February 2015 Reading Wrap Up

February Reading Wrap Up

Welcome to my February reading wrap-up which I am posting now because I won’t be finishing any of my current reads by tomorrow:

The total of books I read in February was: 14

Of these: 3 were Library Books, 7 were E-books and 4 were from my physical TBR pile

Then: Out of the books I read I discovered 8 ‘new for me’ authors (i.e. the first time I have read their work).

And: 4 of the books read were written by Australian authors.

Best Book of the month:

I have had the best month ever in February with no less than 6 (yes, you read it right – six) ‘A’ reads. I give ‘A’s (or 5 stars) to books that regardless of genre are complete page turners for me, that have me reading late into the night, suck me straight into the story and leaves me wanting more at the end; and I utterly recommend it. If I give a high score to a book it means it is a top example of whatever genre it belongs to. Picking the best out of such a strong field this month was hard, two stood out as the top of all the tops. Those books were The Room by Jonas Karlsson (Contemporary Fiction) and A Small Madness by Anne Touchell (Contemporary YA). In the end though as it was an unputdownable and amazing story about teen pregnancy, family relationships and mental issues, A SMALL MADNESS by Anne Touchell just made its nose over the winning line, so it is my book of the month for February (and I have no doubts it will be in my Top 10 of the year).

Least Favourite Book(s):

I say ‘least favourite’ because my lowest ‘score’ still means it is very readable, but for one reason or another I found it a bit of struggle to stay focused and finish. I didn’t really struggle with any of the books this month.

General Summary:

Because I am an eclectic reader I read many different genres, sometimes at the same time! This month the different genres covered were Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Dystopian, Women’s Fiction, Historical (set over 50 years ago), Contemporary Fiction (set in the last 50 years) and non-fiction. Some of the books were a blend of two or more genre.

My 4 Australian authors for February were 2 of the new-for-me authors Deborah O’Brien and Anne Touchell; along with Loretta Hill and Kate Forsyth. Just to clarify an Australian author is defined by me as either an Australian born author no matter where they live and write in the world now, or an author who currently lives and writes in Australia even though they have been born elsewhere.

Finally, the 8 ‘new-for-me’ authors this month were my Aussie authors Deborah O’Brien and Anne Touchell; along with Sophia McDougall, Gregory Funaro, Tessa Hainsworth, Austin Aslan, Jonas Karlsson and Jill Shalvis; and I would happily read all of these new authors again.

Interesting book related link that I’ve come across this month:

Is it Dystopian Literature you’re reading? If not then what is it? Bookriot tries to clarify the nuances of the different speculative fiction subgenre so you can figure out if you’re reading Dystopian, Utopian, Ecotopian, Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic or even Parallel Universe, Multiverse or Metafiction:

http://bookriot.com/2015/02/16/defining-end-world-know-apocalyptic-vs-dystopia-vs-spec-fic/

The List

So let’s get onto what this post is about – here is the list of books that I read during the last month (each group is in the order I read them):

A = Excellent Stuff – a real page turner and hard to put down

Mars Evacuees by Sophia McDougall – YA Science Fiction

The Room by Jonas Karlsson – Contemporary Fiction

Mr Chen’s Emporium by Deborah O’Brien – Women’s Fiction

Operation Valentine by Loretta Hill – Romance

A Small Madness by Anne Touchell – YA Contemporary Fiction

Escape from Wolfhaven Castle by Kate Forsyth – YA Fantasy

B = Really Good Read

Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis – YA Contemporary Fiction

Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger – YA Historical Mystery

The Islands at the end of the World by Austin Aslan – YA Science Fiction/Dystopian

A Killer Retreat by Tracy Weber – Mystery

C = Above Average – very readable and enjoyable

Alistair Grim’s Odditorium by Gregory Funaro – YA Historical Fantasy

Up With the Larks by Tessa Hainsworth – Non-Fiction

A week in winter by Maeve Binchy – Women’s Fiction

Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis – Romance

D = Average – it was OK, a bit of a struggle to finish

None

So onward to March –Woo Hoo! I wonder what book goodies I will discover this month?

Advertisement