February 2026 - What are you reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm halfway through an epic historical romance written in the 1970s and set in India - The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye. I'm loving it. Fantastic setting with lots of detail about late 1800s India and great characters. It's 1000 pages, so I have about 500 to go, but it reads fast.

Did you read The Covenant of Water? Also set in India, across a big span of time. I loved it.

I haven't read Covenant of Water yet, but I plan to. I loved his book, Cutting for Stone.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is excellent as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finishing The Golem and the Jinn, which I’m loving.
Just started Hamnet for my book club. Only a dozen pages in, but Inreally like O’Farrell’s writing so far.

This is one of my fave books.

It's one of my next in line reads 😍

I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. About magical children and rules around how magical people live, being true to yourself, accepting yourself, etc. LOVED both. Had them in my shelves for a while and really enjoyed both!! Can't wait for a possible third.

Also just finished Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. A little meh. About generational wealth, privilege etc. Was supposed to be funny but didn't land it. At first thought I might dnf, then ended up enjoying it a bit, (mostly just Sasha) then the ending/last few sentences kind of ruined any positive feelings I had about the book, just seemed so unnecessary and didn't belong.

Agree on Pineapple Street. Had higher hopes for it and it fell flat. A pretty cover I guess?

I'm just starting Whale Fall about a small island of the coast of great britain and set in 1938 when times are changing for multiple reasons.

I really like Pineapple Street. It honestly felt like 300 pages of DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Expat, by Hansen Shi

Wary at first because I couldn't deal with the main character's self-loathing. It seemed almost cliche. But I'm glad I kept going. I'm now at about 40% and quite invested.

I ended up liking this a lot. First novel with lots of room to grow. I'm definitely looking forward to what he writes next. (A sequel, maybe?)

Also, I went down the rabbit hole after finishing - reading about the author, what it means (or doesn't) to write about the "Asian-American experience," inluding his and others' takes on "the Great Asian-American Novel." Thought-provoking, especially because I am not Asian and had not considered American Lit through that lens before.

[Anonymous]

Just borrowed The Correspondent from Libby. Excited to see what all the fuss is about!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finishing The Golem and the Jinn, which I’m loving.
Just started Hamnet for my book club. Only a dozen pages in, but Inreally like O’Farrell’s writing so far.

This is one of my fave books.

It's one of my next in line reads 😍

I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. About magical children and rules around how magical people live, being true to yourself, accepting yourself, etc. LOVED both. Had them in my shelves for a while and really enjoyed both!! Can't wait for a possible third.

Also just finished Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. A little meh. About generational wealth, privilege etc. Was supposed to be funny but didn't land it. At first thought I might dnf, then ended up enjoying it a bit, (mostly just Sasha) then the ending/last few sentences kind of ruined any positive feelings I had about the book, just seemed so unnecessary and didn't belong.

Agree on Pineapple Street. Had higher hopes for it and it fell flat. A pretty cover I guess?

I'm just starting Whale Fall about a small island of the coast of great britain and set in 1938 when times are changing for multiple reasons.

I DNF’d Pineapple Street. I found it completely underwhelming and gave up.

[Anonymous]

I just started The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. So far I’m enjoying it. I liked another of his books, The Midnight Library, which I read a couple years ago.

[Anonymous]

Currently loving The Correspondent! I stayed up until 1am reading last night. It’s like I just have to know what the next letter will say!

[Anonymous]

Just finished Captain’s Dinner about a shipwreck during the era of Victorian England and the so called “custom of the sea” in effect at the time. Won’t go into details as spoiler alert. A very enthralling true adventure story and courtroom legal drama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finishing The Golem and the Jinn, which I’m loving.
Just started Hamnet for my book club. Only a dozen pages in, but Inreally like O’Farrell’s writing so far.

This is one of my fave books.

It's one of my next in line reads 😍

I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. About magical children and rules around how magical people live, being true to yourself, accepting yourself, etc. LOVED both. Had them in my shelves for a while and really enjoyed both!! Can't wait for a possible third.

Also just finished Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. A little meh. About generational wealth, privilege etc. Was supposed to be funny but didn't land it. At first thought I might dnf, then ended up enjoying it a bit, (mostly just Sasha) then the ending/last few sentences kind of ruined any positive feelings I had about the book, just seemed so unnecessary and didn't belong.

Agree on Pineapple Street. Had higher hopes for it and it fell flat. A pretty cover I guess?

I'm just starting Whale Fall about a small island of the coast of great britain and set in 1938 when times are changing for multiple reasons.

I absolutely loved Whale Fall. Nice and short too. I just finished Heartwood (Amity Gaige) about a woman who gets lost while hiking the AT and the search for her in Maine. Fantastic portrait of hard boiled searchers and warden life, people who hike etc. Next up is Liars by Sarah Manguso. I tried to get into 1929 but just couldn’t. Can someone convince me to try again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finishing The Golem and the Jinn, which I’m loving.
Just started Hamnet for my book club. Only a dozen pages in, but Inreally like O’Farrell’s writing so far.

