February wrap-up

All the things I read and loved in February.

Mar 01, 2025

Note: Post may contain affiliate links.

I spend a lot of time on Substack critiquing things, so I thought I would change it up at least once a month and send out a monthly newsletter that celebrates all the things I read this month and books I discovered that I want to read. So, welcome to the monthly wrap-up!

By the numbers

Shout-out to The StoryGraph for always providing me with the stats I need every month and every year. If you haven’t already started to track your books on Storygraph, what are you doing?

Some reflecitons on my reading stats this month:

I didn’t quite make it to my desired 50/50 split between non-fiction and fiction, so I’m hoping to even that out next month.
Interstingly, my split of page numbers per book was almost identitcal to last month and this makes sense because long books intimidate me.
For some reason I was on a Victorian England kick in my fiction this month (escapism, probably) and because of that, my reading wasn’t as varied as far as countries I read from. I definitely want to do ebtter at that next month.

But speaking of, the reason why I didn’t put out much content this month is because I’ve been busy putting together a resource to help people read from every country in the world. Keep your eyes peeled next month for that.

Favorite fiction book: “A Curious Beginning” by Deanna Raybourn

Synopsis: London, 1887. As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a sharpened hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

But fate has other plans, as Veronica discovers when she thwarts her own abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron who has ties to her mysterious past. Promising to reveal in time what he knows of the plot against her, the baron offers her temporary sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive natural historian as intriguing as he is bad-tempered. But before the baron can deliver on his tantalizing vow to reveal the secrets he has concealed for decades, he is found murdered. Suddenly Veronica and Stoker are forced to go on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

Review: I know that this is a bit of a boring answer as I’ve already shown a book from this series as a favorite in a previous month, but I loved this book and all the other fiction I read this month was either bad or just fine.

Weirdly enough, when I started this series, I accidentally started reading from book two and never went back to read book one until now. And it was so much fun to go back and read these character’s origin story. This book has everything I love: witty humor, loveable characters, delicious banter, and a fun mystery. If you’re looking to escape and have a fun time, I can’t recommend this series enough.

Favorite non-fiction book: “We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance” by Kellie Carter Jackson

Synopsis: Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary, between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolence and Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary.” In We Refuse, historian Kellie Carter Jackson urges us to move past this false choice, offering an unflinching examination of the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women.

Review: Such a pertinent book to read right now, focused on moments of resistance in Black history, specifically focused on Black women. I loved how this book made the case that violent resistance is necesssary and justified as a reaction to a violent system. You can’t blame victims for an outcome of violence when the system they’re forced to live under is violent.

Something I found super interesting was the exploration of the privelege of protest and being able to leave as an act of protest and the idea that finding home always requires leaving somewhere else.

There was also a huge emphasis on the importance of Black joy within revolution and that revolution must be protected.

What I’ve added to my TBR (to-be-read)

“A Year with the Seals” by Alix Morris: I just got an advanced readers copy of this book and I’m so excited. This follows and environmental journalist and the year she spent following seals.
“The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story” by Olga Tokarczuk: I saw “health resort horror story” and that's all I needed to know
“I’ll Tell You When I’m Home” by Hala Alyan: I read Alyan’s poetry collection last year and really loved it, so I’m excited to read her memoir about diaspora, motherhood, and home.
“Mad Sisters of Esi” by Tashan Mehta: I'm completely enamored with this cover and it explores fairytales and madness.

Families I’m supporting

In the midst of a ceasefire, mutual aid and support is so incredibly important to help families rebuild their lives and to help provide them with continued opportunties for safety. If you’re able to, please support a family:

Mahmoud, Tamer, and Tala. I last heard from Mahmoud last week and this family is still in Dai Albalah in the middle of the Gaza strip. They lost their mother and wife earlier this year. Tamer has Autism and navigating this cruel world is especially hard for him.
The Tareq family including Amani who is suffering from multiple medical conditions and needs urgent care
Mohammed’s family including his wife and three kids as they struggle to survive in Khan Younis
Rozana’s family including her husband and three-year-old son (Ziad) who used to live in Gaza City and now have no home or clean food and water which is making Ziad’s health deteriorate.

In case you missed it

Here’s a look back at all of my Substack posts from this month:

See you next month,

Kaitlyn