What I Read in February

9 books! Mostly audio! What is happening?!

Hello, dear friends!

Welcome to March and to a February reading recap. My reading last month was…strange. It was highly unusual for me in several ways.

• The pace: In January, I read 8 books and declared I wouldn’t be able to keep up that pace for long. Well, in February I read 9 books. The first contributing factor is that I’m mostly staying off Instagram these days. But the second thing is…

• Audiobooks! Of the 9 books I read in February, 6.5 of them were read on audio. I can’t even believe it. Before November, I could have counted all the audiobooks I’d read in my life on one hand. Audio is still not preferred way to read—BUT! It is allowing me to finish more books that would otherwise languish on my TBR, and the easy availability of free audio on Libby (via my library) is too good to pass up on. It’s also helping me be more productive, because I can listen while doing other tasks. (I will say that music, podcasts, and Youtube have all taken a big hit. “Yes” to one thing always means “no” to something else!)

• Lots of middle grade books! I don’t know if this is strange, necessarily, because I absolutely adore middle grade literature. But, it turns out, middle grade is lovely on audio (and often pretty shore, as audiobooks go).

• Festival of Faith & Writing Prep: I am attending the Festival of Faith and Writing in April, and so I’m dedicating a lot of my reading to authors who will be speaking there! In February, that was 3 out of 9!

All that out of the way, here’s what I read in February:¹

Book Club & Black History Month:

In February, my local book club did a “choose your own book” theme, with a focus on Black authors for Black History Month. I ended up reading 3 books in that vein, which were…

1. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson: I started this book in print and listened to about half of it on audio. The accents of the characters adds a lot to this story. An exploration of family, culture, grief, and forgiveness. This books switches time period and perspectives frequently, and it felt slightly disjointed to me; I thought it could have done with perhaps one or two fewer perspectives. But overall, I really enjoyed it.

2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: This is a classic that I have been meaning to read for many years. I did the audio, narrated by Maya Angelou herself which was wonderful. She has such an iconic voice. This is a hard story to listen to (with content warnings for racism, violence, sexual assault, etc.) but so valuable and so well-told.

3. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson: Leah Johnson is a local author and bookstore owner here in Indy. I read one of her middle grade books in January and picked this up on audio from libby. I really enjoyed it! I don’t read much YA, but I thought this was fun and well-done. The narrator is excellent. If you like warmhearted and cozy YA with diverse characters, this is a great read.

Middle Grade:

1. Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt: I think I saw this recommended on a Substack newsletter, but I can’t remember! It is a novel-in-verse about a young girl who is struggling socially and begins to realize she may be on the autism spectrum. I didn’t love all the writing here, especially compared to other novels-in-verse I’ve read. But there is a lot to enjoy in this story and it’s a valuable read for anyone who loves a neurodivergent child.

2. Opinions and Opossums by Ann Braden: Again, I can’t remember where I came across the recommendation for this book! But it was basically tailor made for me—including intergenerational relationships, neighbors, faith, female friendship, and young girls who are working out what they believe about God and themselves. Though I thought it was a little heavy-handed at times (do 12 year-olds really talk like this? I’m not sure), I really loved it.

Festival of Faith and Writing:

1. The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt: LOVE. My favorite book this month. I have never read any of Gary Schmidt’s books, which was a major gap in my middle grade repertoire. He is also a retired Calvin University professor and always a speaker/facilitator at the Festival. This is Schmidt’s latest, and it is absolutely wonderful. I laughed, I cried, I clutched my Kindle to my chest, I made my husband listen to me gush about the plot and characters. I started crying around 3/4 of the way through and basically had my heart in my throat the rest of the way—in the best possible way. If you love middle grade, you will love this book. I can’t wait for Ian to read it.

2. White Picket Fences by Amy Julia Becker: I heard Becker speak when I attended the festival in 2018. I was most interested in her work on disability and disability theology, but this was the first of her books available from the library so I dove in. It’s a memoir about her experiences, as a well-off white woman, with privilege and how her understanding of privilege has evolved over time. It was just ok for me. I kept thinking that I wasn’t sure who the intended audience was—maybe other white women who still haven’t fully recognized their own privilege? But I’m not sure. I do still plan on reading some of her other books!

3. We’ll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss: Wow. This book. It was longlisted for the National Book Award when it came out, and I see why. It is excellent but very, very hard to read. I went into this book blind, not knowing what it was about, and I think that was good. I don’t want to say much about the plot because I don’t want to give it away—but it’s about two teenage boys growing up in rural North Carolina with abusive and neglectful parents. It’s about their friendship, their dreams, and the obstacles they face. It made me so sad, but it isn’t without hope, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.

[Image description: My daughter, Ruthie, is sitting up in my bed reading. She has a giant blue pillow behind her, with a rainbow pillow around her neck. She’s reading Unicorn and Yeti: Fair and Square.]

That’s what I read in February! In March, I’m looking forward to reading Happiness Falls for book club and a whole bunch of FFW books.

Please let me know your thoughts about any of these books in the comments. I want to know what you’ve been reading, too!

Happy reading,

Lindsey

1. I am only recapping 8 of the 9 books here, because I also read one romance novel that was a bit unhinged and I’m not going to recommend it.