February 2025 Review

February flew by as usual. Here is what I read and bought last month:

 

Books Read

Voyageur: Across the Rocky Mountains in a Birchbark Canoe – Robert Twigger – 3.5 Stars

the sun and her flowers – Rupi Kaur – 3 Stars

Before the Coffee Gets Cold – Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Geoffrey Trousselot (Tr) – 2.5 Stars

Cold Enough for Snow – Jessica Au – 3 Stars

The Secrets Of Flowers – Sally Page – 3 Stars

An Englishman In Patagonia – John Pilkington – 4 Stars

The Story of Silbury Hill – Jim Leary & David Field – 4 Stars

This is London: Life and Death in the World City – Ben Judah – 3.5 Stars

Panoramas of Lost London: Work, Wealth, Poverty & Change – Philip Davies – 4.5 Stars

Return to Sri Lanka: Travels In A Paradoxical Island – Razeen Sally – 2.5 Stars

In England – Don McCullin – 4 Stars

 

Book(s) Of The Month

On the Narrow Road to the Deep North: Journey into a Lost Japan – Lesley Chan Downer – 5 Stars

 

Top Genres

Travel – 6

Fiction – 5

Architecture – 3

Photography – 3

Poetry – 2

 

Top Publishers

Simon & Schuster – 2

W&N – 2

Picador – 2

Eland – 2

English Heritage – 2

 

Review Copies Received

Julia Roseingrave – Marjorie Bowen

The Restless Coast: A Journey Around The Edge of Britain – Roger Morgan-Grenville

 

Library Books Checked Out

The Penguin Classics book – Henry Eliot

What An Owl Knows: The New Science Of The World’s Most Enigmatic Birds – Jennifer Ackerman

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art Of Accomplishment Without Burnout  – Cal Newport

The Garden Against Time: In Search Of A Common Paradise – Olivia Laing

Return to Sri Lanka: Travels In A Paradoxical Island – Razeen Sally

Hidden Libraries: The World’s Most Unusual Book Depositories – DC Helmuth

 

Books Bought

As I have said elsewhere, I am trying to buy fewer books. So I will give totals of the number of books that enter my house and those that leave permanently. These are the figures for February:

February Books in: 27

February Books out: 13 (The books leaving the house were sold, returned to the library or passed on to friends or charity. I am aiming for this number to be higher than the one above!!!)

Some of these were for selling on. I kept these thirteen below:

 

Birdgirl: Discovering the Power of Our Natural World – Mya-Rose Craig

My Kenya Days – Wilfred Thesiger

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding – Julia Strachey

Granta 94: On The Road Again – Where Travel Writing Went Next – Ian Jack (Ed)

Birds of Passage: Henrietta Clive’s Travels in South India 1798-180 – Nancy Shields (Ed)

Why I Write – George Orwell

The Ridgeway: Europe’s Oldest Road – Richard Ingrams

How To Fish – Chris Yates

Touch the Sky – Tess Burrows (signed)

Rain – Melissa Harrison

This Volcanic Isle: The Violent Processes that forged the British Landscape – Robert Muir-Wood

Haramacy: A Collection of Stories Prescribed by Voices From the Middle East, South Asia and the Diaspora – Zahed Sultan & Tara Joshi (Ed)

Africa Solo: My World Record Race from Cairo to Cape Town – Mark Beaumont (signed)

 

So are there any from that list that you have read, or now seeing them, now want to read? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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2 Comments

  1. Liz Dexter

    I won’t be offended if you pass the ones I sent you on once you’ve read them – I’m all for sharing, as you know! I’m not sure if I’m keeping Birdgirl or not. You are inspiring me to see if I can keep a count of books I pass out of the house as well, watch this space! (I had to write half of my last State of the TBR post the Monday before I published it and half in Spain so wasn’t feeling I could be very detailed on that this time!).

    • Paul

      Thank you. I didn’t think you would be, the same applies to the books I send you.
      More came in than out last month, but I have got fourteen or so to send out in the next week, including the books for you (one to finish yet)

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