Hello all! February was a bit of a slow reading month. I’m well into all of my 5×5 challenge reads, but have not completed many of them yet. I think March will be the month that I finish the first slew of those. I finished 9 books this month and read steadily in my Loop books (If you missed the post about Loop Reading, read that here) So, not great (I’m officially “behind” in my challenge, less than a quarter of the way into the year) but it could be worse.

The Books of February

1. Father and I were Ranchers by Ralph Moody. We’re back to bedtime readalouds and this was the first book on our list to finish. It was so heartwarming, with wonderful family values, plenty of humor and a few tears. We enjoyed it so much and are looking forward to reading the next book in the series later on this year.
2. A Gracious Space: Fall by Julie Bogart. No, it isn’t fall anymore. Yes, I started this last fall and just got distracted, but I finished it in February and it was a good dose of homeschool inspiration and optimisim for the February slump.
3. The 100 Dresses by Eleanor Estes. I haven’t included children’s books in my own reading challenge for years, as we’ve been heavily in the picture book phase, but as we venture into more and more chapter books, they’re working their way onto my lists. If it was an enjoyable story and has enough chapters that we couldn’t read it in a day, I’m going to go ahead and count it. This was a thought provoking story about kindness and how our actions or lack of action may be perceived by others.
4. How to Read Poetry Like a Professor: A Quippy and Sonorous Guide to Verse by Thomas C. Foster. I really enjoyed this book, in spite of the fact that reading any book entitled, ‘How to Read XYZ…’ opens one up to mockery. I love poetry anyways, but this book really helped me to be a better reader/interpreter of it.
5. The Star Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman. This was an enjoyable twisted fairy tale type. Told in dual time lines, involving cursed sisters, family estrangement, and true love, it wasn’t earth shattering but it was a comfortable, quick read that got me started on vacation!
6. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. Unique historical fiction, alternating between present day and late-Victorian England. A mystery, murder, and a little magical intrigue too. Really liked this!
7. The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis. More family secrets, magic, mysteries, and an unwanted inheritance. I didn’t realize I had a theme with my vacation reads but I really did!
8. Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Classic. Epic. I haven’t really been one for epic poetry. I like short poems and long stories, but, at least historically, I dislike long poems and short stories. Evangeline was an exception. Once I started it, I couldn’t hardly stop. Something about it was utterly mesmerizing to me. Already looking forward to reading it again!

So there you have it. The books of February. Not the best reading month, but unseen progress was made. How was your February for reading?