February Reading

[krystee]

Have a favorite and least favorite book of January?

While recognizing that reading diversely should be a high priority all year round, do you have any recommendations of favorite books by Black authors to commemorate Black History Month?

Any new releases or books on your TBR that you’re especially excited for this month?

[scm1011]

January Favorite: Fourth Wing (I know, I'm late on this one)
January Least Fave: Spare (It was far too long and I'm suspicious of the narrative)

Black author rec: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

In February I'm looking forward to the new Kristin Hannah book, The Women. It's out next Tuesday.

ETA: Currently reading Iron Flame and listening to The Maid. 

[isabel]

I’m reading The Little Liar right now and really enjoying it. Mitch Albom writes from an unusual narrator perspective with this one being from Truth. It’s also bringing up a lot of feelings right now though because it’s about the holocaust and I’m just so upset about everything happening to Palestinians right now.

[meanie]

I took January off to binge-watch Sex and the City and And Just Like That. I just started a total fluff read Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune. My go-to is thrillers but H is away for work and I am too much of a chicken.

Tom Lake finally came off hold today so that will be next.

[sproctopus]

Feb 1, 2024 14:37:59 GMT -5 isabel said:

I’m reading The Little Liar right now and really enjoying it. Mitch Albom writes from an unusual narrator perspective with this one being from Truth. It’s also bringing up a lot of feelings right now though because it’s about the holocaust and I’m just so upset about everything happening to Palestinians right now.

I tend towards a lot of historical fiction and WW2-era stuff. It is difficult to imagine that we're all sitting by while history repeats it's ugliest parts.

I just finished The Rose Code and I'm hoping to start All the Light We Cannot See.

For black author recommendations, Yaa Gyasi is one of my favorite authors of all time. Homegoing and Transcendent Kingdom are must-reads, imo.

[dish2501]

I stumbled on Written in Blood at the library. It’s a werewolf/vampire story but it’s a good one. I flew through it.

I did not love The Three of Us. No one was likeable.

Black Cake was a great read (audio book!) about Caribbean families.


The latest Sarah J Maas book released this week, so I’m hoping one of my holds comes through in February.

[isabel]

Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli was one of my favorites from 2023. Ditto Yaa Gyasi. I enjoyed Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson and Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Viola Davis’s memoir was excellent. I didn’t love Maame by Jessica George, but it was a good, engaging read. That’s some of the recent stuff that comes to mind for Black authors.

[Jalapeñomel]

I read a lot of diverse writers, most recently, I read Maame. I liked it, not my favorite, but worth the read.

I picked up The Bee Sting not realizing it’s 700+ pages. 😭

[underwaterrhymes]

I read Alone by EJ Noyes and felt conflicted about how to score it. If you had asked me halfway through what I would have given it, I would have said 4*. It was very well-written, the concept was super compelling and I generally really enjoy same sex romance.

But it kind of fell apart for me near the end and I wound up giving it 3*.

I also started It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey. Made it maybe four chapters in before deciding it was a DNF and giving it 1*. So dumb.


I just started The Menopause Manifesto by Jennifer Gunter. So far am finding it extremely interesting.

[dontlook]

Feb 1, 2024 16:18:11 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

I read Alone by EJ Noyes and felt conflicted about how to score it. If you had asked me halfway through what I would have given it, I would have said 4*. It was very well-written, the concept was super compelling and I generally really enjoy same sex romance.

But it kind of fell apart for me near the end and I wound up giving it 3*.

I also started It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey. Made it maybe four chapters in before deciding it was a DNF and giving it 1*. So dumb.


I just started The Menopause Manifesto by Jennifer Gunter. So far am finding it extremely interesting.

I quit It Happened at the same place. So dumb. I have 15 books on hold at the library both nothing is available for the next few weeks.

[underwaterrhymes]

As far as Black authors, these are books that are in my Kindle on my to be read list. Many of the fiction ones are dystopian, YA, or LGBTQ fiction.

Non-Fiction

Africa is not a Country by Dipo Faloyin
I Won’t Shut Up by Ally Henny
America Goddam by Treva Lindsey
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George Johnson
I Take my Coffee Black by Tyler Merritt
Unbound by Tarana Burke
Professional Troublemaker by Luvvie Ajayi Jones

Fiction

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adeni-Brenyah
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson
Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

[krystee]

I read the highest number of books I have ever read in a month this January—19. And I really liked almost all of them!

