Howdy Bibliofriends!
It feels so good to be wrapping up another month of the year! February was actually a pretty good month for me in so many ways!
Life Update
I have finally managed to update my OS software on my Macbook! The little nerd inside me is so happy about this as my Mac has been having issues for over a year! I thought it was well and truly destined for the Home of Retired Laptops, however after some extensive internet digging and offloading stacks of my old files, I was finally able to download the latest operating system and update Chrome! Every time I wanted to visit a website, it came up with security messages and some websites wouldn’t even work at all, so I am overjoyed that everything is now working again!
With Spring on the way, I have been having a massive decluttering of my office/library and managed to shift a load of old books and paperwork that I didn’t have a use for anymore. I really love the feeling you get from having a good clear out – of course, I’ll be filling up all of those spaces with new books though!
Where are my fellow Swifties at? Anyone else excited for The Tortured Poets Department?!?! That live stream drop during the Surprise Song Set on the Eras Tour had me so excited! I can’t wait for April 19th. If this album is anything like Folklore or You’re Losing Me then this will hit so hard!
The rest of this Wrap Post follows my usual format (Past Reads, Current Reads, Films/TV) so feel free to skip any irrelevant parts!
What I’ve Been Reading in February
February was a seriously good month for me! I’m actually a little shocked at how much I read! 😂 I had a week off for half-term and due to my Spring Cleaning drive, managed to get through quite a few books that I’ve had on my TBR list for a fair while!
The Sea of the Dead (Magicians of Venice #2) by Amy Kuivalainen ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I first got into this series though NetGalley and really enjoyed the first instalment. The mixture of Italy, Atlantis, Magicians and a magical archive really drew me in. I listed to The Sea of the Dead via Audible and I’m not sure if it was the narration or just the general pace and direction of this sequel that didn’t have me enjoying it quite so much. I’ll definitely read the final book in the series though, at some point!
A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #5) by Sarah J Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved the in-depth way this went into Nesta’s character and her development as one of the key figures in this book series. She has a really redemptive arc that was quite heartwarming to read. I love all of Maas’ work but I almost took half a star off for the over-exaggerated and almost unnecessary smut scenes. Fifty Shades of Fae wasn’t really what I signed up for… 😂 You can read my spoiler-free review here.
Taylor Swift: The Whole Story by Chas Newkey-Burden ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was given this as a Christmas present from someone who knows how much of a Swiftie I’ve become! Given that this was published around 2014, it really isn’t the whole story – anyhow, this read a little bit like a kid’s high school essay. The author clearly did a lot of research, but not all of the quotes were entirely verified. Most of it read as a track-by-track album analysis mixed with how Taylor’s dating life could have influenced her songs.
We Shall Sing a Song into the Deep by Andrew Kelly Stewart ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This novella has been on my TBR ever since I heard about it in the SFF Yeah podcast from Book Riot. I was quite taken by the main character and her narrative voice. I’ll be posting a Biblioshelf Musings post of it very soon!
The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This popped up on my iBooks store and I must shamefully admit that I was initially drawn in by the pretty pink cover! The plot revolves around two co-writers who are struggling to work together and write their follow-up novel. The blurb reminded me so much of what I love about Emily Henry’s novels so I took a punt on it. Overall, it’s a pretty predictable romance but I managed to breeze through it in just a day so it’s definitely helped my 2024 reading goal tick along!
Rivals (American Royals #3) by Katharine McGee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s no secret that I adore this series! After getting my friend hooked on it too, she purchased the thirs book in the series and let me borrow it! I’m still reeling from the ending, and one character really had me warming to them until they went and did something sneaky at the end…! I genuinely have no idea where this series is going to end up but I am desperate to find out!
The Hours by Michael Cunningham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book had been sitting unread on my bookshelf that in my Spring Cleaning blitz it became time to read it or throw it out! Thankfully I chose to read it because it was such a moving and interestingly sequenced book. It’s also in my copy of 1001 Books To Read Before You Die, so reading this ticked off many little goals. I’m not entirely familiar with all of Virginia Woolf’s work. I read Mrs Dalloway at University but that was about it. I admired the work Cunningham went into to link the three main characters together and layer their narratives around each other. It was highly effective and made this an intriguing and enjoyable read.
The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1) by Rin Chupeco ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I listened to this via Audible and it’s one of those books I have really conflicting emotions about. I can’t tell whether I liked it or not – there are definitely some aspects to it that I majorly appreciated but I just can’t put my finger on why I’m not exactly raving about it just yet.
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was another TBR purge or read choice and as it is such a well-known piece of fiction I made myself read it. Not gonna lie, I really struggled to get through it. Whether because of the writing style (lack of speech punctuation) or the genre type, I found it hard work. Whilst I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed reading it – I’m glad that I did as it is one of those key texts that is of high cultural and literary importance; again, one of my 1001 Books To Read Before You Die entries!
