February 2026 - What are you reading?

[Anonymous]

Vera Wang's Unsolicited Advice for Murderer by Jesse Q. Sutanto. A cute, funny murder mystery that gave me the warm and fuzzies.

That being said, I have read many explanations of NFTs and they still make no sense to me, but that didn't significantly mar my understanding of the plot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just finished Flashlight by Susan Choi. It was 4.5/5 stars. It’s a great story but it was a slow read for me.

I’m now reading Wellness which im not sure I will finish. It’s a very long book and I’m skimming for now to see if it eventually catches my interest.

Flashlight is in my stack of books to read but maybe I'll pick something else. I crave books I just can't put down ATM (maybe it's the extra time cooped up with the snow).

[Anonymous]

The Poet Empress. It is dark fantasy that i think is going to become very popular by word of mouth. Such an emotional journey.

[Anonymous]

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

The main character dies at birth but then lives the “next” time she’s born and then she keeps dying and then coming back to life again. Or something like that.

I’m getting that she kills Hitler, which has either some or no effect on WWII.

I’m 11% in and I’m bored. I couldn’t care less about any of the characters, even the main one (who is still just a kid at this point). I had a recollection of people loving this book but then it only has a 3.79 on Goodreads (I generally won’t read below a 4.0) and now I’m thinking of giving it up. There are just too many good books out there and I keep not wanting to pick up my Kindle, which isn’t how I am with books I love.

Thoughts? Should I give up or keep going?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m about 25 percent into The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave and it’s ok. I’m not having any trouble putting it down, despite the Whodunnit aspect. I’m finding anything not written by Daniel Mason to be hard to get into at this point.

I’m also rereading one of my favorite collections of short stories called Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu which is every bit as amazing as I remember it being.

Did you read The Last Thing He Told Me? I did and didn’t like it so I figured I’d just give up on that author. I tried two Colleen Hoover books and three Frieda McFadden books before I acknowledged that I just do not like them so now I usually don’t go back after one bad read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I Who Have Never Known Men - a post-apocalyptic novel by Belgian author Jacqueline Harpman, first published in French in 1995. It tells the story of a group of women imprisoned in an underground bunker by silent male guards, narrated by the youngest woman who has no memory of the world before the cage.

I like it so far. It's more philosophical than event driven.

This sounds interesting, I will check it out! I loved Sleeping Beauties, by Stephen King (and his son), which is sort of the opposite premise of the book you just read - all the women get cocooned and “fall asleep” and it’s just men left awake. Interesting look into how society would be so different with only one sex.

Also, if you like the underground bunker idea, the Silo trilogy (Wool, Shift, and Dust) are all very entertaining reads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

The main character dies at birth but then lives the “next” time she’s born and then she keeps dying and then coming back to life again. Or something like that.

I’m getting that she kills Hitler, which has either some or no effect on WWII.

I’m 11% in and I’m bored. I couldn’t care less about any of the characters, even the main one (who is still just a kid at this point). I had a recollection of people loving this book but then it only has a 3.79 on Goodreads (I generally won’t read below a 4.0) and now I’m thinking of giving it up. There are just too many good books out there and I keep not wanting to pick up my Kindle, which isn’t how I am with books I love.

Thoughts? Should I give up or keep going?

I loved it and when I finished it, I flipped back to the front and read the whole thing again. Only 11% in, I'd say keep going and see if it clicks for you. But I find Goodreads isn't always an accurate gauge of what i think is good, so ymmv.

[Anonymous]

The ministry for the future by Kim Stanley Robinson

This book is about climate change and this ministry is responsible for speaking for the future inhabitants of earth. It’s really interesting because it goes through how different countries are reacting with climate change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

The main character dies at birth but then lives the “next” time she’s born and then she keeps dying and then coming back to life again. Or something like that.

I’m getting that she kills Hitler, which has either some or no effect on WWII.

