What I Read- February 2023

February may be a short month, but I still managed to read four books with one being a re-read/listen in prep for the Daisy Jones show coming out this month. Daisy Jones was one of my favorite books the year it was released so I am very excited for the show coming out and decided to listen to the book on audio. The audio was great- with a full cast!- and I loved it as much as I loved the book when I read it in 2019. If you haven’t read or listened to it yet, I still recommend it 🙂 I’d recommend three out of the four books I read this month, with the last one being just meh.

I’d love to hear what you are reading this month and if you’d recommend any so leave me a comment here or on Instagram- my TBR list keeps on growing!

True Biz– This was my book club’s most recent read and I really enjoyed this book because as a good book does it helped me learn about something I have very little exposure to- life as a deaf teenager. The book follows three main characters at River Valley School for The Deaf:  Charlie, a deaf teenage girl who has never met anyone else who is deaf and is struggling with her cochlear implant; Austin, a deaf teenage boy who’s family is  famous amongst the local deaf community; and February, the school’s headmistress who is hearing, but grew up with two deaf parents. I learned so much about sign language, deaf history and the deaf civil rights movement which I had no idea about before this book. The ending was a bit rushed to me, but I feel like I got so much out of the book regardless of that.

Strangers In The Night: A Novel of Ava Gardner & Frank Sinatra (to be released March 21, 2023)– I received an gifted digital copy of this book in advance of publication and the cover and subject really intrigued me as I love Old Hollywood type stories. The novel is a fictionalized story of Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra’s romance and marriage, spanning years, movie sets, shows and continents. I didn’t know much about Frank and Ava’s personal relationship before reading, but it was one of high highs and tumultuous lows. At points in the book, it did get a bit repetitive as they would fight and leave each other often making for a repetitive plot, but I think that is part of their story so not much to do about it. I had high expectations for this book and it was good, but not great so I’d grade it 3 out of 5 stars.

Big Swiss– I just have to start off by saying this book is weird and bizarre, and I feel weird for recommending it, but I was completely engrossed it in! Big Swiss is the story of Greta who recently moved to Hudson, New York and is living with her friend Sabine in a run-down historical home from the 1700s, complete with a beehive inside the house. Greta is working as a transcriptionist for a sex therapist in town, Om, and while listening to the sessions falls in love with a married Swiss woman who she refers to as Big Swiss in her mind. One day Greta meets Big Swiss on accident at the dog park and in a panic introduces herself with a fake name and starts up a friendship with Big Swiss. This book is truly unique and again I feel weird recommending it because you may think I am weird for liking it, but I couldn’t put it down and it has already been purchased for film rights so I’m not the only one who liked it! There are definite triggers in the book- rape, assault- so if you have questions before reading let me know.

Daisy Jones & The Six– This was a re-read for me, but in prep for the Daisy Jones & The Six show coming out I listened to the book on audio. I loved the book the first time around (was one of my favorites in 2019) and was equally invested in the audio. I’d highly recommend either reading or listening before watching the show!

What did you read this month? Any new favorites?

xoxo, Jenna

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