February has been an odd month this year. In the UK we are still in the midst of lockdown 3.0, there is some hope we will be coming out of it as spring is just round the corner. I am very thankful for my daughter being allowed to attend school in person due to my being a key-worker.
It has been a month of rain, rain and more rain, but there are glimmers of spring on the horizon and we have even had some sunshine.
On the other hand I have been reading LOADS with a grand total of 18 books read including 5 audio-books (over 40 hours), and the rest a mix of printed (6) and e-books (7) totalling nearly 4000 pages.
I have even started writing again, picking up a novel project I had hit a dead end with and looking at it with fresh eyes have helped.
Real Estate
by Deborah Levy
I don’t think I have read a memoir as beautifully written as this one. A successful woman who’s youngest daughter has just left home. Instead of moping about it she take a job in Paris. This is a book that tells you how you can be a modern 60 year-old woman with grace, style and panache.
The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway
Perfect. The old man and the biggest fish he has ever caught in mortal combat for several days, in less than 100 pages this has it all, plot, character development, drama, and a fight to the death.
Atomic Habits:
An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
by James Clear
I read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg a couple of years ago and this adds to that work but I makes it much more practical. So many straightforward and achievable ways to stop bad habits and form better ones.
The Queen’s Gambit
by Walter Tevis
Amy Landon (Narrator)
A good rags to success story about an orphan, turned chess prodigy. I know the rules of chess but it’s not something I play these days and due to this I probably didn’t get all the intricacies involved but it was an entertaining story nonetheless.
Two very different books but both five star reads and the both deserve the title this month.
A wonderful space opera with an all alien cast. Published in the Uk a couple of weeks ago
See my review here: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers ★★★★★
A dark tale of grief, loss and homelessness with a bittersweet climax.
Due for publication at the end of March my review is scheduled for the 18th March.
Paperback 
Paperback 
Audiobook 
Audiobook 
E-book 
E-book 
E-ARC from Netgalley 
Hardback 
E-ARC from Netgalley 
Paperback Proof ARC
Its crazy but after two months I am over half way done with most of my challenges. I even started a new one called The 52 Book Club’s 2021 Reading Challenge as the prompts were so interesting.
If you want more details, here’s the links:
Sunday Posts:
- 7th Feb Spring Might be Close but it Feels Like Winter – A Sunday Post
- 14th Feb Happy Valentines Day – A Sunday Post
- 21st Feb The Half-Term Nothing Happened – Sunday Post
Book Reviews:
Top Ten Tuesdays:
I will be linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz It’s Monday What are you Reading? at The Book Date, and because this is a monthly one too Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Best of the Bunch over at A Cocoon of Books.
Charlotte Burt's Books 
All these books look good, I remember reading the Hemingway a loooong time ago. I heard The queen’s gambit series was better than the novel… Congratulations on reading so much, I guess the rain helped ! Enjoy your week 🙂
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I suppose the rain has to take some of the credit, but audiobooks help.
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Wow that’s a lot of books! Yay! And I hope you guys are able to get out of lockdown soon. Here things are really opening up and everyone is kind of resuming regular life, feels like- just w/ masks. I really need to get the new Wayfarer book.
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It shouldn’t be too much longer. The hospitals are definitely much calmer.
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You had such a good reading month!! Atomic Habits sounds very interesting.
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Because others won’t take simple precautions, my husband and I have had go into lockdown for ourselves here in Texas. I’m sure that it is much harder to be in a mandated lockdown.
Real Estate by Deborah Levy sounds fascinating. It would be my dream to go live in Paris at some point in my life.
I wondered what people would think about the book, Queen’s Gambit.
I read and loved the first book of the Becky Chambers series, but I haven’t gone farther. One of these days….
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Your book list is truly overwhelming. I don’t see how you can keep track of such a variety of projects.
be safe… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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4000 pages in a month is a wonderful feat. I wish my February was as good as yours. I loved reading My sister, the serial killer in Feb too.
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Oh wow. That’s a lot of reading! How are you able to read 7 at once?! I have a hard time keeping track of the one I’m reading if there are gaps where I am not able to sit down and just read it.
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I’ve heard so many good things about the Atomic Habits book. A lot of people recommend it. I need to check that one out.
Hope you have a good week!
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While my state is basically fully open I’m still not venturing out much. In a couple of weeks I will have gone a full 12 months without eating in a restaurant (I haven’t done take out or delivery either). See what I read Girl Who Reads
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So you read the book for The Queen’s Gambit? I loved the series on TV but the book is only so-so? My Sunday Salon post this week
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I know what you mean, it was an OK book but nothing special.
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It feels like we’ve had nothing but rain here all summer, I’m hoping Autumn is drier, but not hotter!
I’ve heard infection rates are dropping in the UK with the vaccination roll out so it seems there is a good chance of lockdown finishing soon.
Wishing you a great reading week
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I hope your right 🙂
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Old Man and the Sea is one of those books I could keep returning to.
And I keep hearing about The Queen’ s Gambit…
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Wow, congrats on getting so much reading done last month. Have a great March!
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I like the look of Real Estate. Thanks for sharing, and enjoy your week! Here are my WEEKLY UPDATES
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Wow! That’s an incredible amount of books lol! 4000 pages whew.. that sounds amazing! Great book choices, I hope you have another great reading week and month!
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You had a great month! Lockdowns do have some positive results if you look at reading as a positive. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
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In Oregon, we’re still in Lockdown 1.0, but it has lasted almost a year now! I worry that re-entry will be hard for my kids, especially my son. But, we’ll see! Have a great week!
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Wow, I thought we had it bad, but a whole year! Hope your kids readjust to the unlocked world when it happens.
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The Galaxy and the Ground Within sounds interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with an all alien class.
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Nor me
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Wow, you read a lot!
I’m in Scotland so I’m looking forward to my daughters going back to high school in a couple of weeks time, it will be nice to go back to semi normal.
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Great reading month! Dumplin’ was a fun read for me too and I binged it before we watched the movie. Our state is opening up despite the increasing numbers that point to another spike in cases happening. So, I remain home and get take out groceries, restaurant food from small businesses, and workout in my living room instead of going to the exercise center. We’ve come this far and I don’t want to reverse course. I hope your March is going well!
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