I was expecting February to be a little slower than it actually was, so I didn’t get as much accomplished as I hoped to. However, the month flew by and kind of got away from me. Half of the month was super stressful for me — I got a terrible cold that worsened my autoimmune issues, and then at the end of the month I had a minor outpatient surgery, and it all made focusing on reading difficult, but things have eased up and hopefully I’ll get back to my usual self soon. 

February was Black History Month, and I intentionally included more books by Black authors throughout the month. That doesn’t mean that I forgot about other groups, and continued to incorporate various diverse books into my reading for the month. Here’s some highlights from February:

• My blog grew from 720 to 732 followers, and I’m happy with the continued growth.
• I’m still struggling with my ARCs. NetGalley ARCs are in check, but my physical ARCs are a bit out of hand.
• The Harper Collins Union strike was successfully resolved (YAY!) so I was able to post the reviews that I was holding off on.
• Of the 31 books that I read, 6 were nonfiction, including 1 about feminism, 1 about the history of Black women and bodily autonomy, 2 were autobiographies, and 1 was a cookbook.
• As far as diverse voices, 7 of the books I read were written by Black authors, 7 by Jewish authors, 6 by Queer authors, 2 by Asian authors, 1 by an Indigenous author, and 1 by a Middle Eastern author.
• I wanted to read outside of my usual genres, so I read 2 horror, 1 sci-fi, and 2 social science books.
• I read the second of my 12 in 12 challenge books for the year, I’m more than halfway done with the 2023 PopSugar reading challenge, and I’ve read 13 out of my 18 books by Jewish authors challenge.

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

February Totals:

• Books read: 31
• Books DNF’d: 4
• Pages read: 4,617
• Hours listened: 9 days, 7 hours, 51 minutes
• Average pages: 355.2
• Average hours listened: 10 hours, 52 minutes

Cumulative Averages:

• Days per book: 3.03
• Pages read per day: 171.97
• Books read per month: 34.5
• DNF’d books per month: 2.5

Genres Read in February:

• Biography/Memoir: 2
• Fantasy: 6
• General Fiction: 6
• Historical Fiction: 3
• Horror: 2
• Mystery/Suspense: 4
• Romance/Erotica: 3
• Sci-Fi: 1
• Social Science/Current Affairs/Politics: 2
• Travel/Food: 1
• True Crime: 1

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 19
• 2023 releases: 12

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 25
• Nonfiction: 6

Format Read:

• Print: 5
• Digital: 8
• Audio: 18

Age Range:

• Adult: 27
• YA: 4

My favorite books of the month were VenCo by Cherie Dimaline and The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker.

Here’s what I read in February:

• A Death in Jerusalem by Jonathan Dunsky (Adam Lapid Mysteries #7)
• Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks
• I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (ALC) 
• Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (Earthed #1)
• VenCo by Cherie Dimaline (ALC)
• The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan (Empire of the Wolf #1) (Publisher ARC)
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Maya Angelou’s Autobiography #1)

• Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin (NG ARC)
• Assassin of Reality by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko (Vita Nostra #2) (NG ARC) 
• The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (The Golem and the Jinni #1)
• The Vanishing Type by Ellery Adams (The Secret, Book, and Scone Society #5)

• Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (ALC)
• The Everything One Pot Mediterranean Cookbook: 200 Fresh and Simple Recipes That Come Together in One Pot by Peter Minaki (NG ARC)
• His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie 
• The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter (NG ARC)
• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty 
• Firestarter by Stephen King
• Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
• Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli (NG ARC)
• All the Blood We Share by Camilla Bruce
• Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair
• How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow (YABC ARC)

• When Trying to Return Home: Stories by Jennifer Maritza McCauley (ALC)
• Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes and Robin Gaby Fisher
• Forbidden City by Vanessa Hua

• Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh
• Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald (ARC)

• The Wife Before by Shanora Williams 
• The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi (ALC)
• The Family Morfawitz by Daniel H. Turtel (Giveaway ARC)

• This Other Eden by Paul Harding (ALC)
• Radiant Sin by Katee Robert (Dark Olympus #4) (ALC) 
• Hell’s Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, America’s First Serial Killer Family by Susan Jonusas
• A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand (The Middlemist Trilogy #1) (NG ARC)

How did your February go? Drop a link to your February wrap-up in the comments so I can visit!