Welcome to Quick Lit! Typically Anne shares short and sweet reviews of what she’s been reading lately on (or around) the 15th of the month, and invites you to do the same. This month we’re changing it up and letting the team fill you in on what we’ve been reading lately, while Anne focuses on reading potential titles for the Summer Reading Guide.
Our team has a wide range of reading interests, which you’ll see reflected here today. I hope you find something that looks intriguing for your TBR here, and I look forward to browsing your recent reads below. Thanks in advance for sharing your short and sweet book reviews with us!
Welcome to February Quick Lit
A Thousand Feasts
Ginger says: Book Club members may remember I chose this as my best book of the year in December, but then a couple (hi, Jill and Lindsay!) shared their practice of rereading their favorite book each year from the previous year. Say less. I downloaded the audio version this time and listened as Nigel Slater himself narrated his memoir in my earbuds. I savored each short essay (some very short: just a single, perfect sentence). Think the gentility of Martha Stewart wrapped up with the roaming stylings of Anthony Bourdain. Each essay was like a Dutch still life painting that came to life. More info →
Sabbatical (Curriculum Vitae #2)
Leigh says: Another wonderful contemporary romance from Katrina Jackson! Mike has pined for fellow professor Toni for years. His crush comes to fruition right as the academic year ends and her sabbatical begins. Boy did I enjoy watching Toni finally open up her eyes and see who has been in front of her all along! This had so many things I love: home renovation, Mike bonding with Toni's cat, union organizing, and Mike learning how to do Toni's hair. An absolute treat. You don’t need to read Office Hours first but if you do, you’ll have a better sense of just how long Mike has been into Toni. (Open door.) More info →
Is She Really Going Out with Him?
Brigid says: After seeing a glowing review of this contemporary romance by MMD Book Clubber and WSIRN alum Kari Sweeney, I knew it would be right up my alley. The premise is fabulous, the banter is top notch, and it features one of my favorite romance tropes: only one bed. Anna Appleby, journalist and recent divorcée, is tasked with writing a new column about going on dates arranged by her young children. It just happens to run alongside a column about her (annoyingly handsome) coworker Will’s online dating experiences. Set in Bath, I adored spotting Jane Austen’s work and literary influence in the pages of this delightful love story. All of Anna’s hilariously relatable and Bridget Jones’ Diary-esque Google searches made me laugh out loud numerous times. While the chemistry in this book is quite sizzling, most of the steamy scene action is off-page. Audiobook fans, take note: I highly recommend listening to this, as Kerry Gilbert’s fantastic narration truly brings the characters to life. Plus, I can’t help but sing the catchy song by Joe Jackson every time I hear the title! (Closed door.) More info →
The River Has Roots
Shannan says: I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an advanced reader's copy of this fantasy read and 2025 Spring Book Preview selection, publishing March 4. When I read the first line, I knew I was fully in: “The River Liss runs north to south, and its waters brim with grammar.” I sped through trying to find out what happened to the two sisters who cannot be separated in the small town of Thistleford on the edge of Faerie. The story was delightful with a very satisfying ending. The writing style put me in mind of an older text, beautiful but very accessible. Grammar as magic and El-Mohtar’s word-play to this English major? Brilliant. It’s a novella, a form I am really growing to love and appreciate. I’m going to reread it slowly, with a dictionary and an English language Handbook. More info →
The Water Bag: Life in the Far Reaches of Australia
Holly says: I don’t recall how this memoir first crossed my radar, but I loved it! We follow Jenny as her life takes her across the vast country of Australia, from a childhood on a remote sheep station to her careers in the Northern Territory and Queensland. Many of us only know Australia as the home to the Opera house, koalas, and perhaps diving along the Great Barrier Reef; I loved learning more about corners of the country I may never see. It’s at times funny, heart-wrenching, and illustrative of a full life of struggle, joy, and loss. Kroonstuiver has also written novels set amongst rural towns and mining camps, several of which I’ve added to my TBR. More info →
Havoc
Donna says: I’ve read a lot of mysteries and thrillers but I’ve never read one where the antagonists are an 81-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy. Imagine a vicious Miss Marple and that will give you a sense of what this psychological thriller is like. I loved that this was set in a hotel in Egypt around the early days of Covid because you get a sense of this isolated, cooped up group of people who start to turn on each other. At first I wasn’t sure how believable the premise would be: would an older person and a young boy really be equal adversaries? But then I remembered how those early days of Covid felt when we worried about children passing the virus on to their grandparents and I think this book captures some of that existential dread. I read this page-turner in just two days because I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen next and the surprise ending did not disappoint! More info →
The Will of the Many (Hierarchy #1)
Baylee says: This doorstop of a fantasy novel had been on my radar since its 2023 release, but at 600+ pages, I saved it for when I'd have a good stretch of reading time. A few hundred years after a shadowy apocalyptic event, the Catenan Republic (inspired by Roman culture) rules most of the known world, building their power by draining the Will of the lowest classes in society. Orphaned by the Republic and on the run, Vis Telimus is forced into playing their game, infiltrating their elite Academy, and building a façade of acquiescence to their Hierarchy of Will. Fans of Red Rising will enjoy the military academy setting, political intrigue, and twists and turns. As Vis is pulled deeper into a web of political alliances, military agendas, and personal vendettas, a deeper mystery is revealed that'll have you excited to preorder book #2, out (fingers crossed) this year. More info →
What have YOU been reading lately? Tell us about your recent reads—or share the link to a blog or instagram post about them—in comments.
