February is always such a weird month! I always start out the month bundled up and tired of the cold but end it wearing shorts and t-shirts and looking forward to Spring. February is the shortest month of every year and yet it feels like the longest.I read many new titles and types of literature but found myself especially drawn to poetry throughout the month as I ended up reading four different poetry collections. I’ve found new favorite authors and explored many a new series. Alongside reading, my graduate classes have been in full swing and I’ve been fascinated by many of my class readings discussing the nature and purpose of archives. I love the field of archival studies and I feel so blessed that I get to study and participate in such cool classes. Overall, February was a good month for me, even though I spent most of it feeling completely exhausted!
Radiance by Grace Draven – I have been a big fan of Grace Draven’s traditionally published works for awhile now so I was excited to pick this one up! Radiance follows Brishen, from the Kai kingdom, and Ildiko a Gauri noblewoman in their marriage to unite the two kingdoms. The two characters come from different worlds and find the other person to be ugly. Despite their outward appearance they develop a beautiful friendship that transforms into love as they learn to see beyond their perceptions of physical beauty. The synopsis for this book is incredibly difficult to describe because it seems more adversary than it actually is but Grace Draven is a master at crafting beautiful romance stories and interesting character dynamics. The relationship between the two feels so sweet and wholesome as they go from friends to lovers and I highly recommend for those interested in fantasy romance!
The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society by Eleanor Janega – Yes, I’m aware that the title of this book is provocative but the book and the content inside is important! I haven’t explored much when it comes to Medieval literature and history outside of the representations of it in modern fantasy so the discussions that took place within this text were fascinating! So much has changed since the Medieval era and yet there is quite a bit that hasn’t changed! The Once and Future Sex really dives into every aspect of female identity and discusses how it was viewed in the Medieval era while breaking down the works of famous Medieval writers (both male and female). I would love to read more books like this and look at how women’s roles were viewed in society in other eras as well. Specifically the Early Modern period because I feel like our awareness of female writers and roles is especially lacking in the field of Renaissance Studies.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – To be completely honest, I hated this book. I wanted so much to love it because I feel like so many people do but it was not my cup of tea. I found the instalove and ending to be incredibly frustrating so I skimmed the last 10% of the book only to find out that I hated the ending even more. The ending of the book feels incredibly sudden and I don’t see a way for the author to justify a healthy relationship throughout the rest of the series. I finished it and immediately put into a pile to get rid of next time I’m at half price books. I know that there is a lot of love for this series but it wasn’t for me so I’m happy to pass it on to someone who will enjoy it!
Rainbow Grey Battle for the Skies by Laura Ellen Anderson – I’m so sad this is the last book in this series! The Rainbow Grey series has been one of my favorite middle grades to read over the last few years! Rainbow Grey follows the young Weatherling’s adventures with her two best friends as they discover Rainbow’s powers and inner strength. The story is accompanied by whimsical plots and illustrations and culminates in a fun story that will pull readers of all ages in! Like I said, I have followed the Rainbow Grey series since book one and Laura Ellen Anderson is one of the best middle grade authors for children interested in both graphic novels and early chapter books. Her books are primarily available in the U.K. and can be difficult to get ahold of in the U.S. but if you can get your hands on them I recommend checking them out! (Bookstores like Blackwell’s in the U.K. do ship for free to the U.S. though. Just something to keep in mind)
Aster of Ceremonies by JJJJJerome Ellis – Aster of Ceremonies is a poetry collection that discusses the Ellis’s experience with dysfluency as a person with a stutter. The poetry collection weaves together his identity as a Black man with American botanical heritage honoring the plants and ancestors who made way for him and his experience with his stutter today. Ellis uses poetic language and dysfluent narrative to emphasize his story telling of enslaved peoples and the flora and fauna that helped to protect them. I found this story to be incredibly thought provoking and hard to read at times but distinct enough in it’s patterns that I couldn’t put it down. While I don’t recommend this to the casual poetry reader, I do recommend it to people interested in modern poetic forms and those interested in discussing neurodivergent experiences through poetry. This book comes from a series of poetry collections all by neurodivergent authors each told in a unique style and I’m excited to explore more of the series!
The Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson – One of my personal goals this year is to pick up more classics and I decided that February is a good month to pick up an old favorite, Emily Dickinson. Dickinson is easily my favorite poet in American history because her poems observe the world through the lens of nature and emotions. She writes about the things she knows and loves like ancient books and the sea. Her poetry carries a beautiful movement to it and I always find myself reading them in a familiar cadence when I do. This collection was short but lovely to reread as someone who has read her poems a million times before! I realized when reading this collection that I don’t know much about her history or life, so my goal is to continue reading Dickinson’s envelope poems and letters this spring and summer.
