Up to 37 books for the year (17 this month; 7 fiction/10 non-fiction). Very few this month satisfy my TBR challenge, sadly. The book that spent the longest on my TBR before reading was The Changeling (since 8/21/17).

Completed in February:

1. Binti (ebook, fiction). I have loved everything I have ever read by Nnedi Okorafor, and this did not disappoint. Much love. [TBR]
2. The Changeling (ebook, fiction). Man, this book fucked with my head. The first third was a typical drama/thriller, then PLOT TWIST to redacted because spoilers, then PLOT TWIST to weird magical shit. Great read. Wild ride. [TBR]
3. A Mercy (audiobook, fiction). Surprisingly my first Toni Morrison, and I was lucky enough to hear it read by the author. I will re-read this in print at some point to give it the weight and focus it’s due. [TBR]
4. This Stops Today: Eric Garner’s Mother Seeks Justice After Losing Her Son (ebook, nonfiction). Painful and powerful. [TBR]
5. An Unkindness of Ghosts (ebook, fiction). A new (to me, at least) twist on post-apocalyptic scifi with characters of various genders and sexualities. Solid 4.5 stars, highly recommended. I read so many fantastic books this month, but this might be my favorite February read. [TBR]
6. Act Like It (ebook, nonfiction). I wanted to hate this, because the entire book is a giant cliché, but I really enjoyed it – maybe because it felt so old-school Hollywood glam romance? [TBR]
7. Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech (ebook, nonfiction). The first chapter is a bit meh, but the rest of the book is a solid look at bias in tech, primarily focused on UX/UI. Recommended for anyone with their hands in software. [TBR]
8. Modern Database Management (ebook, nonfiction). This was my primary textbook for my databases class, and was mostly a low-level refresher for me so I sped through ahead of schedule. Nothing much to say about it.
9. The Con Job (paperback, fiction). This was absolutely terrible, and not even in a fun way. It’s like bad Leverage fanfiction that made it to print. (There is so much better fanfic out there.) [TBR]
10. Interactive Programming in Java (ebook, nonfiction). It’s a textbook. Whee.
11. Art Matters (hardcover, nonfiction). Absolutely delightful life lessons from Neil Gaiman.
12. James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes (ebook, nonfiction). If you aren’t familiar with James Acaster, go look him up on YouTube or watch his excellent Netflix specials. If you are familiar, then you’ll understand when I say that this is a bunch of WILTY-style adventures, leading up to the bush in Basingstoke and the Cabbaging. I laughed out loud a lot.
13. Everfair (ebook, fiction). A sweeping story of love and romance, family and community, colonialism and racism, politics and war. I found it a bit hard to follow at times (I’m not a fan of POV-switching), but overall enjoyed it. [TBR]
14. Them: Why We Hate Each Other – and How to Heal (ebook, nonfiction). I don’t agree with everything in this book, not by far – but I also took a lot away from it, and wish more people would read it so that the book can spark the kinds of open conversation that the book itself recommends. [TBR]
15. Extreme Programming Pocket Guide (paperback, nonfiction). I’m writing a paper on XP and Scrum for a class, so the next few months will have more Agile books than usual. This is a short, quick intro to XP – if you’re not familiar with the concept, or want to understand how it differs from other flavors of Agile, it’s a decent place to start.
16. Wild Beauty (hardcover, fiction). Beautiful magical realism/family saga. Just gorgeous. [TBR]
17. How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? (ebook, fiction). Like any short story collection, there are some absolute winners, and some that didn’t do it for me. The winners were 5-star, though.