I know February is a short month, but this one felt like it went by way faster than usual. I’m not sure how I managed to read 2 more books than last month with 3 days less, but I’m not complaining, and I get the feeling I’m going to have to increase my Goodreads challenge goal sooner rather than later. This month saw me reading 42 books (holy crap!), and I managed to get a lot of other stuff done as well. My TBR remains out of control, thanks to my huge number of books checked out of the library and 19 ARCs to read, but I’m confident I’ll make it through sooner rather than later. And here’s my progress on goals:

• I now have 527 followers, and I’m grateful for each and every one of you.
• I read 5 more books that I already own, so I’m slowly working through the backlist sitting on my shelves.
• In my efforts to read more nonfiction, I read another 6 books this month, so at least that’s consistent, right?
• I’m still working on increasing diversity in my reading, and chose to focus on reading more books by Black authors in honor of Black History Month. Of the 42 books I read, 11 were written by Black authors with a Black MC, and 3 more were written by POC with POC characters. I also read other diverse books during the month.

Here’s my breakdown of monthly/cumulative totals for February:

February Totals:

• Books read: 42
• Books DNF’d: 0
• Pages read: 9,115
• Hours listened: 7 hours, 2 minutes, 33 seconds
• Average pages: 379.8
• Average hours listened: 9 hours, 28 minutes, 32 seconds

Cumulative Averages:

• Days per book: 1.39
• Pages read per day: 302.86
• Books read per month: 41
• DNF’d books per month: 0

Genres Read in February:

• Biography/Memoir: 1
• Fantasy: 10
• Folklore/Fairytales: 2
• General Fiction: 3
• Historical Fiction: 4
• Horror: 1
• Mystery/Suspense: 12
• Romance/Erotica: 6
• Self-Help/Inspirational: 1
• Travel/Food: 1
• True Crime: 1

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 25
• 2022 releases: 17

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 36
• Nonfiction: 6

Format Read:

• Print: 13
• Digital: 11
• Audio: 18

Age Range:

• Adult: 31
• YA: 11
• MG: 0
• Children: 0

My favorite books of the month were The House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas and Verity by Colleen Hoover.

Here’s what I read in February:

• One for Sorrow by Helen S. Fields (DI Callanach #7) (ARC)
• Verity by Colleen Hoover
• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (ARC)
• House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas (Crescent City #2)
• The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper (Wolf Den Trilogy #1) (ARC)
• Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

• All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale #1)
• The Unbroken by C.L. Clark (Magic of the Lost #1)
• Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule
• Daughter by Kate McLaughlin (ARC)
• Deadly Décisions by Kathy Reichs (Temperance Brennan #3)
• The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
• The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
• King of Fools by Amanda Foody (The Shadow Game #2)
• The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich (Gabriela Rose #1) (ARC)
• Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu (ALC)
• All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta #3)
• Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta #4)
• White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
• Vegan Richa’s Instant Pot Cookbook: 150 Plant-Based Recipes from Indian Cuisine and Beyond by Richa Hingle (ARC)
• One for All by Lillie Lainoff (ARC)

• Welsh Monsters and Mythical Beasts by C.C.J. Ellis (ARC)
• Museum of Hidden Beings by Arngrímur Sigurðsson
• Recitatif by Toni Morrison (ALC) 
• The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
• A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings (Untitled Series #1) (ALC)
• Luster by Raven Leilani
• The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (The Wedding Date #1)

• Electric Idol by Katee Robert (Dark Olympus #2)
• The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh (ALC)
• The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (The Atlas #1) (ARC)
• Like a Sister by Kellye Garrett (ALC)
• The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta (ARC)
• A Chorus Rises by Bethany C. Morrow (A Song Below Water #2)
• Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart (Witches Steeped in Gold #1)
• The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris 

• Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness: Proven Strategies for Discovering Happiness, Meaning, and Fulfillment by Christopher Martin (ARC)

• Marking the Date by Cait Marie (Bennu Firebirds #3.5)
• House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (Crescent City #1)
• A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow (A Song Below Water #1)

How was your reading in February?