February 2020 Reading List

The books on my February 2020 reading list, including The Opposite of Fate, Know My Name, the Antidote for Everything, A Perfect Explanation, The Grace Year, and The Women in Black.

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My February 2020 reading list includes several books that are new this month–including one older one that’s now being released in the United States–as well as several that came out last year that I’ve been wanting to fit in.

After such a strong year of books in 2019, the 2020 releases have so far been a little underwhelming. Not bad–and I’ll have some reviews in a couple weeks–but just not as much as I’d hoped.

You’ll also see that I am still reading 2019 books–again, there were just so many great ones–and will continue to squeeze some in that I didn’t get to last year.

My 2020 reading challenge to read a nonfiction book and a book from my shelf each month also provides some expanded reading opportunities each month, beyond ARCs and new 2020 books.

I hope that including a mix of new books with some older books continues to give you some great reading options, including some you might be able to pick up at the library or even find on your own shelves.

I’d love to know how your reading is going so far this year.

Books to Read in February 2020

Author: Eleanor Anstruther
Source: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via Edelweiss
Publish Date: 02/04/20

Anstruther based this book on the story of her grandmother who was an aristocrat under family pressure to provide an heir after WWI. Depression and other factors lead her to abandon her family–and then to a kidnap, a court case, and selling her son to her sister. This drew me in with its parallels to Downtown Abbey–and could deliver even more drama.

Author: Madeleine St. John
Source: Scribner via Edelweiss
Publish Date: 02/11/20

This story of four women working in a 1950s department store in Australia was first published in 1993 and is now being published in the U.S. Hailed by some as a “classic” and “delightful,” the description reminds me of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I have some heavy books on my list for this month so I’m looking forward to slotting this one in between. 

Author: Kimmery Martin
Source: Berkley via Edelweiss
Publish Date: 02/18/20

Two doctors in South Carolina are tested when their hospital tells them to stop providing care for transgender patients. One is fired for refusing to abandon his patients and his friend attempts to remedy the situation–causing even more harm. Martin is a doctor and I look forward to her take on this timely story.

Author: Alison McGhee
Source: Mariner Books via Edelweiss
Publish Date: 02/18/20

When twenty-one year old Mallie is brutally assaulted, she ends up in a coma–and pregnant. As she lies unconscious, her family, friends, and community, as well as the media debate what should be done.  And when Mallie emerges from the coma, she has to face the decisions made for her.

Author: Chanel Miller
Source: Library
Publish Date: 09/24/19

Known only as Emily Doe, the sexual assault victim in the Brock Turner case, Chanel Miller steps out of anonymity to share her story. Traumatized both the assault itself and by the aftermath when the justice system failed her, she tells how she dealt with those traumas to move toward healing. Miller’s powerful story and writing have received high praise and I’m looking forward to reading it. 

Author: Kim Liggett
Source: Library
Publish Date: 10/08/19

In their 16th year, girls are banished for their “Grace Year”–their year out of a society they apparently endanger. After their year away, they return purified and ready for marriage. The year is full of dangers–known and unknown–and not all return alive. This is my next audiobook listen and I’ve seen many readers comment on how compelling this book is, with positive comparisons to both The Handmaid’s Tale and The Hunger Games.

What are you reading this month?

February 2020 Reading list

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5 Comments

  1. I got Know My Name in a Christmas dirty Santa book exchange and I’m super excited to read it! She is so incredibly eloquent and obviously it’s such an important book. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

    1. I’m in the middle of Know My Name right now and her writing is just stunning. It’s hard to read because of what happened to her but her voice is so strong. I can see why people are giving it all the stars.

  2. I hear you on this year so far! My reading has been tepid at best. I haven’t quit any books, but the end of January and the beginning of this month have left me with very little to write about.

    You do have some great options- Know My Name is so powerful. I could see Miller writing fiction next. She has a gift with words.

    The Women in Black sounds like it could jump start my reading- going to go look for it now!

  3. Hehehe I’m doing exactly the same thing, still working my way through the backlog of great 2019 releases and trying not to fall behind on 2020 at the same time! I didn’t get to Know My Name last year and I REALLY want to, such a crucial and timely story, and Chanel Miller is so unbelievably brave.

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