A couple books for Black History Month that I plan to read are Kindred by Octavia Butler, The Marvellers (I’ve read articles that this should be the new Harry Potter), and The City We Became by NK Jemisin.

I just read No Exit by Taylor Adams, and it was a brutal thriller about a college student who gets stranded at a rest stop and sees a young girl in a cage in one of the four cars there. She is trying to figure out who the driver is, how to stop them, and how to save the girl without getting everyone killed. It was so intense and violent, but I liked it enough to stay up until 1:30 am reading it!

[al dente]

My favorite was How To Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told by Harrison Scott Key. It was so funny, but also had me thinking. I gave it 5 stars

Least favorite was Carrie Soto Is Back, I DNF. For one I completed probably Our Missing Hearts. It was ok, but I didn't like the writing style and had heard so much hype that it did not live up to.

I read The Probability Of Everything by Sarah Everett who's a black author. It was good! The first 2/3 I was meh on, but then with the ending I came around and thought it was a good story.

[RoxMonster]

I ended up only reading two books in January. I had a couple DNFs and got in a bit of a slump, then got really sick and felt like just laying around watching TV.

My favorite book (out of the two I read) was First Lie Wins. I really enjoyed it.

I am going to dive into another book this weekend - just downloaded today as one of the February First Reads on Amazon. A Friend in the Dark by Samantha M. Bailey. It sounds intriguing.

[underwaterrhymes]

krystee No Exit is one of my favorite thrillers I’ve read. It was definitely gruesome but heart pounding!

[Jalapeñomel]

Feb 1, 2024 18:34:57 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

krystee No Exit is one of my favorite thrillers I’ve read. It was definitely gruesome but heart pounding!

I did not like this book. I thought she was so stupid, I kept yelling at her. lol

[underwaterrhymes]

Feb 1, 2024 18:37:14 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Feb 1, 2024 18:34:57 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

krystee No Exit is one of my favorite thrillers I’ve read. It was definitely gruesome but heart pounding!

I did not like this book. I thought she was so stupid, I kept yelling at her. lol

I yelled at her a lot too, but I give most thrillers a 3, and this one got a 4. The bar is low. 😂

[krystee]

Feb 1, 2024 17:55:10 GMT -5 al dente said:

My favorite was How To Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told by Harrison Scott Key. It was so funny, but also had me thinking. I gave it 5 stars

Least favorite was Carrie Soto Is Back, I DNF. For one I completed probably Our Missing Hearts. It was ok, but I didn't like the writing style and had heard so much hype that it did not live up to.

I read The Probability Of Everything by Sarah Everett who's a black author. It was good! The first 2/3 I was meh on, but then with the ending I came around and thought it was a good story.

al dente everyone has loved How to Stay Married, and I have been the odd one out. He’s funny and a great writer, but I kept shrieking at him (in my head) that he doesn’t have to have a spouse who wishes him dead, and there are other options that may be better ones! I was very stressed out for him.

[luckystar2]

I’m reading an ARC of Listen for the Lie. It’s totally up my alley about a podcast looking into a murder and the main character who was accused but had amnesia. It’s not what I was expecting. The main character jokes alot so it’s a little less serious than I expected. But I like it so far.

I don’t know when some of my TBR books are coming out. I do know The Women is coming out Tuesday and I’m interested in reading that.

I just opened goodreads and they had this up.
www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2723?ref=ed_ads_1_24_bhm

[konapoppy]

I read three books in January! Plus a few chapters and articles for work.

If the shoe fits: light and fluffy, but readable
In a house of lies: very readable mystery, so now I am starting from the beginning of the series
Unleashed - the unapologetic leaders guide to empowering everyone around you: great read, interesting authors, the ending is a bit abrupt

[laurack]

Stephen King - Holly, I think was my favorite book I read in January
Lisa See - Lady Tans circle of women -close second
John Grisham - the exchange - pretty good I guess but not amazing or anything
Lisa Jewell - none of this is true. It had me hooked but I found the ending unsatisfactory so I’m not thrilled with it overall but it’s definitely one that draws you in

[mrsukyankee]

Favourite: Fourth Wing
Least favourite: The School for Good Mothers. I am certain that if I was in the right mood, I'd be able to finish it and maybe even enjoy it, but it's currently not for me. I just can't get into it.

