Shhhh, pretend it's still February

Ok, I'm several days late, but I did it. I finished my February challenges. THREE of them, no less!

First up, I listened to The Hill We Climb several times, and it remains amazing. Listen to it. Over and over. It's glorious. Do I feel like this one was a little bit of a cheat, since it's like five minutes long? I mean...a little, but I didn't know that when I chose it? And it's still incredible, so. Whatever.

I also FINALLY finished The House of Earth and Blood (stayed up way too late last night to do it, but it's spring break so fuck it!), and y'all, shit got tense. TENSE. Do I feel like the first half-ish of the book could have been shorter? Yeah, probably. At least a bit. But the world building is pretty great, the characters were solid, and WHEW the last like quarter of the book had me on the edge of my...mattress, I guess, since I read it in bed. Pillow? Anyway, I probably should not have chosen this as a book that I read right before bed, because I had some wild nightmares, but I have very few regrets. I will be drinking lots of coffee today, though.

Finally, I landed on a third challenge, and that was reading a new literary magazine. Passages North, hellooooooooo! The linked short story was written by the brother of my tattoo artist, which is how I learned about it, and it was quite a ride.

⭐⭐⭐

So, now that we're already almost a week into March, which challenges shall I focus on for the rest of the month? I'm going to be honest, I'm a little bit starting to feel like if I don't go in order I'll end up sticking myself with the longer/harder books at the end of the year. 😬 Should I switch to going in order? Maybe? I don't know. I'm going to for March, at least. Challenges 1 and 2!

Challenge 1: Read a biography of an author you admire: I'll be reading Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley, because Jane Austen rules. Austen forever! I just put a hold on it at my library, so I should have it in my hot little hands early next week.

Challenge 2: Read a book set in a bookstore: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley is my pick for this one, it sounds full of heartache and longing and romance, which is pretty up my alley. I've got a hold on the audiobook through my digital library, which has an estimated two week wait, so...looking forward to listening to it on my commute when I'm back at work!

This post was not sponsored by my local public library, but consider this a PSA in case you need it: visit your local public library! Libraries are awesome!