What are we reading in February?

Happy February, everyone! What are you reading this month? I'm starting with The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden, which I'm loving so far!

I'm reading Altered Carbon, which is taking forever and Dead Witch Walking, that I'm really enjoying. On deck are Sail and The Hunt Ball.

I've started Don Quixote which is going to take a while. I've decided to pause every so many chapters and read something else.

I'm beginning with Sandition by Jane Austen and Death in D Minor by Alexia Gordon.

I'm reading the latest Department Q book, The Scarred Woman.

I'm starting out with Naked in Death by J.D. Robb and Audrey Hepburn's Neck by Alan Brown--two totally different novels to match different moods :) As soon as I get some quiet time to really focus on nonfiction, I'm also going to sit down and dive in to Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, his Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing, which I've been meaning to read for ages.

Today I read Women & Power: A Manifesto, by Mary Beard. I had intended to split the two lectures over two days but ended up reading the whole thing in one go.

I’m reading The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult and also carrying forward Black River by S.M. Hulse which was for the Jan Color Cat and also a B.B. for the Random. Vacation cut into my reading time, but I’ve got the plane ride tomorrow to do some catching up.

I started the month with a book which was intended for January's AlphaKIT - Memento Mori by Muriel Spark. Luckily for me, it had a very brown cover so it works for February's ColorCAT!

I am continuing to read these: Infinite Jest (this one will take me a while!), The French Lieutenant's Woman and Manon Lescaut.

I'm reading Fredric Brown's The Screaming Mimi for the ColourCAT. I'm impressed by the amount of booze his characters can put away and still function.

The touchstones aren't working.

I am reading The Body Politic by Catherine Aird. I've been trying to find this one for a long time and finally bought it. It's an English police mystery series and I think this is the first one. Very complicated plot so far.

My first completion of the month was Life of Pi. I've finished two others since and am currently reading Creole Holiday for the RandomCAT.

I am reading The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich.

I finished Ararat by Christopher Golden and now am reading The Weight of This World by David Joy.

Today I'll start reading The Power, by Naomi Alderman, assuming I can tear myself away from The Diary of River Song: Series 2!

I am reading an interesting book about Hollywood in the late 1930's called Falling From Horses by Molly Gloss and a beautifully written book by Pakistani author, Jamil Ahmad about the nomadic tribes that inhabit the lands where Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran meet.

I've finished The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult and have decided to start All Shall be Well by Deborah Crombie. And I need to start The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown for my book club.

>17 dudes22: I have heard great things about The Boys in the Boat (and it works for this month's ColorCAT) - maybe I should join you!

I'm now reading Dreams to Remember, Aunt Bessie Enjoys, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, Cop Town, and Fever Dream.

I'm about to start the latest Flavia book, The Grave's a Fine and Private Place.

>18 leslie.98: - You know - it never even dawned on me that it worked for the Color Cat. Duh! (head slap)

I am starting two new ones today, Love Story, With Murders is the 2nd Fiona Griffiths book and I have been anticipating this one. Also very anticipated, The Revenant which has been on my bookshelves far too long.

I have started Vermilion for the SFFKIT and so far it is lighter fare than what I had been reading, which is what I need right now.

I wasn't feeling well on Monday so needed a comfort read and picked up the next Agatha Christie - Evil Under the Sun as part of my rereading her novels project. It hit the spot completely!

Started The Miller's Dance, the 9th Poldark book, and have put The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, by Alan Bradley, in my bag for reading on my breaks during training tomorrow.

I'm reading the tenth in the Lynley and Havers series, In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner. I'm enjoying it, but as with most of the books in this series, they are about 200-250 pages too long and filled with big words.

>25 rabbitprincess: I'm a few chapters into The Grave's a Fine and Private Place and enjoying it so far!

Listening to The Alloy of Law.

I've started listening to The Tales of Max Carrados which is narrated by Stephen Fry. These are short stories that were published in The Strand magazine at the same time as the Sherlock Holmes stories - and I can see the similarities. There an amateur detective, an occasional sidekick, the slightly stupifed police who exclaim "how did you do that?" and lots of melodrama. Oh, and the amateur detective is blind, which you are reminded of at frequent intervals. We'll see how it goes.

