Annnnnd that’s a wrap for February. I don’t know about the rest of the country, but spring is definitely on the way here: after several weeks of bitter cold, we’re suddenly enjoying balmy 80 degree days – 26 degree days, for the Celsius folk.

Challenge Progress:

Science Survey: Two books read, but only one new category, Local Astronomy, filled.. (The Bird Way was excellent, but a redundant Flora and Fauna entry.) Survey status: 3/12.

Classics: One more (Cold Sassy Tree) down. So far I’ve only been hitting Southern Lit, but English lit will get a good shellacking in April. List status: 4/50.

Climbing Mount Doom: Four books read (Why We’re Here, The Network, Forgotten Continent, The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History), which puts me back on track for my hoped-for average of 2 per month.

“Read More Southern Lit/History”: Four more titles!

The Unreviewed:

The Hardest Job in the World: The US Presidency. I just finished this one Saturday morning and will knock out a review within the next couple of days.

The Newly Bought:
The War of 1812, John Mahone. A deliciously old book that smells like old books should. It’s bigger than expected, so here’s hoping my interest in the Creek war/ war of 1812 can sustain me through it.

The Metropolis: A History of Humankind’s Greatest Invention. A birthday gift card purchase.

Dark Age Ahead, Jane Jacobs. Published ten or so years ago from the author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

Mao’s Great Famine, Frank Dikotter. It happened to be on sale the same week I was reading The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History. Will possibly use as part of a China series.

Why Balloons Rise and Apples Fall: Physics in Bite Sized Chunks, Jeff Stewart. I’d literally just gone inside Books a Million for coffee when I saw this marked half off. (I was in the neighborhood for dog and garden supplies — heaven knows I have enough books already!)

Purgatorio and Paradiso, Dante, translated by Anthony Esolen. These are for the Classics Club. I’m playing with the idea of reading Purgatorio during Lent and Paradiso during the Easter season.

Disaster By Choice: How Our Actions Turn Natural Hazards into Catastrophes, Ilan Kelman.

Okay, no more book purchases for me for a while, except for Read of England prep!