If you read my post when I returned after a hiatus, you may know that January has been a pretty chaotic month for me. That being said, January’s reading did not quite go as planned! While it was a bit of a stretch for a TBR, I didn’t get to reading The Lord of the Rings in any capacity. This month remains ambitious, but I’m hoping February will be a lot better than January.
So without further ado, here are my reading plans for February!
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Translated by Alan R. Clarke
The Alchemist follows Santiago, who travels from his home in Spain to Egypt in search of a buried treasure. Along the way, he meets three people that point him the direction of the treasure. They are unsure of what the treasure contains or whether Santiago makes it, but one treasure found along the way is the discovery within.
I bought this book as part of the January BOTM from Tuma’s Books and Things. I’ve also heard lots of love for this book from other bloggers and Bookstagrammers recommending me to read it, and it sounds like a very meaningful and moving story from what I’ve learned from others.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and the One Ring, possessed by Sauron, enabled him to rule above all others. But one day the One Ring was taken from him, and many years later it fell into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. This story explores Bilbo’s journey across Middle Earth to destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.
Aaaaand it’s back on the TBR! I’m really looking forward to just taking one weekend and immersing myself in this series. Again, I’m not confident that I’ll read the whole thing in a month (and definitely don’t want to cram it). But I’m definitely looking forward to what I will read regardless!
The Body is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Body is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as a response to the systems that damage the relationships we have with our bodies. Sonya Renee Taylor guides us to realize our own body shame and reconnect with our bodies, our minds, and our strength.
This is the Feminist Book Club pick for February. It’s been on my radar for a little while now so I’m looking forward to finally reading it. I also found out that through FBC we’re getting the second edition of this book a little early. I’m not quite sure what’s added in the second version, but I’m definitely excited for that1
A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
A Dark and Hollow Star takes place in the city of Toronto, where the Eight Courts of Law have lived and sworn to do no harm against humans. That is, until a series of murders rocks the city and threatens to expose faeries to the world, while a war is brewing between the Mortal and Immortal realms. The story follows four teens that each know truths about the murder and must work together to find the murderer.
I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley! I found this book while looking at 2021 releases and I loved the sound of the storyline. I’ve definitely been in the mood for SFF stories as well so I feel like it’s great timing to read this one.
The Removed by Brandon Hobson
The Removed follows the Echtora family, who lost their teenage son, Ray-Ray, to a police shooting fifteen years ago. The family grieves quietly, each member of the family in their own way. The annual bonfire is coming up, signaling the Cherokee National Holiday, and the anniversary of Ray-Ray’s death. Maria attempts to call the family together at this time to openly discuss Ray-Ray’s memory, but as the days to the bonfire draw nearer, the family finds themselves caught in a blur between their lives and the spirit world.
This was another book I found while browsing 2021 releases that I really wanted to read. I’m especially looking forward to reading about Cherokee folklore and how it integrates with the story and each of the family members over the course of the book. Since I’m further down on the list of library holds I’m not quite sure if I’ll be reading this book this month. However, my library usually buys more copies on release day, so hopefully I’ll be reading it sooner rather than later!
Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
Four Hundred Souls is a chronological history of stories of Black America over the course of four hundred years. These stories are told by ninety authors, including scholars, activists, historians, journalists, and many others who restored and redefined how we write history.
This was, again, another book I found while browsing 2021 releases. In the last few years especially I’ve been seeing just how much the way history is written leaves out stories and/or impacts the narrative that we teach. That being said, this book seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn more about Black history and the many stories that I either did not know of, or will learn about from a perspective new to me.
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
The Space Between Worlds takes place in a universe where multiverse travel is finally possible, but nobody can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. The story follows Cara, who has already lost 372 counterparts to various causes of death. This makes her a perfect candidate for multiverse travel, but when one of her eight remaining counterparts dies mysteriously, she is flung into a new world with an old secret, and what she discovers is her role in a plot that could endanger the entire multiverse.
This book has been on my radar since it came out, and I finally grabbed a copy of it. I’ve heard nothing but great things from other readers and the plot sounds like it will be such a page-turner. I can’t wait for this one!
Those are all of my planned reads for February! Let me know if you read any of these or plan to. Also, let me know if you plan on reading any new releases this month! I feel like we have a ton of new, amazing books coming our way this month!
RELATED POSTS
2021 Reading Goals
February might be more than halfway over, but…better late than never, right?
I actually intended to post this in early January, but obviously, that never happened! As a result, this has been sitting in my drafts for quite some time now. I set these goals in December of last year but I really wanted to share them, and I also want to do some check-in blog posts throughout the year.
Speaking of goal check-ins, before I share what my reading goals are for 2021, I want to share how I did with my 2020 reading goals.
January 2021 Wrapup
January was quite a hectic and difficult month for me. If you haven’t read my recent posts, I became ill and have needed to take some time to physically recover. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of people went through a bad first month of the year as well! If your January wasn’t the best either, I hope February ends up being much better.
Despite all of the chaos of this month, I did still manage to read nine books. I’m surprised by this as I’m dealing with pretty frequent migraines, but it looks like on the days I wasn’t dealing with that I was reading quite a bit. (I guess because my motion has been pretty limited as of late!) I can’t say that I loved every book, but the ones I did I really really enjoyed.
Part of me is also thinking of adding other elements of my life to my wrap-ups – what do you think? I personally like this on blogs because I feel like I’m getting to know the blogger a bit better. I also kind of want to add some stats to my wrap-ups (which I did below) because I really wanted to make use of the cool counters that came with the Divi Builder. 😅
Anyway, here’s everything I read this January and my thoughts!
December 2020 Wrap-up
This December, I read nine books. I didn’t get to everything on my TBR; I’m currently in the middle of two books I carried over from December. I knew my TBR was a bit ambitious for December, so it’s not too much of a surprise that I didn’t finish it. So what does my January TBR look like? Even more books than I had for December! Yaaay! 🙃
December was a bit of a weird month for me because I spent so much time working, so I didn’t dedicate as much time to bookish activities as I normally would have. Regardless, I did find some books this month that I really enjoyed.
Anyway, here’s everything I read this month, and my thoughts on each of them!
It’s been ages since I last read the Lord Of The Rings books! I hope you will enjoy them. Here’s to a great February!
Thank you! I can’t wait to dive into them. Happy February!