Book Talk: February Wrap Up

Another month, another Wrap Up. So soon? I don't even feel like I've read anything this month. Obviously I read some, otherwise we wouldn't be here right now. I'm going to chalk up my poor performance to the lack of 29th, 30th, and 31st days. How could I possibly read all the books I want in a month that's two to three whole days shorter than all the others?!

Stats:

• Books Read: 5
• Genre:
• Nonfiction: 2
• Fantasy: 2
• Mystery: 1
• Page Count: 1,710

Books:

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Try as I might to finish this book in January, I was just thirty pages shy, it was no match for the studying time required for my exam that week. I'm happy to report that the time I invested in studying paid off, so I can't complain about making Yes Please a February book. Over the summer last year, I started watching Parks and Recreation while I did a deep cleaning of my room. Then life happened and I didn't get to finish the show until I took the time to binge watch it over winter break. I guess you could say I watched Parks and Rec the way you fall asleep, slowly, then all at once. Of course, having finished the show, I had to pick up Amy Poehler's memoir as soon as possible. She had plenty of hilarious stories from different times in her life describing her journey to becoming a comedian. My favorite stories were the ones from her time on SNL, but that's no surprise. I kind of want a collaborative memoir of each era of SNL. Each cast member could contribute their own stories and there could be annotations from other members of that era pitching in their two cents. Who wouldn't want to read that? How can we make this happen? 

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

There seems to be something about this series that makes people stop reading it. It certainly isn't because it's bad, because it's not. From what I've observed, there are a lot of people saying "I have no idea why I haven't even started this trilogy yet because I loved Legend so much!" and "Oh I need a refresher, it's been so long since I read the first book!" or "Maybe I should reread the first two before I pick up the third? I don't remember anything." I especially consider this phenomenon to be true because I have personally experienced it. This is the fourth time I've checked The Rose Society out from the library and it's the first time I've picked it up. Rarely do I ever not even try to read a book I already have on hand from the library but this was one of them... until now. Thankfully I did end up reading this book because Marie Lu sure knows how to tell a story. Despite my only remembering bits and pieces of the first installment, I was able to follow along until Lu dropped some hints about the plot of The Young Elites. Having read The Rose Society, I can clearly see the story arc and I am interested in seeing how Adelina's story will end. There are only two* possible outcomes. I wish I could say more for posterity's sake, but spoilers. No matter the direction we're moving in from this point, I have already been placed in a very dark head space. Honestly, there is no better way to establish the mental ambiance for the next book in this Wrap Up.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

The Queen of Retellings is back at it with a gorgeous and whimsical rendition of the Queen of Hearts. More specifically, her origin story. You know, I'm not sure if I should be scared that I can relate so deeply to Cath. It may just be because I am in a villain-in-training mindset, but every single emotion she had was aligned with how I would be feeling in that situation. She proceeded exactly as I would have and I felt every action was completely justified and the right thing to do. This is as an outside perspective who can see her flaws, but doesn't find anything wrong with them because they are actually, literally me. If you want an idea about how my brain works around people who annoy me, read this book. There were some parts of this story that was a bit confusing, but if I had read it faster I'm sure it wouldn't have been a problem. I am so completely in love with this world, it's hard to say goodbye. What a shame it's a stand alone. I wouldn't mind a Jest origin story... Hatter would make more sense but Jest is Jest. Even Hatter would want it to be about Jest. Do we still have phone books? Can I look up Marissa Meyer and beg her for a companion novel? Whatever her next project is, I'm ready for it. (Fingers crossed we get more Jest-like characters because I live to swoon.)

Speaking American: How Y'all, Youse, and You Guys Talk: A Visual Guide by Josh Katz

Do you like maps, linguistics, and history? If it's a yes to all three, there is an 85% chance you are me. If you were on Tumblr a few years ago, you're probably familiar with the premise and most likely have seen some of the maps from this book. When I put Speaking American on hold at the library, I was wondering what new information I could get from this physical copy that I hadn't already gotten from what I'd seen on Tumblr. Turns out, there's quite a bit you can expand on. I don't remember exactly which maps I'd already seen (Most of them will seem familiar. "You've seen one, you've seen 'em all" type of deal.) but every so often Katz throws in a little section dedicated to a state or a region explaining a little more about how you can identify where a person might be native to based on the nuances of their speech. I know that in this region we don't really have a distinctive accent but by lumping WA and OR into the PNW, Katz made it completely unrelateable. He mentioned "doing cookies" as a PNW thing but I had no idea what that meant until he explained it. And then he went on to say that it was just an Oregon thing. So I felt very included in that section. 👍 Katz redeemed himself when he mentioned that for some reason, there is a concentration of people who call those mini lobsters "crawfish" in the area surrounding Seattle. I don't see why you would call it anything else. If the people in Louisiana call it crawfish, its real name is crawfish. This book is a lot of fun to flip through, especially if you have friends around the country. Or maybe you just like to look at maps with colors on it. I fall into both of those categories and would recommend this book to anybody else who likes this kind of thing.

Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Ally Carter

When I was a kid, mysteries were the only books I knew to read. Nowadays I'm drifting about in a sad world devoid of mystery novels. Please let me know if there are any on your radar right now. I'd love to give them a go. As for this book, I cannot say much about the plot because it's the third book in a mystery trilogy. Spoilers all around. I can say that it was a little slow to start and it wasn't fully engrossing like some of Ally Carter's other books are. Grace isn't the most likable character and the mystery isn't as thrilling as others, but it's still a fun read. We are in a world of royalty and assassins and intrigue. It's really hard to mess something like that up. All in all, Take the Key and Lock Her Up did not amaze me, but it was worth the read.

Okay, so that wasn't the best reading month but I got some good ones in there! I honestly cannot believe we are already two months into the year. Think of all the time I spent not reading! All I can do now is read more in the upcoming months to make up for it, right? That'd be living the dream. What books did you read in February? Are there any mysteries that you think I'd enjoy? I'm itching for some. Hopefully I can get to them in March, which is a significant three days longer than February, and also houses my spring break and a start of a new quarter!

Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette

*Oh my god after I finished writing this I realized that there is a third possible outcome and I bet you that's the one Lu will take it in because it is less predictable than the other two and OH MY GOD. Watch me be wrong, though. If my previous speculations have told me anything it's that I'm awful at predicting plot points. But on the other hand, if I'm right... Oh. My. God.