Happy February! I love this month because it means we are one step closer to spring-- though we are expecting a bit of snow here today-- enough to give us our third snow day of the semester! With an expected high of 14 degrees (yikes!), it's unlikely that I'll be venturing outside more than necessary, so curling up with a good book and a cup of tea sounds just about right. My reading choices have been all over the place lately, so when I sat down to seek some new February finds, my search took me all over Goodreads. Here's are just a few of the titles I've picked to add to my library list:
The Traitor's Wife by Allison Pataki // Did you catch Sons of Liberty on the History Channel last week? I only saw snippets of each episode, but it got me thinking that maybe my failed forays into American history could be solved with a good bit of historical fiction. Enter this book, which is about Benedict Arnold, an infamous traitor to the American Revolution, and his wife, who is actually the mastermind behind his treasonous acts. The story is told from the perspective of the wife's maid, "whose faith in the new nation inspires her to intervene in her mistress's affairs," and looks to be an action-packed read. Definitely for fans of historical fiction, American history, and powerful female characters. Allison Pataki's second book is set to be published mid-month; if The Traitor's Wife is as good as it sounds, then I'll definitely be on the waiting list for her newest release.
A Trip to the Stars by Nicholas Christopher // Sometimes it's hard to tell if a book looks good when its description is only one sentence long, as with this one. "A young boy and his adopted aunt become separated when the youngster is kidnapped by his wealthy, eccentric great-uncle, but mysterious ties continue to link the two unknowingly over the fifteen-year separation." - that's all that Goodreads has to say about this. I was curious, so I turned to reader reviews (one feature of Goodreads that I love), and saw that multiple people had proclaimed this to be the best book they'd ever read. Whoa. So I'm putting my trust in that enthusiasm and putting this book on my to-read list.
The Invention of Everything Else: A Novel by Samantha Hunt // This book is like a giant mixing pot of genres. When reading the description, I started out thinking that it was a historical fiction novel about Nikola Tesla. To me, that would have qualified as interesting enough to put on my list. Continuing on, I realized it has a rather large science fiction component to it, in the form of time travel. The combination of the two give it an eclectic vibe that I'm looking forward to exploring.
The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace // The Victorian Era is a favorite of mine for historical fiction, not just for books but also in film and on TV. Pair that with my fascination with the history of psychology and the clinical approach to mental illness and you have a story that instantly catches my attention. This is the story of a victorian woman who is admitted to a women's-only asylum by her husband just weeks after their wedding. It's one of those tales in which a seemingly sane person questions her sanity to the point of feeling insane, and brings up the point that in reality, we're all a little off-kilter. It reminds me of this book, which I read in 2013 and loved.
*****
As I mentioned a few times recently, my book rut has lasted much longer than usual, so I've been skipping around from book to book and feeling like I'm not sure which genre I want to indulge in most. From curating this month's list, I am definitely feeling a pull towards historical fiction reads, and I'm thinking this will be the month to bring me back to that feeling of being fully enthralled in a book. Which we all know is the best feeling ever.
What are you looking forward to reading this month?
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