>27 christina_reads: I finished this afternoon! :D I liked it a lot better than Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd.

I have just finished the first book in a new-to-me Golden Age series - The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer. It was quite entertaining even though I did figure out whodunit about halfway through (though that may have been a subconscious recollection from the 1932 film version with Edna May Oliver). This fits both the AlphaKIT and the MysteryCAT for February.

Now listening to the audiobook of Johnny Tremain for the AlphaKIT and this month's RandomCAT.

>30 rabbitprincess: Oh, that's good! I wasn't happy with Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd either...hoping the series gets back on track with this one!

>32 christina_reads: Flavia sounds more like her old self, I think. The last book was heavy and oppressive in atmosphere and I am still upset that Haviland died offscreen, as it were.

Woo hoo! I FINALLY finished Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance 1985-1995, which I've been reading since April 2017! My next big bedside table book will be The Complete Father Brown, by G.K. Chesterton, which is my choice for the February ColourCAT.

>34 rabbitprincess: - And here I was feeling bad because I'm still reading my book for the Nov Random Cat.

For book club, I started Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and I am enjoying it a lot so far.

One of the books I'm currently reading (and enjoying) is Shroud for a Nightingale by P.D. James for this month's AlphaKIT.

I'm also reading Curtains for Roy by Aaron Bushkowsky, a book I thought I would enjoy (Canada, theatre, humour) but I hate that it has no quotation marks to indicate dialog. The main character is the narrator and he talks to himself, talks to others, thinks about things, sometimes out loud. And I've no idea which it is, or who is speaking.

I'm reading The Black Hand which I'm enjoying, but I'm realizing that I like e-books better than physical books. They just seem to be a little easier for me. Since this one is a library book, I want to hurry and finish it, but it's so easy to put it down and get busy with something else.

>38 cmbohn: I never thought I'd see the day, but in general I think I prefer ebooks too (unless it's full of beautiful illustrations or photos, in which case paper wins hands down!). I have RSI so one wrist is in a splint, and although holding books isn't difficult for me yet I do find holding the kobo much easier and less of a strain.

I'm *still* reading Black Lamb & Grey Falcon (my January ColourCAT book). I started it in mid-December, and am now 57% read and apparently have about 10 hours to go. Bits of it I really like, but oh my goodness that woman needed a decent (and very ruthless) editor. Thank goodness I'm not reading that one in the paper version, my arm would have dropped off by now. I'm also reading a biography of Liberace for the February non-fiction challenge, which is surprisingly interesting given my complete lack of interest in the subject, and The Fear of Barbarians for this month's ColourCAT. I've got a couple of others on the go too, but those three are the main ones I'm trying to get done by the end of the month.

I'm getting into The Last Painting of Sara De Vos based on a very enthusiastic recommendation from my dad.

Today I finished up the excellent The Birds and Other Stories, by Daphne du Maurier. The title story was probably my favourite, but they were all very good.

I am currently enjoying High Sierra by W.R. Burnett, I love the 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino. The book is excellent so far. I am also reading a fun fantasy, The Queen of the Tearling which is the first in a trilogy.

I managed to finish Curtains for Roy mentioned in >37 VivienneR: but it was a chore to read, which was a pity because it was not a bad story, funny and best of all local.

I have finished Plum Pie, a collection of short stories by Wodehouse, and The Eye of the World, the first book in the epic fantasy The Wheel of Time series.

I am still reading Infinite Jest (not even halfway through yet). I don't dislike it but can only read it for about an hour at a time.

And I am about halfway through the 6th book of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past series, The Sweet Cheat Gone (aka The Fugitive).

I'm still reading Inkblots, which is really interesting, but I've gotten to a point where I need some brain power and focus when I sit down to read it, and that's been in short supply I've been working so much lately. I'm hoping to read a good bit later today, and maybe finish next weekend.

Fiction-wise, I'm reading The Harlequin, and when my wrist gets tired of holding it up, switching over to Un Lun Dun.

