My Month in Books | February 2022

Back to recapping my usual glacial reading pace, this second month of 2022, I was able to read… dum dum dum… a total of 3 books. 😅 Weirdly enough, I still feel like the last few days have been pretty chill and good, reading-wise. I was almost tempted to include some of the books I’ve already finished this March (the downside of doing recaps too late 😂) but I’ll just park them to next month’s recap.

Anyway, here are the three books I’ve finished this February 2022:

• The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money are Challenging the Global Economic Order by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey – 4/5☕
• The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman – 4/5☕
• Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell – 4.5/5☕ [full review]

These choices are pretty out there and I guess the theme definitely stuck to my reading mood these past few weeks. The Age of Cryptocurrency was something I picked up because I was curious about the whole crypto stuff – and it, surprisingly, ended up being a very solid read. This chronicled the very beginning of bitcoin and followed its evolution into this mammoth of a thing that is currently being spotlighted among investment circles. It was definitely a fascinating read, especially that part around Satoshi Nakamoto. I was yearning for some info around NFTs but, apparently, it is not classified as a cryptocurrency (but rather a crypto asset) so it was not discussed here. You can clearly see that the book was carefully researched and that the authors know what they’re talking about.

I also finished The 5 Love Languages, which is not something I would usually pick but I was curious so I ended up giving it a shot. It actually presented a good argument – and I can see how this approach to relationships could work. It was backed with data from actual practice, the author being a marriage counselor. One mild issue I have would be around tone and how it was presented to be too closely relevant to religion (if religion-y is a spectrum that can be used to describe a book, this book will be far there). I guess this is not surprising because the author, Gary Chapman, actively works as a pastor and the married couples he interacted with were usually strongly affiliated with the church. For someone like me that is in a bit of a religious limbo, this can be a bit uncomfortable (and – ok, honestly – a bit irritating) at times. But if presented in, say ala The Body Keeps the Score, I might give this a 4.5 or even a solid 5/5 – but, I guess, this is not that kind of book. This is a good read though, if just to understand more deeply the ‘5 love languages’ thing that has been going around the internet and even in my circle of friends. And also, if you currently are in a relationship.

The last book I finished was a collection of short stories: Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell. I’ve gone on and on about this book in my bookstagram and even at book twitter – and the bottom line is just this: I absolutely loved it. I tweeted my review of this on Twitter and bravely even tagged the author and SHE REPLIED – which really made my day when I woke up and saw it. I’m so glad I get to discover Lucy Caldwell because her body of work seems really interesting and up my alley. (Read my full review of Intimacies HERE)

What I’m reading right now

I am going a bit minimal this March so here’re the books I’ve been actively reading these past days:

• A Match Made in Lipa by Carla de Guzman – Book 2 of The Laneways! I absolutely loved Sweet on You so I was really excited for Book 2 of this series. Luckily Carla de Guzman gave me an ARC of the book and I have breezed through the first parts. This is definitely slow burn though, so if you are not a fan of that you’ll probably have a hard time going through this book. I loved the childhood snippets in this book and there is just something really heartwarming when you can see your own experience reflected back at you in a book. Case in point: the santan summers. I took a break with this book because I was so focused on finishing Eric Ripert’s 32 Yolks but hopefully be able to come back to it again. the book was out last March 8, so please check it out. 💛
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion – How I went into a Joan Didion blackhole this month, I can’t even remember. But I think I came across something on the internet then decided to read her Wikipedia page. The next thing I knew, I was walking towards Waterstones and then I bought this book. I also ended up watching the Netflix documentary about her, Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, with my flatmate that same night. And her life is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Even from the snippets that were recited in the docu, I know that her writing style is something that would resonate with me. There was a part there where she said that “He [her husband] was between me and the world.” and it was such a heartbreaking thought considering his untimely passing. This book, ultimately, is her coping mechanism – her coming to terms with her own grief. Honestly? It was incredibly triggering considering my feelings towards death and grief – but this whole work was just too heartbreakingly beautiful that I can’t afford to look away. I’m reading it in paperback and audiobook simultaneously and is just in the early chapters still but I hope this is as good (and affecting) as I imagined it to be.

I hope I’ll be able to finish these two above and maybe start another one (possibly Writers and Lovers?) before the month ends. But I have to say though, having this much access to many books especially new releases is really making me happy. I’m on a strict budget this month – book shopping-wise – but it’s really taking everything in me not to just roll into the nearest Waterstones (which is just almost 20 minutes from my place, if I walk) and snoop around to find a new book to buy (especially since I haven’t even read the ones I’ve got a few weeks/days ago). But please hold still, my dwindling self-control. Pretty please. 😂

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How about you? How was your reading month this February? Did you have any notable fave? 💛

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