All About Love: New Visions by Bell Hooks – I am not the biggest fan of “self help” style books but I am a big fan of Bell Hooks. Bell Hooks speaks about love in all it’s different forms and the lack of love crisis plaguing modern families and communities. Hooks speaks of the way our interpersonal connections impact all areas of our lives and the things we can do to improve those connections with others. I appreciated much of Hooks advice and found myself resonating with a majority of her insight. I think there are so many discussions to be had about what love means and how we show it to others. Authentic real love feels unexpected in our modern day world because as Hooks says “we are never taught how to love.” I highly recommend this book to those struggling to connect with others whether that is on a friendly, familial, or romantic level.
the mermaid’s voice returns in this one by Amanda Lovelace – I found this book at Half Price Books and new I couldn’t leave without it. I have devoured all of the poetry collections in this series when they have been released and this collection was no different. While I don’t think this is top tier poetry when compared to other modern day writers, I do think that the stories are effective at getting their point across. They tell the story of heartbreak and misfortune that the author has experienced but it always ends in hope. This story specifically deals with the speaker of the story getting their voice back and using the support provided by others to do so. I enjoyed reading this and read it in one sitting, but recommend that anyone picking it up check content warnings before they do.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo – This book has been on my shelves for ages and I finally picked it up. Girl, Woman, Other follows twelve British women as they tell the story of their lives interweaving amongst each other and the unique experience of Black, British identity. Girl, Woman, Other has won many awards and has been discussed extensively in the U.K. but I don’t hear about it as much among American readers. The stories contained within the book show both the struggles and joys of Black womanhood in the U.K. and the myriad of ways that women experience femininity and identity. I loved reading this and although I don’t read a ton of literary fiction I found myself wanting to pick up more over the next few months. I really loved Evaristo’s writing style because it felt like I was seeing through each person’s eyes. I think it would be interesting to go through the novel and break down what Evaristo did on a sentence structure level because it would be incredibly informative in gaining a deeper understanding of her characters. I highly recommend this book but do warn the reader to check trigger warnings as this book contains a little of everything due to the wide range of experiences and perspectives in the novel.
Eidolon by Grace Draven – I needed a bit of a break after reading literary fiction and decided to escape back into the world of Grace Draven. I like fantasy romance but I love Grace Draven’s books. The aspect of this series that is so wonderful is the communication that she writes. I can’t say much about this book since it’s a sequel, but, I will say that Grace Draven knows how to write characters that talk to each other. One of my most hated tropes in all of romance is the miscommunication trope. I dislike this trope because I think it denies a chance for interesting and vulnerable character development. I mention this because there is a moment of miscommunication in the book that is dealt with quickly and allows the characters to open up more and their relationship to develop further. Eiodolon isn’t my favorite Grace Draven book, but there is a lot going for it and I recomend this series if you want some fantasy romance that is heavy on the fantasy and light (nonexistent) on the toxicity.
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez – I absolutely loved this book! What the River Knows follows Inez as she travels to Egypt to solve the mystery of her parent’s death and disappearance. The story is full of twists and turns and a rivals to lovers romance that creates and atmosphere of dark adventure. It is no secret that I love a good adventure novel and a good adventure storyline. The Mummy is my favorite movie, Veronica Speedwell is one of my favorite series, and The Librarians is one of my favorite tv shows. I love adventure and What the River Knows absolutely delivered the adventure! I can see both the criticisms and love that people have for this book and I have fallen headfirst into the category of people who have loved it. Even though I loved this book I want to note that there were some difficult and hard to read moments in the story despite the fact that it’s YA. The ending was really hard for me to read and even though I’m planning on continuing I want to warn people that the ending was more intense than I usually expect YA to be and that it may be hard to read.
Soul Food: Nourishing Poems for Starved Minds edited by Neil Astley and Pamela Robertson-Pearce – The month of February was a poetic month for me as I explored more poetry and poets than I have in a long time. I picked up Soul Food towards the beginning of February and read it over the course of the month as I got ready for bed. I liked some of the poems in the collection but not all of them. Throughout reading I discovered some new and old favorites but didn’t the find the collection as a whole to be as uplifting and nourishing as I was expecting. I love poetry and have enjoyed exploring poetry since I was young but many of the poems felt out of place or asynchronous with the category it was in. Poetry and the experience of the poetry reader can be extremely subjective which may be where the disconnect came from. Some of the poems that the editors felt to be nourishing didn’t nourish my own soul and the same could be said if I made my own collection. I’m happy I have so many new authors to explore and dig into but I’m a little sad this particular collection of poems didn’t serve the purpose I was hoping.
Fortunately, I have gotten through all the books I read over the last month and I’m happy to say that it was a bunch! I know I’ve mentioned that it isn’t a numbers game for me anymore but I can’t deny the fact that seeing the book stack of physical books that I read this last month was pretty satisfying! I hope that everyone who has read, glimpsed, or skimmed this post has a beautiful day! (Especially if you managed to make it to the end)
Much Ado about Books 