February 2017 Monthly Round-Up

February 2017 Monthly Round-Up
This post contains affiliate links and I will make a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

February Reading / Life

  • My 2017 reading kicked into gear in February with a number of super high quality books! Literally four of my February books could have been my Best Book of January.
  • I adored the writing and emotional tension of A Separation and All Grown Up, but they are the kind of books that I realize won’t appeal to everyone…consequently inspiring my 12 Books That Aren’t For Everyone…But WERE For Me list.
  • I read two page turners in February; one was a winner (Dark Matter, enabling me to check 4 books off my 2016 Books I Missed list!) and one not so much (Behind Her Eyes, but I did get a Spoiler Discussion post out of it).
  • My audiobooks were so-so: The Unwinding by George Packer didn’t offer much new insight, Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks was mildly entertaining, and The Valley of the Gods: A Silicon Valley Story (about Silicon Valley culture) was fairly interesting, but didn’t leave a lasting impression.
  • And, I think I’ll be recommending This Is How It Always Is and Dead Letters to many people for the foreseeable future.
  • I attended my first author event (I know, that’s kind of ridiculous) for my friend, Georgia Hunter and her astounding novel, We Were the Lucky Ones. It was fantastic to hear Georgia discuss her novel with Thomas Kail (director of Hamilton) and meet some of her family members whose stories she told in her novel.
  • Book of the Month Club selections are due on Monday…don’t forget to get yours in or sign up for a subscription if you want to get in for March (and you should because this month’s selections are particularly awesome)! Check out my commentary on the this month’s selections, including which book I’d choose.
  • Finally, I spent a big chunk of February trying to heal my thrown out back. After a couple weeks of physical therapy, massage, and rest, I’m finally starting to feel better! I’m still not back to running or intense workouts, but will hopefully be there soon.

Best Books of the Month

My Favorite Book of the Month

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach (February 21, 2017)
Fiction, 353 Pages
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

PS – last year’s Best Book of February was Tender by Belinda McKeon (my review)…also one of my favorites of 2016!

Best Selling Book of the Month (via my affiliate links)

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter (author Q&A)

March Releases I’m Excited About

All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg (March 7)
The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler (March 7)
The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo (March 14)
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (March 28)

Most Popular February Posts

Behind Her Eyes and THAT Ending: Spoiler Discussion
12 Books That Aren’t For Everyone…But WERE For Me
Book of the Month Club February 2017 Selections: What Would I Choose? (my commentary on the March selections is also up)

Favorite Posts by Fellow Bloggers

How was your reading month?

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18 Comments

  1. Looking forward to reading Dead Letters!! I always love your recommendations. Keep them coming.

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Hope you love it!

      Posted 3.3.17 Reply
  2. Thanks for the mention! And I am SO JEALOUS that you got to go to Georgia Hunter’s author event. I loved We Were the Lucky Ones and was blown away at the end when I read that the book was based on her family’s experiences.

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Oh yeah – wasn’t that the best Author’s Note ever?! So poignant. And probably even more so if it was a surprise. So glad you loved it 🙂

      Posted 3.6.17 Reply
  3. Wow! You did a lot of reading in February! The more I hear you and others talk about Dead Letters, the more I want to read it. Time, time, time!

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
  4. I loved This is How It Always Is too – it made me understand young transgender kids better.

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Absolutely – and their families.

      Posted 3.6.17 Reply
  5. Naomi wrote:

    I’m happy to hear that your friend’s book is doing well! It really sounds like something I’d love.
    I also loved the Valentine post at Books on the Table – what an appealing list of books!
    Thanks for linking to my review – I’m glad you liked it!
    Now I’m off to check out a new-to-me blog, Kathy Reads Fiction…

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I love KAthy!! Hope you do too!

      Posted 3.6.17 Reply
  6. It’s always fun when you hit a streak of really good books. That’s one of the best feelings ever. I hope your back gets better soon!

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
  7. Tara wrote:

    I’m glad to hear that PT is helping and that you’re making some progress; also, I love that you are doing the Book of the Month recommendations. I have several running friends who subscribe and I’m hoping they all check it out!

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
  8. I really want to read All Grown Up – definitely partly because I keep seeing it here!

    Glad to hear that you are starting to heal up! Back injuries are so tricky!

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
  9. Anita wrote:

    I completely love this monthly wrap up, and a tip of the hat to other bloggers and a peek into the new month. I know these are a lot of work, linking etc….so well done. Have a wonderful weekend.

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
  10. I’m so sorry about your back. Back problems are the worst because they’re so hard to diagnose and treat. I hope you’re back to routine soon. I’m waiting on my copy of Dead Letters from BotM; it’s been shipped! You had a pretty good month. I’m not impressed with what I’ve read from Behind Her Eyes. It’s kinda weird. I’ve been putting it down a lot and going to another, so I haven’t even finished it, yet.

    Posted 3.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I was allowed to do a light jog this weekend, so baby steps 🙂

      And I cannot wait until you start Dead Letters.

      Posted 3.6.17 Reply
  11. Andi wrote:

    I’ve been so out of the loop, I appreciate your links to others’ great posts all the more. Happy reading, Sarah!

    Posted 3.6.17 Reply
  12. I’ll have to go see what your thoughts were on Behind Your Eyes, because I didn’t really have any interest in it, despite the hype. I did enjoy Dark Matter, though.

    Posted 3.15.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      You didn’t miss anything except being able to talk about the ending….whether you like it or didn’t.

      Posted 3.16.17 Reply

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