This is one of my fave books.

It's one of my next in line reads 😍

I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. About magical children and rules around how magical people live, being true to yourself, accepting yourself, etc. LOVED both. Had them in my shelves for a while and really enjoyed both!! Can't wait for a possible third.

Also just finished Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. A little meh. About generational wealth, privilege etc. Was supposed to be funny but didn't land it. At first thought I might dnf, then ended up enjoying it a bit, (mostly just Sasha) then the ending/last few sentences kind of ruined any positive feelings I had about the book, just seemed so unnecessary and didn't belong.

Agree on Pineapple Street. Had higher hopes for it and it fell flat. A pretty cover I guess?

I'm just starting Whale Fall about a small island of the coast of great britain and set in 1938 when times are changing for multiple reasons.

I absolutely loved Whale Fall. Nice and short too. I just finished Heartwood (Amity Gaige) about a woman who gets lost while hiking the AT and the search for her in Maine. Fantastic portrait of hard boiled searchers and warden life, people who hike etc. Next up is Liars by Sarah Manguso. I tried to get into 1929 but just couldn’t. Can someone convince me to try again?

It's been a slog for me. I'm going to finish it, because I've only got like 80 pages left.

How far did you get into it? For me it's been really slow going for two reasons -- first, I think the book presupposes some knowledge of the markets and investment banking that I don't have, which means I'm either looking things up or rereading things to figure it out from the context, and second, there are just a lot of players and I'm constantly forgetting who is who (the charts of names in the beginning should help with this, but I keep forgetting to check them) and whether they one of the bankers or a speculator or what. It's very interesting though, and I didn't realize how little I understood about the stock market and how it works and the fed reserve and how that works until I read this book. So I'm very glad I read it, and it has given me some insight into some things that are playing out in the news now that I didn't understand before. But yeah ... it's a slog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just borrowed The Correspondent from Libby. Excited to see what all the fuss is about!

How do you like it so far? It’s on my list and anxiously waiting lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finishing The Golem and the Jinn, which I’m loving.
Just started Hamnet for my book club. Only a dozen pages in, but Inreally like O’Farrell’s writing so far.

This is one of my fave books.

It's one of my next in line reads 😍

I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. About magical children and rules around how magical people live, being true to yourself, accepting yourself, etc. LOVED both. Had them in my shelves for a while and really enjoyed both!! Can't wait for a possible third.

Also just finished Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. A little meh. About generational wealth, privilege etc. Was supposed to be funny but didn't land it. At first thought I might dnf, then ended up enjoying it a bit, (mostly just Sasha) then the ending/last few sentences kind of ruined any positive feelings I had about the book, just seemed so unnecessary and didn't belong.

Agree on Pineapple Street. Had higher hopes for it and it fell flat. A pretty cover I guess?

I'm just starting Whale Fall about a small island of the coast of great britain and set in 1938 when times are changing for multiple reasons.

I absolutely loved Whale Fall. Nice and short too. I just finished Heartwood (Amity Gaige) about a woman who gets lost while hiking the AT and the search for her in Maine. Fantastic portrait of hard boiled searchers and warden life, people who hike etc. Next up is Liars by Sarah Manguso. I tried to get into 1929 but just couldn’t. Can someone convince me to try again?

It's been a slog for me. I'm going to finish it, because I've only got like 80 pages left.

How far did you get into it? For me it's been really slow going for two reasons -- first, I think the book presupposes some knowledge of the markets and investment banking that I don't have, which means I'm either looking things up or rereading things to figure it out from the context, and second, there are just a lot of players and I'm constantly forgetting who is who (the charts of names in the beginning should help with this, but I keep forgetting to check them) and whether they one of the bankers or a speculator or what. It's very interesting though, and I didn't realize how little I understood about the stock market and how it works and the fed reserve and how that works until I read this book. So I'm very glad I read it, and it has given me some insight into some things that are playing out in the news now that I didn't understand before. But yeah ... it's a slog.

I am still in the run up to the crash. I think it’s interesting stuff but I’m finding the characters a little confusing. I am listening so perhaps that is why, since as you say the charts are supposed to help keep the players straight. Normally I don’t have any issues with that and audiobooks. But I think I was listening with half a brain and need to focus a bit more. I want to finish it too. Maybe I’ll try paper.

I also read The Thirteenth Tale which came out about 10 years ago. It’s a phenomenal thriller in the vein of Rebecca. Super satisfying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finishing The Golem and the Jinn, which I’m loving.
Just started Hamnet for my book club. Only a dozen pages in, but Inreally like O’Farrell’s writing so far.

This is one of my fave books.

It's one of my next in line reads 😍

I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. About magical children and rules around how magical people live, being true to yourself, accepting yourself, etc. LOVED both. Had them in my shelves for a while and really enjoyed both!! Can't wait for a possible third.

Also just finished Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. A little meh. About generational wealth, privilege etc. Was supposed to be funny but didn't land it. At first thought I might dnf, then ended up enjoying it a bit, (mostly just Sasha) then the ending/last few sentences kind of ruined any positive feelings I had about the book, just seemed so unnecessary and didn't belong.

