February 2026 Monthly Wrap Up -- BOOK THOUGHTS

 

BOOK THOUGHTS

February 2026 Monthly Wrap Up

Oh, the short month of February, when there are not enough days to read all the books! I managed to finish 13 in my birthday month, but there were several left behind.

I am normally a planner when It comes to my reading. I love to pick books ahead of time, either for the year, like with my TBR 26 in '26 books, or by the month when I pick a stack for my nightstand that I want to get through that month. Because my birthday was in February, I decided to "treat" myself to reading more by whim. I had a couple of book club books I had to finish, but otherwise, I thought I'd pick them as I went. It turned out to not be as fun as I hoped. I think I like the anticipation and planning as much as I like reading the books. 

• The Veiled One by Ruth Rendell, number 14 in her Inspector Wexford series, my new focus. I love Wexford's droll demeanor and the way he's always quoting literature.

• Riders by Jilly Cooper. I loved every 912 page of this rollicking, raunchy chunkster. It’s book 1 of her Rutland Chronicles and I can’t wait to read the others. This was a real birthday treat.

• Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood, a Hogarth Shakespeare retelling of The Tempest. I picked this for book club and am so glad I did. Excellent!

• The Affair by C. P. Snow was a slog, but I’m determined to finish his Strangers & Brothers series. I love mid-century campus novels so want to love this series. But it is dry as dust.

• Cheerful Money: Me, My Family, and the Last Days of WASP Splendor by Tad Friend, a fascinating memoir and social commentary about growing up in an extended East Coast, WASP family in the later 20th Century. It reminded me a lot of my first husband's family, which fortunately was humorous to me at this point. One of my TBR 26 in '26 books.

• The Paris Directive by Gerald Jay. A dud for me. Good premise, but I was yelling at the book for the unbelievability of every detail of the murders. Supposedly the best assassin the the world botches the first murder, tries to frame the local handyman, hangs around the tiny French village, and decides to murder the investigating cop and the daughter of one of the victims because they might solve the crime. Seriously? Why doesn't he just leave? Another TBR 26 in '26 book and one I'm glad to have off my shelf. 

• When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter. An entertaining memoir about the magazine business in its heyday, but the name dropping got to be too much. Specifically, he would introduce someone by full name -- which is good, knowing the people he rubbed elbows with is why you read a book like this -- but then all subsequent references were to first names. I couldn't keep up. There was no way I could remember that Henry Smigglesworth at the Oscar party was "Henry" at Paris Fashion Week 200 pages later. 

• The English Country Town by Russell Chamberlin. I thought this was a fluffy coffee table book and discovered it is a readable but serious history of English towns back to pre-Roman days. A surprise highlight of my month. I was fascinated.

NOT PICTURED

• The Appeal by Janice Hallett, a fun, popular mystery told through email and text messages. I read the sequel, The Christmas Appeal, in December and wanted to go back to the original. I actually thought the sequel was better because it was a novella and packed a lot into the shorter format. The original novel felt too long in comparison. 

• Prelude to Terror by Helen MacInnes is one of her later Cold War thrillers and very good. It is the first of three books she wrote featuring CIA spy Robert Renwick. Apparently this was a reread for me, but I remembered none of it, so it felt brand new. 

• Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just by Timothy Keller, a recommendation from our pastor and definitely worth reading.

• St. Francis of Assisi by G. K. Chesterton. I read this classic as a group read on Instagram. Chesterton's commentary was as interesting as the details of the saint's life. 

• White Noise by Don DeLillo has been on my list forever but just confirmed I am not a fan. It won the 1985 National Book Award and I'm working my way through the winners. I don't plan on picking up any other DeLillo books. 

Did any of your February books stand out?

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

That amiable youth, Jimmy Thesiger, came racing down the big staircase at Chimneys two steps at a time. So precipitate was his descent that he collided with Tredwell, the stately butler, just as the latter was crossing the hall bearing a fresh supply of hot coffee.

-- from The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie.

I just watched the Netflix adaptation of The Seven Dials and liked it so much I'm thinking of rereading the book. I remember enjoying the book very much when I read it many years ago. But I'm a little worried that reading the book right after watching the show will make me focus on the differences and distract me from just enjoying the story. 

Have you seen the show or read the book? What did you think?

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from The Seven Dials Mystery:

"All things considered," he said, "we haven’t got much to go on. In fact, just the words Seven Dials."

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

A house party at a grand country estate takes an unexpected turn when a practical joke leads to a shocking discovery. What begins as lighthearted mischief soon draws a group of young guests into a web of secrets, coded messages, and suspicious deaths—hinting at a conspiracy far more dangerous than anyone anticipated.

As curiosity turns into urgency, amateur investigators find themselves racing against time to uncover the truth behind the mysterious Seven Dials group. Hidden meetings, false identities, and political intrigue transform fashionable London society into a landscape of peril, where trusting the wrong person could prove fatal.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Thank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Dear both,

As discussed, it is best you know nothing before you read the enclosed.

-- from The Appeal by Janice Hallett. This epistolatory crime novel is told entirely through correspondence. Because it is a 21st Century novel, the correspondence is almost entirely emails and text messages. Have you read it?

