2 months in and I am keeping up with reading at least 1,000 pages per month. My February reading barely even registers that it was a shorter month. I read 1,584 pages from 6 books. Plus, I disregarded my previous rule of reading at least the first 100 pages before determining that I did not want to read anymore.
The BAD
Let’s start with the bad. February’s DNFs (Did Not Finish) (Could not make myself to get through the first 100 pages) are:
February 2021 DNFs
| Author | Title | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| John Birdsall | The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard | I did not like the writer's style. Too many details about unimportant things. |
| Andrew Dave MacDonald | When We Were Vikings | The main character's thought process was very simplistic and I could not become engaged with the story. |
| Gabriel García Márquez | Love in the Time of Cholera | I really wanted to enjoy this book. Maybe it was an outdated writing style but I could not encourage or maintain any interest in the story. |
The Mediocre
It’s amazing that I got through such a large number of books this month when I enjoyed so few of them. Here are the mid-rated ones – all 2 or 3 out of 5.
February 2021 Mediocre Reads
| Author | Title | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Anne Tyler | Redhead by the Side of the Road | Did not like the writing style, the story, the relationships, really anything about it. |
| Janice McLeod | The Paris Letters | This was a memoir of sorts but I needed a perspective other than the author's. |
| Louise Miller | The Late Bloomers' Club | Predictable. The story was laid out in a way that you knew what was going to happen and it was frustrating waiting for it...and not many surprises in-between. |
| Matt Haig | The Midnight Library | Should have been much shorter. Dragged out to make its point. Yes, I got it! Halfway through! |
| Nancy Johnson | The Kindest Lie | Not well written. Poorly constructed. Rolled my eyes often at the writing. |
And, Finally, the BEST
February 2021 Top Reads
| Author | Title | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Sherry Serafini | Sherry Serafini's Sensational Bead Embroidery: 25 Inspiring Jewelry Projects | Actually read the entire book in one sitting (lots of patterns). Lots of photos. Very creative and insipring. |
| Jamie Cloud Eakin | Bead Embroidery Techniques Volume 2 - Edges | Excellent - good instructions, plenty of photos and diagrams. Thinking of getting Volume 1 now. |
And yes. That means I am branching out to bead embroidery. I’m still playing around and getting comfortable
wi
th it.
So much to bead, read and write. So little time!
