Monthly Preview – February 2020
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Below are my selections for February. I’ve had these since I was a teen and they have followed me around from house to house, even after the dreaded cull of 2007 where my physical book collection was reduced to a tenth to accommodate downsizing.
All truly great books about exploration, identity, what it means to be human, set in rich worlds with compelling characters. You are aware at the time, whilst reading with the realisation you were immersed in deep philosophical issues. Yet the impact resonates more after completion and rumination. Hyperlinks are to the GoodReads pages.
| Book | Author |
| Cat’s Cradle | Kurt Vonnegut Jr. |
| Who Goes Here? | Bob Shaw |
| The Silver Metal Lover | Tanith Lee |
| Cuckoo’s Egg | C.J. Cherryh |
| Native Tongue | Suzette Haden Elgin |
| Whipping Star | Frank Herbert |
Library Reads and Reservations
I use my elibrary apps heavily and am always on the lookout for books that have been recommended. If they’re fairly popular or a new release there is bound to be a long wait. I had to wait over 3 months for a copy of Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo and The Testaments.by Margaret Atwood
Fortunately, Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver is finally with me, which is excellent news as (pun unintended) was dying to read it. The way the apps work is that the book is automatically downloaded to your device on the date in question. Thus every day I’m not reading is a day lost. With no hope to renew as there are others in the queue behind me. I don’t know much apart from it sounds like a mysterious suicide cult. Spooky.
Advance Reading Copy
When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins is about two preteen sisters accused of murder. It is due to be published in August 2020 thus there’s plenty of time to read it but I want to clear my ARC list so I can be more purposeful in requesting.
Amazon First Read
The selection this month was nothing to get excited about nor did I have the conflict of trying to keep with the predominate theme for February of Sci-Fi, because there wasn’t a book in that genre. A toss-up between fantasy and mystery made me choose after reading the following: Survivor of a combat school, the orphaned Bingmei belongs to a band of mercenaries employed by a local ruler. The Killing Fog (The Grave Kingdom) Book 1 by Jeff Wheeler.
Devotional
I haven’t started my February reads yet, so technically I’m not reading anything apart from the Bible. As mentioned previously, I’ve started a few bible plans. This month I will highlight the one with the devotional.
It’s a mixture of reading and listening to my daily devotion Bible in One Year 2020 with Nicky Gumbel. It’s a fantastic read. The devotionals are informative, perceptive with a mix of old and new testaments verses daily. Currently reading about Job which is particularly difficult to read about his suffering and distress. It really is a page-turner.
And to finish, I might just slip in some romance given that it’s Valentine’s Day this month. Backlist or new release? Happy to get recommendations.
Watching
At first glance, it might not appear like it but I do have limited time to watch shows. Once I’ve come to the end of what we’re currently watching my next choice is Star Trek Picard. It was a pleasant surprise to see it being promoted on Twitter as I love the universe and had no idea it was in the works. Not that I would, as I don’t keep up with the community. Fingers crossed it finds its feet either as part of or adjacent to the canon. I wonder when Star Trek: Discovery is coming back.
Sneek Peek for Next Month
March 5th is World Book Day and I shall be joining in with the new initiative for 2020 #ShareAMillionStories which is reading for pleasure with someone in periods of 10 minutes at a time (to count towards the total). It sounds great, I love reading with Eldest and Youngest, either taking turns or sharing an audiobook together, so I will be registering now so I don’t forget.
March 21st is World Poetry Day, If I don’t make a note of it or add a book directly to the TBR list? I’ll miss out on reading something new and will default to reading The Waste Land by T. S. Elliot again. A book that I’ve had since secondary school. That’s no bad thing, as there is a terrific selection in that volume but I really do need to broaden my poetry horizons.
Happy Reading, Listening and Watching
