February… I hope it will be better than January. Snow is melting and life goes on, for now. Time to read a good book.
My February Word of the Month
Waiting
My February Haiku of the Month
Waiting for cleanup
Environment destruction
Clearance for new growth.
Bible Verse of the Month
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31
My February reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
My Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lindajm
☆ – I own the book and am ready to read.
★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
⇗ – Still reading at the end of the month.
DNF – I did not like it or finish it.
∅ – Stalled – I started but didn’t finish.
↓ – I didn’t even start. Complete fail!
Books I want to finish reading in February
First, there are two books from my January list that I’m not done with yet.
✓ Classic Magical Realism: One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Holdover book from January. I’m reading this for 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #9: A book with a family tree. I’m a few chapters in and will finish it before I start another audiobook. (I also have a paperback copy.) One audiobook at a time is all I can manage.
★ Christian: The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren
Holdover book from January. I love listening to Rick Warren’s Daily Hope in the morning. He’s a great teacher so I want to read his book. I’m fitting this into the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge as prompt #18: A book about a subject you are passionate about. I’m passionate about being a Christian. This is a 40-day devotional. I didn’t make much progress in January but I hope February will be different.
Black History Month
The following books are the ones I’ve planned to read in February, known as Black History Month. This is the month containing the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (born February 12) and Frederick Douglass (born February 14). Because of that I concentrate some of my African American literature into this month. Here’s what I want to read.
✓ Classic Fiction: Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
I don’t really know what to expect in this book. I know it is about a young black man developing his self-identity. I’m reading this for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #2 – An Afrofuturist book. I’m not really sure how it qualifies as Afrofuturist, but saw it on a list for the prompt and remembered I already had a copy… so this is what I’ll read.
★ Memoir: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, by Frederick Douglass
I’m looking forward to reading this. It is one of those books I should have read long ago. I’m reading this for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #20 – A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list.
★ Classic Fiction: Go Tell It On the Mountain, by James Baldwin
I may have read this before, when I was a teenager. I remember reading two James Baldwin books then, but can’t remember what they were. I think one was The Fire Next Time and this might have been the other one. I’m reading this for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #17 – A book that has the same title as a song.
Just in case I finish those books listed above…
☆ Historical Fantasy: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab
This last novel isn’t African American literature (so far as I now know) but I have it on my list just in case I finish the other books before the end of the month. I’m reading this for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #11 – A book about forgetting.
February Reading for the Newbery Variety Challenge 2021
✓ Juvenile Fiction: Other Words for Home, by Jasmine Warga
This is a novel in free verse that tells the story of a Syrian refugee child. I started this in September and then stalled during the time I was homeless after the forest fire that ate my home. Now, hopefully I’ll finish it. This is a 2020 Newbery Honor Book.
★ Juvenile History: George Washington’s World, by Genevieve Foster
This is the longest book on my Newbery reading list so I want to get started early in the year and will probably not finish this month. Also, isn’t this George’s birthday month? That’s right. He was born on February 22, 1732 in Popes Creek, Virginia, in what was then British America.
✓ Juvenile Fiction: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz
This book won the Newbery Medal only a few years ago in 2008. It isn’t long…
✓ Juvenile Fiction: A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers, by Nancy Willard
This 1982 Newbery Medal winner is even shorter than the one above!
✓ Picture Book: Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson
★ Juvenile Fiction: Genesis Begins Again, by Alicia D. Williams
A lovely novel about a 13-year-old girl who doesn’t know she’s beautiful.
☆ Juvenile History: Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates
Amos Fortune was a real person. This is his story.
A long term reading experience
★ History: The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience, by J.S. Holliday
This nonfiction history based on gold rush journals will take me multiple months to get through. I’m reading this because I love learning about California history and because it is the thickest book I have right now… it is for 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #41 – The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list. My plan is to read at least 4 pages daily so I should be able to finish in three or four months at that rate.
My February 2021 Reading Diary
February 1 – What a lovely albeit very rainy day to start a new month! I’m determined to stay inside as much as I can on rainy days. Hope I don’t have to go out anywhere! I’m going to start the month with a focus on the two holdover books, One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Purpose Driven Life. Additionally, I’ll read one of the Newbery books. Oh, how about A Visit to William Blake’s Inn? Sounds good to me.
