Wow, another month down! I have been killing it on my blogging and reading goals, and I want to thank you guys for holding me accountable simply by visiting my site and interacting with my posts.
So let’s check out what I got down to in February in the context of my reading goals, planner use, and my blog!
Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on and/or purchase from some links, I make a portion of the sale. This helps keep Bitch Bookshelf running.
Books I Read
I’m a children’s librarian, so I read books for kids and for grown-ups. This month, I read 8 picture/early reader books and 5 “big” books, including audiobooks, adult novels, and chapter books for children.
The books I read were:
Love Monster by Rachel Bright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a cute book with a love theme, so perfect around Valentine’s Day. I think the message probably is better suited for teens and adults, but it can be a fun read for pre-school age, especially if they love monsters, and early elementary in identifying a character’s emotions and actions.
View all my reviews
I read this for class visits around Valentine’s Day, as I am a children’s librarian.
A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo Willems
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In classic Elephant & Piggie fashion, this is a great early reader that kids and adults alike can enjoy. It’s funny with a good message about sharing, playing together, friendship, and perspective.
May We Have Enough to Share by Richard Van Camp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Beautiful photography from Tea & Bannock, and the words are also lovely. This is a heartwarming, mindful board book. I love that it features indigenous families, too.
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This has been my favorite in the series so far! Penelope and Colin are both lovely, and they don’t have to work too hard for their HEA – they’re together fairly quickly, and the second half of the book deals with the two of them struggling together with a possible scandal that could affect Penelope as well as Colin’s personal insecurities. Plus, we get lots of insight into the wonderful friendship between Eloise and Penelope. All in all, I loved this one, and it was also the first time a Bridgerton completely behaved his/herself when it came to consent. 🙄😂 I was going to take a break from the series but now I need to know what happens in Book 5!
You can read my full review here.
Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pollan does a good job of telling us a lot about caffeine, its origins, and how it affects us in a short time frame. I really enjoyed this one, but the subject could be explored in a lot more depth. It did get my craving coffee, tea, and my other favorite caffeinated beverages. I don’t think I’ll quit any time soon.
You can read my full review here.
To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Easily my second favorite in the series so far. Eloise probably is my favorite Bridgerton, and her romance with Phillip is 🔥. Mostly, this story is about these two felling in love while Phillip learns to become a better father. I REALLY like this couple, and the chemistry in this one was ON POINT!!! I was hooked. This only isn’t 5 stars for me is because of the treatment of Phillip’s deceased first wife, Marina. Trigger warning / suicide:
Marina passed away from complications after attempting suicide. While Phillip doesn’t seem to resent Marina outright, no one really shows any indication that they think it must have been difficult to be Marina. Instead, she’s portrayed as selfish for not connecting with her children and leaving them behind. I agree that in some ways she was selfish, but depression is about so much more than that and I think her character deserves a little more justice.
Look out four my full review on March 10.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a classic story with beautiful illustrations. Truly never gets old.
I read this book in the morning, on a day the kids in the area had off from school. Then, they watched the film.
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a colorful book that is PERFECT for baby lap sit – great for discussion. The colors will engage baby and the illustrations provide a lot to talk about!
View all my reviews
Edible Colors by Jennifer Vogel Bass
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book straight up made my vegetarian mouth water.
Dig, Dump, Roll by Sally Sutton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book has the reader some interesting sounds… But the illustrations show different trucks required for building in great detail.
Leap! by JonArno Lawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a wonderful poem of a book with great illustrations and vocabulary. The words make read alouds a bit lofty, so I recommend practice, but it’s a lovely story.
Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a classic call and response book with simple, bright images. Kids will get a kick out of saying, “jump, frog, jump!”
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I highly doubt the last two books in the series will top this one – it’s by far my favorite so far! Francesca and Michael are both lovely characters with nothing but their respect and love for Michael’s cousin, Francesca’s late husband, keeping them apart. The two have to work through that before they finally get their HEA. This book also deals with chronic illness and infertility in a heartfelt way.
What I love most about this pair is that they both know what they want sexually. The first three books (especially Book 1) in this series have some super awful scenes regarding consent or lack thereof, but books 4-6 are full of consent, ESPECIALLY this one. Michael initiates the seduction but consistently asks for permission. This one had quite a few love scenes, and if you count the second epilogue, we get to see TWO scenes where Francesca takes total control (one in the novel itself) – which I don’t see a lot in popular historical romance, so 😍😍😍.
Look out for my full review on March 12.
A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume One by Daniel Abraham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazing, easy to read, spot-on adaptation. The characters are drawn in a traditional comic book style – we have our (mostly) burly or athletically slim men and (mostly) dainty sexpot women. But the illustrations are still gorgeous and do a large part in telling the story. I only read Book 1 of ASOIAF (I liked the show more – high fantasy can be too in-depth in novel form for me) and I really hope the rest of this series gets adapted. I’ll read the ones that have been published for sure.
Look out for my full review on March 17.
A Peek Into My Planner
I’ve been trying to fill out my planner each day to keep myself organized and to use the plethora of planner supplies and stickers I possess. (I use The Happy Planner.) Here are my weekly spreads for February.
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I’ve been keeping track of my moods to keep an eye on my depression and anxiety. On one hand, this was a great month because I got to go to Disney World with my parents. On the other, I suffered from a really bad period of asthma. In February, I felt:
- Okay – 7 days
- Sick – 4 days
- Great – 3 days
- Happy – 3 days
- Tired – 3 days
- Anxious – 2 days
- Bored – 1 day
- Creative – 1 day
- Excited – 1 day
- Grumpy – 1 day
- Moody – 1 day
- Restless – 1 day
My mood was pretty all over the place this month, but with travel and illness, that makes sense.
More Stuff I Did
It feels like all I did was cough my lungs up, but that was really just the last week of February. Visiting Disney was truly a highlight of my month and likely will be one of my best memories of 2020.
I watched a ton of movies while recovering from travel and illness. They were Miss Americana, Coco, Guardians of the Galaxy, Into the Okavango, To All The Boys: P. S. I Still Love You, and Horse Girl.
Looking Ahead: March
I have some fun plans with friends coming up, and I’m so excited for spring. I’m doing well with my reading goals, so I hope to read a similar amount. I’ve read 12 books the past two months each, so maybe I can do that again.
Here’s to an awesome March!
Whispering Stories
You look like you had a good month. I love your planner.
Kate
Thank you 💕
bookswithkathy
Looks like you had a good month.
A bookish chick
Looks like you had a great month!!
Empress DJ
You are killing it like a boss with that planner. Sorry to hear about the asthma – that is not fun ;(
Kate
Thank you!!
theburstingbookshelf
What a productive month you had