What I Read in February 📚 | Reading Wrap Up

[@Applepopess]

Aw man, I read a whopping two books in all of February! What a slump. But your videos always encourage and inspire me to get going again, and March is already looking better, so thanks. :)

[@jenvcampbell]

Ah, some months are just like that. Here's to March! x

[@booksandbargains]

I hadn't heard of toast before this and I am now lusting after ALL the dresses. I also don't do TBRS but this month I have pulled a selection onto a trolley and I have been picking from them which has been nice. I have the year of rest and relaxation and just haven't got round to it yet. Thank you for always giving me great recommendations ... my TBR just gets longer and longer!

[@YourTrueShelf]

I'm doing the reading one shelf challenge this month - I totally agree, it's made me pick up books that I wouldn't have done for ages, but I also miss mood reading. Last month's standouts were All Among The Barley by Melissa Harrison, The Girl & The Ghost by Hanna Alkaf & Love In Colour by Bolu Babalola.

[@Faithy606]

my TOP read for this month was definitely Contact by Carl Sagan and then Smoke gets in your eyes by Caitlin Doughty

[@anothergreatetcetera]

Aaaaaaah I'm immediately going to pick up Polly Barton's book, that sounds amazing! Thank you so much for your recommendation! I'm in the (very early) process of learning Japanese and it's so, so different from the European languages I've learnt thus far. I can't wait to read about her experience. Also, my favourite read (or rather, listen) of February was Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo - what a gem!

[@grodriguez7225]

Yay a new video! Your right the illustrations are beautiful! Like your outfit. Ps: I’m currently reading The Mixed Up Flies, Middlemarch, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, and Shadow & Bone!

[@FullyBookedMelissa]

I don't know why I watch your videos when I'm trying to decrease my TBR. 😑 I always end up adding so many things to the list. Love the middle grade recommendations (and those colour plates are dazzling!). I really appreciate the recommendations of picture books about disability. I'm always trying to add many different voices and experiences to my 5-year-old's library but when I Google them myself, it's hard to know how well the books handle those topics - I know what you recommend will be quality! 💖

[@kimesch9698]

Love the cover of the first book so much, I’d have no self control if I saw it in a bookstore. I’d have to buy it even though I’m not sure if I’m that interested in the topic.

[@picketfenced5771]

YOUR SMILE IS SO BEAUTIFUL

[@GwendolynKensinger]

My top read of February was The Push by Ashley Audrain. Every time you wear that polar bear necklace I admire it.

[@4travelinggirls]

I was feeling like reading graphic novels again so I finally picked up Persepolis 1 and 2 in February! And i was able to find the Tea Dragon Society as well. Both were great!

[@dunkbiscuit]

Read persepolis this year too, loved it!

[@Gagging4Lit]

Loved Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. Not been intrigued by the premises of her other novels since then, but she is always somewhere on my radar! And your polar bear necklace is so beautiful and unique-looking

[@chantellebehrens]

Adding Fifty Sounds to my TBR immediately! Thanks as always for great recommendations!

[@katherineallen4239]

I read The Underground Railroad, which was brilliant.

[@CD-rt5pt]

I really love graphic memoirs and I'm so excited to read Dancing After Ten now. I hadn't heard of it previously so thank you for bringing it to my attention! I'm going to pass on the recommendation of The Ice Bear Miracle to my younger cousin because books with animals are always a win for her. I'm going to try to check out Fifty Sounds as well. I recently started taking Japanese classes through my college so it should be a very interesting read. Last month my best read was probably Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. I found it very uniquely written and thought provoking.

[@josielacey8372]

It was really interesting to hear your thoughts on The Alarming Palsy of James Orr. My mom has bell's palsy that caused permanent nerve damage to her face and she's still quite self-conscious about it even after 25 years, so I don't think that book will be for me.

[@jenvcampbell]

Yes, I would give it a miss x

[@Larissa_KD]

A standout I read in february was The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, absolutely lovely book!

