Monthly TBR – February 2025

For February‘s monthly TBR, I’m making an effort to pick up more topical reads. I have read a few books in February before around the topic of Black History Month. Still, I’ve not leaned into it all that heavily – until now.

This monthly TBR post features a carryover from January, as well as our work’s book club pick. After that, my plans are to lean into Black History Month completely. With a mixture of both fiction and non-fiction, it should be a good month of reading. I’m also pushing myself out of my comfort zone this month by picking up a political non-fiction – something I’ve never done before.


Fixed Reads


A Darkness at Sethanon

My carryover from January‘s monthly TBR is A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E Feist.

I set out to pick up the book in January as it’s the final book in his The Riftwar Saga series. If you read my series to finish in 2025 post, you’ll know that this particular book was on my hit list to help me achieve my goal of finishing more series this year.

I’m still pretty early on in this book, so I have the vast majority of it to read in February. It’s a solid start so far, and I’ve caught up with the events of the previous books so I know exactly where we’re picking up from.


The Da Vinci Code

At our book club meeting on Wednesday last week, we decided to pick up The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown next. It’s a mixed bag between us as to whether members have read the book before. Personally, I’m in the camp of having not read it yet.

I do recall watching a series based on the novel. I’m not going into it completely blind, but I’ve also never experienced the book. That’s often a very different experience to watching it!

I’ve only got on till the 26th of February to pick up the book. Naturally, this is going to be a bit more of a priority read. Whilst it doesn’t matter all that much when I pick up the rest of the books on this monthly TBR, this is the only one with an official deadline.


A Promised Land

The anomaly on this monthly TBR is Barack Obama‘s political memoir, A Promised Land.

I have never read anything like it before. Is it likely I ever will again? Well, I suppose that depends on my experience of this book. What I can say for sure is that it meets my 2025 resolution of reading out of my comfort zone. 

I understand that it’s a lot heavier than Michelle Obama‘s autobiography, Becoming. It’s also a lot longer. At 760 odd pages, this is not going to be a light read.

I’m not really invested when it comes to politics. However, I did actually quite like Barack Obama and what he was trying to do in America. It’s completely different to the type of material I would normally pick up. His life experiences are unique and I’m curious to read this memoir to learn a little bit more about him and his presidency.

What makes this a little better is that I’m listening to the audiobook, which Barack narrates himself. It may sound daft, but I think that will make it easier to listen to. It feels more personal somehow…


Fearing the Black Body

I originally wanted to pick up this book for reasons other to its ties to Black History Month. Rather, I have a bit of a personal investment as a larger lady. I wanted to pick up this book for its perspective on fat phobia and why people like me are often judged for the way we look and our lifestyles.

However, the ties to racial discrimination in this do interest me. It hadn’t occurred to me that this may have been an underlying influence to why people are more judgmental for people with bigger bodies. I was curious to read the book and find out more. So much so, in fact, that as of publishing this monthly TBR I have already listened to this audiobook in its entirety!


Mood Reads


Children of Virtue and Vengeance

I can’t have every single book on my fixed reading list this month. There is a chance I won’t get round to it all, on account of the fact that February has only 28 days. With this in mind, I’ve decided to put my fictional Black History Month-related reads here.

In the example of Children of Virtue and Vengeance, I have the incentive of picking this book up to continue with this series. Even if the worst-case scenario is that I don’t get to this book in February, I’m likely to still pick it up this year. Children of Virtue and Vengeance is the second book of the Legacy of Orisha series. There is just one book left after this one; it would make a series completion and help me towards my reading resolutions for the year.

It’s been a good while since I picked up the first book of the series, Children of Blood and Bone. I suspect I’m going to need a little refresher on the events of that first book before I dive into this sequel. It’s been six years since I picked it up after all!


In Every Mirror She’s Black

Lastly, the final book I plan to pick up on this monthly TBR that leans into Black History Month is In Every Mirror She’s Black.

I picked up my copy of this book a few years ago in a Waterstones sale after Christmas. I like the sound of the novel and how it compares the experiences of three seemingly different women… but are they?

From what I gather, the book is some kind of commentary on how the lives of Black women, even though they have different backgrounds,  are often filled with the same themes. That’s my impression, anyway. I’ll see for sure when I pick it up!


Summary

I’m setting a less ambitious monthly TBR than I did for January. I didn’t get to all the books on that list, but those that didn’t will make another appearance on my next TBR. In the spirit of reading more seasonally, I want to lean into Black History Month and pick up topical reads.

Are you reading anything for Black History Month?

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