Books Read in February 2022!

Posted On February 28, 2022

Hi Readers! How was your month? Did you get a lot done or not much at all? For me, I read 10 books across 2668 pages in February! Isn’t that amazing to achieve in the shortest month of the year? I think this month I wanted to read more books, so I focused on the number of books & not the number of pages read. I also stayed true to my reading challenge by reading nonfiction & also I read 7/10 books from my bookshelf & only 3 eBooks. Check out the best, average & worst of the lot!

~~THE BEST~~

~~Dark Matter & Recursion by Blake Crouch~~

After many years, I picked up a Science Fiction book & I loved it. Both Dark Matter & Recursion by Blake Crouch are incredibly amazing books. Dark Matter’s premise is traveling in the multiverse while Recursion’s premise is about time travel through memories. Dark Matter asks you, “Are you happy in your life?” From this question starts a fast-paced story which you will most likely read till the end in one sitting. Recursion asks you, “What if someone could rewrite your entire life?” With this, you get into something unimaginable. The story, characters, concept; everything is just mind-blowing. I will recommend this book to everyone, whether you are into Sci-Fi or not. I have rated both Dark Matter & Recursion at 5/5 stars!

Read the full review here!

~~The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot~~

After reading ‘Why Fish Don’t Exist’ by Lulu Miller last year, this was the best nonfiction book I have read since then. Not only did I got to learn a lot about the cells which helped to make scientific breakthroughs, but also about the personal life of Henrietta & her family. Henrietta died in 1951 from cervical cancer but her cells live even today. If you don’t know, these He-La cells have helped develop medicines for treating herpes, leukemia, influenza, Parkinson’s disease. They have helped to make blood pressure & antidepression pills & has contributed in ways we cannot comprehend. In short, science today would not have reached this stage without her cells. Aside from the science of it, the book also talks about the ethics of using a person’s cells without their consent. Henrietta’s family found out about He-La years after Henrietta’s death. There were so many moral & ethical grey areas in science in 1900s, some of which exist even now! Lastly, the books talks about Henrietta’s family; her husband Day, her five children, her cousins & neighbours. While writing this synopsis I have realised that I do need to write a full-fledged review on the book, because clearly I have a lot to say about it! Maybe you will get that review soon! I have rated The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot at 4.5/5 stars!

~~Second Place by Rachel Cusk~~

Rachel Cusk’s writing calls out to the reader. It demands to be read. Not just read in combination with background music or with a cup of tea in your hand or with thoughts running in your brain & your brain’s brain. It demands to be read solely & purely. It demands to be read without any other combination getting in its way. Only if you are ready to be barred of every other thought in your mind, then you should read this book. The writing tests your concentration in the best way. Because you daydream for one sentence & you lose. You don’t just lose the thread of the story but you simply lose because you let your mind drift in the first place. I have rated Second Place by Rachel Cusk at 4/5 stars!

Read the full review here!

~~An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good & An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten~~

I read these two books towards the end of the month. I was looking for short books & then these came across my Goodreads feed with a high rating from a friend. Since these were two short books which would take my count to 10 books for the month, I jumped at the chance! It was the best decision because I loved these books! Reading them reminded me of a lot of other books & characters, but ultimately, I think it’s ‘A Man Called Ove’ meets ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’! As you can make out from the title, our protagonist is an 88-year-old elderly lady who lives alone, has no family or friends, is healthy even at her age & travels internationally often & is suspicious of everyone. If she gets a lot of signs from people, she becomes more than suspicious & straight up kills them! Yep. That’s our elderly lady! The first book has a few short chapters, in each one she kills someone. The second book explore more themes as to why she became this way & how she can use her wealth for the better. I did enjoy reading both these dark & fun novels! Would definitely recommend them! I have rated both An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good & An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten at 4/5 stars!

~~THE AVERAGE~~

I don’t have a lot to say about either of these books. I like both the authors, but somehow both these books felt flat to me.

~~Three Thousand Stitches by Sudha Murty~~

I had read some of Sudha Murty’s novels earlier. I had loved only one book, which was Dollar Bahu. But, all the other books were mediocre to me. I think Three Thousand Stitches adds to that list. This book is a compilation of 11 short stories. All are heartfelt & written in a simple manner. For people like me who read extensively, I found the writing to be too simple & straightforward. I have rated Three Thousand Stitches by Sudha Murty at 3.5/5 stars!

~~The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri~~

I have rated 3 out of 4 (Unaccustomed Earth, Whereabouts & Interpreter of Maladies, the one I did not like was In Other Words) of Jhumpa Lahiri books at 4 stars or above. But when I read The Namesake, I was majorly confused. It is the story of an Indian couple who move to the US. The story is mainly about their son Gogol’s life. It is plainly about his life; one day after other, one girlfriend to other, one event to the next. After reading the book, I also watched the movie, which was obviously similar. I may have missed something major which touched every other reader. But, most of the time, I just felt like I was reading one thing after the other without incident. I have rated The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri at 3.5/5 stars!

~~THE WORST~~

Both these books are popular & highly rated on Goodreads & also recommended everywhere. Unfortunately, I hated both these books. Time for unpopular opinion!

~~The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak~~

When I started reading The Forty Rules of Love, I did not feel anything, and naturally I was heartbroken while ironically reading about love. This book is classified as historical fiction. But, in fact, it is more like fiction that reads like non-fiction.  And, the genre of nonfiction is spirituality, no less. From the writing style to the first person narration by 10 people to both the average story lines to the content & the whole preachiness attached to it, I had a bad reading experience. If anyone wants to read this book, you should look into what it is really about before starting it. I have rated The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak at 2/5 stars!

Read the full review here!

~~The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris~~

I suppose when you start a wartime historical fiction book completely prepared to get emotionally destroyed, and then everything happens easily with minimal trauma to the characters, it becomes a disappointment, which is just so ironic. I guess that’s why I was in that weird phase before, during & after reading this book. And, because I was the same when the book ended as I was when I started it, it was not an emotionally rewarding book for me. I want all the emotions in me stirred up while reading books of such kind. I want to feel plain old hatred towards bullies. I want to feel hope for my main characters so that they see the war through. I want to feel misery & despair & loss & tragedy, but also love & hope & joy through words so masterfully & sentimentally written that I get something from the novel not only in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of emotional intelligence. Unfortunately, The Tattooist of Auschwitz was not it for me. I have rated The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris at 3/5 stars!

Read the full review here!

~~FEBRUARY READING STATS~~

So, February was great, but more importantly it’s March next month, aka my BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! I remember reading The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah for the entirely of March last year, which I ended up hating. So, this year, to have a great reading experience in my birthday month, I have created a March TBR. I know any book could go wrong for me, even if it is my favourite author or genre, but the least I can do is try, right? I will post my March TBR tomorrow!

Until next time,