February was a rather slow reading month, which is fine. I started six books and finished five, though not because I ran out of time, but because I decided to DNF a book for once. Usually, I drag myself through the worst of pages just so I give the author a chance. This year, however, I decided I would stop wasting my precious lifetime on books I clearly didn’t enjoy. Nevertheless, I finished most of the books I started this month, and I didn’t own any of them for longer than two months. So in regard to my “reading my shelves” challenge, this was no success — but it was still fun 🙂
The highlight of the reading month: The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
A city for the dead, where they meet again and live a sort of second life, an alternative existence that feels so familiar and yet is so different. How does life after death feel? How does one live life after death? Are there incidents that outlast death, forcing us to accept responsibility for what we did before we left? And last but not least, what happens when no one’s left?
Kevin Brockmeier’s The Brief History of the Dead sounded right up my alley since I love ideas and stories about what happens after we leave — or rather, what happens to loved ones once we have to let them go. Having this in mind, the book took me quite by surprise with the second storyline about a young woman trying to survive in the Antarctic. Published in 2007, the story couldn’t be more appropriate right now after we went through a global pandemic. Showing that it could’ve been so much more feels like a dystopian prophecy of what could have been and also offers a glimpse into a bleak future. Highly recommended, loved it.
Solid Work: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
As stated before, I’m not much of a fantasy reader, so I tend to gravitate towards contemporary fantasy set in the ‘real’ world. So Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House should have been just perfect. And in a way, it was. Alex Stern, a high school dropout and sole survivor of a horrible murder, is recruited into Yale’s Lethe House, an organization that observes the university’s secret societies, the “Houses of the Veil.” Why? Because Alex has a gift — she can see “the Grays,” meaning ghosts. For Lethe House, this ability of hers is more important than her formal education and possible involvement in petty crime. For Alex, this is her chance to start anew, leaving her old life in California behind her for good and getting a good education on which she can build a future.
Needless to say, it wouldn’t be a 450 pages book in a trilogy (?) if this was all that happens. Throughout her time at Yale, some things go horribly wrong and Alex is out there doing her best to save the day…as well as herself, Darlington, and others connected to her. Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride, in this first book of the Alex Stern series. I loved the strong main character, Galaxy “Alex” Stern, as well as Daniel “Darlington” Arlington and Pamela “Pammie” Dawes. They make a good team, even if it doesn’t seem that way all the time. While I liked the story, I still took some breaks while reading it, though I’m not sure why. It took me some time — at least 100 pages — to get into it, but that’s not an issue. Being an intense story, I guess I just needed to take a step back from time to time. Yet I already got Hell Bent and am looking forward to more Alex badass energy 🙂
DNF of the month: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
What. a. drag. Reminding me of The X-Men, the idea sounded fairly promising: “six extraordinary magicians, five chances to win, one secret society.” Two cosmologists (what seems to me like ‘regular’ magicians), a mind reader, an empath, a naturalist, and one who can see what others don’t — and more. Spending one year together, studying the vast archives of the Atlas Society, in the end, one of them will be eliminated while the others will be initiated into the Society. So much for Olivie Blake’s The Atlas Six I thought I’d give it a go, however, on page 280 I finally decided I couldn’t make myself care anymore…
Something I seem to have in common with the author, who also shows a lack of interest in world-building, storyline, and the concise depiction of characters. Not being a regular fantasy reader, I wouldn’t even mind the lack of world-building — magical/supernatural and normal people living side by side, with seemingly no consequences, or interferences whatsoever — IF the rest felt more thought out. Certain dynamics work just fine, though remaining on a surface level, still the book feels like it’s dragging on for nothing. These oh-so-special characters all sound and therefore feel the same. We learn nothing of importance about them, not even their backstories, and most of them are total assholes with no substance (less Rupert Murdoch and more Donald Trump). The wording is pretentious, like one too many inspirational boards on Pinterest, and even after 280 pages, I couldn’t distinguish the voices of Parisa (mind reader), Callum (empath), and Tristan (the one who sees through illusions). Maybe I’ll get back to it once the last book in the series is out IF the reviews are promising. For now, I follow my new year’s resolution and don’t finish a book I don’t like instead of wasting my time and energy out of a misled sense of duty (‘start what you finish’).