I've finished All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie so that I can read the next in the series for the Mar Color Cat. I've sort-of started The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay for my bedside read, but will probably not finish it before we leave on vacation, so you'll probably hear me mention it again.

I finished two YA books I've been planning on for a while, Enna Burning by Shannon Hale, which has been waiting forever, and Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older. Both really good.

I'm starting The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory, which looks very cute! I'm a sucker for the "fake relationship becomes real" trope.

Here I go again, reading the first in a series! I am finding this first book, City of the Sun by David Levien quite compelling. I have also picked up an Agatha Christie called The Clocks.

I am reading The Rosie Project--still needing light reads.

Just - I liked that Agatha Christie. The ending was very satisfying.

Currently reading Children of Blood and Bone, which exactly for my mood after seeing Black Panther. I'm not very far into it yet, but it's got some intriguing world building going on.

I’ve finished Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich and have started The Enemy: A Reacher Novel by Lee Child.

>51 cmbohn: Thanks, Cindy. I am pretty sure this is one that I haven't read before so I am happy to be reading a "new-to-me" Agatha!

I picked up The Salt Line at the library yesterday and got totally sucked in, foregoing my other reads.

Just finished How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny that was brilliant! Five stars!

>55 VivienneR: YES! So brilliant! I nearly cheered out loud at the end of that one.

Just finished Malice Aforethought, by Francis Iles, and have just started A History of Ancient Britain, by Neil Oliver.

>56 rabbitprincess: Great! Two books for the wishlist! I haven't read any Francis Iles before but Golden Age is so appealing. And Neil Oliver! He's excellent, no matter the topic.

>57 VivienneR: I like what I read of his books, but I find him annoying to watch on TV. I want to give him a clip to hold his fringe out of his eyes, he keeps sweeping it away with his hand. >:-)

I'm about to start Lois Austen-Leigh's The Incredible Crime. I've been looking forward to it for a while, so hopefully it won't disappoint!

I'm reading Slow Reading in a Hurried Age for book club, White Tears, Cop Town, and The Prince as well.

Work is making me extra tired these days but I am trying to read the following: Manhattan Beach, this is the second time I have had this book, the first time I was moving and couldn't devote the time to it that it needed. Hopefully I will finish it this time around.

I also am reading Look for Me, the latest Lisa Gardner work, The Color of Lightning, and Sunburn, by one of my favorite authors, Laura Lippman.

There's not enough month left for me to finish these but maybe I can make a nice dent in them all! It's supposed to rain this weekend so I expect to get some reading in.

I’ve finished The Enemy by Lee Child and also Black River by S.M. Hulse, which was my Color Cat Book for Jan. I’ve decided to start Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs for my beach book and The Alto Wore Tweed by Mark Schweizer for my ebook in the room.

I'm reading The African Queen and thinking that both main characters must have undergone significant personality changes to be played by Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. I've ordered the DVD! This is an exciting, easy read.

So I’ve finished all those I mentioned in #62 above and am now reading Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith and The Dante Connection by Estelle Ryan.

I'm trying to finish up Still Me, which I borrowed on Overdrive, before it goes back today. I'm also reading The Walking Dead: Search and Destroy and listening to The Belles. That'll probably be it til March.

Started His Bloody Project, by Graeme Macrae Burnet, and enjoying it so far.

>58 Helenliz: Lol! Sorry to say I miss the days of long-haired young men.

I thought Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan would be my last book for February until I noticed it was number 13. Can't have that! After some searching I just found a little book that might fit tonight and tomorrow - The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw.

Well, call me superstitious, but 13 books just didn't sound good (see >67 VivienneR:). This filled the last day of the month:

The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw

The dilemma faced by the doctor is whether he should cure his impoverished friend or a talented artist who is a cad (and also has a beautiful wife). Although very old-fashioned, this play was fun.

My favourite lines:
LOUIS. Well youre on the wrong tack altogether. I'm not a criminal. All your moralizings have no value for me. I don't believe in morality. I'm a disciple of Bernard Shaw.
SIR PATRICK. Bernard Shaw? I never heard of him. He's a Methodist preacher, I suppose.
LOUIS {scandalized} No, no. He's the most advanced man now living: he isn't anything.”