My Month Is Booked: February 2026

Welcome to a rather belated February My Month is Booked linkup! I had every intention of posting on Monday but life work has been super crazy busy lately. I’ve been hanging on by a thread and dearly wishing to be back on vacation, but alas, haha. I’ll be keeping the linkup open an extra week in case anyone else has been super busy lately!

My Month Is Booked: February 2026

Surprisingly, I made it to 9 books this month! Some wilderness memoirs, dystopian fiction, magical realism, and some cookbooks this month. :]

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The Girls Who Grew Big, by Leila Mottley – This was about a group of teenage mothers living in Florida and navigating their way through pregnancy/motherhood with varying degrees of support from their families.

Overall, it was well-written and touching, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as others seemed to. (Given how I feel about pregnancy/childbirth, perhaps this shouldn’t have been too surprising to me. Written in 3 different perspectives, it did feel somewhat disjointed sometimes and I felt the ending was a bit rushed (+ not as congruent with the actions/decisions made earlier in the book).

Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy – This one was on my radar because it kept popping up everywhere (e.g. over at Wendy’s blog!). A father and his three children live on a tiny island not far from Antarctica that’s home to the world’s largest seed bank. After a horrible storm, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Lots of secrets kept by…everyone, and many twists and turns. The pacing did feel a bit slow with somewhat of an abrupt ending, but it was beautifully written while also being injected with this almost-hopelessness (while still wanting to believe that things could potentially be okay).

Turn To Stone, by Emily Meg Weinstein – I’m part of a “outdoorsy women” book club on Fable and this was one of the recent picks. A short (<300-page) memoir on a woman who decides to try rock climbing after escaping an abusive relationship. It’s difficult to rate memoirs because it feels like judging someone’s life(?), so I’ll just say that the parts I enjoyed most were where she talked about her climbing adventures. (I did not agree with the breaking national park rules/not paying for campsites/questioning why some women might want women-only spaces + wish there had been more self-reflection.)

Feasts on the Farm, by Tamara Jo Hicks – his is as much a recipe book (with lots of different unique + seasonal dishes) as it is also a memoir/reflection. I really loved learning more about their regenerative farming techniques and all that they’re doing to give back + also help farming to remain a sustainable practice into the future (especially for minorities)!

The community harvest feast they mentioned brought back great memories of the one I attended when I used to live on a farm. I’m super blessed to actually live not too far from Toluma Farms, so I’ll definitely be planning a visit in the spring + can’t wait to try out their cheeses!

Although I did love this book, I think it may be less practical for those who are lactose-intolerant or don’t like cheese, and for those living in areas where it can be harder to find obscure ingredients.

If I Had Your Face, by Frances Cha – A story told in the perspective of 4 women living in Seoul–Kyuri (a “room salon” girl who entertains wealthy men), Miho (an artist on a scholarship trying to make it on her own), Ara (a non-verbal hairdresser who styles important/successful clients), and Wonna (a pregnant lady who is disdainful of her husband/unsure of how they will be able to raise their baby).

There are a lotttt of different important/mostly-dark issues brought up in this book, especially regarding the Korean beauty industry, cosmetic surgeries, prostitution, and sexism/classism — I do wish it’d gone into more detail since it felt like it barely scraped the surface on this. That being said, I still couldn’t put it down. If you’re looking for more of a “slice of life” read about friendship + life in Korea rather than a true plot-plot read, this is a great pick!

The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio – A woman who comes home late one night and is greeted by her husband. Except she’s not married and has never seen the dude in her life, even though her friends, her phone, and her flat all suggest otherwise. When he goes to the attic to change a lightbulb, a new man emerges and her life re-forms again.

A comical read for sure — parts of it did start getting repetitive and I felt like Lauren didn’t really grow/learn as a character (if anything, I felt she got increasingly more unhinged, but given what was happening, who am I to really judge). It does very much make you wonder though — if you could have a “do-over” anytime you wanted, how often would you do it (and how do you truly live your life)?

Coastal, by Scott Clark – This feels like it’s equal parts memoir and cookbook, decked out with gorgeous photos. Some of the recipes seem like they would require a lot more effort/might be harder to track down ingredients (as a Bay Area native, I think I’m pretty spoiled as far as being able to source different ingredients, but it may be more difficult for those living in other areas). I do still think there’s something in here for everyone though!

It’s hard to decide which recipe I want to try making first since so many of them look so tasty. There are lots of unique/fusion recipes in here, so definitely especially great if you’re looking to change things up! I’m also definitely planning to check out Dad’s Luncheonette sometime hopefully soon! :]

The Dream Hotel, by Laila Lalami – Sara has landed at LAX from a conference abroad but is pulled aside by the RAA (Risk Assessment Administration) and told that, using data from her dreams, they have found that she is at imminent risk of harming her husband. For his safety, she will need to be kept under observation for 21 days. She is brought to a retention center where she’s kept with other women, also dreamers, trying to prove their innocence. With its ever-changing rules, Sara’s stay is extended longer and longer until she begins to wonder if she will ever make it out.

If you’ve ever watched Minority Report, this definitely brought that back for me. A very interesting albeit scary/unsettling premise given all the technology that’s around us lately just…listening and monitoring.

Souk to Table: Vibrant Middle Eastern Dishes for Everyday Meals, by Amina Al-Saigh – This has over 100 recipes for authentic Middle Eastern dishes! I’ve never tried making any before because it seems so daunting/difficult a task, so I really loved that the author makes them easy/accessible/healthier + that so many of them can be made pretty quickly (<30 min)!

The real difficulty here is deciding on which recipe to start with because they all look so good! I will definitely be adding this to my ever-growing cookbook collection!

Black Bear, by Trina Moyles – A memoir about a woman’s coexistence with bears while spending summers working/living in a lookout tower in a wildlife corridor.

The pacing of this book is technically slow, but perfectly done, as it’s also a beautiful meditation on bereavement/grief. I listened to this as an audiobook (it’s narrated by the author!) + I loved how well she wove nature and her finding peace/clarity out into the wilderness with the love/importance of family.

• Did you start reading any new genres this month? Because of that book club, I’ve definitely been reading more outdoorsy/nature memoirs lately!
• What was your favorite read this month? I think my picks would be The Dream Hotel and Black Bear. I loved all 3 cookbooks so don’t make me choose between those, haha.