The Book Family Rogerson Round-Up: February 2019

Chawton House Library Books

If I were to mark February out of 10, I’d give it a solid 8.5.   It was a bit chaotic on the reading front because I tried to juggle too much, but a couple of exciting things happened (which I can’t announce quite yet because they’re not in the bag…).  Hands-down, the highlight was visiting our wider family and a trip to Winchester which turned out to be the perfect literary break.  There was so much to see that I ended up blogging about our travels rather than posting book reviews (they’ll follow in March). Spring cleaning has already started at our place with lots of gardening, painting and adding to book displays.  Here’s the bookish summary for the month:

Mel

Books Read

  • Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (4/5)
  • In Tearing Haste: Letters Between Deborah Devonshire and Patrick Leigh Fermor (4.5/5)
  • How Long ’til Black Future Month by N.K. Jemisin (4.25/5)
  • Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor (4/5)
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (ongoing)

In Tearing Haste was the surprise hit for me despite the rubbish title.  I’ve been working my way through Patrick Leigh Fermor’s books over the last few years and although I’ve enjoyed them, I didn’t expect to enjoy the epistolary format in this one as I much as I did.  The exchanges were hilarious, as well as being full of adventure and gossip.  I also loved finding out more about ‘Debo’ Devonshire who handed me several speech and drama awards as a kid.  She always seemed very stern, but these letters reveal a really cheeky side.

Al

Books Read

  • The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton (5/5)
  • Sabrina by Nick Drnaso (4/5)

5/5 for the Turton!  I asked Al if it had any flaws and he said no, it was perfect.  I plan to check this rating by reading it very soon.

Little M

Books Read

Little M was very lucky to be gifted the majority of these books and enjoyed them all.  Writing from an adult perspective, On the Origin of Species really impressed.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a classic.

Movies and TV

  • Kingdom Episodes 1 & 2 (4/5)
  • How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World (4/5)
  • To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (4.25/5)

A pretty solid viewing month but the clear winner for both Al & I was To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.  We freely admit that we are not the target demographic, but we loved this quirky romantic YA comedy with a John Hughes vibe.

Family Days Out

I’ll be tying up our Winchester adventures in one post next week, but I’ve written about our odyssey to Jane Austen’s house in Chawton already.  If you ever decide to visit Jane Austen’s House Museum then definitely make time to see Chawton House on the same day.  The latter has a fascinating exhibition on Jane Austen’s reading material and houses the research library of the Centre for the Study of Early Women’s Writing.

If some of my news comes to fruition, I could be sharing a few cool pieces with you in March.  Until then, wishing you many happy reads.

Mel, Al & Little M

xxx

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10 Comments

  1. WS_BOOKCLUB
    February 27, 2019 / 6:55 pm

    I loved the Stuart Turton book! It’s so well done.

    • thebookfamilyrogerson
      Author
      February 27, 2019 / 7:20 pm

      Al’s usually more generous with his ratings than me, but he really loved this one. I’m excited to read it!

  2. February 27, 2019 / 7:05 pm

    What a great month and I look forward to hearing about the exciting things you can’t mention yet! I’m glad you and Al both enjoyed To All the Boys – I’d like to watch it but wasn’t sure if it would be any good for my hubby as well! I think I’ll make him sit through it!

    • thebookfamilyrogerson
      Author
      February 27, 2019 / 7:22 pm

      The exciting stuff was totally unexpected, but it’s not totally confirmed yet so I don’t want to count my chickens! Al is a sucker for romcoms so I knew he’d like this 🙂 I hope your hubby enjoys it!

  3. February 28, 2019 / 1:17 am

    How Long ’til Black Future Month has been on my radar for a while, and I’ll have to bump it up on my TBR now. Glad to hear you’ve had such a good month, and wishing you all the best as March starts!

    • thebookfamilyrogerson
      Author
      March 3, 2019 / 10:40 pm

      Thank you Michael and the same to you too! N.K. Jemisin is now firmly one of my fave authors. I’m aiming to post a review this week 🙂

  4. February 28, 2019 / 5:04 pm

    So many great books and so little time. What a great month and some fab books. I still love The Worst Witch books even to this day. Have you been watching the new tv series? x

    • thebookfamilyrogerson
      Author
      March 3, 2019 / 10:38 pm

      Yes we have! Little M is addicted! I need to buy her the whole series x

  5. March 2, 2019 / 2:44 am

    Love you blog, Mel! My 91 year old mother is reading Lethal white / Robert Galbraith (Harry Potter author) so I took it out of the library too. 700 pages. HAVE YOU READ THIS????? Wish me luck!

    • thebookfamilyrogerson
      Author
      March 3, 2019 / 10:37 pm

      You stars! I haven’t read any of her crime novels but I’ve heard they’re good. Enjoy & please do report back!

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