Read This Next: February 2025

This past month came at me fast and furious, so you’re getting the February reading roundup in mid-March, hot off the presses. So what happened? Well, for the first time in almost four years, I flew back to the United States for a friend’s wedding, which just so happened to be in the city we’ll be moving to this summer. So to make the most of the long flight, we spent an additional week house hunting. Friends, if you’ve never taken an international flight before, it hits you like a ton of bricks to the face, especially if you’re a consistent, routined individual like myself with a steady sleep habit.

While we enjoyed the wedding and catching up with old friends—plus some house-hunting in our old Las Vegas stomping grounds—I spent most of the trip feeling insanely jetlagged. Instead of pushing through the fatigue and continuing with my 2025 goals, I met my body and my mind where they were and took a break from daily blogging and reading. Just as I was beginning to acclimate, it was time to return to Germany. This time when we deplaned, not only was I jetlagged, but I was also fighting through a cold for the better portion of the week.

Now that it’s mid-March, I’m finally feeling like myself again—energized and ready to tackle all the things! Which brings us to the February book blog post. Sarah of the past would have concluded that it’s too far into the next month to even bother writing this post, but Sarah of the present thinks you would like to know what titles kept me entertained in the past month, posting date be damned.

I’ll admit, I ended January in a bit of a slump. Things felt pretty meh with a fantasy novel that had an amazing premise but fell short in execution (more on that later). And then, just like that, one of my holds came up for a punchy thriller that I started on a train ride to see Teddy Swims (swoon) and ended up devouring within four days. At the same time, the latest release from an author I enjoyed a couple of years ago came up on my holds. This book was like a soothing balm for all the stress and worries I have for these coming months. All this to say, what started on a low, ended on a high for the shortest month of the year. Enough of the chit-chat, let’s get into the details of these books you definitely need to add to your reading list!

I Might Be In Trouble
Daniel Aleman

Thriller, 332 pages

A Modern Spin On The Weekend At Bernie’s Trope

In a rut, David is desperate to come up with an idea for his third novel, which his agent and his bank account have reminded him needs to be a success. Missing his ex-boyfriend and unable to concentrate, David goes looking for love in all the wrong places…Grindr. He meets up with a man that seems like he’s perfect in every way and has David imagining their future together. The only problem? Well, when David woke up, his date laying next to him, was dead. In panic, David calls the only person he can trust, his agent, and now they’re racing against the clock to solve this tricky situation.

My Review of I Might Be In Trouble

As I mentioned above, I started this book on the train home from a Teddy Swims concert. Coming off a bit of a disappointing fantasy novel, I wasn’t expecting much from this book. To be honest, I was half expecting to DNF it if I wasn’t immediately sucked in. Needless to say, we returned home and I had already flown through a quarter of the story.

This novel was everything I need to bust out of a winter slump. It was funny. It was dark. The writing was witty and snappy without a hint of being overwrought or self-indulgent. It was like digging into a bag full of Haribo Funtasia on the open road on a perfect sunny summer day.

Other than the large amounts of second-hand anxiety I was steadily fed throughout (are they actually going to figure out what to do with this body?!), my favorite part of this book was the shockingly realistic portrayal of gay dating in the 21st century (at least it matched a lot of the conversations I’ve had with various friends about their dating app experiences).

The Vibe: Binge-ready with a handful of candy and endless cans of Coke Zero.

Pick Up This Book If…
I know it’s early, but pool season is around the corner and you deserve a fun break from all the smutty romance. Fans of Yellowface, The Husbands, and Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend would likely enjoy I Might Be in Trouble.

Meditations for Mortals
Oliver Burkeman

Self Help, 4 hours and 4 minutes

A Peaceful Detour From Your Frenzied Routine

Following the success of Four Thousand Weeks, Burkeman is back with another anti-productivity book that challenges us to make space for the truly meaningful moments in our rather short lives. Meant to be read at a slower pace of one chapter to meditate on every day for a month, the book covers multiple ways to look at life and embrace Burkeman’s practice of ‘imperfectionism.’

My Review of Meditations for Mortals

Have I mentioned the tidal wave of stress that is about to consume me and this family? You may have seen an inkling of it in The 25 for 2025 List. Between planning an international move, navigating the housing market as a first-time homebuyer, and trying to stay true to my personal and professional obligations, I’ve been grasping for anything that might calm my already fraught nerves.

Meditations had been on my radar, as I was eagerly anticipating its release having enjoyed the author’s previous book. A week out from our house hunting venture back to the United States, it popped up on my holds and I rented it faster than my dogs snatch dropped pieces of cheese in the kitchen.

