New Book Releases For February Reading
“In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams away the cold.” I like the way British author Ben Aaronovitch sums up winter reading in his 2013 book Broken Homes.
New book releases for February
If you are getting a little tired of winter weather and are dreaming of spring, it may be time to find a new book to curl up with to “dream away the cold.” Here are five new February releases to consider.
February book releases – The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel (Spiegel & Grau, Feb. 2)
It is hard to believe it has been 15 years since Yann Martel’s Booker-Prize winning Life of Pi was published. Here he takes us on another sea voyage, but it is one that goes in an entirely different direction.
You will travel through a century of fascinating Portuguese history as you work to solve a mystery with Tomas, a grieving young man who discovers an old journal. With his unique haunting style of prose, Martel creates an adventure story, a fable and a ghost story all rolled into one.
February book releases – The Lives of Elves by Muriel Barbery (Europa, Feb. 9)
The French author of the profoundly moving The Elegance of the Hedgehog is back with her latest novel, The Lives of Elves, a story of friendship, of music and of supernatural connections.
Two children, Clara and Maria, are brought together by chance and by their incredible talents. The novel explores nature, art, imagination and how we deal with all we can be. Like The Elegance of the Hedgehog, it is a thought-provoking and beautiful book.
February book releases – The Golden Lad: The Haunting Story of Quentin and Theodore Roosevelt by Eric Burns (Pegasus, Feb. 1)
With his larger than life persona, Teddy Roosevelt remains one of our most fascinating presidents. As a president, he was a war hero, a champion for our parks and forests and a reformer. Teddy also was a devoted father of a large family, and what you may not know is how his life was altered irrevocably by the death of his son, Quentin.
Eric Burns has crafted a poignant biography that tells the story of a strong father-son relationship and how Quentin’s death in a World War I air fight devastated his famous father. Touching and ultimately inspiring, this book offers new insight into the Teddy Roosevelt mystique.
February book releases – And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile (Tim Duggan Books, Feb. 16)
Political intrigue is at the heart of this debut novel by Jowhor Ile. The novel is set in Nigeria in the 1990s, and the author weaves in the past and the present to create a suspenseful mystery that focuses on the disappearance of a young man during a time of intense political upheaval.
Nigerian author Jowhor Ile’s previous fiction has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly and Litro Magazine.
February book releases – Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue (Riverhead Books, Feb. 9)
If you are looking for something to give you a few laughs, look new further than this charming satire.
Although Mexican-born author Alvaro Enrigue states in his book’s introduction that he has never watched a tennis match, this book is about tennis. It’s also about the Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Spanish poet Francisco de Quevedo and even about Ann Boleyn. And, yes, these seemingly disparate subjects come together in a very funny way.
Translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer, this is Enrigue’s first novel to be translated into English. It already has won Spain’s prestigious Herralde Prize. Mexico’s Elena Poniatowska International Novel Award and the Barcelona Prize for Fiction.