If I Have to be Haunted by Miranda Sun ⭐️⭐️⭐️
YA fantasy about a ghost speaker on a quest to resurrect the ghost of high-school enemy. This was quite cute, but it read a little bit like playing a computer game – one level after the other. The ending was pretty predictable but I really enjoyed the author’s description and world-building.
#CurrentlyReading
Physical Book: This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria – Ancient Greece meets AI robots and pirates… I’m enjoying it so far!
Audio Book: A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire #4) by George R.R. Martin – I have a renewed love for this series since discovering the audiobooks!
What I’ve Been Watching
As part of a Film Club, we’re often at the Cinema at least once a week so I watch a lot of movies. I’ve been using the app Letterboxd to track what I’ve seen and give them rating. If you’re on the app and want a new follower be sure to add me! My profile name is: tillyj
Over my half term break we watched the NFL Super Bowl for the first time! Being from the UK, we don’t tend to follow NFL as a major sport, but since one of the rugby players from our local club has transferred to America to try and make it in the NFL program, we were keen to see what it was about! We support Gloucester Rugby and our team made it through to the final of the Premiership Cup and with the Six Nations in full flow, February has been a fun month for watching sport!
Movies/TV, I’ve seen:
- American Fiction (Cinema) – I found this so funny! I love it when films poke fun of their own subject matter. This was about a black American writer who found that his work wasn’t being published because it wasn’t ‘black enough’. A hilarious plot ensues, with an ending that made my spin as if to say, ‘What just happened?!’ If you love bookish movies, this one may well be for you!
- Dead Poets Society (Streaming) – So of course, with the announcement of a certain upcoming album titled ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, my mind kept dragging back to this move and the fact that I hadn’t seen it. Boy, did this film steal a little bit of my heart. For starters, Robin Williams! 🧡 Secondly, he plays an English teacher in a Prep School, which as a teacher at a Prep School, I obviously connected with. I must say, I wasn’t prepared for the turns the movie would take, and there were definitely tissues needed… but that ending!!! I loved it!
- Argylle (Cinema) – Quirky action film, had me rolling my eyes at some points. I enjoyed the Kingsman vibes and the references to the main character being a novelist. A little absurb at times. It was good, not great!
- Castaway (Streaming) – Winston, dear Winston!! Definitely the hero of this piece! Again, an ending that had me screaming at the TV, but what an iconic film!
- Bob Marley: One Love (Cinema) – Go for the music – not for the storyline. The pace is very slow and steady, they do a good enough job at explaining the events leading up to Marley’s shooting, his Exodus tour and what happened post-tour leading up to his death. I would have liked a bit more background about the Wailers and their initial success in Jamaica to really get into the history of such an iconic artist and band.
- The Marvels (Streaming) – I haven’t seen Miss Marvel and I definitely felt like there was a piece of my Marvel history knowledge missing when watching this. Not the worst Marvel film the studio has put out since Endgame but it didn’t have feeling ecstatic about superhero films again. Goose the Cat and his Kitten parade was the only takeaway I think I’ll remember!
- One Day (TV series – Netflix) – Finally something which lives up to the masterpiece that is David Nicholls’ novel One Day! The main characters were just superb and I loved the way each episode was broken down into different years. They also took their time to give each year exactly what it needed, some episodes were 30 minutes long, others were about 20 mins. The final episode hit me really hard – although knowing what was coming was bad enough, but the fact they took the time to do the ending of the book justice made me love this series – even if it did leave me in floods!
- Anyone But You (Cinema) – A Much Ado About Nothing inspired rom-com. Predictable but laugh-out-loud funny all the same!
- Players (Netflix) – This was predictable in all of the wrong kinds of ways. I appreciated how the ‘sports playbook’ made it interesting, and how it reminded me of How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, but overall, I just could not care less about these characters and their happy ending. Sorry!
- Wicked Little Letters (Cinema) – I knew this would be right up my street from the first few seconds of the trailer! Hearing Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley fling graphic swear words and scenarios at each other in a slanging match had me laughing so hard! This film is based on a series of explicit letters which were posted to residents in the village of Littlehampton. It’s based on a true story and has a balance of humour and darkness. I loved it! Definitely not for the faint of heart, or for people who show the slightest hint of outrage at the word ‘crap’.
And that’s a wrap! How was your February? Did you have a productive month? I’m totally looking forward to Spring being on the horizon and putting together my March TBR pile! What are you all looking forward to reading in March?
As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️
T xx
So this is not an ‘official readathon’ thing, but after being heartbroken at hearing of Zafón’s death last month I decided it was time to revisit and reread all of his books, in particular the 
thebiblioshelf.com 