Since this was a rental from the library, I didn’t have the luxury of listening to the book at the speed of a chapter per day, but I still found it incredibly soothing. In fact, I enjoyed these meditations so much that I’ll likely purchase a copy to have on our coffee table. Also, for those who aren’t really into the whole meditation thing, these aren’t really meditations in the traditional sense, but rather antidotes to ponder throughout your day. The author even encourages you to hold on to what’s helpful, but don’t stress about the chapters that you forget or don’t strike a chord as much.

Here is some of what stuck with me:

“We feel pressured to do something extraordinary with our lives, or to an extraordinary standard of merit, or in a way that’s applauded by an extraordinary number of people – even though it’s true by definition that only a few people can ever be extraordinary in any given domain. (If we could all stand out from the crowd, there’d be no crowd from which to stand out.) Why shouldn’t an anonymous career spent quietly helping a few people get to qualify as a meaningful way to spend one’s time? Why shouldn’t an absorbing conversation, an act of kindness, or an exhilarating hike get to count? Why adopt a definition that rules such things out?”

“In an age of attention scarcity, the greatest act of good citizenship may be learning to withdraw your attention from everything except the battles you’ve chosen to fight.”

“Fortunately, there are three pieces of advice for navigating a world of infinite information that are more genuinely helpful. The first is to treat your to-read pile like a river, not a bucket. That is to say: think of your backlog not as a container that gradually fills up, and that it’s your job to empty, but as a stream that flows past you, from which you get to pick a few choice items, here and there, without feeling guilty for letting all the others float by.”

Reading Energy: When life is feeling anything but easy, peasy lemon squeezy, slip into a quiet comfy corner with this one and let your worries melt away.

Read This Next If…
Obviously a hit for those who enjoyed Four Thousand Weeks by the same author. You’re a fan of How to Keep House While Drowning, The Creative Act and other gentler self-help books. Overall: definitely a must-read for the chronically “busy”.

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands
Sarah Brooks

Fantasy, 310 pages

A Slow Ride to Disappointment on a Magical Journey

Aboard the Trans-Siberian Express, the lone rail line through the Wastelands, passengers hope for glimpses of impossibly strange creatures. Zhang Weiwei, a lifelong resident of the train, can’t recall the tragic event that ended its last voyage—yet it looms over a new set of travelers, including a grieving woman under a borrowed identity and a stowaway with an uncanny link to the Wastelands. As unlikely alliances form and whispers of danger grow, it becomes clear that the perils facing the train may come not only from the wilderness outside but from secrets within its carriages.

My Review of The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands

I am a moth to a flame for a few niche fictional settings: Victorian era circus stories, anything involving witches and potions, and any story set on a train—honestly, I blame The Polar Express and Harry Potter for that last one.

Heralded as perfect for fans of The Midnight Library (which I loved), I thought this would be THE book for me. Despite the unique premise, I found this book to fall incredibly short of my admittedly high expectations.

The beginning was a little slow as all of the characters were introduced, of which there were many. The author tried building relationships between them, but it all fell flat as most of the story was just endless back and forth conversation between people stuck on a train. Seriously, there was little to no action until around the 70 percent mark. At that point it was too little too late and I just didn’t care anymore. I was willing to give the story a pass for a spectacular ending, but even that left me as unsatisfied as a lukewarm Lean Cuisine.

Reading Mood: Can I interest you something else perhaps?

Books To Pick Up Instead…
If the Russian angle appeals to you, absolutely grab either (or both, honestly) The Tsar of Love And Techno or City of Thieves. For the train aspect, Water for Elephants. For the slow burn magic, The Night Circus.

Have you read anything lately that you’ve absolutely loved? Leave a comment with your suggestion—I’m always on the hunt for the next great book, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction!

That wraps up my (slightly delayed) February reading list—thank you for your patience! Even though this month threw me for a loop with international travel and a stubborn cold, I’m glad I still managed to squeeze in a few noteworthy (and not-so-noteworthy) reads. Now, as we head into spring—and as our move date looms ever-closer—things are about to get interesting. Spoiler alert: I’ll likely be gravitating toward some breezier, feel-good titles in the coming month to help offset the whirlwind of relocating, so if that’s your jam, stay tuned!

What about you? What are you reading these days? Do you have a light-hearted book to recommend? Drop a comment below—I’m always up for adding new recommendations to my ever-growing TBR. Here’s to smoother, more settled months ahead for all of us, with plenty of light reads along the way!

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