Books of Amber

Me in February

February was an eventful month, but it didn’t turn out to be too hectic, which was nice. I got to do some exciting things, but I also had a chance to relax. I think I’m getting better at this life/work/blogging balance. That said, I didn’t blog much in February, nor did I record much for my Booktube channel, because I was more focused on reading and spending time with friends and family.

We kicked off the month in London, where we stayed after seeing Cirque du Soleil at the end of January. I mentioned in my previous post that we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and went to the video game exhibition there. Then, of course, I went to Waterstones Piccadilly, because that’s a tradition whenever I go into London.

Mid-month, Quill and I went to Windsor to see Ian MacKellen on tour. He’s currently touring a bunch of theatres for his 80th birthday in order to raise money for theatre students. He was incredible to watch, but I felt like the second half dragged on a lot. The show should have started earlier, because it overran by quite a bit and we didn’t get out until 11pm on a work night. (I’m getting old.) I did have the pleasure of very briefly meeting MacKellen afterwards, and he was very polite, although he did start to get annoyed by everyone who was trying to take photos with him. I didn’t take any selfies, obviously, because that would have been rude. He was there to collect donations, not take photos with hundreds of people. Also, random fact, he’s a lot shorter than I thought he would be.

The best part of the month for both me and Quill was the FALCONRY. We went to a falconry centre near Reading, where we got to hold, interact with, and fly six different types of birds of birds of prey. It was a brilliant half day that I bought for Quill’s birthday, and I don’t think I’ll be able to top it next year. The birds were so beautiful and intelligent, and I took so many photos and videos.

I was promoted (again) at work, and although I haven’t started training for my new position yet, I am really excited to have the opportunity to progress within my company and learn a new role. A lot of people at my office aren’t happy with their jobs at the moment because there’s little progression for them in their particular fields, but I’m really lucky to be where I’m at and to have managers that actually recognise that I’m damn good at my job. It also means I got a pay rise and I’m able to save more towards buying a house (eventually… in like a decade).

Lastly, we went back into London again for a family member’s birthday, which she held at the old BBC studios near Westfield. The party was alright (the band was the highlight) but the best part of that particular trip was going to Waterstones again the next day and buying even more books. 

Books Read

1. If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio ***
2. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo ***.5
3. Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds ****
4. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi **
5. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas ****
6. Heroine by Mindy McGinnis ****
7. The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey **.5
8. Internment by Samira Ahmed ****
9. The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown *
10. Educated by Tara Westover ****

Book of the Month

Statistics

I’m bringing back the stats section of my wrap ups because I love doing them on my Booktube channel so it made sense to do them here! 

I read a total of 10 books in February, as you can see. I read 4,299 pages, which was only 3 pages less than I read in January. This means I was reading bigger books and I’m thrilled. I read an average of 143 pages per day, which was awesome because that’s over an hour’s worth of reading. Go me!

I bought five books and spent £38.00 on them. Not the best savings month, I have to admit, but at least I’m excited about all of the books and I’ve already read one of them. (Tell me it’s okay.)

I read 1 mystery book, 2 thrillers, 1 non-fiction, 2 fantasy, and 4 contemporary books. The high contemporary number is unusual for the winter months, as I tend to read more contemporary in the summer, but the #contemporaryathon happened and it spurred me on. The thrillers I read weren’t great, which is a shame, so I want to read some good ones in March to make up for it.

I read 4 backlist titles and 6 new releases. Most of the new releases were ARCs, which means I’m getting through my review copies at a decent rate.

I read 7 YA books and 3 adult books, which isn’t as balanced as my reading has been lately but I think this has something to do with the amount of review copies I was reading. I don’t request many adult titles.

And as for how diversely I was reading, I read two books with LGBTQ+ representation (If We Were Villains has gay m/m rep, and The Truth About Keeping Secrets has gay f/f rep), five books with a non-white main character, and four books from an author of colour. Not bad, I think.

Looking Forward To

March should be slightly more relaxed than February was, although there are a few things coming up that I’m looking forward to. Firstly, it’s my little sister’s 11th (!!!!!) birthday on the 8th, and while I won’t be seeing her on that day, Quill and I are going to take her ice skating in Oxford. 

We’re also going into London again for a friend’s birthday, and I think the plan is to have lunch at their new place and then going out for some casual beer pong at a bar.

Then, finally, there’s the Orion Book Blogger event happening at the end of the month, and I’ll be going into London again for that. It’s in the evening on a work night though so I don’t think I’ll have time to visit Waterstones for a third time within six weeks. Shame.