February reads

I usually read around ten books a month, but this February, I only read four. I'm not sure why I didn't get more read. Let's chalk it up to the fact that it was a short month.

I did, however, read my Newbery and Pulitzer selections.

In honor of President's Day, I chose a biography of Abraham Lincoln by Russell Freedman which won the Newbery Award in 1988 titled Lincoln: A Photobiography.

As the title suggests, this book tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's life from his humble beginnings to his tragic death. Except for a lot of pictures of Lincoln, and some interesting Civil War photos, there is really nothing remarkable in this book. The story is easy to read and includes a very simplified account of the Civil War.

Overall, it's not great but not terrible either. Take it or leave it.

For my Pulitzer read, I chose last year's winner. Tinkers, by Paul Harding is not at all what I expected. The story is about a dying man named George. While his life is ebbing away, he remembers moments from his past. Interspersed with his story is that of his father, Howard, a peddler and misunderstood epileptic.

I want to like this book, and while it is well written with some truly beautiful and poetic passages, I really can't recommend it. It is just too hard to get into and stick with, and at times, overly difficult to follow. Even though it is just under 200 pages, it seems much longer.

February's reading was pretty disappointing. March will be better. I made a trip to the library yesterday and have a large stack of books that I am anxious to work my way through.

Happy reading!