February 4 – I finished reading A Visit to William Blake’s Inn… that was fun. 45 pages of beautiful illustrations and silly poems. I’ll replace it with another children’s book: Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga. I’m on chapter 7 of One Hundred Years of Solitude and day eight of The Purpose Driven Life. Also reading the book of Job in the Bible and a book I recently ordered, The Kneeling Christian.
February 5 – I published this video.
February 8 – I’ve made a lot of reading progress in the last few days. I think this is an indication that I’m in a good place in my life right now, emotionally. I think this starts with Bible study every morning. I study one psalm (reading it and all the notes on it in my study Bible.) Then one chapter of Proverbs depending on the date. Since today is the 8th of February, I studied Proverbs 8. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs so the entire book can be read in one month when there are 31 days in the month, by reading just one chapter daily. Next, as many chapters in Job as I can handle before I just want to give up. Today I read only one chapter, but yesterday three. Then one chapter in Ecclesiastes, but without the note reading which slows me down a lot. Then I go on to my regular reading list… The Purpose Driven Life, Other Words For Home, The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience, and George Washington’s World. I try to read at least four pages in these last two each day. I have no intention of trying to finish them this month because they are thick nonfiction. The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience has more than 500 pages. I’m also listening to the audiobook version of One Hundred Years of Solitude. I’m about to start chapter 13 out of 20 chapters.
February 11 – I’ve been reading! Here’s my video about it.
February 12 – The book about the California gold rush is almost too exciting to put down.
February 14 – My Valentine’s Day gift to myself is a year-long subscription to Audible. This is my third year of giving myself this gift… better than chocolates! Better than cut flowers! I have no man, but I have books, so I’m happy enough. I finished reading One Hundred Years of Solitude and replaced it with The Invisible Man – I’m now on chapter five. Here’s a video I published today about the 2021 Newbery Variety Challenge.
February 16 – I’ll be participating in Middle Grade March this year! I’ve also written a blog article about it over on my children’s literature blog: Middle Grade March :: A Booktube Adventure.
February 18 – I’m so excited about audio-reading The Invisible Man… because I never expected it to be as good as it is. Turns out, it is really keeping me emotionally involved. A poor young black man does everything he can to better his situation, but the forces of evil are out to get him. It isn’t a black v. white situation. His main antagonist is a controlling black man. That’s not to say there’s no discussion of racism in this novel, because indeed that’s a huge theme. This novel is extremely well-written. Meanwhile, here’s a video I published today about the magazine I get with my membership in the Folk Art Society of America.
February 19 – Today I got a copy of Last Stop on Market Street and since it is a picture book I went ahead and read it, and wow, what an impact! I always wondered why a picture book won the Newbery Medal, and now I know. I reviewed it on my children’s literature blog: Last Stop on Market Street Review. I also got a paperback copy of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and today read all the front matter (intro/preface/letter) plus chapter one. Another very impactful reading experience. I created another video this evening.
February 22 – Yesterday I finished reading Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! and replaced that with Genesis Begins Again. Today I finished my audiobook of Invisible Man and replaced it with another audiobook, Go Tell It On the Mountain. I also read sections of a few other books. I published this video this morning – it was recorded yesterday on Grayback at the entry to what used to be called West Branch Campground.
February 24 – Another video! This one is a “book tag” which is a bookish tag game Booktubers play… however this book tag takes place on my burned property. [The mobile home burned during a forest fire that destroyed almost 200 homes last September.]
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I like Genevieve Foster’s books. I read the one on Captain John Smith. I love the way she connects what’s going on in the entire world during the lifetime of her main subject so you can see him in the context of his times. We could do with more of that today.
Although I liked the illustrations in “A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, I the text didn’t move me much.
you have quite an ambitious reading plan for the month.
I just finished A Visit to William Blake’s Inn. Totally agree with you. The pictures were amazing – a feast for the eyes. The text was wacky. Grateful it was only 15 poems / 45 pages! But what a great experience when the pictures are so good. Can’t wait to read the Genevieve Foster book! Also her book about Lincoln’s world is on the Newbery list so I’ll get around to that one of these days too, I hope. (I’m a wannabe Newbery completist)… I want to read the entire Newbery list… winners and honor books.