Mid-Month Reading Update: 2,500 Pages Down
Plus this month's zillion good links from around the internet.
Hi, bookish friends.
This mid-month update is coming your way a few days past the actual middle of the month because I spent this past weekend buried in my 25in5 readathon (aka 25 hours of reading in 5 days — which I successfully hit!).
So without further ado, here’s where my TBR progress stands so far in February, plus a nice long list of links and news stories I’ve collected for you over the past month or so.
What I’ve read so far this month
I would normally hope to have a few more than five books under my belt this far into February, especially after a successful readathon weekend … but seeing as these five books have a combined 2,575 pages, I’m feeling pretty good about it. 🤣 Plus, I have another open weekend coming up, so the reading month is far from over.
(Note: I haven’t written full reviews for these yet, but I didn’t want to delay this newsletter, so watch for them on Instagram or in my monthly wrap-up in a few weeks.)
House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City, #3) by Sarah J. Maas: Definitely not perfect, but an epic conclusion to this trilogy’s plot arc. It was great to get a TON of questions answered, but let’s just say I’m glad she’s not done writing in this universe!
Orbital by Samantha Harvey: Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Mouthwatering prose. A meditation on humanity. All vibes/no plot meets outer space.
The Future by Naomi Alderman: This wasn’t my favorite, but that’s probably more because I don’t tend to love tech apocalypse novels and not because of the book.
The Book of Love by Kelly Link: As expected, this book was right up my alley. Some will call it too long, but personally, I loved spending so much time with its excellent characters.
The Eternal Ones (The Gilded Ones, #3) by Namina Forna: I still think the first book was the strongest of the trilogy, but I love what Forna was doing here. PSA that it skews toward the younger end of YA, especially in terms of prose, showing/telling, and romance.
What’s left on my TBR this month
I’m still planning to get to these:
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino, which I’m already halfway through on audio
How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney, which is February’s Booker of the Month book club pick (Zoom chat is Monday!)
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange, which comes out a week from today
The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft, which comes out on 3/5
Aednan: An Epic by Linnea Axelsson and translated by Saskia Vogel, which is written in verse, so even though it’s 750 pages long, the audiobook is only 2:48
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, which comes out in April but I’m too excited to wait
And these will likely carry over into March:
Sunbringer (Godkiller, #2) by Hannah Kaner, which comes out on 3/12
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
My Friends by Hisham Matar
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Hello, links ✨
“The right kind of busy is indicative of a mind in touch with itself and in deep connection with others. … It breathes deeply and sleeps soundly. The right kind of busy is a feast.”
never misses, and this essay on finding the “right” kind of busy was excellent.An interesting look at why this March is going to absolutely murder our TBRs.
Believe it or not, I had this interview with the social media manager behind Elmo’s accounts bookmarked for you before the whole “how are you doing” thing — but now it’s an even cooler read.
This visual poem on trees is absolutely gorgeous (and best viewed on desktop). h/t to @definitelyra for sending it to me!
“16 Small Ways to Get Your Shit Together” — h/t to
and her Helping Friendly newsletter for this one. My favorite: f*ck multitasking.- was kind enough to include some thoughts from me in her essay on catering (or not) to the book world’s algorithm, but you should read it regardless, because she is, as always, stellar.
I’m all for this recent call from Entertainment Weekly to give Sarah J. Maas (and her readers) more respect — just as romance authors and readers in general deserve.
ICYMI, some authors who received enough votes to be nominated for last year’s Hugo Awards were — it’s now confirmed — purposefully left off the ballot for political reasons (pandering to this year’s host country, China). This whole situation is ten kinds of messed up, and committee member Dave McCarty is ousted now, but it’s worth watching this video from Xiran Jay Zhao (author of Iron Widow) with some Facebook comment receipts. Hoo, boy.
In much better literary award news, we have the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction longlist! I’m PUMPED to see Eve on the list (which you’ll remember was one of my faves from January).
Finally, I loved this recent list of awesome NYC bookstores from The New Yorker. I’m no newb on the NYC bookstore scene, but there were a few here I hadn’t even heard of, and I’ve added at least one to my must-visit list when I’m there again in April.
As always, thanks for sharing your corner of the internet with me! It would mean a lot if you were to take a second to like this post. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, too.
Finally, if you like this newsletter, please send a few friends my way.
See you on Instagram!
— Deedi (she/her)
it was such a a treat to talk to you, friend. 💛
🙏🏼 for the 🎩 !