Currently reading: Iron Flame, Edge of Collapse and A Darker Shade of Magic

Suggested reading for Black History month: Slave by Mende Nazer (non-fiction)

[minzy]

I read three in January. 🥳
Who Gets in and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions by Jeffrey Selingo - 4 stars - really interesting
Mobility - Lydia Kiesling - 4 stars - a very slow burn about the climate crisis. I was somewhat bored/irritated by the main character.
Exit Interview - The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career - Kristi Coulter - 5 stars - about her career at Amazon. Super interesting, really well written, demoralizing. I haven’t ordered anything off of Amazon since I finished it. (Though it’s only been a few days.)

Have picked up Alice Sadie Celine by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright, a novel about how a woman’s mom falls in love with her best friend. I’m not very far into it yet.

[Jalapeñomel]

Feb 1, 2024 21:33:54 GMT -5 laurack said:

Lisa Jewell - none of this is true. It had me hooked but I found the ending unsatisfactory so I’m not thrilled with it overall but it’s definitely one that draws you in

I'm finishing this now on audiobook. I have a feeling it's going to leave me completely unsatisfied. I think I need to quit listening to thrillers on audiobooks! 

[sadie]

I read 4 in January:
Reread Iron Flame
Hello Beautiful
The Black Witch
A Woman is No Man

They were all different and engrossing in different ways. After the high of finishing Iron Flame a second time, I read The Black Witch. It had a similar feel to Iron Flame, but it was a PG version. It's a series of 5 and I plan to read the next one.

Hello Beautiful and A Woman is No Man were...a lot. I'm happy I read them, but felt physically drained after I finished them.

[wildrice]

I just finished reading Tom Lake. 4 stars, though I thought it dragged a bit - I liked it but could easily put it down too.

Zero Days by Ruth Ware was a page turner for me. On Goodreads it seemed like a good amount of people hated it, but I thought it was really good!

I am currently reading Yellowface and so far like it a lot, but I'm maybe 10% or so in.

I am listening to The Black Butterfly which is non-fiction about Black history, specifically in relation to segregation, red-lining, and related social issues that have stemmed from those. It refers specifically to Baltimore in the title and is by a Baltimore author, but so far has been a lot more broadly about the US than that. I am not sure that audiobook was the best format for this (the narrator is a bit boring so my mind wanders) but I think it's a worthy read. For other Black history one of my biggest recommendations is The Warmth of Other Suns. For general reading by Black authors, I'll go fluffy and recommend Jasmine Guillory for lighter romances, which are typically not my favorite genre but I like her writing!

[eb777888]

I've read four books in January, which is a lot for me in one month but they were all quick reads.

The Paper Palace 4*- I liked the jump in time and generational stories. I had to google to confirm the ending was what I thought it was because I was a little confused.

Look Closer 4*- loved the story but many, many plot holes. Like, what? But I gave it four stars because I couldn't put it down but I was disappointed in the end.

Housemaid 3.5* rounded up to 4*- I know many people hated this book but I read it in like two days because I couldn't put it down. Again, plot holes and farfetched but I tend to give a lot of grace in these areas.

The Good Part 3*- it was a cute read, I thought it would be better based on the reviews.

Right now I'm reading the second book in Housemaid's series and then reading The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, which everyone is raving about so I'm excited about that one.

[mpc]

What I read last month:

Lessons in Chemistry - not at all what I was expecting but loved it.
Watch Me Disappear - Mom is missing/presumed dead... or is she really? It was fine. Entertaining but not amazing.
Young Jane Young - young intern has affair with politician, but told from the point of view of the various women in the story. Pretty good.
Eliza Starts a Rumor - I bought this at the dollar store lol. But it's the same author as Nine Women One Dress which I really liked, so I thought I'd give it a try. I enjoyed it.
How the Penguins Saved Veronica - I love penguins and wanted to love this book but I didn't find either of the main characters believable.

[rupertpenny]

I read six books in January:

The first three books of the Inspector Pekkala series by Sam Eastman
Yellowface by R.F. Kwon
On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to be Good by Elise Loehnen
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall

A Day in the Life was devastating. The events mostly took place in the West Bank, and it gives a look into everyday life for Palestinians living there.

One Our Best Behavior was interesting but fairly repetitive.

I didn't line this up for Black History Month, but I just started Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward. I would recommend anything she's written, especially The Men We Reaped.

[Vespasia]

wildrice I have Black Butterfly in hardback. You can borrow it if you get tired of audio!