Let’s Rewind: February 2020

We’re now in March. For some reason, I keep thinking the year is already halfway done. It may be because my job requires me to plan for some events months ahead, so that makes me think time is going by much faster than it is, which is not always good. Anyway…

Let’s Rewind is my version of a monthly wrap up but instead of talking about only books, I include all types of other stuff, like articles… bookish news… commercials… random-ass links… movies… art… podcasts… cartoons… and whatever else happened to me in the month. You know, the usual stuff that people talk about in monthly wrap ups. So read on to see what I did and read this month. You might stumble upon something that interests you.

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So, February happen. January was hectic, but I had a schedule and it was working for me. Then February came along and threw everything into chaos by getting me sick (sore throat and fever). I was down and out for a few days. No job, no exercise. Just rest… although I didn’t really rest. I have so much going on that I took one of those days off to run a few errands, but the illness caught up with me and convinced me to stay my ass in bed — meaning I felt so drained that I gave in and stayed in bed for a few days.

When I was feeling back to my old self, I had to spend time catching up on everything, mainly work and personal errands. Unfortunately, that meant exercising took a backseat. I probably made it to only 2 classes in February, if that much. I felt like a slacker because I kept scheduling classes to attend but having to cancel. 😦

But despite all that, there were some fun moments in February: I attended my first literary events of the year! The first was to see Neal Shusterman talk about his latest book, The Toll, which is the the third book in his Scythe YA fantasy series. I’ve never read any of his books, but a friend loves his stuff and wanted to attend so I went with her. They (Schusterman and my friend) convinced me to try his work. I’ll jump into Scythe when I get a chance.

The second event, called “Wired,” was hosted by the Pen/Faulkner Foundation. Authors Esmé Weijun Wang (she wrote The Collected Schizophrenias) and Zack McDermott (he wrote Gorilla & the Bird) talked about their books and living with a mental illness. I attended it with another friend who I knew who like the topic. It was a great event that was very insightful AND they had a book signing afterward. I got a copy of McDermott’s book and got it signed, but I forgot my copy of Wang’s book at home. I was so upset that I couldn’t get it signed too. 😦

And so February ended on a nice note with me looking forward to March despite rising concerns about the Coronavirus. 😐

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Woah! I managed to complete 4 books again in a weird month. Yeahie me! 😀

First up is Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. As soon as I completed Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings series, I started dreaming about rereading the entire series. I gave into the urge in February and completed the audiobook of the first novel in six days. The narrator, Paul Boehmer, does a great job. Assassin’s Apprentice is an epic fantasy novel about the bastard son of a prince who apprentices with an assassin. It’s the first novel in Farseer trilogy, which is the beginning of the Realm of the Elderlings series.

Next I completed Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett, which was also a reread. It was actually the group pick from the Turtle Recall readathon, which promotes reading Pratchett’s Discworld books. I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time. I attempted to listen to the audiobook but hated it so much that I returned the purchase and continued with my physical copy. I’d forgotten how delightful a read it is. It’s about a girl named Esk who becomes the first female wizard in Discworld with Granny Weatherwax’s unreluctant (at first) help.

Five days later, I wrapped up The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher which didn’t go as I thought it would. I enjoyed the beginning by became annoyed by the protagonist about mid-story and didn’t care for the end. It’s a horror novel, with some humor, about a young woman who finds some odd writings by her late step-grandfather while cleaning out her late grandmother’s cluttered house. I buddy-read it with some co-workers and so far two of us didn’t like it as much as we thought we would.

After that I completed Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner, which I buddy-read with Millie from Milliebot Reads. Oh man, I really liked this one. It’s a slow-paced fantasy novel about a girl who wants to become a magician but women aren’t encouraged to do so in her country, and about the relationship that develops between a human man and a troll. Millie and I both liked the story. It seems to be a standalone, but the end left me wanting more and has the hint of potential series about it, or at least other books set in the same world.

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Those with a star (★) are the ones that stuck with me.

Current Affairs

★ Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus (npr.org)

— A short comic strip about the coronavirus. The title says it’s for kids, but I think all ages can benefit from it. It shares facts about the virus in a fun way.

★ She Didn’t Want a Pelvic Exam. She Received One Anyway. (nytimes.com)

— This article was disturbing to me. It’s about unconscious female patients who receive pelvic exams they did not consent to.

Publishing

Author L.L. McKinney: Barnes & Noble ‘Diverse Editions’ Are ‘Literary Blackface’ (npr.org)

— I think by now everyone has heard about this fiasco: One of the Barnes & Noble NYC stores and Penguin Random House planned to publish “diverse” editions of classics, basically the same classic novels by majority White authors but with illustrations of the characters as people of color. 😐 How did this idea get this far?

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Video break

I love this short animation of the children’s picture book Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illus. by Vashti Harrison. It’s such a sweet story, and I love that the mom has a YouTube channel about hair. I love everything about this story.

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Around the blog-o-verse

10 Comics That Told Inspiring Mental Health Stories (thecomicvault.wordpress.com)

— A list of such comics

Focus on the Frightful: Isolation and The Cabin in the Woods (scifiandscary.com)

— A discussion about a common theme in horror

A Wheel of Time Special (dragonsandzombies.com)

— Sarah at Dragons & Zombies created memes inspired by the first two books in the Wheel of Time series. They are hilarious!

Stuff I pubbed

Top 5 Tuesday #28: Book Hangover

— Some great reads I overindulged in

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Acclaimed Poet Edward Kamau Brathwaite Passes Away (barbadostoday.bb)

— The late Bajan poet won several awards for his work. He died on February 4 at age 89.

The Booksellers Official Trailer (casualoptimist.com)

— A film about antiquarian booksellers that will be in theaters on March 6.

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Video break

All about HBCUs, and it features mine!! HU!! 😀

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That’s it for my February.

I didn’t watch anything, so no mentions of shows and movies.

But how was your month? What have you been up to? What’re you reading, watching, listening to?

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