[@jenvcampbell]

I’ve heard such great things about that book x

[@brush2canvas849]

After finishing Piranesi I felt that I could do with more magical stories so I reread some Italo Calvino, because why not. From your selection I get the feeling that the Kawakami might also satisfy that magical realism craving. Death in her Hands also sounds extremely interesting and will defintely go on my wishlist. Great selection - again! Thank you! 💕💕

[@miaarndt9501]

My favorite book of Feb was definitely Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden 💕 also, have you heard the audiobook for Death in Her Hands? The narrator, Ann Marie Lee, is spectacular! It was one of my favorite books of 2020!

[@jenvcampbell]

Someone commented that down below and it’s got me intrigued! If I revisit it one day, I’ll go for the audio ☺️ xx

[@johannab7544]

The book by Polly Barton sounds fascinating! I studied translation myself (sadly, had more courses on technical translation than literary translation) and dabble in the translation of fiction a bit, so I really want to read it. Have you hear of Experiences in Translation by Umberto Eco? In it, he talks about the translation process of his books and how he worked with his translators (I read the German translation of it and it had personal anecdotes of the German translator in the footnotes, which is interesting considering translators are rarely so "visible" in a text!). I always love your videos, they always brighten my day (and you have also inspired me to pick up baking after I was too scared to bake following a rather bad baking disaster in 2019). Lots of love from Norway!

[@jenvcampbell]

I read some of that at uni but sadly can’t recall most of it now! x

[@theuncommonviewer]

Yes Jen! Definitely mention Patreon! It's honestly not jarring or anything like that. Dancing by ten sounds really interesting. Sadly friends seem to melt away or act out when they're faced with big health problems that you have. I have seen it happen..

[@bookishsabrina]

I really appreciated hearing your thoughts on Death in Her Hands. I've loved Moshfegh's other works, but I have heard a lot of negative things about her newest novel that made me less excited about it. Glad to hear such a positive review! Love the idea of a book being both playful and sinister, and I think that describes Moshfegh's aesthetic perfectly.

[@tiffanyanne7861]

I listened to the audio for The Removed last month and really loved it. Dancing After Ten sounds incredible.

[@Hillary429]

I remember watching a KZbinr named Ben Brown who was a super active, competitive kayaking, filming huge projects all over the world, just not stop action kinda guy who within the span of a month or so suddenly ended his long term relationship, got in a terrible motorcycle accident (he was okay after a bit of healing) and got Bell’s palsy. The sudden changes and extreme effect of the stress really forced him to take a step back and reevaluate. His channel is almost unrecognizable now compared to before. That’s all, just thought I would share that KZbin reference if anyone was curious about KZbinrs who have had Bell’s palsy and how it affected them

[@jenvcampbell]

For balance, Bell’s Palsy and other conditions don’t always cause such an extreme change in people. Disability/illness doesn’t always have to be a teaching moment, either, though those are the narratives that are pushed the most. Lindsey (over at Lindsey’s Book Life) had Bell’s a year ago, and I know several other people who have it/have had it. It’s a very common condition. This isn’t to take anything away from Ben at all (I don’t know him); I’m just very wary of the ‘inspiration illness’ narrative. It often detracts from what living with a disability is actually like for the majority of people. x

[@jenvcampbell]

Ps not sure I phrased that well (I’m tired, ha, sorry). I just mean if we think of huge online accounts discussing health, or films about disability, they normally have the ‘how I turned my life around’ vibe, and it’s a very warped view of the disability world. Not something to discount, just something to bear in mind. x

[@Hillary429]

@@jenvcampbell that makes a lot of sense, reminds me of the “hustle culture” narrative during the pandemic pushing people to be super productive and improve their lives during such a hard time

[@sakshikhushu5930]

Can you please make a separate video for your favourite or must read Middle grade books?

[@jenvcampbell]

Sure! I’d like to get to more on my shelves before I do that, but I can certainly do it at some point in the future.

[@sakshikhushu5930]

@@jenvcampbell thankyou 😊

[@SM-vr8dz]

I added so many books to my tbr as a result of this video, lol.

[@jenvcampbell]

Which books are you most keen to get to? X

[@mikithompson745]

Last month I really liked The Winter People. This month has been a bit of a slog so far. Hoping it picks up.

