February was a bit of a slower reading month for me as it was my son's birthday, Valentine's and we took the family on a trip (always less reading time for me as I'm with the kids nonstop). Even so I was able to fit the following 5 books in:
1. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nefesi
Scattered is the best way to describe this book.The author was trying to talk about her experiences as a university teacher and the challenges she faced as she tried to teach her students about all the literary greats. The issue was that the new government wouldn't let her talk about anything considered too Western. She eventually stops teaching but starts up a sort of book club/classes for her former students. The book jumps in the timeline so much that it's difficult to understand what happens when. I think the book has promise but the editor should have helped the author put things into a cleaner timeline.
2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - John le Carre
Wee! I really enjoyed the movie and so I think that helped me keep the characters/ events straight when reading the book. It follows the British Secret Service (Circus) and the story of potential internal betrayal within their ranks. Smiley, an ex-agent, is asked to secretly try to find out if there's a mole in Circus and the story follows him unravelling a few major incidents and searching for the spy. I really don't want to say too much about it as it's a mystery and no one likes a spoiler! But I would suggest maybe starting yourself a little cheat sheet with the names to keep them straight.
3. The Lock Artist - Steve Hamilton
Double WEE! Two good books in a row makes me happy. The book is one of those ones that flips throughout a timeline but I found this one pretty easy to follow. It is about a young boy who goes through something traumatic and it causes him to not speak to anyone. He gets mixed in with the wrong crowd growing up and it leads to worse and worse situations for him. This is one of those books that gets you right off the bat and holds your attention right until the end. It's good enough I immediately looked into the author's other books. It's a great read!
4. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk - David Sedaris
I saw this little book sitting in Chapters and it looked so odd I just couldn't put it down. It's a bunch of little 1-3 page modern fables that kink of shock you at times and make you say 'ahh, good point' at others. There's not much to say about other than it's an odd little book!
5. I seriously can't remember what I read because I forgot to write it down. I know there's another one between Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk and my 1st March book so I'll try to fill this in when I remember...if I ever remember.
What was your favourite read for the month?
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