Books definitely took a backseat for me in February.
I was living in a low-level state of continual panic. There were lists EVERYWHERE: things to pack, things to buy, chores to do, people to call. My brain has been working overtime, and there just hasn’t been much headspace left.
I still read but it certainly wasn’t a stellar month.
February is also short… and this year it included the Olympics which was a wonderful distraction from life (and books).
I’m wildly unsure what my reading life will look like in Europe. One part of me thinks I’ll read with abandon (flights! long train rides! almost no scheduled activities!), and the other part of me thinks my reading will fall off a sharp precipice.
Thankfully, it doesn’t matter one iota!
If you missed it, here’s my January roundup of books.
- Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Classics are so hard to rate! They’re usually not written in an accessible style and the (dated) settings can feel distant or overly detailed. At times this book was both incredibly awkward and annoying to read. The sheer number of names is hard to keep straight, and New York society in this era sounds pretty horrid.
And yet…
Beneath all of that, there’s a lot of depth! Wharton captures some very real and enduring human tensions: duty vs desire, conformity vs selfhood. I actually think it’s best read fairly quickly, without getting too bogged down in the everyday descriptions/social minutiae, so the emotional throughline can shine through.
This is a book I didn’t always enjoy reading, but one that will absolutely stick with me. I thought the ending was tragic but genius.
- Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
There’s no way around it: this book is heavy. The characters are deeply flawed, and many sections move at a glacial pace. That said, the ending was beautifully written and it’s what nudged this up to a 3 for me.
Content warnings. Occasional strong language. Missing persons.
Okay, I was always going to be a bit biased because this book is written by my genius friend, but strip all that away from the conversation and this was still nothing short of a delightful read. Heart-warming characters with a lot of depth that reflect the messiness of life and love. (I also feel like the door has been left open for a sequel – just sayin’!)
Huge congratulations on your debut, Nicole.
Also, the cover is sheer perfection. I loved it before reading the book—but when you reach the moment in the story where the cover fully clicks into place it felt so satisfying!
Content warnings: Strong language (she warned me, which was sweet!), discussions of suicide.
- The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
The Five was an excellent book and genuinely hard to put down. The amount of research that must have gone into it feels extraordinary, and it’s clear how much care and intention Rubenhold brought to telling these women’s stories.
That said, I did find myself occasionally raising an eyebrow! There were moments where some big suppositional leaps were made, and I wasn’t always fully convinced. I understand (and agree with) the goal of the book—to humanize the victims and shift the focus away from “Jack the Ripper”—but the lack of details about the murders felt a bit odd and disorienting at times. (It reminds me of Bright Young Women which is about Ted Bundy’s victims, without naming Bundy.)
Overall, I was absorbed. It’s powerful to see the victims (canonical/presumed; spoiler alert: Jack the Ripper was never concretely identified) presented as women with full, complicated lives.
I am profoundly grateful not to have been living below the poverty line in 1880s London!! What a brutal time to be alive.
Content warnings. It’s about victims of a serial killer, though there is limited graphic detail.
- How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America by Priya Fielding-Singh
This book would have made a fascinating long-form research article. It was not enough fodder for a whole book and it very quickly started to feel like a repetitive slog.
While this book is marketed as being about food inequality in America, it almost exclusively focuses on how mothers manage feeding their children. That’s interesting, but it felt a bit narrow in terms of focus at times.
The amount of detail given about what people were wearing and their hair styles were outrageous and excessive (seriously—it is next level!). For me, that really took away from the book which is a shame because the underlying themes are compelling: how socioeconomic status shapes not just what we feed our families, but how we feel about it—and how food intersects with broader social judgment and prejudice.
- My Story by Elizabeth Smart
I didn’t give this book a star rating because of its deeply personal subject matter, but I do have a few thoughts.
I was, of course, aware of Elizabeth Smart’s abduction, but I never felt compelled to read her memoir until watching the recent Netflix documentary. Honestly, the documentary provides a sufficient overview if that’s what you’re looking for.
I respect Smart’s survival of an unimaginably traumatic experience. That said, I was troubled by her stance against therapy. That perspective could feel discouraging and very harmful for survivors of trauma who could benefit from professional support.
The book avoids graphic detail, but it became somewhat… plodding?… as a result. There isn’t much narrative momentum.
Content warnings: abduction, rape (non-descriptive), psychological trauma.
- Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
I don’t know what I was expecting from this book but quickly discovered is an inside look at unrelenting grief in the wake of a woman losing her parents, two young children, and husband during the horrific 2004 tsunami.
There is no real resolution to her pain and it wouldn’t be a memoir I would necessarily recommend.
