Balloons are not really the environmentally friendly thing to do these days, so digital balloons are my way of celebrating my birthday month in books!
During February I finished reading:
| FebruaRY: TITLE | AUTHOR | COUNTRY | GENRE | PUB DATE | ORIGIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Difficult Young Man | Martin Boyd | Australia | Historical Fiction | 1957 | TBR |
| The Island of Missing Trees | Elif Shafak | England/Turkiye | Fiction | 2021 | TBR |
| The Kidnapping of Pearl Button | Katherine Mansfield | New Zealand | Short Story | 1912 | TBR |
| Elizabeth II | Douglas Hurd | England | Biography | 2018 | TBR |
| The Tiredness of Rosabel | Katherine Mansfield | New Zealand | Short Story | 1908 | TBR |
| Little Plum | Laura McPhee-Browne | Australia | Fiction | 2023 | ARC |
| Glass Houses | Anne Coombs | Australia | Fiction | 2023 | ARC |
| Marrying Damian | William Trevor | Ireland | Short Story | 1994 | TBR |
| The Child-Who-Was-Tired | Katherine Mansfield | New Zealand | Short Story | 1910 | TBR |
| Sleepy | Anton Chekhov | Russia | Short Story | 1888 | Online |
Story of the month: Tricky – I loved A Difficult Young Man, but I was also very taken by Glass Houses.
As you can see, I am reading more than I can write about at the moment, even if most of them are short stories! Given how many weekends away and night’s out I’ve had this month, it is not so surprising. I will always make time to read a chapter before bed, but opening up my personal laptop everyday is not always a priority.
I have started reading Clare Harman’s new biography about Katherine Mansfield, All Sorts of Lives. Her focus is on ten of Mansfield’s short stories, using them to show how each one reflects where Katherine was in her life at the time and what they reveal about her writing journey. Naturally I have to read each story before I read the relevant chapter.
I’m also three quarters of the way through the new Salman Rushdie, Victory City. It’s magnificent; if you loved Midnight’s Children I think you will also love this.
An update on the pingback problem indicates that the issue was resolved yesterday.
How was your reading month?
| This post was written on the traditional land of the Wangal clan, one of the 29 clans of the Eora Nation within the Sydney basin. This Reading Life acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are this land’s first storytellers. |
bronasbooks.com 
We share a birthday month though my actual anniversary escaped my attention until yesterday. My backlog of reviews is getting longer by the week – it’s hard sometimes to summon up the energy!
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Happy birthday and happy anniversary to you!
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I’m reading Victory City too, and loving it! What a storyteller he is:)
I used to be intimidated by Rushdie… I didn’t understand a word of The Satanic Verses, and got lost in Midnight’s Children too but lately I’ve just romped through his novels and enjoyed the ride.
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PS Happy Birthday!
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Thank you – it has been a lovely month 😍
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I read midnight’s children back in 1999 but haven’t successfully read another Rushdie since then. I tried to read The Golden House & Quichotte but couldn’t get into them. Victory City has been a delight from the very first.
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Happy Birthday month of reading!
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Thank you 😊
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Happy Birthday month, and what great reading! I have had a fab reading month too and 99% indies!!
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I’ve been wondering if I should note which publisher each book is from on this chart (it’s on each book post), but I have enough columns already!!
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I am in the same situation. Reading but not reviewing. I read 13 books in February which I consider very good. That includes e-books and audio books. I have discovered that I can actually listen to Agatha Christie, so not so bad. I just have to review a few more books.
Katherine Mansfield is great. I have read two of her books with short stories. And an historical fiction of her life by Linda Lappin, ‘Katherine’s Wish’ which was very good and well researched. You find my review here: https://thecontentreader.blogspot.com/2021/12/katherines-wish-by-linda-lappin.html
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Katherine’s Wish sounds good, but you are right in saying that Katherine and John both sound like rather challenging personalities!
I read many of her short stories a long time ago, pre-blog, so it is nice revisiting them one at a time with this bio, and taking my time with each one.
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Happy birthday! I’ve been curious about the Rushdie book, like you my experiences of reading him have been mixed so it’s good to hear how much you’re liking this one.
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I couldn’t read The Golden House & Quichotte at all. I’ve read the first page of Satanic Verses several times in bookshops over the years, but have never felt the urge to buy it and continue on. Midnight’s Children was magnificent – I hope I get to reread it one day.
The Enchantress of Florence and Haroun and the Sea of Stories are on my TBR. I have high hopes for both as they come highly recommended from reading friends.
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I haven’t tried the first two or Haroun and felt at a remove when reading SV, but agree completely about Midnight’s Children. I also enjoyed Enchantress and would like to give Haroun a try too.
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I love the idea of reading the Mansfield bio and the stories that go with it. Easier than reading Marr’s Patrick White and the ‘stories’ that go with that! I have a similar exercise waiting, waiting … George Saunders’ A Swim in the Pond in the Rain
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