All the Books I Read in February

Carrying on where I left off in January, I have made a list of books I read this month. As the shortest month of the year comes to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on my reading goals. I made a goal to read one book a week as a way to discipline myself and hold myself accountable. What I really like about the list is how different and unique a lot of these books are.

There’s two cookbooks that I didn’t mention on this main list and that’s because I didn’t read them all but just skimmed through. One was a vegan cookbook whilst the other was a cookbook designed for people with diabetics. The latter had many recipes that included meat and some were dairy rich, which did not appeal to me. However, I do have ideas on how to adapt to them plant-based.

The biggest book I read was Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I had the book on my shelf for ages, but never got round to reading it until this month.

I have never seen the musical, but when I got the book, I assumed they would be familiar. I wished that I read the reviews for this book before actually reading it because the book was nothing like how I expected it to be. I was expecting there to be an origin story for the Wicked Witch, but I never expected to read about her sex life. It was interesting to read about one of the fictional worlds I loved as a kid be brought back to life again.

All the Lovers in the Night - Meiko Kawakami

I throughly enjoyed Breasts and Eggs by this author. I was fortunate enough to get a signed version by the author in my local Waterstones bookshop. Having one signed by the author feels that extra special. I love her writing, I felt connected to the protagonist and felt like I could relate to her because of the neurodiverent vibes. I also learned that there is a delicacy called soil soup.

Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis - Wendy Cope

This was a short poetry book that I discovered in the bookshelf of the Oxford Poetry Libary.

Sappho Through English Poetry

I thought reading this book would help me learn about about the greek poet Sappho, but it was a pleasant surprise to read about poetry inspired by Sappho as well.

101 Sonnets: From Shakespeare To Heaney - Don Paterson

These were some finely selected sonnets written by many of the classic authors, and it also included some authors that I didn‘t know. I enjoyed this anthology and I think I would borrow it again at the poetry library if I go there again.

Rapture - Carol Ann Duffy

I own a couple of her poetry books at home, but not this one. I always found Carol Ann Duffy’s poems relatable and comforting.

Hamlet - William Shakespeare

I took part in a research study in an Oxford University where we had to study some passages in Hamlet and it’s connection to mental health in our modern world. I read the Hamlet play so I could get a deeper understanding of the text before going into the session. It gave me many questions. Why does Hamlet push away the woman that adores her? Why was he not crowned King of Denmark after his father’s death? What possessed is Uncle to do the deeds that he did? Had Hamlet had kept Ophelia closer to his side, would the story have turned out better? I always saw Hamlet as the play where everybody died, but since the study, I see the play in a different light .