february reads

well, now that the world has gone completely crazy over COVID-19, i'd imagine a lot more of us are looking for some good books to read! here's what i read in February.

 

1) I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. never have i read a book that so perfectly aligns with my own somewhat whimsical, naive writing style as a teenager. the book grows out of the protagonist's series of notebooks that she uses as her own journal, growing up in the 1930s. imagine the Anne of Green Gables books told in the first person and you'll have a good sense of the book. 5/5.

“When I read a book, I put in all the imagination I can, so that it is almost like writing the book as well as reading it - or rather, it is like living it. It makes reading so much more exciting, but I don't suppose many people try to do it.” 

 

2) The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo. i picked this up to read prior to our trip to Paris over Valentine's Day weekend, hoping that Hugo's novel would allow me to immerse myself in the milieu of the city just as much as my all-time favourite Hugo work, Les Miserables. i was not disappointed! the plot is fast-paced, the characters are skillfully drawn, and the setting drives the story forward. also, i'm now fascinated to know the Disney adaptation of the story (which i've never seen), because the original is definitely not child-friendly!  5/5.

3) The Little Paris Bookshop, by Nina George. this book tells the tale of Monsieur Perdu, a Parisian bookseller who runs his shop like a pharmacy, often refusing to give his customers the books they walk in requesting but instead choosing a tome from his eclectic collection that he knows will soothe their secret worries. it's far fetched, witty, and delightful. 5/5. 

4) The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir, by Ruth Wariner. similar to the bestselling Educated, this book is the autobiographical account of a girl raised in a polygamist cult, the 39th of 42 children born to her father. the physical neglect and sexual and emotional abuse she suffered is heart-wrenching, and it's precisely because of that that her resilience and determination are so incredible. a tough read that will infuriate you that children suffer in this way -- consider yourself warned. 5/5. 

“Mom couldn’t teach me that because she didn’t know herself. She couldn’t show me how to be happy, only how to barely survive.”

5) American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent, by Tamer Elnoury. an absolutely fascinating account of a Muslim FBI agent who is recruited to do undercover work investigating terrorists linked with al Qaeda on Canadian and American soil. (he uses his previous undercover name as his pen name to protect his real identity.) i appreciated learning more about all that goes into the FBI undercover process, as well as more about the Muslim faith. 

6) Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, by Roxane Gay. ugh. it's atrocious that a book like this needs to exist, but it does. this is an anthology of essays written by women who, at one point at another (like all of us have), told themselves, "it wasn't that bad." some of them address rape; some of them address other forms of sexual harassment, from catcalling to mansplaining to gas-lighting. i appreciated the diversity of viewpoints and experiences highlighted. 

"Because slightly more than half of the population is regularly told that what happens doesn’t or that it isn’t the big deal we’re making it into. Because your mothers, sisters, and daughters are routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied, harassed, threatened, punished, propositioned, and groped, and challenged on what they say. Because when a woman challenges a man, then the facts are automatically in dispute, as is the speaker, and the speaker’s license to speak. Because as women we are told to view and value ourselves in terms of how men view and value us, which is to say, for our sexuality and agreeability. Because it was drilled in until it turned subconscious and became unbearable need: don’t make it about you; put yourself second or last; disregard your feelings but not another’s; disbelieve your perceptions whenever the opportunity presents itself; run and rerun everything by yourself before verbalizing it—put it in perspective, interrogate it: Do you sound nuts? Does this make you look bad? Are you holding his interest? Are you being considerate? Fair? Sweet? Because stifling trauma is just good manners."