{"id":6939,"date":"2023-03-01T15:14:37","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T20:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/?p=6939"},"modified":"2023-03-01T15:14:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T20:14:37","slug":"february-reads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/february-reads\/","title":{"rendered":"February Reads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

February wasn\u2019t a month for voracious reading, but some more cerebral pieces of literature made it through in addition to the usual sci-fi, cozy mystery, and somewhat off the beaten pack romance novels. I\u2019ve been working in a bit of non-fiction into my repertoire, but not too much this month, perhaps March will bring in some more books set firmly in reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

February also marks the return of talking about Harper Collins novels again as workers are no longer on strike and ratified the contract there. Really appreciate the positive impact this might have on the rest of the large publishing industry, or at least, one can hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This month I started reading the first book in a few series I intend to continue – namely\u00a0Legendborn by Tracy Deonn<\/strong>, which is an absolutely fantastic adventure magic fantasy novel that pulls together Knights of King Arthurs Table, secret societies, Root Crafters, and deals with some serious subject matter like grief, slavery, what it means to have a mixed heritage in a so-called post colonial world. Anyway, I\u2019m glad I got on this train, because I\u2019m looking forward to the next book. It\u2019s full of action and intrigue, light romantic elements, diverse characters, and a strong woman lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Canada Reads book this month was We Spread by Iain Reid<\/strong> and it ultimately so weird, and in the light of The Last of Us TV series, a subtle or overtly fungal themed book may not be something I want to do for a while. BUT the story was compelling, it was so readable. I cared about Penny and what happened to her. I thought he wrote the unreliable narrator so well, and from the point of view from an elderly woman with so much care it was very thoughtfully done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danielle Garret was back with three more books in the\u00a0Nine Lives Magic series<\/strong>, and largely I\u2019m here for both the cat Selene, and Amanda Ronconi, the narrator of the audiobooks. But it\u2019s a solid series with minimal if any fat phobic elements, and has an over arching plot as well as mini mysteries in each book. While I can\u2019t get Talisman Tales as an audiobook for a few months, I\u2019ve actually started reading it in print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found Lana Harper\u2019s Payback’s a Witch<\/strong> extremely satisfying to read. It\u2019s a bit of a revenge tale for a lacklustre ex that also happens to be someone that is part of the richest family in town, filled with love and magic. I wasn\u2019t sure if I\u2019d read the rest of the series, but writing this, I\u2019m getting the feeling I will, just to see where the rest of it goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver<\/strong> is a YA, and is ultimately a coming out story, with re-found family, with parents that are terrible (terrible parents kick their kids out of their homes for being non-binary, queer, or basically anything, I don\u2019t make the rules, that\u2019s just facts,) and a lot of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New to me in February was a spicy demon romance novel – That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon<\/strong> by Kimberly Lemming, and after many recommendations for this one, I\u2019m glad I picked it up despite it not being my usual scene. It was delightfully silly, had very few morally ambiguous characters (which can be very very nice) and yet at times still explored some deeper philosophical questions. It\u2019s salacious though, and graphic, and perhaps not my cup of tea, but it was fun and perfect for when I read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This months nonfiction books included\u00a0A Handful of Earth, a Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia Butler<\/strong>\u00a0by Lynell George, which I talked about on\u00a0tiktok\u00a0this month. Another was\u00a0Mycotopia: Citizen Science, Fungi Fanatics, and the Untapped Potential of Mushrooms<\/strong>\u00a0by Doug Bierend, which I listened to as my night time relaxation book. I think my favourite fungi book is Merlin Sheldrake\u2019s magnificent Entangled Life, but Bierend\u2019s book covered some interesting technologies and initiatives being covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other books.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n