What’s New? Its February!

It’s officially February! I’ve decided that to start off each month, I’ll do a little post about my TBR, releases for the month, national holidays, and really whatever else I can think of that might be relevant to the month at hand.  Hopefully by writing it all down I’ll be forced to get my thoughts in order.  All book cover links will take you to Goodreads 🙂

February TBR…

1. Little Bee– I’m in the middle, so I think I should finish it this month.  This is a powerful book about the travels of a Nigerian refugee once she gets through the refugee camp and is finally in London (from what I can tell, I’m only 8% in and didn’t read the back)
2. Invisible Man– god only knows what the teacher is going to do with this one.  The plotline is interesting, but the primary purpose is its commentary on racism before the civil rights movement.
3. Scrappy Little Nobody– I realllyyy want to get to Anna Kendrick’s new book.  I got it for Christmas, so I think it’s a good time to start!
4. Truly Madly Guilty– I just got this one from the library (ebook) and I’m soooo excited!!! This has been on my TBR forever, I love Liane Moriarty, and so I actually can’t wait!

Hot Releases (w/ Goodreads Summaries)…

How to Murder Your Life, by Cat Marnell (February 2nd)– At the age of 15, Cat Marnell unknowingly set out to murder her life. After a privileged yet emotionally-starved childhood in Washington, she became hooked on ADHD medication provided by her psychiatrist father. This led to a dependence on Xanax and other prescription drugs at boarding school, and she experimented with cocaine, ecstasy… whatever came her way. By 26 she was a talented ‘doctor shopper’ who manipulated Upper East Side psychiatrists into giving her never-ending prescriptions; her life had become a twisted merry-go-round of parties and pills at night, and trying to hold down a high profile job at Condé Naste during the day.  With a complete lack of self-pity and an honesty that is almost painful, Cat describes the crazed euphoria, terrifying comedowns and the horrendous guilt she feels lying to those who try to help her. Writing in a voice that is utterly magnetic – prompting comparisons to Brett Easton Ellis and Charles Bukowski – she captures something essential both about her generation and our times. Profoundly divisive and controversial, How to Murder Your Life is a unforgettable, charged account of a young female addict, so close to throwing her entire life away.

So this came out yesterday, meaning I’m (just a little) late in posting about it.  Hopefully it had an awesome first day, because this book sounds crazy amazing.  It’s such a cool mix of real-life vs. drug addiction, rather than other books which try to separate the two and make it sound like drug addicts live in a fantasy world of their own.  I can’t wait to read this one!!!!

My Not so Perfect Life, by Sophie Kinsella (February 7th)— Katie Brenner has the perfect life: a flat in London, a glamorous job, and a super-cool Instagram feed.  Ok, so the real truth is that she rents a tiny room with no space for a wardrobe, has a hideous commute to a lowly admin job, and the life she shares on Instagram isn’t really hers.  But one day her dreams are bound to come true, aren’t they?  Until her not-so perfect life comes crashing down when her mega-successful boss Demeter gives her the sack. All Katie’s hopes are shattered. She has to move home to Somerset, where she helps her dad with his new glamping business.  Then Demeter and her family book in for a holiday, and Katie sees her chance. But should she get revenge on the woman who ruined her dreams? Or try to get her job back? Does Demeter – the woman with everything – have such an idyllic life herself? Maybe they have more in common than it seems.  And what’s wrong with not-so-perfect, anyway?

I feel like this is an interesting twist, because normally people go from rags to riches, and this is (sort of) the other way around.  It could end up being cliche, but a fun beach/easy read nonetheless.

King’s Cage (Red Queen #3), by Victoria Aveyard (February 7th)— In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s bestselling Red Queen series, allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl’s spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?  Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother’s web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.  As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare’s heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.  When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.

No comment because I haven’t read the first two in the series, but I know these are fairly popular so I decided to include them for completion’s sake.

To Catch a Killer, by Sheryl Scarborough (February 7th)— Erin Blake has one of those names. A name that, like Natalee Holloway or Elizabeth Smart, is inextricably linked to a grisly crime. As a toddler, Erin survived for three days alongside the corpse of her murdered mother, and the case—which remains unsolved—fascinated a nation. Her father’s identity unknown, Erin was taken in by her mother’s best friend and has become a relatively normal teen in spite of the looming questions about her past.  Fourteen years later, Erin is once again at the center of a brutal homicide when she finds the body of her biology teacher. When questioned by the police, Erin tells almost the whole truth, but never voices her suspicions that her mother’s killer has struck again in order to protect the casework she’s secretly doing on her own.  Inspired by her uncle, an FBI agent, Erin has ramped up her forensic hobby into a full-blown cold-case investigation. This new murder makes her certain she’s close to the truth, but when all the evidence starts to point the authorities straight to Erin, she turns to her longtime crush (and fellow suspect) Journey Michaels to help her crack the case before it’s too late.

Another February 7th release!  Not sure why that’s such a big day in publishing, but that’s cool!  I love thrillers, and this one seems fun because it’s about teenagers, has a romance aspect, and is generally different than most books about people who survived a tragic event.

The Hate You Give, by Angie Thomas (February 28th)— Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl’s struggle for justice.  

Literally this book sounds amazingly powerful.  It’s either going to be incredible or horrible and I feel like there’s no in between.  I’ll be interested to see what diversity reviewers say, because that will have a lot of impact on where this goes.  And, movie rights have already been sold, so we can get a fun adaption out of it!

National Holidays…

• 7th– Send a card to a friend day!  Maybe I should participate?
• 14th– Valentine’s Day, aka an excuse to spend an entire day sad and eating chocolate
• 15th– National Flag of Canada Day…. Do we have a flag day in America?  Why does this exist?
• 24th– Flag day for Mexico.  I wasn’t going to put this in but I did Canada so HERE WE ARE PEOPLE.  CELEBRATING FLAGS AS AN EXCUSE TO HAVE FUN.  Should I blame capitalism or just jump on the party bus?
• 26th– Tell a Fairy tale day.  Sounds perfect for a blog post 😉

There’s wayyyy more, but those are all the ones that caught my eye.  If you have any more interesting ones that you want me to add to this calendar, let me know and I’ll edit!

Writing Progress…

As some of you may know, I’m working on writing my novel, and sort of kind of planning it in advance.  Well, this month I hope to finish writing chapter 2 (I’m only halfway through 1 so don’t judge) and plan at least halfway, as well as get better character sketches, since those are still just in my head, and need to be put on paper to be made official.  If anyone has any advice for actually getting this done, I need it.

Editing Progress….

Erin, if you are reading this, I’m SO SORRY!  I’ve been so slow editing her piece lately, but I hope to finish 3 more chapters this month.  I need to sit down and crank it out.  I’m hoping to be less busy this semester and therefore have more time for that type of stuff.  Maybe posting it here will force me to actually do it!

That’s all I have for this month!  What’s on your February TBR?  Do you have any audiobook recommendations?  What’s your favorite February national holiday?

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