35 comments
In this month’s BOOKBAG …
* my favorite historical fiction love story ever
* a superb real life bio follow up
* outrageous Kindle deals by authors I love
* the 30 February literary time capsule
https://lindastoll.substack.com/p/porch-170-a-valentines-bookbag
I had fifteen books to review this month, including a few incredible memoirs, important cultural commentary, a cute fantasy that surprised me, a winter classic I’ve been meaning to tackle for years, a historical mystery that didn’t work for me, and a wintery thriller that absolutely did.
https://kendranicole.substack.com/p/quick-lit-february-2025
Is She Really Going Out With Him? sounds hilarious. I love a good rom-com. It’s definitely my go-to genre!
Here’s what I’ve been reading: https://readeatrepeat.net/2025/02/books-in-progress-february-2025/
Jordan, it was funny and sweet. If you pick it up, let us know what you think!
I loved it. Highly recommend
This month I’ve got mini reviews of 7 books to share with you! One popular thriller that was a miss for me and a bunch of romance that I loved. Plus my thoughts on the new JoJo Moyes book!
https://neverenoughnovels.com/2025/02/15/february-2025-mini-book-reviews/
Thanks for sharing these, Anne. I’m particularly interested in Havoc – such an interesting theme!
One of my favorite books this month has a weird title, but it’s a fantastic book! “Advice for Future Corpses (And Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying”
Here are 8 books I recommend, including a children’s book this month.
https://lisanotes.com/books-i-recommend-february-2025/
What an eclectic collection of recent reads from the team! I’m especially intrigued by Havoc.
My reading year is off to a good start. My reading thrives on goals and challenges so I’ve renewed those for the year. Read more about my recent reads and renewed reading goals here:
https://avikinginla.com/2025/02/what-ive-been-reading-lately-reading-goals-january-2025/
Yes Havoc has been added to my list, thank you
I am off to a slow start to my reading year but the first book in the books as they say. Check out what I read https://myviewofthehoneypot.blogspot.com/2025/02/what-i-read-february.html
Fun to hear from the team today! I had a solid reading month across a variety of genres: https://cocoonofbooks.blogspot.com/2025/02/what-ive-been-reading-lately-quick-lit.html
These were all new to me today! Thanks for sharing your list!
I finally got around to publishing my post on my 10 favorites reads from 2024. Only took me a month and a half, but better late than never 🙂
https://www.toloveandtolearn.com/2025/02/13/my-top-10-favorite-books-of-2024/
Oh my gosh. I was an exchange student in Adelaide, South Australia. Making note of The Water Bag!
Here’s what I’ve got for my reading last month: two novels and a fabulous book that is part Lit class, part, book club, part writing critique group.
https://carolinestarrrose.com/quick-lit-what-ive-been-reading-lately-42/
Oh, I loved Adelaide, Caroline! Such a beautiful little city.
This week I am working on four books:
– the new novel Absolution, by Alice McDermott;
– the novel Red Star Falling, by Steve Berry with Grant Blackwood;
– the #2 Will Trent novel Fractured by Karin Slaughter, this one on Hoopla;
– and the John Kerry memoir Every Day is Extra, as a CD audiobook in the car.
Our book club meets this week to discuss Crosstalk by Connie Willis.
https://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2025/02/reading-update.html
Books #5-12 of 2025.
This is a whole new list for me to explore!
