February Roundup

There is a suggestion of spring in the air, bulbs waking up, birdsong, brighter days, and an interminable need to get outside.

The end of the winter is in sight. What books have seen you through the dark days? Here is my reading life through February...

Read - One and a half books
Completed - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Currently Reading -
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Literary Genius edited by Joseph Epstein
Adventures of a Waterboy by Mike Scott
The Natural Navigator by Tristan Gooley
The Last Elf by Silvana De Mari
TBR Pile - 128 according to GoodReads with 4 added this month...
Whiteout by Ken Follett
Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
Challenges - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, which I am currently reading and enjoying, is part of #5 of my challenges to myself this year, to read 1 or 2 titles that came from our literary holidays. This one was my lucky dip prize from our Jane Austen holiday in Hampshire (2010) and a recommendation from that trip.
Wishlist Additions -
Sombrero Fallout by Richard Brautigan
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
Woods etc by Alice Oswald
Strands: A Year of Discoveries on the Beach by Jean Sprackland
Through the Woods: The English Woodland - April to April by H E Bates
Wild Hares and Hummingbirds: The Natural History of an English Village by Stephen Moss
Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Discoveries -
Two interesting blogs have come my way...

• Me And My Big Mouth for book reviews and more
• On Friday where two writers take up the challenge to come up with a new short piece of writing every friday.

There have also been some really interesting articles about this February...

• Jane Austen Stamps - in pictures with all 6 novels represented. Royal Mail have released the stamps to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice.
• The Book Lovers Guide to New York - Part 1
• The Book Lovers Guide to New York - Part 2
• Decline in Independent Bookshops continues with 73 closures in 2012
• Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice at 200: looking afresh at a classic with well known writers and critics casting their eye over the characters in this well-loved book.
• eReader vs the book: What's best for me? Considering the ecological viewpoints of this argument.
• Awesome HARRY POTTER book sculptures and more

Events -
World Book Night is happening on the 23rd April (see the link on my sidebar) and I have been chosen as a giver again. This year I will be giving away copies of The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, an important novel that I enjoyed in 2009. Use the link to read my review.
The British Library in London is currently exhibiting Murder in the Library: An A-Z of Crime Fiction. It is in the Folio Society Gallery from 18th Jan to 12th May 2013 and free to attend, celebrating crime fiction from 'its origins in the early 19th century through to contemporary Nordic Noir, taking in the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the first appearance of Miss Marple and the fiendish plots of Dr Fu Manchu along the way.' Sounds thrilling, as well as good fun.

February was quite a full month, what is in store for March?...