[@RahulSingh-books]

Loved Death in Her Hands by Moshfegh and Record of a Night too Brief. I liked the second story Kawakami’s book.

[@mradcaqbdb]

Thanks for recommending the Tessa Thompson reading of Passing! And I will have to look up the Kawakami book. I adored People From My Neighbourhood!

[@suzannahdarcy6903]

I'm currently reading Passing as well. I'm reading it though (not audio)

[@kathleen.l]

I haven't even read any book in February! Sigh... Hope I can read at least one this month. Love your videos! You always have a variety of books. 💖

[@amyconnolly1288]

I just finished Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud, a harrowing story of different kinds of love in a Trinidad setting. Very good but very sad too.

[@MilenaReads]

What a great reading month! I’m reading too many books at the same time, like always 😂

[@jenvcampbell]

Snap, ha! x

[@MilenaReads]

@@jenvcampbell I never learn!

[@ify11boo]

I would HIGHLY recommend the audiobook of Otessa Moshfegh, the narrator did a fantastic job (even though she seemed a bit older sometimes) still the experience was so so good ♥️

[@jenvcampbell]

If I go back to reread it, I’ll bear that in mind ☺️

[@LouiseReader]

I read The Alarming Palsy of James Orr a few years ago. I Really like the first half or 2/3, and then it really lost me at the end, as it seems it did to you. I read Death in her Hands a few months ago, it was my first Moshfegh, and I really wanted to like it I... I liked the writing a lot, but didn't get on with the story so much. I'm currently listening to Breathtaking by Rachel Clarke about the first few months of COVID in the UK by a palliative care physician. It's amazing she can really write. And I just listened to the audiobook of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies - stunning. I listened to it twice through. It's that good. I'd like to get to Passing, picking the narrator sounds good, I might try that out.

[@jenvcampbell]

Also, what was that "rape joke" (urgh)? Just remembered that bit. I'm so looking forward to reading The Secret Lives of Church Ladies! xx

[@spexi513]

Read My Year Of Rest and Relaxation, but never heard of Death In Her Hands ….. you had me at lives alone in the woods

[@TheIrisMessenger]

Hey Jen, I haven't kept up with your videos, but I was wondering if you've read Golem Girl? Or which video you may have talked about it? My standout reads of February were Sister Outsider (I finally read it, wow) and Detransition Baby (I'm so excited that it was picked up to be a tv series)!

[@jenvcampbell]

Not yet but it’s on my TBR and hoping to read it next month x

[@jenvcampbell]

Ps if you ever want to find a review of mine, just search KZbin for my name and the name of the book and the relevant videos will come up.

[@paulwinchell6904]

I'm reading The Last Bear by Hannah Gold it's quite good.

[@amberkemp9200]

Can I ask what edition of Passing that is? The cover is beautiful! Great video as usual! :)

[@jenvcampbell]

This one :) www.panmacmillan.com/authors/christa-holm-vogelius/passing/9781529047974 x

[@tiyuki5]

I have just preordered "Fifty Sounds". Jen, how much more money are you going to make me spend?! xDDDD

[@jenvcampbell]

Haha, happy reading! x

[@rosegreensummer]

as a portrait of mental illness, i give OM's last zero, plus it was boring as motorsport, but then Faber wrote both the incredible book of new strange things and the dire crimson thingy, i only read the good book cos of your recommendation (that is one of the few stone cold classics of modern times, why is it not famous? along with Iraqi Christ?) so vesta could be good, i'm fascinated by Qanon, as a huge violent modern yet not religious cult which is not treated as a terrorist organisation, not least because it is neither solo people and it is nativist, yet seems to be as dangerous as jihadism, and because it involves the rejection of all reason, reality, society yet nobody is treating it like those people who help rescue cult members or treat extremist jihadis, so it could suit me. Did i say my favourite book of (not) last year was as slow as possible by kit fan, i'm not sure if i'll read anything but poetry again, this virus my concentration is too shot, but, i want to read the chinese classics, and is rabelais worth it? idk