Another solid month of reading for the month of February! I made it a personal goal to read more poetry this year, and I read two books by poets I now love!
Here’s what I read in February.
The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
Well. Sighhhhhh. Unfortunately the final book in the Beartown series let me down. It was very, very, very, very, very, very, very long. So much was happening. Too many storyllines. Every chapter was *something* and I felt like there was no closure whatsoever even though the book was nearly 700 pages. Sigh.
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan #3) by Elle Cosimano
These books are so, so silly and I can’t get enough. BUT … I kind of wanted the series to end here? What else can be done here?
Why I Wake Early: New Poems by Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver’s poems are like breathing naturally. I feel immediately calm when I read her poetry. Can’t get enough.
Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
An amazing debut with lyrical prose that read more like poetry. Very insightful and powerful and emotional.
The Kingdom of Copper (Daevabad Trilogy #3) by S.A. Chakraborty
This one certainly took a while to read, but I loved the pacing. These books are so fascinating and while I didn’t care for any of the characters at first, I really enjoy Nahri and Ali. Once the book ended, I had to get the third book, which is more than 750 pages long.
Good Bones: Poems by Maggie Smith
I thought her poems were just okay. I am glad I read them, but I don’t like hawks as much as she does … and all of her poems were about hawks … so…
It’s funny. It has been the mildest winter in my life, but we’ve had two winter storms at our house over the past two weekends. We probably have eight inches of snow outside as I write this.
In October, I went to about 4 stores looking for a snowsuit for my baby. She was starting daycare, and I needed to get her a winter coat, and while I was there, I would get her two snowsuits; one that she can bring to daycare and another for home. Shopping for those snowsuits caused a panic attack and a very embarrassing “young Karen” moment in Barnes and Noble. She did not put that snowsuit on until Feb. 25.
Anyways, happy March! February was a bit of a whirlwind – I don’t really remember what happened much.
We celebrated our baby’s FIRST BIRTHDAY! Both of our family parties were a hit. After the celebrations, we returned to our regular, boring, parents of a toddler lives. We coordinated work schedules and triaged daycare drop-offs and pick-ups. We made meals and cleaned our kitchen and did laundry and fed our cats. We fixed our vacuum and put out the compost bin and brought down the recycling every other week. You know, normal things!
Nora had her one-year shots in February, which led to 2-3 weeks of fever, rash, irritability, etc. We’ve nursed a cold over the past 2 weeks (I have it now), and Ian just got back from a work trip in Puerto Rico. Now, it’s time for another month!
I’m happy to say that I read 6 books in February as well:
The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan #3) by Elle Cosimano
The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) by S.A. Chakraborty
Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
Why I Wake Early: New Poems by Mary Oliver
Good Bones: Poems by Maggie Smith
What I’m up to this month
We’re already on the 5th day of March and I’m booked every weekend well into June. Spring is going to be a busy one, my friends, so I am soaking in the weekends when I have no plans and snuggling my baby and husband.
I started going back into the office 3 days a week (when we’re all not sick), so I’ve begun buying more work-appropriate clothes that fit my one-year postpartum bod. I’m happy to say that I am one pants size bigger than my pre-COVID size, so that’s a win. Exercise has been a luxury these days (I get in a groove and then I get sick and then I get in a lull until the cycle begins again), and my diet has been all over the place. But, what does my therapist say? Grace. Give yourself some goddamn grace, Kass.
So, grace it is. I’ll get there.
Work is extremely busy, which I like. Spring is going to be bananas when it comes to projects, supporting my accounts, and traveling for one of my clients, so, see ya in June! I’m super excited and it gives me a chance to buy more clothes and for that I say HOORAY!
What I’m currently reading
The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy #3) by S.A. Chakraborty
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
What I’m watching
Parks and Rec (third time … best show ever)
Daisy Jones and The Six
What I’m listening to
New Paramore album on repeat
Sad girl winter playlist (Lizzy McAlpine, Phoebe Bridgers, Maggie Rogers, Maisie Peters, Gracie Abrams, Taylor Swift)
Sighhhhhh. Unfortunately the final book in the Beartown series let me down. It was very, very, very, very, very, very, very long. So much was happening. Too many storyllines. Every chapter was *something* and I felt like there was no closure whatsoever even though the book was nearly 700 pages. Sigh. 
keepitkassual.com 