Not what I expected #1: Everyone on this room will someday be dead by Emily Austin
Wanting to read this book for quite some time, I listened to Emily Austin’s Everyone in this room will someday be dead when I found it on Storytel a few weeks ago (not part of the “reading my shelves” challenge). And I’m glad I didn’t get a physical copy of this book. We are following Gilda, a depressive, hypochondriac lesbian, who — based on a simple misunderstanding — starts working in a catholic church even though she’s an atheist. We get to know her family, sort of girlfriend, wannabe boyfriend, lots of medical staff, and a myriad of other people in her life. It becomes clear that Gilda is handicapped by her mental health issues to a degree that makes the book difficult to read, at least for me. Of course, I can understand how one can be utterly overwhelmed by life and as a result withdraw into oneself. Yet somewhere in the first third of the book I reached my personal point of no return and simply didn’t care about her anymore.
What I hoped for was a reflection on the transience of life, how we can never be sure of anything, that change is the only constant, and all the other philosophical cliches we get from ‘books like these.’ What I got was a character whose general instability, iffiness, and irrationality made her boring to a degree I don’t usually accept in fictional characters. Since the book was rather short, I finished it. Guess I’m too down-to-earth, INTJ, and (for once) mentally stable for this one.
Not what I expected #2: Our Wives under the Sea by Julia Armfield
I read about Julia Armfield’s Our Wives under the Sea on Goodreads and saw it on book tube a few times, however, I wasn’t sure if I would like it. Again, Storytel saved the day and I simply listened to the audiobook on the app. Not expecting that much, it still took me by surprise.
After Leah returns from a failed deep sea mission that trapped her crew “under the sea” for six months, she and her wife Miri have to adapt to a new life together. Expecting a story of emotional trauma and redefining the bond between two people who both thought they wouldn’t see each other again, this book takes some unexpected turns, to say the least. With the focus on a sort of physical trauma that changes Leah throughout the story, I’m not sure if I ‘got’ this book. Leah and Miri, as alternating narrators, share their two different perspectives on what are essentially two different stories. Leah’s chapters are much shorter and focus solely on her time under the sea. Miri, on the other hand, is the main narrator and describes her life during Leah’s absence as well as their life as a couple before and after the incident.
In the end, there are a lot of open questions, at least for me, and I would love to find out more about Leah’s time under the sea. There is no explanation for what actually happened, why they were stuck underwater for months, and what happened to the institute Leah worked for. In the end, I guess I may not be smart enough for this book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed listening to it, though I’m not sure I would’ve finished a physical copy (that would have been part of my “reading my shelves” challenge, unlike this audiobook 🙂 ).
Funny Interlude: Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore
After I finished Emily Austin’s audiobook, I wanted something more lighthearted and fun, so I started listening to Christopher Moore’s debut novel, Practical Demonkeeping. It tells the story of Travis, who by accident became the keeper of Demon Catch and tries to navigate their fate in a way that is least harmful to the humans around them. Of course, there’s much more awaiting them during their trip to Pine Cove, California.
Having read (and loved) Lamb. The Gospel according to Biff, I knew that I was up for something fun and Moore sure delivered what I expected. As so often, my ADHD fuzzybrain had some issues following the different names, but thanks to a great narrator this was usually just a matter of seconds. If you need something lighthearted and funny, I can definitely recommend Christopher Moore, from his first book on. As before, this audiobook is not part of my “reading my shelves” challenge.
A Strong Finish: The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais
The Golden Girls and Jessica Fletcher go magic in Bianca Marais’ The Witches of Moonshyne Manor. A coven of elderly witches faces the challenge of their lifetime and receives unexpected support from a young TikTokker who works her own kind of magic. The ladies got a lot to tackle: science, biology, love, sex, LGBTQ rights, racism, ageism, greed, crime, and loss. Overcoming some serious issues, together they can handle everything it seems — or can they?
This was my feel-good novel of the month and I loved it. Yes, it was a bit all over the place at times since many voices tell many stories, but that was never an issue. I’ve finished it just days ago and I already miss Queenie, Jezebel, Tabby, Ivy, Ursula, Ruby, and Persephone. Who, you ask? Find out for yourself 🙂
The unread shelves are still STACKED
With three audiobooks on an app, one book I got from Wonderguy just two weeks ago, and two books I bought in December, this month was not strong regarding the #readingmyshelves challenge. Despite this, I also didn’t go hullabaloo in any bookstores. Except for getting a copy of Hellbent by Leigh Bardugo and two additional books — all on a gift card I got for Christmas — it was, once again, a calm month. Let’s see what my March shelves will bring…
Thanks for stopping by, take care!