What Books Am I Reading This Month? (February 2022 TBR PILE )

An update like this has been overdue, I think – and as I find it easier to write down my thoughts here rather than on Goodreads, here goes!

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

This bulky boy is a challenging read, to be sure, but no less gripping. I’ve read some Charles Dickens before – Bleak House began as a mess in my head but eventually resolved into this stunningly elegant story, which encompassed every social stratum of Victorian London. A Christmas Carol, everyone knows; I’ve even dabbled in The Pickwick Papers, though their conclusion is a ways off yet.

David Copperfield is a different affair entirely, and an easier one to approach for the first-person narration. Told through the eyes of the eponymous David, it recounts his childhood woes–at least so far. I’m some 130 pages in–less than a fifth through the book! I’ve got ambition enough to believe I can get through the rest of it by weekend’s end; if that happens, you might be reading a few more words about Copperfield sometime next week.

So far, I can say without hesitation that it’s tearing my heart apart. David’s emotions are raw, life’s mistreatments so callous and cruel, it’s a heartless reader who won’t feel for the boy.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

I’ve loved Impossible Times and the Book of Ice trilogies; it was only a matter of time until I picked up this one. Reading is going slow as of right now but not for long – I’ve got a most delightful reading buddy to poke and prod me into picking up my pace. I’m…two chapters in, and already I can tell I’m in for a treat — character descriptions, setting, dialogue, all are clicking with me. It’s exciting to bite into another meaty fantasy series, to be drawn into something bloody and crunchy and fun.

Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincy

Here I’m pursuing unhealthy interests, do you see? I’ve long since wished to dabble in opium, and what better book to look to for guidance than De Quincy’s Confessions?

Either that, or I’d heard a little something about this work in English Literature class last semester before seeing it in the Audible Plus catalogue, soon to expire. I could’ve ignored it, I suppose…but this autobiographical work is so sweet, it’s downright addicting. The fact it’s about three and a half hours long doesn’t hurt it none, either.

Nectar of the God (Mennik Thorn #2) by Patrick Samphire

The sequel to Patrick Samphire’s SPFBO award-winning Shadow of a Dead God has been on my Kindle for a little while, and I’ve really enjoyed dabbing my toes in Mennik Thorn’s life once more. The only trouble is, I haven’t got anywhere near enough time to blaze through it, not with…*glowers at Copperfield*…𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌.

Speaking of books I’ve been getting back to…

Fantasy Worldbuilding Workbook (Forging Fantasy Realms #2) by M. D. Presley

I feel bad about not having gone through this when M. D. Presley sent it to me, back in Summer 2021. It’s an interesting workbook based on the more theoretical approach of his first Forginb Fantasy Realms novel; I’ve got an idea about tackling a chapter a week of it over a series of blog posts as I construct a fictional world for my next D&D game, but I’m not sure if I’ll have the time for that.

About a Dozen Papers on World Literature

I’m doing a class on World Literature, and it is amazing fun. Plenty of reading of secondary sources going on during the first part of the course, however–a little over a dozen papers, each covering differing aspects of world literature we’ll be asked to make extensive use of while analyzing a book of our choice. Challenging, but fun!

Thanks for reading! There’s a bunch more books I’d like to read this month but…who knows if I’ll make it to them? Keep an eye out on the Grimoire Reliquary!