Monday, February 1, 2016

February Reading Plans (2016 Edition)


Creating a reading pile in January seemed to work really well for me last month, and I found myself mentally creating February's pile very early on.  I had hoped that having a pile of books to choose from would help me to pick out my next read with more ease.  I'm happy to report that it worked for the most part!  I did go off pile at one point because Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell felt like the ONLY book that I wanted to read at that moment but for the most part I did really well.  I had enough variety to fit my reading moods and I'm calling it a success.  For February I tried to include a mix of genres as well because that works best for me.  I even included a nonfiction title off of my own shelves because 2016 will be the year I read more nonfiction!!  I am determined!  Anyways, here are the physical books that I am hoping to read in February:
  • The Becoming by Jeanne C. Stein - First in an urban fantasy series and a book that has been sitting on my own shelves for a ridiculous length of time.  It is time to finally give this series a try especially as I believe I have a different book further on in this series on my kindle.  I've heard good things about these books so I have high hopes!
  • The Lie and The Lady by Kate Noble - This is a review copy and a book that I have been itching to read since it arrived.  I adore a good historical romance and this is a new to me author that I've been wanting to try!  Looking forward to reading this one very much!
  • If I Run by Terri Blackstock - Review copy that I couldn't help but accept as soon as I read the description of it.  I'm a sucker for a good thriller and this one sounds like my kind of read!  I am really pumped to crack this one open so will be reading it hopefully early on this month!
  • Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge - YES!  I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am about this book!  I loved the first book in this series and cannot even contain myself with how excited I am to read this one!!!  Thanks to a Goodread's giveaway and the publisher I will be reading this one this month!
  • Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan - My nonfiction pick for this month and a book from my own shelves.  Actually my sister gave me this one to read awhile back but I'm just now getting around to finally reading it.  I'm so intrigued by this one and there was a lot of hype on it last year.  Can't wait to finally check it out!
  • Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes - Honestly I have no clue what this one is about but I am still SO excited to read it!  Her first book (which I have not read but do have on my TBR list) got a ton of hype and even Stephen King himself recommended it so I just cannot wait to read this one!  This is also a review copy.
It wouldn't be a reading pile if I didn't also include all of the e-books that I am hoping to read in February.  Here are all of the books on my kindle that are being included in my February reading plans:





  • The Widow by Fiona Barton - A creepy sounding thriller that I am participating in a blog tour for.  I love the sound of this one and am looking forward to reading it!
  • Find Her by Lisa Gardner - Review copy thanks to NetGalley and an author that I've been wanting to try.  I feel like I may have read a book by Gardner pre-blogging possibly but I can't remember for sure.  Regardless I am really excited to read this one and give this series a try!
  • Mercury Striking by Rebecca Zanetti - Post apocalyptic romance?  Heck yes!  That was basically all I needed to know when requesting this one from NetGalley.  I have very high hopes for this book!
  • Moonglow by Kristen Callihan - I have a goal in 2016 to catch up with this series so I just had to add this one to my February reading pile.  Also, I really want to read it so that helped my decision as well.  Ha!  And the cover for this one is just gorgeous!
  • Boiling Point by Tessa Bailey - This is an author that I hear a ton about so I couldn't resist requesting this book.  Ugh!  I am sensing another trend this month - lack of self control in regards to NetGalley.  Yet another NetGalley read but one that just sounds like a book that I will enjoy!
  • The Sweetest Chase by Sharla Lovelace - Also a NetGalley review copy but I am participating in a blog tour for this one (in my defense?).  It sounds cute and I really don't read enough contemporary romance so I just couldn't resist adding it to my reading plans.
  • The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne - When the publisher emailed asking if I would like to participate in the blog tour for this one I basically jumped at the chance.  So many bloggers raved about the first book in this series- I wanted to see what the hype is all about!  There is a good chance that I may end up reading this one in January if I can squeeze it in.
  • The Girls in the Woods by Helen Phifer - Basically all you need to know is that I have no self control when it comes to thrillers and mysteries on NetGalley.  Enough said.  I will try to do better next month but for now I am just going to enjoy reading this one!
Oh dear!  My pile of February books is even larger than my January pile was.  At least I have plenty of good reading to look forward to.  In case you are wondering I also am including the leftover books from my January reading pile to choose from.  Those currently are:
  • Between A Vamp and a Hard Place by Jessica Sims
  • Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle
  • Swerve by Vicki Pettersson 
  • Steal Me by Lauren Layne
  • The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer
That way those books don't get left behind if I can fit one in here and there.  There is no way possible that I will get all of these read but really the fun is in the trying.  I like having lots of choices to choose from!  And last month I had a really month of reading so hopefully I can do that again in Feburary!

Tell me, what books are you hoping to read this month?  Are there any on my pile that you've read or think I should read first?  Do share!

Happy Reading!

***Edited to add:  I actually wrote this post ahead of time and I've already managed to read two books off of it for January.  As seen from yesterday's post I've already finished both If I Run and The Hunter.  So that is two books less which makes this post seem a little less crazy.  LOL!

7 comments:

  1. I like the idea of making a pile like that to kind of get into the mindset.
    I like the sound of Boiling Point. NetGalley gets me every time too, I can't resist. happy reading!

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  2. You need to read Steal Me! It was so good.

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  3. I'm looking forward to Pop Goes The Weasel and I have a copy of it. Same for The Widow and Find Her. I bet you have read a Lisa Gardner book before - she's been writing for a while and I've read 2 or 3 of her books. My daughter told me that she loved listening to You, the book prior to Hidden Bodies. And she said I should read You. I think I have it. Oh, and I have Brain On Fire in my audiobook library. Hope to listen to it this year sometime. Looks like a great bunch of books of all kinds. Good luck!

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  4. Great pile of books to look forward to. I have been meaning to check out Brian on Fire from the library. That sounds incredible. Hope you enjoy all of your reads and can't wait to hear about them!

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  5. That's a great pile of books you've for your February reading! Hope you enjoy them all and looking forward to your reviews.

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  6. The Widow sounds so good! I hope you enjoy it, Samantha. I have it to read, but am not sure when I will get to it. Moonglow looks good as well. I don't think I've heard of that one before. Pop Goes the Weasel sounds good! Your reading plans for February sound great, Samantha. I hope you are able to get through all these!

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  7. Oh, I'll be interested to see what you think of the Kate Noble book. I read her very first novel and thought it was just okay, so I haven't read anything by her since? But I have heard a LOT of good things about her later books, and I'm thinking about giving her another try soon.

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