Everything I Read in February

On the worst reading month I have ever had...

This was probably the worst reading month I’ve ever had. But hey, February is shorter, so that counts for something, right?

Jokes aside, it’s the same excuses as last month—work, commuting, revising, writing—but now, on top of all that, I’m moving. So, February was filled with admin, and March will be even worse with packing, sorting bills, and everything else. The burnout is real at this point.

And the thing is, I want to read. More than anything, I want to curl up in bed or sit in a coffee shop and emerge myself in words. But life isn’t having it. By the time I finally get into bed at eleven, my eyes are already closing, and I have to be up for work the next day.

It’s starting to feel like my life just isn’t built for reading anymore.

So yeah—I read two books in February and chipped away at War and Peace a little more. Progress, however small, still counts!

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata (3.75/5.0)

This book starts out weird. Like, incesty weird. But by the end, it all makes sense—or at least, as much as a novel like this can make sense. Earthlings is unsettling, unhinged, and totally committed to its own logic, which is exactly why I loved it. It’s one of those books that embodies everything I adore about Japanese fiction: the offbeat storytelling, the razor-sharp critique of conformity, and a deep, almost obsessive, passion for non-normalcy.

If you’ve read Convenience Store Woman, you’ll recognise some thematic parallels—both tackle the crushing weight of societal expectations and the quiet rebellion of those who refuse to fit in. But Earthlings takes it to an entirely different level. It critiques capitalism and the mundanity of adulthood: working a job you don’t care about, sleeping beside a partner because that’s what you’re supposed to do, having a child because that’s the next step. The protagonist, who believes she’s an alien, is desperate to escape this preordained life and finds a husband who shares her terror—only he takes it to the extreme.

This book is weird. No way around that. But it’s also sharp, deliberate, and disturbingly effective in exposing the quiet horrors of a society that alienates those who don’t conform. It’s a wild ride, and if you can stomach the strangeness, it’s absolutely worth it.

Here are some quotes I picked up:

‘My sister alway complained about coming to granny’s and always clung to my mom at home. So of course she was my mom’s favourite’

‘Firstly I had to study hard to become a work tool. Secondly I had to be a good girl, so that I could become a reproductive organ for the town. I would probably be a failure on both counts, I thought’

‘My husband had left the window open, and a breeze carrying the smell of autumn blew in and fluttered the tablecloth’

‘Adults are so violent and overbearing, they really are’

‘Plenty of people look squarely at things they don’t want to see and live with them’

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Mass (4.0/5.0)

I had to pick this one up. I needed to see the end of Feyre and Rhysand’s story—but, funnily enough, this time, I found myself way more invested in the side characters. I thought I’d take a break from the series after this since the focus shifts to different characters, but now? I’m hooked again.

This was exactly the kind of book I needed this month. A chill, easy read—something to unwind with, not something to analyze or annotate. Sometimes, you just need a book that feels like watching a TV series, pure escapism. And honestly? Maas’ writing doesn’t bother me. It’s pretty solid for what it is. So, who was I to resist picking this up?

There was only one quote I picked up this time and only because it really encapsulates how I feel:

‘Then I went into my bedroom, crawled onto the mattress and cried. I didn’t really know why’

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

I didn’t read as much as I hoped to, or at least it feels like I haven’t. But slow and steady wins the race, right? It’s still mostly just talks of war, but the characters are so vivid, their emotions so colourful, that I don’t mind. It instantly reminds me of Anna Karenina.

In February, I made it to 6%—which might not sound like much, but my Kindle says I only have 25 hours left, so surely that’s not too bad? That puts me at chapter 18, meaning I read eight more chapters than last month. Progress is progress!

The one quote I picked up:

‘They wept for their friendship, their kind-heartedness and the unfortunate need for lifelong friends to soil their hands with anting sordid as money and they kept for their lost youth … but the tears of both women were soft’

The books I did not get around to:

Spoiler, there were quite a few:

1. A Certain Hunger, Chelsea G. Summers

2. Ms Ice Sandwich, Mieko Kawakami

3. Salt Slow, Julia Armfield

4. The White Book, Hang Kang

5. Parade, Rachel Cusk

6. The City and It’s Uncertain Walls, Haruki Murakami

What I would like to read in March:

A little bit more of realistic one this month:

1. A Certain Hunger, Chelsea G. Summers

2. Salt Slow, Julia Armfield

3. The White Book, Hang Kang

4. The Will of the Many, James Islington

5. The Third Love, Hiromi Kawakami

If you ever feel moved to support this tired writer trying to survive the 9–5 you can leave me a tip