I’m 11% in and I’m bored. I couldn’t care less about any of the characters, even the main one (who is still just a kid at this point). I had a recollection of people loving this book but then it only has a 3.79 on Goodreads (I generally won’t read below a 4.0) and now I’m thinking of giving it up. There are just too many good books out there and I keep not wanting to pick up my Kindle, which isn’t how I am with books I love.

Thoughts? Should I give up or keep going?

I loved it and when I finished it, I flipped back to the front and read the whole thing again. Only 11% in, I'd say keep going and see if it clicks for you. But I find Goodreads isn't always an accurate gauge of what i think is good, so ymmv.

The chapters describing life during the Blitz and post-War London are truly amazing.

[Anonymous]

Only because this is an anonymous forum am I going to admit that I have fallen down a rabbit hole of hockey smut. I was fascinated to learn that show was based on a book— a whole series of books— and that there is an entire sub-genre of gay ice hockey romance So of course I had to read some to find out what it was all about. And now I’ve read a lot. The world is a really weird and amazing place.
But The Correspondent finally came up on my Libby holds so I’m headed back toward the sun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best books I've read recently are by Lily King: Heart the Lover and and Writers & Lovers. Loved them both so much. Also really liked The Rest of our Lives by Ben Markovits. It's a man who drives his daughter to college and then just keeps driving. It's great.

I am reading this. So sad!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

The main character dies at birth but then lives the “next” time she’s born and then she keeps dying and then coming back to life again. Or something like that.

I’m getting that she kills Hitler, which has either some or no effect on WWII.

I’m 11% in and I’m bored. I couldn’t care less about any of the characters, even the main one (who is still just a kid at this point). I had a recollection of people loving this book but then it only has a 3.79 on Goodreads (I generally won’t read below a 4.0) and now I’m thinking of giving it up. There are just too many good books out there and I keep not wanting to pick up my Kindle, which isn’t how I am with books I love.

Thoughts? Should I give up or keep going?

So interesting! I had the exact same experience when I tried it years ago. Multiple friends recommended it highly, and I tend to love otherwise realistic books that play with timelines and multiverses.

But I just didn't feel a thing for the character, and as you said, I didn't care what happened. So I put it down at around 20%. I did make it through one of her other books, but barely. Maybe she's just not my cup of tea?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

The main character dies at birth but then lives the “next” time she’s born and then she keeps dying and then coming back to life again. Or something like that.

I’m getting that she kills Hitler, which has either some or no effect on WWII.

I’m 11% in and I’m bored. I couldn’t care less about any of the characters, even the main one (who is still just a kid at this point). I had a recollection of people loving this book but then it only has a 3.79 on Goodreads (I generally won’t read below a 4.0) and now I’m thinking of giving it up. There are just too many good books out there and I keep not wanting to pick up my Kindle, which isn’t how I am with books I love.

Thoughts? Should I give up or keep going?

So interesting! I had the exact same experience when I tried it years ago. Multiple friends recommended it highly, and I tend to love otherwise realistic books that play with timelines and multiverses.

But I just didn't feel a thing for the character, and as you said, I didn't care what happened. So I put it down at around 20%. I did make it through one of her other books, but barely. Maybe she's just not my cup of tea?

Meanwhile, I loved Emily St. John Mandel's books. I've seen them referenced on lists with Life After Life, but to me, they're so much more compelling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only because this is an anonymous forum am I going to admit that I have fallen down a rabbit hole of hockey smut. I was fascinated to learn that show was based on a book— a whole series of books— and that there is an entire sub-genre of gay ice hockey romance So of course I had to read some to find out what it was all about. And now I’ve read a lot. The world is a really weird and amazing place.
But The Correspondent finally came up on my Libby holds so I’m headed back toward the sun.

All part of the series that is now the TV show? Or are there multiple authors writing popular series about gay hockey players? And what about other professional sports? Interesting sub-genre, indeed.

[Anonymous]

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.