I hope your first month of 2021 has been a good one. My husband and I are still working from home so we’re grateful for that and while normally we would already be discussing summer travels given the pandemic we are focusing on some other personal projects but for now let’s talk books.
My first finished read was Small Island by Andrea Levy. This was a carry over from 2020 and all I have to say is wow. Really enjoyed this book. I hope to do a quick review but if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it.
I also read A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March, Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert, Poesia Amorosa by Jaime Sabines and Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi.
From these books A Room with a View was definitely my favorite but I did enjoy my all of my reads and I just realized all of these authors are new to me. I do have a recap of Murder in Old Bombay and hopefully I’ll do write ups on the others soon.
This means I got in some classics, mystery and poetry. Also, I read Poesia Amorosa in the original Spanish which is one of my personal goals, to read more books in Spanish. Several of these books also count towards some reading challenges. Yay.
Looking forward to February, I’d like to read at least one book in honor of Black History Month. While there are many choices from nonfiction to literary fiction books I can choose from, I also saw this list of YA books and thought it would be a great resource.
So what are your reading plans for February? Let me know how your month was and if maybe have a new favorite author.
Iliana, I’m going to keep MURDER IN OLD BOMBAY in mind for later this spring. I think our mystery group theme for April is going to be ‘books set in India’. I’ve got quite a list to choose from and hope to get at least 2 or 3 read for that month’s theme. I’m so ready for spring flowers….hope they come soon!
I had a good reading month in January. It sounds like you did too. I hope it continues this month. Have a great February, Iliana.
My January went well. It sounds like yours did too. I’m looking forward to February’s books.
Kay – I would also recommend The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. That was a really good book set in India. You may already have that one on your list. I’m ready for spring flowers too. We threw out some wildflower seeds in our garden so I hope we get lots in the Spring!
Literary Feline – Yay for good reading months right? I picked up a new book last night and I didn’t want to go to sleep it was that good. So I think that means February reading is off to a good start!
Yvonne – I hope you find some great reads this month! So far I’m really happy with my current reads so fingers crossed no duds!
Small Island and Murder in Old Bombay will probably be going on my list to read.
I remember reading and loving Small Island, too. Such a good story.
I was inspired by Stacy of Stacy’s Books to read one book each day of February written by a person of color.
I do hope you will have a lovely week!
Looks like you’d a great reading month in January, Iliana! My curiosity is piqued after hearing what you said about Small Island and I look forward to your review, Iliana. 🙂
Good to know about Small Island, and seems like it won the Orange Prize too. I’m going to pick this one up for sure, thank you!
I’ve heard so much about Small Island, I even bought a copy. I need to read that one. Your month looks pretty good. That’s a great list of YA books – I’ll need to pick a few too.