February Books

I read eight books this month:

• The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
• The Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
• My Antonia by Willa Cather
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

My favorite by far was The One and Only Ivan. It made me wish I still lived with my sister and her kids because they would for sure find it delightful. Instead I sent her a picture of the cover and told her to pick it up when they go to the library. It's necessary.

Don't ask me how I missed reading The Wind in the Willows as a small thing but I unquestionably did. I think I would have loved it.

I enjoyed Band of Brothers, The Lost Lake, and My Antonia. While I have thoughts on all three of them, the books themselves don't stand out in my mind.

I was disappointed by The Art of Happiness. I enjoyed reading the Dalai Lama's words. I did not enjoy having them filtered through the mind and voice of the particular therapist that coauthored the book. I'm worried about pursuing other books by the Dalai Lama because I think that most, if not all, are coauthored. Maybe I'll like the other coauthors more?

I didn't have strong feelings either way about Bitterblue. I didn't love it. I didn't dislike it. I did like Graceling when I first read it years and years ago and I think Bitterblue was keeping in the same vein, typical of this writer and series. Maybe I'm past generally liking YA novels?

Things Fall Apart was the book club pick for this month. I was sure I had never read it before until I started reading it; then I was sure I had read it before. I'm glad I had an opportunity to read it again. I don't know exactly when I read it before but I know that while I appreciated the writing, I didn't appreciate the story. The themes are pretty profound. While I knew it was sad story that last time I read it and mourned for Okonkwo, it's not until you can appreciate those themes on a deeper level that you can understand how tragic the story is.

PS The Dalai Lama is one of my heroes. I love that man.