with how much I managed to read. I’m feeling overall great about all my reading this month.
I’m also thrilled to be active on Bookstagram again, posting much more regularly and getting to chat about books every day. If you don’t already follow me on there, find me @readwhileitrains.
February Statistics
Books Read: 9
DNF: 1
Average rating: 3.78
Vibes: Dark, reflective, mysterious.
Reading Goal: Ahead by 5 books!
Balancing the Books: Uhhhh I have hauled 11 books this month!!! I have read 8 books from my TBR. (Help!) I have also unhauled 1 book that I DNFd and another that I am not even going to start. (I have given up on Murakami and was given this second hand copy that I’m going to unhaul).
The Best
By far and away, my favourite book of February was Rouge by Mona Awad. This book has stayed with me since I read it a few weeks ago, and was so thought-provoking and extremely strange. It’s also a book that I can understand being very divisive. It’s weird, uncomfortable, creepy, and features Tom Cruise quite a lot (kind of!).
My other favourite of the month was The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa. Ogawa is cemented as one of my favourite authors of all time after reading this, after the successes of both The Memory Police and Revenge. It is such a lovely story, with tonnes of depth to each of the characters. It breaks down stereotypes and showcases the best of humanity. I just adored reading this book.
The Worst
One of my least favourite books of February was Only a Monster by Vanessa Len. This book started strong and had me hooked from the start, but soon became very, very silly. The main character made ridiculous decisions at every turn and not even the most intense scenes felt like they had any depth or emotion to them. Similarly, each of the characters felt very flat and unmemorable. Not a series I plan to continue with. I found it so disappointing as I really liked the concept of stealing time, and thought the first couple of chapters were fun.
The other miss for me was Big Swiss by Jen Beagin. Unfortunately I have very little in the way of positive things to say about this book. I found it crass, unnecessarily gross, boring, and like it was trying much too hard to be edgy. I saw none of the humour in this book that others have found and frankly I am excited to unhaul it so it is out of my home.
In March, I will be travelling back to Edinburgh for my PhD viva. I’m still hoping to get a lot of reading done but I am being kind to myself and trying to relax, even if that means just watching RHOBH instead of any reading! Stay posted for my gently ambitious TBR plans to come soon.
Read While It Rains 
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