february has just flown by, hasnāt it. my friends? itās been a whirlwind of a month over here, with a quick visit to california, and then some family visiting ā sprinkle in some hockey, and some good reads, and thatās pretty much how the month of february went for me!
in terms of reading, it wonāt be a surprise to hear that i still have not touched my the starless sea annotations. i had every intention of bringing it with me to california and working on my annotations there ā and i did pack it into my suitcase, but i didnāt touch it at all. i did however, read a few arcs while i was out of town. thereās always next month, i guess! in theory, march is supposed to be a more chill month for me ā april and may both are filled with travel, concerts, and other fun things, so i really am going to try to intentionally carve out more time for annotating. the problem with annotating, for me, is that it really is so time consuming ā especially since iām double annotating the starless sea (annotating a copy for myself, and then a copy for a friend).
this month, i read 22 books, and particularly loved reading anxious people by frederik backman, and dolly aldertonās good material. i found anxious people to be so beautifully written, and good material was a delight of a plane read.Ā
hereās a list of everything i read this month:
- mister hockey by lia riley
- collide by bal khabra (arc)
- a curious beginning by deanna raybourn (gifted)
- breaking the ice by k.r. collins
- if only you by chloe liese (gifted)
- anxious people by frederik backman
- the catch by amy lea (gifted)
- weekends with you by alexandra paige (arc)
- happily never after by lynn painter (arc)
- klara and the sun by kazuo ishiguro
- good material by dolly alderton
- in the event this doesn’t fall apart by shannon lee barry
- the night ends with fire (arc) by k.x. song
- the good, the bad, and the aunties (arc) by jesse q. sutanto
- where sleeping girls lie (arc) by faridah Ć bĆkĆ©-ĆyĆmĆdĆ©
- sophomore surge by k.r. collins
- lighting the lamp by k.r. collins
- glove save and a beauty by k.r. collins
- home ice advantage by k.r. collins
- power play by k.r. collins
- grounded by k.r. collins
- line chemistry by k.r. collins
last month, i decided to steal my friend mjās 365 albums in 365 days challenge ā iāve been trying to listen to an album (or a few EPs) a day. in addition to my usual favorites (holly humberstone, sabrina carpenter, maisie peters, noah kahan, del water gap, sam fender, etc. etc.,) iāve also really loved katelyn tarverās quitter, rosie darlingās lanterns, and prelude to ecstasy by the last dinner party. in terms of recent releases and singles, iāve been looping cigarettes & wine by del water gap and holly humberstone, you donāt love me by cate, make you mine by madison beer, now youāre leaving by the millennial club, older by lizzy mcalpine, and dive by holly humberstone.
other things iāve been loving lately:
- book unhauling + decluttering: i accumulate ā¦ a lot of stuff. and so every once in a while, i like to unhaul my books, donate them, send them to other friends who will undoubtedly appreciate them more, etc! having a clean space does wonders for my mental health.
- hockey: okay, so this one isnāt a surprise, but iāll have yāall know i have expanded my list of teams i actively care about to include the coachella valley firebirds ā the seattle krakenās AHL team! i also loosely care about the toronto maple leafs, and the boston bruins, but the seattle kraken are my number one. and iām still deciding on which PWHL team to align myself with, but am leaning towards either montreal, minnesota, boston, or new york for the time being, simply based on where my friends are and the teams they follow ā so iāve narrowed it down to ā¦ four out of six teams. iām doing great!
- making friendship bracelets: iāve been making bracelets for the upcoming taylor swift concert (iāll be going to vancouver with my mom, and two of my best friends), but iāve also been making them for any occasion ā other concerts, hockey games, you name it!
- baking: been getting back into baking a little! i made oatmeal raisin cookies at the beginning of the month, and i just made chocolate cake over the weekend. and of course, my baking music of choice is the waitress original broadway cast recording.
- the oklahoma school for the deafās free ASL class: the oklahoma school for the deaf offers free ASL courses every spring! i signed up last year, but didnāt get a chance to finish the full course. iām determined to finish it this spring, and have roped in a few friends to do it with me for accountability!
- rom coms: iām an avid rom-com lover, but have recently been in a huge āletās watch all the rom comsā mood ā rewatched the holiday (i am very much jude lawās character in the holiday, tears over everything and all) and finally watched plus one, which my friend em loves and has been talking about for ages!
posts i loved reading:
- iāve been looking forward to hafsah faizalās a tempest of tea, and loved reading 24hryabookblogās review of it!
- as yāall know, iām not on book twitter anymore, and am a lot more sporadically on bookstagram, which makes it harder for me to keep track of recent releases! i loved thisbellereadstooās post of january 2024 releases of asian centric stories!
- iāve been meaning to get into more poetry, and loved thelasttearoomās poetry starter pack!
mphtheatregirl
February:
Reading- haven’t finished any
Musicals- Mean Girls (so my musical theatre year started)
Rail Trail Lights