A selection of quotes and pictures to represent February’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

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Most men unconsciously judge the world from themselves, and it will be very generally found that those who sneer habitually at human nature, and affect to despise it, are among its worst and least pleasant samples.

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (1839)

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The way a family evolves is very organic, and to introduce a new element so abruptly is dangerous.

Sufferance by Charles Palliser (2024)

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It irritates her when people speak of what they deserve; it’s perfectly obvious that getting what one deserves is not how life works.

The Bone Hunters by Joanne Burn (2024)

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But perhaps I had better explain that an author’s consciousness does not work as smoothly and obediently as many people believe. Some, though not all, characters begin to dominate him, rather than the reverse. They ultimately possess him by creating their own characteristics, dictating their own movements, inventing their own habits. Creatures of the subconscious, they are conceived and grow in spite of, not because of, him.

The Undetective by Bruce Graeme (1962)

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“What I think is a different matter. Maybe I think some rather curious things — but until thinking’s got you somewhere it’s no use talking about it.”

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie (1929)

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“If one only dared to be frank in this world and tell all one feels, how clear and comprehensible the world would become.”

Clairmont by Lesley McDowell (2024)

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“Don’t science me, Iven. Magic’s just science we don’t understand. What if a man a thousand years ago saw one of the flying contraptions that we have winking about everywhere? He’d think it was magic.”

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden (2024)

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Being a child is about innocence, about not knowing the realities that adults deal with every day.

Doomed Romances: Strange Tales of Uncanny Love by various authors (2024)
Quote from Could You Wear My Eyes? by Kalamu ya Salaam

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“I’ll admit that my garden now grows hope in lavish profusion, leaving little room for anything else. I suppose it has squeezed out more practical plants like caution and common sense. Still, though, hope does not flourish in every garden, and I feel thankful it has taken root in mine.”

The Reckoning by Sharon Penman (1991)

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What is family? An anchor which holds us in place. It holds us secure in a storm. It holds us back in fair weather. It is a blessing and a burden – for the young, especially, and for those who seek freedom.

One of life’s astonishing moments is when we realise that we have suddenly become that anchor.

The Life of Rebecca Jones by Angharad Price (2002)

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Favourite books read in February:

The Undetective, The Reckoning, Sufferance and The Warm Hands of Ghosts

Authors read for the first time in February:

Joanne Burn, Bruce Graeme, Lesley McDowell, Angharad Price, Ella D’Arcy, Alice Perrin, Nalo Hopkinson, Kalamu Ya Salaam, Tracy Fahey, V. Castro (last six all from Doomed Romances)

Places visited in my February reading:

England, Switzerland, France, Russia, Canada, Belgium, Wales, India, Jamaica, the Pacific

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February reading notes: February was a good, varied month of reading for me. I read a Victorian classic, a short story collection, some classic crime, an Agatha Christie thriller, some historical fiction and three books that counted towards #ReadIndies month (as well as the British Library, I was pleased to be able to highlight two much smaller publishers, Bellows Press and Moonstone Press). In March, I’m hoping to take part in Reading Ireland and Reading Wales – in fact, I’ve already made a start! I also want to read at least one or two of the books from the recently announced Walter Scott Prize longlist.

How was your February? Do you have any plans for your March reading?