February was a short month but definitely not uneventful lol. Did anyone else have a really stressful February? It’s like the universe knew that I was going into the month thinking it’s going to be an okay month since it’s a short one and gave me all the deadlines, holdups, and mountains to drag myself over and through.
I’m not going to lie, this month was a bit of a mess for me personally. I did really well in January in making sure that I’m on track with my goals and such but February has been a month of chaos and panic. So that’s definitely something I want to address in March.
I did have quite a few memorable moments this month, whether it was the books I read or the shows I watched.
So grab yourself a cup of tea or something hot and cozy and let’s recap everything that I’ve read and watched this month!
What I Read
This was the best reading year I’ve had. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been struggling with reading since last November. January was the breakthrough but February reminded me why I love reading. I read books with the most beautiful writing I’ve ever read and some with more questionable writing but still amazingly entertaining. I’ve read books about war trauma, greek mythology, next door neighbors romance, and an apocalyptic novel that doesn’t feel as futuristic as it should be.
The two books that stood out to me this month are:
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
- Migrations
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
This is a book with the most painfully beautiful writing that will seep into your skin and into your blood. It’s an evocative visual masterpiece of a fiction novel written by a poet. The narration in this book is from our main character, Little Dog, and is formatted as a letter that he writes to his illiterate mother. I suppose it’s a coming of age but I really feel like that label limits what this book aims to do and the story it intends to get out to it’s audience. It’s been an entire month since I’ve read it and there hasn’t be a week that went by where I haven’t thought of this book and it’s quotes.
If you do decide to pick up this book, please check trigger warnings because there are many to be aware of. Some include: drug addictions, drugs, war trauma, abuse, PTSD, cancer, loss, racism, bullying, animal harm, and grief.
If you want to hear more of my reading experience with this book and maybe get more insight into what it’s about, check out my post where I take you through a weekend of my reading.
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Wow, I’m so glad that my library had this book and I’m so glad I picked it up when I did. I read this book in mostly a day, non-stop, and it’s absolutely mesmerizing. This book follows our main character, Franny, as she searches around for a ship crew who’d be willing to take her to the Arctic.
We don’t know why she’s so desperate to go to the Arctic, in fact, we don’t know anything about her at all except that she’s made it her life goal to follow the migration route of the Arctic Terns. The way the book unravels this character and paints this picture of who she is and once was is so beautiful. The writing once again in this book was amazing.
As always, there’s so much more I want to say about these books but I’m holding myself back as I’m working on full length reviews for these books. So if you want to pick up this amazing book but you’re not sure if it’s for you, I leave with you one last note that if you liked “Station Eleven”, you will like this book. Don’t worry, it’s not centered around a pandemic at all.
What I Watched
You guys, I’ve found a new docuseries world that has me so much more happy and uplifted than I usually am after watching a heart racing crime docuseries. I mean, okay, some of these documentaries are about corruption, but they’re still a direction away from the themes of the traditional crime docuseries.
This month, I watched three docuseries that have quickly become some of my favorite shows that I’ve seen.
- Challenger: The Final Flight
- Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb
- Downfall: The Case Against Boeing
February is also the month that “Love is Blind” came out. I had so much fun watching these episodes as they came out through the month and discussing the drama with friends. I’m not much of a reality tv show watcher but “Love is Blind” is the one exception that I make.
Have you seen the show? No spoilers for those below but let me know in the comments if you liked this season better than the first. I personally liked this season better.