Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: February 2025

Back again for another fun month of book suggestions? Here are the things Kristin and I have been reading since the last wrap-up. Be sure to tell us if you see any of your favorite reads, something on the never-ending To-Be-Read list, or if you know of a comparable title we might enjoy. Thanks again for reading! Write on.

Kamryn:

Despite my burst of reading at the beginning of the year, I’ve slowed down a bit in February due to a busy schedule. I talked about it in my last reading wrap-up, which you can jump back to here if you want, but the first book I finished reading in February was Cornelia Funke’s newest addition to her original Inkheart trilogy, Inkworld: The Color of Revenge. This book ties up some loose ends regarding the villain, Orpheus, left in Inkdeath, detailing a magical plot to get his revenge on his one-time hero, Dustfinger. Dustfinger and the Black Prince then go on a treacherous quest to undo the magical ties that bind their friends and family. I love Cornelia Funke’s prose and magical worlds, so it was really fun getting to go back to that.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately in the fantasy department, so I wanted a change of pace after finishing The Color of Revenge. This led me to a book I’ve been curious about for a while, Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, by Mary Roach. I’ve previously only read one other book by Mary Roach, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, (which I highly recommend if you’re interested in space science), but from what I gather, she tends to cover scientific topics in a comedic way, even if they’re topics that aren’t always very funny.

Fuzz is a book examining human/animal conflict, along with the reasoning, history, and science behind it. How do you regulate and control behavior in humans and animals to decrease potentially harmful encounters? Roach details many topics in this book that are fascinating: how humans conduct forensic analysis to determine if an animal has harmed a human (as well as ensuring the correct animal gets the blame), bear break-ins, drunk elephants, monkey birth-control, and all manner of other topics you’ve probably never thought much about before. Roach’s humorous style is always fun and enlightening even when discussing the most serious of topics. I will say though, this book does detail animal attacks as well as some of the things humans have done to control animals in the past, which can be pretty gruesome, so if you’re squeamish, this might not be a great read for you. But if you’re interested in science and how biologists do what they do to learn about the animal kingdom, it’s a very interesting read. I’m about halfway through and am curious to learn more.

Kristin:  

For this month, I read mostly manga and namely ones that I have already talked about before on the monthly wrap ups. I am tentatively reading one of my danmei novels and two non-fiction books so hopefully I actually finish those and have something new to talk about next time. 

For the manga I got a few volumes of Toilet Bound Hanako-kun, again, don’t let the title scare you away, it’s one of the most unique storylines with incredible art and fabulous character development among the main and side cast. Since season two has been given the green light, I wanted to go through and read part of the section that could be adapted and just so happened to be my favorite part thus far. I won’t go into details because spoilers but do check it out if you like more of a spooky vibe with a fun mystery. I picked up volume 18 and hope I can eventually collect the entire series. 

I also got caught up on Seraph of the End and I still have no idea what’s happening. 

That’s all that I finished but I can briefly touch on some books I am in the process of reading. 

The Isles of the Gods by Aimee Kaufman is something I am just now starting, it was actually a gift from Kamryn and one that she was very excited to read. I find it interesting that the perspectives shift in first person, something I haven’t read in a while so I had to refocus a few times but I already know I like this author’s writing style from her These Broken Stars series. So while I know I’m not very far I’m confident it will be an enjoyable read. 

Another novel I will be purposefully vague about is someone who is relevant in today’s politics. It’s a fascinating read and gives a lot of good insight to their character and background. I think it’s important to know about the people in positions of power and to form our own opinions with research we conduct ourselves. 

Next, How to Promote Your Book by Dr. Jan Yager. This is gold for us and another book Kamryn has so kindly lent me to read. It’s given us a lot of information about different aspects of promotion but also legal/technical tips that are essential to the publication of our novel. 

That’s all for this month! Be sure to let us know what you’ve read and we’ll see you in March! As always, write-on!