February Reading

I read, at least partially, 8 books in February, totaling 1982 pages. That puts me at 12 books and 3771 pages so far this year! Wow!

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella was a fun mystery. Very easy read. I figured out what happened before the story got around to revealing it, but that was okay.
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. I saw this reviewed on a book blog and the woman gave it 5/5 stars which she rarely does. It's about a young girl who lives in a polygamist community and is "chosen" to marry her uncle. It's interesting but incredibly infuriating and I almost just stopped reading it because I couldn't stand what I read, but I decided I needed to find out what happened, so I kept on reading. I read it in a day, which I never read books that quickly, but it was a really easy read, just a heavy topic. I'd really like to know how much of it was based on fact and how much was thought up by the author...because if half of what I read is real...well I don't know, but it made me sick. I don't know that I'd recommend reading it. If you want more specifics about what bothered me feel free to ask.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. This was another book reviewed on the book blog, and it's much better. Still a very different kind of story, but one that keeps you very intrigued and you just want to keep reading so you make time to do it. I think it would be really interesting to listen to it as an audio book because the premise of the book is listening to tapes a girl has recorded telling the 13 reasons why she committed suicide. I finished this book in one day too. Nesting has made me very productive in every way apparently.
Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen. I like Sarah Dessen books, yeah they are teen fiction, but typically they are a good story about some teen girl learning an important lesson - things I wish I'd learned in high school. Like with this one, Colie learns how to be confident, despite how others see her and treat her. It was a pretty simple story, not on of Sarah Dessen's best, but pretty good. I actually only have 2 more Dessen books to read and I'll have gone through them all.
Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. It's really sad when are you 1/3 of the way through a book and you realize you've read it before, but you can't remember everything that happened and that it must mean you didn't really care for it after all. And so I decided to just stop right there and move onto the next book.
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult. I've read a few of Picoults books. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't. I got really into this one in the beginning, but the story didn't hold me in very well...and then of course my Kindle came and I wanted to jump right to reading on that, but was not about to purchase this book. So halfway through I decided to just stop. And I don't wonder what will happen in the end.
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. Just a silly vampire book not deep reading, but it kept me entertained. Its also the first book I read on my lovely new Kindle. I got the first 8 (out of 10) books in the series in a box set which was a really good deal.
And finally Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent. I really enjoyed this book! I never would have read it without recommendations, but even the reviews say its a compelling read and it was! It was so interesting to read a little about the history of obstetrics in America as well as the evolution of midwifery into a licensed medical practice. And the birth stories were crazy!! Anyway, it was really inspiring to read about so many women who found ways to handle the pain of childbirth without medication and managed to create calm environments to welcome their new babies into the world. I still wouldn't go for a home birth myself, I quite like the reassurance of safety a hospital can provide, but I've got some new ideas of how I can approach a natural child birth. I guess we'll see... Anyway I recommend this book!!