Books I Read in February 2021 (short reviews)

Hi guys, I have a question for you. Are you also this crazy motivated to read at the moment without really noticing it? Because I've read another 15 books this month and I don't really know how that happened. 
And apparently I'm not the only one who feels like that at the moment if I judge everyone's monthly wrap ups correctly. 
I won't continue to ramble about the reasons why everyone seems to read so much at the moment, because we have a lot of books to go through, so let's get started. 
(as always if you want to follow along my reading in real time, here's my goodreads account: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/95108873-lena-fiala) 

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (3/5)
This was a strange one. The whole book felt like I imagine a very bad acid trip has to feel like. I had to read this book for a seminar on Literary Journalism and to this day I don't really know what to rate this. At the end I settled for 3 stars because it was fascinating and super quick to read, but I can't see myself to pick this up for a reread. Also not sure if I would recommend this to anyone. I guess I do, but you have to be prepared for a very strange ride. 

The Night Manager by John le Carré (5/5)
This was a sure 5 out of 5 for me. I read another novel by John le Carré not too long ago and I really love his way of writing characters. Also I loved the  BBC series with Tom Hiddleston, so I absolutely had to read this book. 
It is quite different from the TV series, but still such a good read. It also prompts a very interesting discourse on identity that I really enjoyed. It has many layers that you can dissect or you just enjoy it with the picture of Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine in your head while reading. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (5/5)
This was an incredible book. Like one of my new favourites. It was so raw and covered so many different things and the style of writing was amazing. I can't stop recommending this book to people. It's so good. What else do I need to say?

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion (4/5)
An essay collection I had to read for uni. Honestly I was so surprised at this one. I had very low expectations going into it, but I was blown away. Joan Didion has such a way with words, her writing is beautiful and shows so many different perspectives and aspects of writing, I loved reading everything she talked about. I can really recommend this. 

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (-/5)
This was a very interesting read. One because it was written in 2007 (I think) and two because as a German I don't actually know the ins and outs of American politics. So reading about it so in depth was very informative. It was also quite inspiring to read about Obama's hopes and dreams for the US, even if it is very frustrating in the context of today's world. Some of the concepts he talked about were unfamiliar to me and I didn't feel too connected to this book. Which is ultimately also why I didn't give it a rating. I'm not the target audience and I can't really judge the book in it's entirety. It was very well written and expressed a lot that I didn't know about Obama, so I recommend you give it a read. 

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (4/5)
Great re-introduction into fantasy. I've read so much fantasy when I was younger, but the older I got the more disconnected I felt from fantasy. I want to change that (to a small part because people on the internet keep talking about all these amazing fantasy books and I want to read them all), so I picked up this book with the hope that it was an easy to get into kind of fantasy. And I was right. The idea of magical books was lovely, the characters were great (Silas was absolutely hilarious) and the (romantic) tension was delicious. I really recommend this book. 

Call me by your name by André Aciman (5/5)
As easy going as the last book was, this one was... not easy going. It was heartbreaking, mildly disgusting, intruiging, intrusive and so much more than the coming of age story I had expected. It is still an incredible read. The symbolism, the metaphors for life and loss and grief were beautiful, the heart ache of wanting something and then feeling unsatisfied when you get it was so real and overall this was such a raw experience that I felt uncomfortable and still so invested while reading this. Not for someone who is easily put off by a few... strange things, but still an amazing book that I can recommend. 

Misogynation by Laura Bates (4/5)
A straightforward collection of essays on everyday account of sexism. Uncomfortable for all the right reasons and very important in a time where some people claim we've solved sexism. I appreciated how diverse the accounts of sexism were, not only stories by women but also by men were talked about and that is super important for me. I want to be a feminist who wants equality and we can't have equality if we treat fathers like babysitters of their children and make fun of men who are emotional by calling them pussies (hate that one). So give this one a go. A little repetitive at times, but I didn't mind it, maybe just don't listen to it in one go. 

Merging The Drift by Tom Bray (3.5/5)
See my full blog post from February 18th. I was asked by the author if I wanted to review this book.

The Fall of Light by Niall Williams (4.5/5)
Probably the biggest surprise of the month. I had no idea what this book was about when I started reading it (I just knew there were barely any reviews on good reads and it said on the back that it was set in Ireland), but oh wow, was I rewarded. This book is so heartbreaking and emotional, it feels like it takes a lifetime and at the same time you fly through it. The start was rough but once it picked up you're taken on a beautifully written journey through a whole families history of the world. So deep, so lyrical, so good. 

The Bees by Laline Paull (2.5/5)
A very strange read. The symbolism in that one was just a tad to wacky for me. I do recognise what it is trying to and the metaphors and all, but at the end of the day it was all too mumbled up for me to enjoy it. A little too meta for my taste, because it took away from the connections you can draw to people and society by making you wonder about every page you read.  And the word crotch was used way too often, in case you were wondering.

The Echo by Minette Walters (3.5/5)
Solid mystery novel. It was better than The Devil's Feather (which I read last year). A little all over the place at first but it is all brought together at the end and very well done. The characters were well developed and the story thoroughly thought through (quickly say this three times) . I can recommend this to all the mystery readers out there. 

Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (5/5)
What a fantastic book. So funny and emotional at the same time. Beautifully written and heartbreaking. It was shocking on the one side and entertaining and light hearted on the other side. Trevor Noah is an exceptional person and this book only proves it. Also, the audio book is read by the author which makes it ten times better. 

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (5/5)
This might be my new favourite book. At least of February. It was such an amazing read. The tension was there, the characters were written beautifully, the story line was believable and the steam *chef's kiss*. As a literature student I love to read books with a little bit of attention towards the small details and I don't often find anything that surprises me, but The Hating Game's way of working with word play and colours (for example the Robin's egg blue of his shirt and bedroom and her eyes and the freaking cover of the book? Incredible.) 
Go read this. I mean it. Drop your current read and treat yourself to this masterpiece. And then get upset that it is too short and you wish there were another 500 pages telling you about Lucy and Josh

The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort (3/5)
We were ending February on such a high note and then my TBR Jar decided on this motherfucker of a book. (I'm actually adjusting in my chair as I write this review). 
This book was a shitshow and I know I should hate it. I should hate the obnoxious misogyny and racism. I should hate the way every single person around Jordan is treated and abused and hurt. I should hate this person with his God complex and lack of self awareness and drug problem and need to outdo everyone around him. 
And I do hate him. But I also kinda loved the book. It was such a fascinating story of excess and abuse. Of what happens when you don't have any boundaries, any limits, any consequences. If the law doesn't abide to you. If you can buy whatever you want and everything loses meaning. 
I felt pity for this man. Pity that he abuses himself so much in his attempt to get more of what he already has too much of. Money, Sex, Power, Drugs, Pain. 
Do I recommend this book as entertaining reading? No.
Do I still think it was fascinating? Yes. 
Was it about 200 pages too long? Definitely. 
I think I could write about six more pages about this because I'm so intrigued by this book that made me hate a man so much and yet I couldn't stop reading what he wrote. At this point I don't even care anymore what is fiction and what is fact. It was a bloody confusing and insane read and the only reason I gave it 3 stars and not more is because I cannot justify it morally as a somewhat decent human being.

Damn, that was a longer post than I expected, but there was just so much to talk about. 
Tell me, are any of these books on your TBR? 
What was your favourite book of February? 
I'm going to continue reading now, because I just can't seem to stop anymore. 

Hope you're doing well. 
Take care, stay healthy and read on. 
Lena

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