February 2026 Reading Wrap Up
Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!
February is over, hallelujah. Remember when I said last month, "I hope February treats us all much better?" Yeah, the universe said "Hold my beer." Not only did the seams of the world just rip open a little bit more, throwing everything into chaos, but my own personal struggles this month have just been off the charts. I won't go into details because if I did we'd be here until summer, but let's just say that I'm going through rather severe autistic burnout right now, and ordinary everyday tasks have somehow become Mount Everest level hard. It's gotten so bad that I'm even having trouble reading, which you know is like, apocalyptic in my mind. Can't read? Might as well just give up on life.
(I want to clarify that that was a joke and that I'm not in any danger to myself or others. I just have a very warped sense of humor.)
So, considering all of the above, I actually find it quite a miracle that I managed to finish 4 books this month. One of them was even a book club book, hooray for me! Of the 4, one was from my physical TBR, 2 were books that I have purchased this year, and one was from the library. 2 were classics, and one was translated.
Let's get into this (short) wrap up!
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Novels
1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Format: Audiobook
Star rating: 4.25 stars
Page count: 359 pages (12 hrs 19 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 2.13 - 2.18
Final thoughts: I really wasn't planning on reading this this month, or ever really. But all of the discourse on the movie (which I haven't seen, nor ever plan on seeing) had me intrigued and I wanted to be in the know. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. Growing up I was under the assumption that this was a romance (as I'm sure so many other people are) and that's just not my genre, so I was never all that interested. I genuinely think that if this book was marketed properly, as a gothic tale about the cycles of abuse, more people would read it. I mean, not that it needs any help, it's one of the most famous books in the Western world. And rightly so, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I especially loved the audiobook, since it meant that I didn't have to fully sound out Joseph's dialogue myself. And, just because it's on everyone's mind, I think the movie absolutely does the book a disservice, even without watching it.
2. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman
Format: Audiobook
Star rating: 1 star
Page count: 348 pages (15 hrs 41 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 2.17 - 2.24
Final thoughts: Read for the Wellread book club over on Fable.
I might ruffle a few feathers here when I say this, but this has got to be one of the worst books I've ever read. I dislike it more than 100 Years of Solitude, more than Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan. I honestly have nothing nice to say about this book. If it weren't a book club book, I would have DNF'd it, and the last half was more of a spite read than anything else, because you can't review a book on Fable unless you rate it, and it feels icky to rate a book I've DNF'd. I'm officially done with Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I owned four of his books, and after reading them I've gotten rid of them all. I know he's a lot of people's favorite author, but nothing about his writing works for me.
Graphic Novels
1. Gumshoe by Brenna Thummler
Format: Physical
Star rating: 3.25 stars
Page count: 320 pages
Day(s) read: 2.28 (ONE DAY READ)
Final thoughts: This was very sweet and very wholesome. A nice change from Love in the Time of Cholera. I'm very familiar with Brenna Thummler's work from her Sheets series, so I was excited to read her new release. Unfortunately I came away from it a little disappointed. I didn't find the actual story all that polished. I think maybe my expectations were set just a little too high.
The art style, however, was perfect. No notes. I love everything about Thummler's art. The color palette especially tickled that part of my brain that gets caught on aesthetic and shiny things. She made Arizona look like a much nicer place to live than it actually is (y'all know it's nothing but Arizona slander over here). I'm glad that I read it, but I am also equally glad I got it from the library. If you have any kiddos who enjoy graphic novels, I would definitely recommend this one!
Nonfiction
1. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes
Format: Physical
Star rating: 4 stars
Page count: 432 pages
Day(s) read: 2.01 - 2.15
Final thoughts: A decent introduction to the ancient wonders. It was informative and educational while also maintaining a narrative, and a bonus personal impact quality, since the author had been to many of the sites of these structures while researching the book. I felt like I came away with a decent introductory knowledge on each wonder, but the text didn't go into much depth. Which of course makes sense since it's talking about all seven, each wonder getting a chapter about it. It's the literary equivalent of a seminar class: it gets you started in a subject, but leaves enough out that it won't bog down the people who aren't all that interested. However, since I am interested, I came away with a slight feeling of disappointment. I suppose if I want something more in depth in the future, I'll need to search out books dedicated to a single structure.
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Total page count: 1,459 pages (28 hrs total audio)
Favorite book of February: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Unfinished books this month: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
No DNFs this month
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And that's all for February. Everyone pray with me when I say let's hope that March is better. It'd be nice to finish Moby-Dick in March, I'm really enjoying it.
What was your favorite book of the month? Leave a comment below!
Until next time, friends!
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