It defies imagination to sustain such incredible personal losses, and this book acts like a diary of sorts on how that grief manifested (anger, depression, self-harm).
Content warnings. Natural disaster (tsunami), grief, death of children, descriptions of self-harm and suicidal ideation/attempts.
- In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America’s Child by Kim Cross
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
A tremendously detailed and well-researched look at the infamous Polly Klass kidnapping case. I was especially interested by how the techniques used in this case (both in positive and negative ways) have gone on to lay the framework for missing persons cases since.
It was perhaps a bit too detailed?? While parts of it read like a thrilling page-turner, I found it got bogged down with too many specifics about the different detectives. I think trimming everything just a bit would have been ideal.
Content warnings. Strong language. Descriptions of abductions, police interrogation, sexual assault (non-graphic).
- Time Anxiety: The Illusion of Urgency and a Better Way to Live by Chris Guillebeau
This might be a case of it being me, not the book? I just could. not. get. into. it. There didn’t seem to be a cohesive narrative. It was easy reading… but I also cannot remember a single take-home message from the book.
That’s potentially more on me than the book so it feels a tad unfair to give it three stars, but also… it seemed a bit aimless. I read the 10-point manifesto at the back and thought: I should have just flipped to the back and read this instead!
TOP PICKS FOR FEBRUARY
Fiction: Inhale Exhale. Huge congrats to Nicole on such a momentous occasion. (Here’s a bit more behind-the-scenes about her experience of publishing a novel.)
Non-Fiction: A very close race between The Five and In Light of All Darkness, but the latter narrowly wins!
That’s a wrap.
- Tell me all about the books you read in February.
- What would your top pick be from the month?
Discover more from The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist
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I read a lot, but not everything was memorable. Age of Innocence- interesting but not my favorite. Reading Nance’s comments helped improve my rating of it in retrospect. Life of Pi- another good if strange one. Redwall.
Unthinkable , a book about brains/ conditions that unusual, like synesthesia.
Sky Daddy- no no no! Promise Me Sunshine – that was great.
The fact you read so much even with all the e planning you’ve been doing is amazing. Almost time to go on your grand adventure!
Ohhh, Unthinkable sounds interesting!!
I already have Promise Me Sunshine on hold; it is a very popular book right now!
Nicole’s book was wonderful. Bravo!!!! I didn’t want to finish it, but the pages kept turning.
It was a Jack the Ripper kind of month! Alfred Hitchcock’s 2nd movie is loosely based on JR, so I wanted to do a deeper dive and listened to a podcast about the case. They mentioned The Five a few times.
Best read: Writers and Lovers, followed by Inhale, Exhale.
Worst read/DNF: Don’t Call it a Comeback by Keira D’Amato
Best March read that everyone needs to drop everything and get on right now: Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone. Engie just reviewed it, and Stephany and Kim (Kim Has the Runs) also loved it.
I think you might enjoy The Five, Birchie.
I have Promise Me Sunshine on my holds list!
THANK YOU ELISABETH!!! This is such a lovely review and thank you SO much for your very kind words.
I loved Moon Road – but it was VERY dark and heavy. I still think about the scene in Prince George with all the missing women posters. It’s funny how some books really hit at just a certain time, and some don’t.
I found Wave really upsetting on so many levels. It was remarkable that she went on, that she wrote a memoir but…I don’t know that I’d recommend it either. That’s the odd thing, how it hit me so differently than Moon Road, and both are very upsetting stories. Maybe because it happened? It was so disjointed, which probably is a particular literary choice, given what her state of mind must have been.
My favourite book in February was Heart the Lover, followed by a reread of Frying Plantain.
You did a fantastic job, Nicole!
Wave was VERY disjointed and I think that made it harder for me to feel connected to the author. That said, I’m sure that mirrors her processing of such incredible grief and trauma.
Well, you did read some good ones this month! I agree with your observations of Age of Innocence. Classics can be hard to read because it’s a different style than what we’re used to. But it can be so worth it! I first read this one in my 20s, and it really stuck with me all this time. The ending is sad and beautiful. I just watched the movie last night and they did a great job with it.
Hmm. I’ve been wanting to read Wave, but now I’m reconsidering. It sounds unrelentingly sad. The Polly Klaas book sounds REALLY good though.
I recently finished Project Hail Mary, which I really enjoyed!
Wave was sad and also… a bit tedious. That might not be quite the right word, but it just felt very stream-of-consciousness and raw, but in a way that I didn’t really connect to.
The ending of Age of Innocence was VERY powerful.
I loved Project Hail Mary and have The Martian on hold (I’ve seen the movie—twice—but never read the book).
