Top Ten Tuesday: Perfect February Reads

It’s a freebie week on TTT, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. It’s nearly the end of January, which means everyone will get paid again soon and we can all stop being sad. So my list this week is focused on suggesting suitable book purchases to make February super-fun. Or just, you know, seasonally appropriate.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier
I have a lovely book called The Novel Cure, which suggests suitable books for ailments from the common cold to marital breakdowns. Luckily, I was suffering from the first of these two when I sought a suitable read and settled on Jamaica Inn. The chilly landscape and generally terrible weather are perfect for February (especially here in Yorkshire).

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie Sue Hitchcock
Oh, am I talking about this book again? Oh well. This is an excellent book for cold weather; snow and ice feature throughout and everyone needs a coat at all times. I mean, it is set in Alaska.

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
I didn’t particularly enjoy this book, but it’s very suitable for coldness; like The Smell of Other People’s Houses, it’s set in Alaska, but, in this case, a counterhistorical version to which Jews were sent after WWII.

The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel
In case we don’t want to read books that make us even colder, here’s one that will make you feel unpleasantly sweaty, regardless of the weather outside. Set in a crazy heatwave, the weird, devil-related antics of this book should prevent you from having to put the heating on.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
February is the shortest month (which is good, because I am already sick of winter and it’s still January), so why not read a really short book to celebrate this. Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti is weird, brilliant and only 96 pages long, which gives you plenty of time to read that and its sequel, which is due out on January 31st.

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
February is the month of stupid Valentine’s Day, a concept I really hate, and so what better book to read than this terminally unromantic tale of a reasonably dull governess in a reasonably dull house? It’s perfect!

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
Another Valentine’s related pick and an appropriate one because Ansari’s birthday is in February. This non-fiction investigation into modern day dating and relationships is both hilarious and very interesting.

Different for Girls by Louise Wener
Here in the UK, it’s the Brit awards on February 22nd. This used to be something that was worth watching, but now Ed Sheeran and Adele win everything and James Corden always seems to be involved, so it’s basically unwatchable. But a fun thing to read instead of watching the show would be Different for Girls by Louise Wener; she was the singer in Britpop band Sleeper, and this memoir offers some fascinating insights into what the music industry is like for a woman.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison/God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
I think February is Black History Month in the US (although apparently it’s in October here in the UK). So let’s all read Ralph Ellison’s amazing Invisible Man (which also features on Barack Obama’s list of favourite books) and Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child, because they are both ridiculously brilliant and we should all be reading them at least once a year anyway.