I've read a lot of books this month thanks to my library finally having good stuff available. I read all sorts of nonfiction/fiction and am getting back into graphic novels/YA books to lighten up my reading.
I had a few 4 star books this month: Becoming by Michelle Obama, This Will Only Hurt A Little by Busy Phillips, and Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. That last one is a fantasy graphic novel that follows the evil plans of a villain and his sidekick that can shapeshift. The art was cool, and the plot was actually interesting/well-developed. I was surprised by how good it was. The other two books are both memoirs, where Becoming is all about Michelle Obama's life growing up, going to college, and becoming the First Lady. It was very interesting to hear about her life and more about what it's like to be in the White House. This Will Only Hurt A Little is a memoir about the life of being an actress. I always love to read celebrity memoirs because they usually give a neat look into a life I'd never wish to have. Busy Phillips talks a lot about the harsher realities about being a woman in Hollywood. I enjoyed it more than most of the celebrity memoirs I've read because it didn't feel pretentious and was just her genuinely sharing her experiences. I'd recommend all three!
Most of the books I've read so far this year fall into the 2 or 3 star category. Two of the average ones (3 stars) were Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige and Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth. Dorothy Must Die is a YA Wizard of Oz retelling which I found amusing. I don't actually think I've seen the Wizard of Oz in its entirety before but I've seen/heard bits and pieces. This book is part of a whole series which I do think I'll read at some point. I saw the film adaptation of Black Klansman last month and was lucky to find the book available at the library. I probably would've gotten more out of the book if I hadn't seen the movie yet. I already knew everything that was going to happen which made the book feel repetitive. It's an interesting perspective though (a black guy worked undercover as a KKK member) and not something I would have ever expected to happen.
The 2 star books all disappointed me in some regard: A Higher Loyalty by James Comey (too much repetitious politics stuff and not enough personal experience), A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (character-driven plot where I didn't really care about the main character), Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs (memoir by Steve Jobs' daughter that read as kind of pretentious), and An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (had such an interesting premise but was ruined by the ending). Some of the other 2 star books were little short story collections about the Percy Jackson universe (I think I read 5 of these alone) that you could tell were a way for the author (Rick Riordan) to make more money off the popularity of the series.
One of the worst books I read was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1/5). I didn't like the Netflix show all that much but the book was even worse. I'm actually glad they took the show in the direction they did, because this book was unbearable to read. It was so boring with no scariness/horror at all. The ending was stupid, and the characters were all extremely hateable. There were no redeeming qualities about it at all.
With another month done, I'm at 57 books for the year with 29 read in February. This month, I'd like to read at least two books I physically own instead of checking out more and more library books. I'm thinking one of those two will be I'll Be Gone in the Dark which is a true crime I've been wanting to read for a while. That's it for February. Thanks for looking!
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