February 2020 Reading Plans
If you were here for my 2018 year in books and my 2019 year in books posts, you know that I failed to finish a single book in February both years. If you weren’t, go check them out then come back here!
To me, that data signifies a trend. A trend that tells of a problem. I could make excuses about how short February is but let’s be real. I finished 7 books in October and December last year. If I can read 7 books in a 31 day month, I can finish one book in a 28 or 29 day month.
Is it actually that important that I read a certain number of books in a month or a year or a decade? You could argue that the only people who care are the ones who run statistics over at Good Reads. But it’s important to me.
Reading is an activity that centers and relaxes me. I helps me fall asleep and brings me joy. So, it’s important to me that I push myself to keep reading even when I don’t necessarily feel like.
February is always a difficult month for me. Because the days are short, dark, and cold as hell here in Maine. February is the month where I tend to let self-care go and fall into the open arms of seasonal depression. But this year, I want to make a concerted effort to avoid this trap. And for that I need a plan.
This is a method I use for approaching any problem in my life. Make a plan for the times you KNOW you’re going to want to fail.
So here’s my plan
I plan to read two books. If I read more, great! But let’s not aim too high considering my track record for February! I want to read things I’m super excited to read. Lucky for me, I just got two books I’ve been waiting for in from the library. I’m ready to go!
First up, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb*
You guys know that I love a good self-help/self-improvement type of book (check out my top 5 here). I can’t get enough. I am literally the kind of person on which the entire industry of Self-Help writing is built. Because, I will read them all. You can never have too much good advice, in my opinion. Okay, that isn’t quite true but I am happy to trudge through repetitive advice for a little nugget of truth that hits me hard in the feels.
I also think my short attention spans lends itself well to being fed the same words in different order over and over again. Throw a bunch of things at the wall and see what sticks. I accept this supposed flaw and embrace it. And love sharing with you what’s actually worth reading and why.
Next up is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo*.
In my 2019 year in books post, I alluded to the fact that I was over WWII historical fiction books after having read 13 of them. This remains to be true so far in 2020. I am here for this contemporary, dark, Harry Potter goes to college vibe. Ninth House is the tale of a lost girl given a chance to start over with a free ride to Yale University. But there’s a catch, of course. Alex is thrown into the seedy underworld of Yale secret societies where the occult reigns supreme.
Going into February with a plan feels right. Will it change my pattern? Only time will tell. What are you reading right now? Tell me all about in the comments below.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post, denoted with a *, are affiliate links. If you shop using my links, I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Laurel and Iron.