Agree on Pineapple Street. Had higher hopes for it and it fell flat. A pretty cover I guess?

I'm just starting Whale Fall about a small island of the coast of great britain and set in 1938 when times are changing for multiple reasons.

I absolutely loved Whale Fall. Nice and short too. I just finished Heartwood (Amity Gaige) about a woman who gets lost while hiking the AT and the search for her in Maine. Fantastic portrait of hard boiled searchers and warden life, people who hike etc. Next up is Liars by Sarah Manguso. I tried to get into 1929 but just couldn’t. Can someone convince me to try again?

It's been a slog for me. I'm going to finish it, because I've only got like 80 pages left.

How far did you get into it? For me it's been really slow going for two reasons -- first, I think the book presupposes some knowledge of the markets and investment banking that I don't have, which means I'm either looking things up or rereading things to figure it out from the context, and second, there are just a lot of players and I'm constantly forgetting who is who (the charts of names in the beginning should help with this, but I keep forgetting to check them) and whether they one of the bankers or a speculator or what. It's very interesting though, and I didn't realize how little I understood about the stock market and how it works and the fed reserve and how that works until I read this book. So I'm very glad I read it, and it has given me some insight into some things that are playing out in the news now that I didn't understand before. But yeah ... it's a slog.

I am still in the run up to the crash. I think it’s interesting stuff but I’m finding the characters a little confusing. I am listening so perhaps that is why, since as you say the charts are supposed to help keep the players straight. Normally I don’t have any issues with that and audiobooks. But I think I was listening with half a brain and need to focus a bit more. I want to finish it too. Maybe I’ll try paper.

I also read The Thirteenth Tale which came out about 10 years ago. It’s a phenomenal thriller in the vein of Rebecca. Super satisfying.

It's really challenging to keep the players straight. And every chapter shifts scenes and players so every chapter I was like -- wait, who is this guy again? Which one is he? It reminds me of when I read War and Peace and had to create charts of who each character was, all of the names they went by, and how they were related to one another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finishing The Golem and the Jinn, which I’m loving.
Just started Hamnet for my book club. Only a dozen pages in, but Inreally like O’Farrell’s writing so far.

This is one of my fave books.

It's one of my next in line reads 😍

I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. About magical children and rules around how magical people live, being true to yourself, accepting yourself, etc. LOVED both. Had them in my shelves for a while and really enjoyed both!! Can't wait for a possible third.

Also just finished Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. A little meh. About generational wealth, privilege etc. Was supposed to be funny but didn't land it. At first thought I might dnf, then ended up enjoying it a bit, (mostly just Sasha) then the ending/last few sentences kind of ruined any positive feelings I had about the book, just seemed so unnecessary and didn't belong.

Agree on Pineapple Street. Had higher hopes for it and it fell flat. A pretty cover I guess?

I'm just starting Whale Fall about a small island of the coast of great britain and set in 1938 when times are changing for multiple reasons.

I absolutely loved Whale Fall. Nice and short too. I just finished Heartwood (Amity Gaige) about a woman who gets lost while hiking the AT and the search for her in Maine. Fantastic portrait of hard boiled searchers and warden life, people who hike etc. Next up is Liars by Sarah Manguso. I tried to get into 1929 but just couldn’t. Can someone convince me to try again?

It's been a slog for me. I'm going to finish it, because I've only got like 80 pages left.

How far did you get into it? For me it's been really slow going for two reasons -- first, I think the book presupposes some knowledge of the markets and investment banking that I don't have, which means I'm either looking things up or rereading things to figure it out from the context, and second, there are just a lot of players and I'm constantly forgetting who is who (the charts of names in the beginning should help with this, but I keep forgetting to check them) and whether they one of the bankers or a speculator or what. It's very interesting though, and I didn't realize how little I understood about the stock market and how it works and the fed reserve and how that works until I read this book. So I'm very glad I read it, and it has given me some insight into some things that are playing out in the news now that I didn't understand before. But yeah ... it's a slog.

I am still in the run up to the crash. I think it’s interesting stuff but I’m finding the characters a little confusing. I am listening so perhaps that is why, since as you say the charts are supposed to help keep the players straight. Normally I don’t have any issues with that and audiobooks. But I think I was listening with half a brain and need to focus a bit more. I want to finish it too. Maybe I’ll try paper.

I also read The Thirteenth Tale which came out about 10 years ago. It’s a phenomenal thriller in the vein of Rebecca. Super satisfying.

Setterfield's Once Upon a River was basically the first and last gothic tale I have ever really enjoyed. Purchased The Thirteenth Tale shortly thereafter but it has just sit on my TBR shelf. Perhaps time to dust it off!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just borrowed The Correspondent from Libby. Excited to see what all the fuss is about!

How do you like it so far? It’s on my list and anxiously waiting lol.

LOVE IT. I stayed up until almost 1am last night reading. I was so invested in each letter and wanted to know what happened next!

It’s a quick read. The characters are very interesting so far.