Some months are just like that, and that’s a-okay. 🙂
I’ve got to finally give Wharton a try – especially since she is a character in a historical cozy I’m reading right now!
My best read of February was probably My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney – I listened to it on audio, and it was such an excellent production, with sound effects and everything. Plus it was incredibly twisty!
Alice Feeney can be hit or miss for me, but with your recommendation I put My Husband’s Wife on hold immediately!!!
Age of Innocence is not a light, breezy book… it “feels” like a classic, in the way that it’s a bit dense and dry. But I really enjoyed it.
I read:
– Divorce and Remarriage in the Church
– Complete Book of Women’s Running
I learned from.both of them, more details here: https://practicalwalk.com/2026/03/04/february-book-stack-2/
It’s great to come away from a book and feel like you’ve gained perspective and/or fresh ideas.
I loved Wave, it was so beautifully written. HOWEVER, I didn’t realize it was a memoir, I thought it was a novel. (Listening, no physical book to look at, so the cover didn’t give it away for me.) Interesting to think about novel vs. memoir. I loved Room (novel) but don’t think I could read Elizabeth Smart or Polly Klass stories. I read one about Jacee Dugard, which was a real life situation similar to Room, and the woman was kept in a nearby town. It wasn’t great.
Inhale Exhale was wonderful, wasn’t it? SO GOOD.
My recent reads are Sky Daddy (loved) and Promise Me Sunshine (loved) – Oh, and a reread of Hamnet (loved) and Age of Innocence (loved). I loved a lot!
I really enjoyed the movie of Room, but haven’t read the book.
I have Promise me Sunshine on hold. Hamnet was a 1/2 read and then DNF because it was SO SAD. Whenever I tried reading it, I was NOT in the mood for so much sorrow. But it is incredible writing.
Moon Road was one of my favourite reads from last year and I agree with you that it is heavy. I enjoyed Engie’s CBBC book choice, The Age of Innocence and read Nicole’s book in January – delightful!
My favourite reads this month were When the Cranes Fly South, another heavy one, and Wild Dark Shore. For lighter fair I read the latest book in The Maid Series, The Maid’s Secret.
I really enjoyed Wild Dark Shore. I know I had When the Cranes Fly South on my shelf from the library at one point, but never did get around to reading it. I think I read the summary and it felt like something too emotionally taxing!
You still read a lot of books despite being very very busy preparing for your time outside of the country! It will be good to hold any expectations about reading very loosely! February was a good reading month for me. My favorites were SHU’s book, The Lion Women of Tehran, and The Beauty of Your Face. I am planning to read Nicole’s book this month – I can’t wait to dig in!
I didn’t realize you haven’t read Nicole’s book yet. ENJOY <3
Thank you for these descriptions (HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU HAVE TIME TO READ AND WRITE ALL THIS WHILE PREPPING FOR YOUR ODYSSEY??) The only one that I want to read from your list is Nicole’s!! (I will have to overcome my inherent frugality and desire for minimalism and just buy it.)
The only books I rated highly in February were these two: Owen’s Daughter by Jo-Ann Mapson and The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin. The first is a novel, part of a loosely tied-together series. Mapson’s characters are complete, many of her settings are familiar to me, and although it is fiction, it’s believable and non-formulaic (but are the sex scene descriptions really necessary? Sigh.) Mama Love is a memoir, and it is fantastic. (Makes me want to volunteer to help recently released prisoners!)
That’s so sweet, Jana! Another important way to support me, if you’re so inclined, is to request it from your local library! Perhaps they’ll buy it and you can enjoy it that way! xoxo
Nicole, our library allows us to order books through Amazon that are a year or more old; Amazon ships to the library patron, and after the patron has read the book, it gets turned into the library. The county library system pays Amazon. So if you want to remind me in a year, I’ll order one!! (I know, an ENTIRE YEAR. . . sigh.) I just ordered one for myself from Amazon.
This is such an interesting system!
I mostly read at night (and when I’m waiting for kids at soccer/appointments).
I read Mama Love a few years ago; I didn’t love it (mostly because I didn’t feel like I connected with the author), but it was an INCREDIBLE inside look at the prison system, which I did find fascinating.
Yeah, I’ve had mixed results with Alice Feeney too – but this one was one of the better ones to me. Felt a lot like Rock, Paper, Scissors if you’ve read/enjoyed that one 🙂
I didn’t love Rock, Paper, Scissors, but I REALLY enjoyed Beautiful Ugly!!
Some of your books seemed depressing last month! Maybe that was just my take.
I’m looking forward to Inhale Exhale as soon as I finish A Thousand Splendid Suns (which is good!)
I also finished Sipsworth last month—it was cute!
Nope, you’re right. Definitely some depressing reads!