What I Read in February and March 2025

Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?!

Alright gang?! It’s been a while! I have been away gallivanting across the globe visiting friends and family in Australia, so I have not done a whole lot of reading lately but here’s a chaotic overview of what I have read as I try and remember as far back as February.

Hope you’re all ok? I celebrated my return to the UK with a week-long snotty cold followed by a 24 hour vomiting situation, but I feel like two weeks after landing at Heathrow I am maybe starting to feel like a normal person again.

Apart from that it’s back to life cosplaying as an actual adult whilst attempting to tackle the things that I’ve been avoiding because what was the point in starting before a four week trip to the other side of the world?!!! *Clown face emoji*

Anyhoo, please let me know what you’ve been up to and what you’ve been reading and also any whimsical and/or hilarious things that you have seen will help to distract me from the realities of day to day life.

(In the interests of transparency, I allowed myself a break from my book buying ban while I was away so I could pick up some Aussie titles and continue my side hustle of supporting independent bookshops BUT more on that another time. )

Right, let’s take a sticky beak at this reading pile.

What I’ve Been Reading

February

Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - S.A. Chakraborty I wanted to love this but was slightly underwhelmed. It does have some good adventurous pacing and I like the story, but I didn’t love the fact that you could tell it was written as part of a series - so plot points not being wrapped up, vague elements of storyline that will probably be dealt with later down the line. I’d say I enjoyed about three quarters of the book, but then felt like the ending was drawn out whilst also not saying very much. That said, I loved the great representation of people who you don’t really see in traditional adventure stories (older women, conversations around gender).

It’s Not a Bloody Trend - Kat Brown More reading about ADHD and Neurodivergence. This one focussed on people sharing their experiences which I found interesting.

Taft - Ann Patchett Worried that I’m going to run out of Ann Patchett books soon so trying to ration them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it agin, the way she writes people and relationships is second to none.

Brandy Sour - Constantin Soteriou This was a Christmas pressie and I loved it. It’s a novella about the occupants of a Cyprus hotel in the 1950s, and it kind of reminded me of Turbulence by David Szalay. Had recommend if you’re looking for something good but short.

At Freddie’s - Penelope Fitzgerald I read this because I saw David Nicholls talk about it in an interview, and if you’re into eccentric posh but poor people and / or the theatre, then I reckon you’ll enjoy it.

March

Swimming Sydney - Chris Baker James bought me this book when we were in Sydney (HAVE I MENTIONED I’VE JUST BEEN IN AUSTRALIA?!?!!?) and it’s an absolutely delicious account of the swimming spots in and around the city. It was such a joy to read.

The Angry Woman’s Choir - Meg Bignell One of the reasons I paused my book buying hiatus was because I like to buy books as souvenirs when I’m away and it’s also a great way to discover new authors. I bought this book in Campbell Town in Tasmania, but it’s set in Hobart so it was really cool to bring it home and read about somewhere I’ve been and can recognise parts of. I really enjoyed this a lot and would recommend as a positive, funny, timely, confronting read.

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen Despite being extremely familiar with the 1995 BBC adaption of Pride and Prejudice I have never finished the book, and I was looking for something comforting and familiar to read whilst nursing myself back to health so this felt like the perfect choice. No-one needs another opinion on Jane Austen or Pride and Prejudice, but I loved it. As a side note, I also think that David Bamber as Mr Collins is one of the greatest casting choices of all time.

That’s all for this month I think, the only other thing I have to let you know is that I have finally started watching Kath and Kim after YEARS of my friend Claire recommending it to me and me believing I would get round to it one day. Well, one day is here and I am obsessed.

Right, I’m off to do some more reading. Catch you later.

Iona xx