The Rest Of My February Reading

Well the last half of February flew by, which makes sense as it's the shortest time period of the year where I track reading (less than fourteen days). However, I had an unexpected six days off work in there so I still got a lot of reading done. (I don't always work on Thursdays, Friday was a snow day, Monday was a stat holiday, and Dave was sick on Tuesday which meant none of us could go to work/school and Voila! unexpected "six days off work.")

This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be more about the author, and while his story and experiences were definitely a part of the book, it was a lot more about telling his father's story. It includes issues like residential schools, "white passing," and, of course, racism, but it is also just the story of a man's relationship with his dad too. I think everyone deserves to have their story told like this.

I don't even have the words to describe this book. HOW did we not all know this story already?!?! At the end of the book, which I flew through despite it being over 450 densely worded pages, I was appalled and disgusted.

This book was really fun. I know some people who loved it and some people who thought it was "meh." For me, I fall about in the middle. I thought it was a good book but it definitely isn't one of the better ones I've read. However, it's a truly sweet story about two kids being raised by their uncle and the way that the kids, especially, affect the uncle is just a really good story.

I thought this book was so interesting. I loved how the present day story line was included. Even though the story was told from three different voices, it was easy to tell who was who, even when the stories overlapped. I can't really describe it but I just really liked this book. It's a love story/mystery/historical fiction mix and I was here for it all.

I don't know if I'll read anymore Christina Lauren. I thought their early books were so good but the last few I've read have left me "meh." This also has The One vibes in that it speaks to online dating and soulmates and DNA and genetics. Also, this book had a few lines which left me going, "Huh?!?!?" They just seemed superfluous and random, like when the main character compared the shock of hearing the love interest's laugh like "the shock of an erotic spanking." Say what?!?!?! This wasn't an "erotic spanking" kind of book so it just didn't fit. So yeah, it left me with many feelings of "meh."

This was a surprisingly funny book given that the author is writing about her experience about having a brain tumour. While there are many dark moments (when she tells her kids, when she can't swallow anything for four months, etc), there are many moments when I laughed out loud. My only criticism is that this author had a very privileged experience of dealing with a brain tumour in that she had a huge circle of resources to draw on -- she knew a neurosurgeon personally who could advise her, she had a major Catholic prayer warrior, she had a huge family to support her, etc. So I kept thinking that yes, humour is helpful but so is having all those resources and help.

This was a book of short stories all based around one day -- the New York City suffragette march on October 23, 1915. It was interesting but I don't really love short stories. If you like short stories and are interested in thirteen stories on one topic, then I would recommend this to you.

This book was so incredible to read. It's the autobiography of one of the original organizers of Black Lives Matter. This is a book about poverty, about racism, about the prison system, and what it takes to fight on despite all the odds being stacked against you, and your family, and your neighbourhood. This is a powerful book.

I picked this book up because in so much my reading from BIPOC authors, they mention this play over and over again. I'd really like to see it performed live because I think it's a really powerful play. Reading the poetry, with all the stage directions, just didn't have the same effect and I feel like I'm missing something. There were a few lines which took my breath away with their power though and I'm still thinking about them.

So that was my end of February reading. Do you like short stories? Do you like reading plays? What medium speaks to you the most? For me, it's definitely fiction (or powerful non-fiction) but not really short stories and poems.