Saturday, March 07, 2020

Books Read in February

Bare branches and blue skies in February
Another good reading month for me, with lots of variety! Here's what I finished reading in February:

  • Saturday by Ian McEwan (UK) - adult fiction
  • Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (CA, Ghana) - YA fiction on audio

That's five books total--not bad for a short month! I read one nonfiction book and four novels and listened to two of them on audio. Two of the five were teen/YA books, and the rest were for adults. My favorite has to be Hum If You Don't Know the Words, (a re-read), but since that was my favorite book read in 2019, it's not quite fair to the others! I enjoyed all five books, but Solo really blew me away, with its mix of poetry, a moving story, and music (which was especially good on audio). It's an outstanding book, though I would recommend all of these.

Progress in 2020 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the link above. I have some fun ones going this year! Here's how February stacked up:

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020 - I only read 2 books from my own shelves since some of my "TBRs" last month were audios (which I am allowed to count, but I usually just focus on physical books taking up space on our shelves). But I think Saturday should count double since it's been on my shelves for over 10 years!

2020 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - February was Seeing Red (red in the title or on the cover), so Solo works. 
Back to the Classics 2020 - no classics in January or February, but I am determined to do better than last year!

PopSugar Reading Challenge - this is a unique one! I fit all five of my books into categories last month, filling in 11 categories so far this year:
  1. A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics: Saturday by Ian McEwan
  2. A book with a map: An Indigenous People's History of the Unites States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz 
  3. A book about a woman in STEM: State of Wonder by Anne Patchett (pharmaceutical research)
  4. A book with a bird on the cover: Hum If You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais
  5. Your favorite prompt from a past Popsugar Challenge (2019) - A book I meant to read in 2018: Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess
2020 Nonfiction Reader's Challenge - An Indigenous People's History of the Unites States for Young People fit the History category.

2020 Diversity Reading Challenge - Four of my five books were diverse last month (all but 
Saturday), and both Hum If You Don't Know the Words and Solo fit the Black/African American monthly theme.


Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - Another global reading month, with books set in Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, and the UK.

2020 Literary Escapes Challenge - I read books set in two states: Minnesota and California.
And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In February, I filled 21 spaces on my bingo card--excellent for only five books!



Spaces Filled:
State of Wonder - free book, set in a small town, flowers, mystery, hidden treasure
An Indigenous People's History of the US for Young People - library book, read a physical book
Hum If You Don't Know the Words - candy, made you smile, best friends
Saturday - not in a series, shelf love, less than 400 pages, contemporary
Solo - red on the cover, audio book, romance, poetry, band, concert
Free Space
What was your favorite book read in February?

6 comments:

  1. Great reads for the month. I enjoy Alexander's books but haven't read any of these ones. Will check them all out.

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    1. This was my first of Kwame Alexander's books - now I want to read more!

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  2. What a great month of reading! And you're doing so well on your reading challenges, that's wonderful.

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    1. Thanks, Helen - I always enjoy seeing my progress at the end of the month (and reliving the good books!)

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  3. I enjoyed some great reads in February, probably top were The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and The Darkest Shore by Karen Brooks, both inspired by true events.
    Thanks for sharing your fav.

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    1. oooh, I hadn't heard of those two yet, Shelley! Thanks for the recommendations!

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