Here’s my January reading. It was a good month book wise.
https://www.allthebooksihaventread.com/blog-1/2025/2/14/show-us-your-books-february-2025
I LOVED The Will of the Many! I can’t wait for the sequel to come out. Recent reads I really enjoyed have been The Family Recipe by Carolyn Huynh and Abby Jimenez’s short story: The Fall Risk
Anyone who has read Orbital by Samantha Harvey, the winner of the Booker Prize should take the time to read it for the second time. What an amazing experience. It read like a different book. It went from a travel book to a rich emotional attachment to the characters and to the planet they were orbiting. Several of my reader friends had the same experience. Go for the second read!
Good to know…currently reading Orbital for the first time. It is providing such an interesting way to consider earth and life with new perspective.
Exciting! I’ve just added A Thousand Feasts, Havoc, The Water Bag and The River Has Roots to my TBR! They sound fantastic.
For my best reading in Feb so far, I’ve done backlist: The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. It was sort of similar to A Man Called Ove, but not quite as brilliantly written. Still, it was charming and I enjoyed it.
Then: Without Reservations, by Alice Steinbach, the Pulitzer winning reporter who decided to take a sabbatical from work and go to Europe for months by herself as a 50-something divorcee. I very much enjoyed reading just a page or short chapter every day, she writes well (obviously) and I envied her! Much vicarious enjoyment.
And: I AM I AM I AM: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell. I’m kind of 50/50 for liking Maggie’s books, but this memoir was a winner! Magnificently done, unique, so engrossing. A little less than 200 pages, quick read.
The River Has Roots sounds lovely – I have This is How You Lose the Time War on my TBR, but I may well add this too! I also have The Will of the Many on my TBR 🙂
My end-of-month reading wrap up for January can be found here: https://gemsbooktalk.com/2025/02/03/january-end-of-month-wrap-up/ (I only started my blog at the beginning of this year, but I’m having so much fun with it!)
I love seeing what the whole team is reading! I appreciate the variety. Please keep this going. I Downloaded 2 of these immediately. Bless libraries everywhere!!
I have Is She Really Going Out With Him? on my TBR. Glad to hear it was enjoyable! My January reading recap!
I’m currently reading A Thousand Feasts! It’s been a delight to dip in and out of.
One of my best reads lately is actually one I found through this blog. I don’t know when the post about books featuring seasoned (i.e. people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond) was posted but I noted down a few titles and this month I finished The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. Combine a historical novel with a discovery of documents from the 1660s with a older and ill professor and a younger Jewish student and there were so many boxes ticked. Thanks for alerting me to it.
The Weight of Ink is one of my all time favorite reading experiences! I’m always excited to run across another reader who enjoyed it too. The Weight of Ink is on my bookshelves with recent read, There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak and Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr…all similarly fantastic reads for me. Do you have any titles to share that matched your Weight of Ink experience?
I also absolutely loved The Weight of Ink! I was so invested in the characters in both timelines. I generally avoid lengthy books but this one was worth it.
I had fun guessing which team member chose which book before reading the descriptions. Havoc has been on my radar for a little while, but thanks for reminding me about The River Has Roots, Shannan! I just finished (and had issues with) Good Energy by Casey Means, as well as A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner, and am still working my way through Onyx Storm.
What a fun guessing game, Mary Ann!
I’m reading a book translated from Mandarin. THE STOLEN BICYCLE by Wu Ming Yi. A sort of all connected short stories focused on bicycles. Bought, lost, found, built. A comfortable read that also gives insight into Taiwan’s history.
When rest becomes a needful priority my go-to is fiction.
If you’re looking for a good story, I’ve got three to recommend: https://michelemorin.net/2025/01/22/what-do-you-read-when-you-need-to-rest/
I am moderating a panel at the Tucson Festival of Books in March and I’m currently reading books for that panel. Currently reading Olive Days by Jessica Elisheva Emerson and finished Women’s Hotel by Daniel Lavery. Up next for the panel is The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali.
How fun to include the team this time! Plus they were all books I’ve never even heard of!
My list includes 6 books and one that has been added to my all-time favorite list!
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
The Frozen River
No Two Persons
What the Chicken Knows
Outer Order Inner Calm
The Wedding People
https://www.sincerelystacie.com/2025/02/quick-lit-february-2025-edition/
I’m currently reading James Patterson’s Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians. The small essays about books and readings has been so heartwarming.
Just put “Is She Really Going out With Him?” on hold on my Libby!
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