I read the sequel, The Christmas Appeal, in December and enjoyed it so much I wanted to go back and read the original. The Christmas version was much shorter, a novella of 208 pages. This one feels way, way, longer to me. I'm halfway through and, while it is lively and entertaining, the email/text thing is losing its allure. We haven't even come to a dead body yet!  

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

Please add the link to your book beginning post in the linky box below. If you participate or share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings so other people can find your post.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 asks participants to share a two-sentence teaser from their book of the week. If your book is an ebook or audiobook, pick a teaser from the 56% point. 

Anna at My Head is Full of Books hosts The Friday 56, a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please visit My Head is Full of Books to leave the link to your post. 

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from The Appeal:

Hi SJ, sorry to bother you, but Sam and I are talking about seating arrangements for Poppy's Ball. Please, please, please, can we be seated together?

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival.

But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head at the explosive dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that the killer may be hiding in plain sight. The evidence is all there, between the lines, waiting to be uncovered.

January 2026 Monthly Wrap Up -- BOOK THOUGHTS

BOOK THOUGHTS

January 2026 Monthly Wrap Up

Now that I'm "all-but" retired, I've been reading more. I've also been clearing out and reorganizing all my cupboards and closets. I hope the reading continues and the compulsion to clean up fades. 

Here’s my January wrap-up list. Have you read any of these? 

• A Weed Among the Flowers by Graham Greene, in a miniature special edition. I wrote about it here. 

• Hiroshima by John Hersey, a must read but horrifying. My first TBR 26 in '26 book.

• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, a funny, interesting memoir about the Appalachian Trail.

• The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster includes three novels: City of Glass, Ghosts, and The Locked Room. Well done but not my cup of tea.

• Put on by Cunning by Ruth Rendell is book 11 of her Inspector Wexford series, confusingly included in an omnibus with books 2, 3, and 4.

• An Unkindness of Ravens by Ruth Rendell, book 13.

• A Severed Wasp by Madeleine L’Engle is a hidden backlist gem from the author of A Wrinkle in Time. I wrote about it here. 

• Afterward by Bristol Vaudrin. This debut novel offered a wry take on the aftermath of personal trauma. Here's my review.

• The Mysterious Disappearance of Marsha Boden by Rosy Gee is a clever new cozy mystery set in Shropshire. My review is in the works. 

• Message from Málaga by Helen MacInnes. I’ll count this Cold War thriller about chasing Cuban spies through Spain as my Spain book for the 2026 European Reading Challenge. It's not too late to join!

• The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene, the first readalong with a "Going Greene" group on Instagram.

NOT PICTURED: Books I read with my ears, as an ebook, borrowed, or mislaid.

• Clown Town by Mick Herron, the latest in his Slow Horses series.

• The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is as good as the buzz says. I loved it, especially back to back with A Severed Wasp! I wrote about it here. 

• The Speaker of Mandarin by Ruth Rendell, Wexford book 12. An interesting mystery that begins with Wexford's trip to Communist China. Parts haven’t aged well!

• The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie was an excellent collection of five stories and a perfect book club pick.

• The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty. Pure fun.

• My Friends by Frederik Backman is enormously popular but not for me. The whole theme of "we're the cool ones who really understand art and everyone else is stuffy, pretentious, or fake" put me off with it's reverse-elitism. Surprisingly, my book club ladies disliked it even more than I did.

• Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane was a delight. I'm so glad I finally read it. 

What were your January standouts?

St. Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

St. Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

A sketch of St. Francis of Assisi in modern English may be written in one of three ways. Between these the writer must make his selection; and the third way, which is adopted here, is in some respects the most difficult of all.

-- from St. Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton. 

Chesterton's classic biography of St. Francis seemed like a good pick for this first week of Lent. I'm not Catholic, so it is also a good pick for this Protestant to learn more about such an influential Christian figure. I read Chesterton's short book with a group on Instagram and look forward to gaining more insight through our group chat. 

Have you read this one? What are your thoughts?

 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Thumb-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from St. Francis of Assis:

It is perhaps the chief suggestion of this book that St. Francis walked the world like the Pardon of God. I mean that his appearance marked the moment when men could be reconciled not only to God but to nature and, most difficult of all, to themselves.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Francis of Assisi is, after Mary of Nazareth, the greatest saint in the Christian calendar, and one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. By universal acclaim, this biography by G. K. Chesterton is considered the best appreciation of Francis's life--the one that gets to the heart of the matter.

For Chesterton, Francis is a great paradoxical figure, a man who loved women but vowed himself to chastity; an artist who loved the pleasures of the natural world as few have loved them, but vowed himself to the most austere poverty, stripping himself naked in the public square so all could see that he had renounced his worldly goods; a clown who stood on his head in order to see the world aright. Chesterton gives us Francis in his world-the riotously colorful world of the High Middle Ages, a world with more pageantry and romance than we have seen before or since. Here is the Francis who tried to end the Crusades by talking to the Saracens, and who interceded with the emperor on behalf of the birds. Here is the Francis who inspired a revolution in art that began with Giotto and a revolution in poetry that began with Dante. Here is the Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, who invented the creche.