Although February is such a short month, I thought I’d been doing a reasonably good job with my reading, but it’s not quite what I expected. I did read 11 books, but two of those were novellas and four of them were for reviewing purposes. 4 of them are translations, 7 of them are by women writers (one was co-written by a man and a woman) and I have only reviewed two of them on my blog. I think I might have to introduce the pithy weekly reading diary that Elle Thinks has started, otherwise too much is left undigested and unmarked, despite my best intentions.
Crime Fiction
6 of the books I read this month fell into this category and 4 of them have been reviewed or will be reviewed on Crime Fiction Lover.
- Michelle McNamara: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark – compassionate rather than voyeuristic true crime; compassion for the victims, I mean, and an excellent recreation of time and place – 1970s/80s California. My favourite of the crimey reads this month, even though I am not usually a true crime fan.
- Hari Nykänen: Holy Ceremony, transl. Kristian London. Part of a series about the wonderfully named Finnish-Jewish detective Ariel Kafka.
- Noel Balen & Vanessa Barrot: Minced, Marinated and Murdered, transl. Anne Trager. Enjoyable culinary cosy crime set in one of my favourite cities, Lyon. The mystery is somewhat secondary to the atmosphere and characters.
- Johana Gustawsson: Keeper, transl. Maxim Jakubowski. A rather gory and grim follow-up to the hardcore first book in the Anglo-French pair Roy & Castells series. I’ve met Johana in real life and don’t know how such an absolutely lovely lady can invent such terrifying details.
- Tammy Cohen: Clean Break – a novella about a couple on the brink of divorce, which takes a stalkerish and sinister turn.
- Louise Candlish: Our House – by strange coincidence, I got sent this book just as I was reading Tammy Cohen’s book. It is also about a couple on the brink of divorce and fighting over their house (or at least I thought this was what it was going to be about, but that would have been too boring and common-place – the truth is much more complicated). I read it at once, but it offered me no tips on how to handle negotiations (or even how to murder a spouse).
Reading Recommendations and Challenges
For the David Bowie Book Club: James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time
For the Asymptote Book Club: Aranyak by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
For the Muriel Spark Centenary: Symposium – a book almost entirely in dialogue form
Modern Classic recommended by many of my favourite book bloggers: J.L. Carr – A Month in the Country – and how right they were!
In fact, all four of these were very worthwhile reads, so perhaps I should stick more to personal recommendations in future.
Following the Herd
Chloe Caldwell: Women – I’d read about this ill-fated lesbian love story and requested it on Netgalley, but I found it rather disappointing. A sort of memoir about a moment of curiosity and madness, or a coming of age story without real maturity at the end. It felt like yet another MFA project designed to be mildly shocking or titillating. Will I never learn not to fall for blurbs or buzz?
findingtimetowrite 
Blurbs can be so misleading…. But yes, isn’t A Month in the Country just wonderful? You’ve had a much better month than me, though I *am* getting on a little better now. Just too many review books… 😉
Hmm.. I have Women sitting on the shelves waiting to be read but you’re the second blogger whose opinion I trust to have raised doubts.
I also acquired A Month in the Country after a few people reviewed it but naturally still haven’t read it. Glad to hear you rate it too – I shall try to shove it up the list! Also glad you didn’t get inspired to murder any spouses… 😉
You had a wonderful month in Feb. I have been meaning to read A month in the country because the cover is very similar to that of South Riding, a gem of a book I discovered two years ago. If you liked A month in the country, I would recommend South Riding too
I enjoyed A Month in the Country, a quiet novel to slow read.
Being discerning, the big challenge for us readers, I agree blurbs can be so misleading, I prefer to check Goodreads first, but with Netgalley there may not be too many reviews before deciding to take the plunge;
I’ve made a personal rule never to go for the hype, Marina Sofia. Rarely does a book live up to it. A Month in the Country sounds good, and I do keep hearing good things about it from people I trust. Hmm….
Yeah, it’s a shame about Women. I do think it was worth reading, but possibly mostly because it was so short.
I’ve been carrying Alone in the Dark with me for over one month now, and I haven’t started it yet because it feels such a special book knowing how it was written and Michelle’s unexpected death. I’m glad to hear it is a compassionate take on the murders, which will only add to the book’s worth.