Backlist Books Challenge February Reads

I love finding great backlist books! Today, I am sharing my February reads for my backlist book challenge. It ended up being a good reading month for me.

My February reading included a great mix of fiction and nonfiction. It also included books that I really enjoyed.

A few weeks ago, I logged off of Instagram. I am not giving it up, but for now, I turned my blog Instagram over to my daughter. And it might be one of the best decisions that I have made recently.

I had no idea how much time I spent scrolling Instagram. Now instead of scrolling, and I find myself reaching for books instead. More reading is always a good thing!

Less scrolling meant more reading for me the last few weeks, and I am hoping that trend continues.

Today, I am sharing my recent reads. My list includes more fiction books than normal, but two of the nonfiction books I read were long books, so I think my actual fiction vs nonfiction reading was probably normal for me.

Backlist Books Challenge February Reads

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

After reading Murder On the Orient Express last month, I knew that I wanted to read more Poirot mystery books by Agatha Christie. I like to read series in order, so I started at the beginning with the first book in the Poirot books.

I loved The Mysterious Affair at Style. It was published in 1938, so it is definitely a backlist book. I can’t wait to read more Agatha Christie books. I am not sure I will read them all in order, but I am going to try to.

Mad at the World by Willliam Souder

Mad at the World was published in 2020. It is a biography about the life of John Steinbeck. My husband and I are reading The Grapes of Wrath for a family book club.

I always find it fascinating to learn about authors and why they write the books that they do. I know very little about Steinbeck and thought this would be a good way to learn more about him.

This book was great paired with reading The Grapes of Wrath. I am glad that I read it, but I am not sure it is a book everyone would want to read. If you want to know more about Steinbeck, you will probably enjoy it, but otherwise, I would say skip this one.

No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I have been wanting to read a book by Doris Kearns Goodwin and decided this was the one that I would read first. I have read a lot of WWII books, but this book covered a lot of details that I was not familiar with. No Ordinary Time was published in 2009. So it was perfect for my backlist book challenge.

It was a long book with lots of details, but I am so glad that I read it. I love a book that gives you enough information that leaves you wanting to learn more about other topics. After reading this book, I am not wanting to read more about the Japanese Internment Camps during WWII and more about Eleanor Roosevelt and the White House during Roosevelt’s presidency.

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees

This book is one that I featured in recent reads about WWII. I enjoyed this book because it was different than any other WWII that I have read. It covers events after the war.

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook was published in 2020. It is about a teacher, who loves food and cooking, who becomes a spy. It is a little PG-13 in some spots but besides that I enjoyed it.

Together Tea by Marjan Kamali

Reading takes you to places that stretches you and teaches you. That is exactly what this book did for me. It took me to a time and place I know very little about.

After reading The Stationery Shop, I knew that I wanted to read Marjan Kamali’s other book Together Tea that was published in 2013. I wasn’t sure what I thought of this book until about two-thirds of the way through it. The last third of the book really made the book and characters come together. A book, I wasn’t sure about, ended up being a book that I loved. If you like historical fiction or loved The Stationery Shop, I think you will enjoy this one.

Dorie by Doris Van Stone

I am not sure where I heard about the book Dorie: The Girl Nobody Loved, but it has been on my bookshelf for a while. It was published in 1979.

I picked it up on a Sunday afternoon and finished it that same day. It was a quick read. I really enjoyed this Christian biography. It was a tough story to read because of what she went through as a child, but she shares the story of God loving her in a way that brings Him Glory. One of the things that I found interesting is that the author was friends with Darlene Deibler Rose, the author of one of my favorite Christian biographies.

The Lost Lieutenant by Erica Vetsch

The Lost Lieutenant is the first book in the Serendipity and Secrets series. It is a clean well written historical romance book. A lot of clean Christian romance books are cheesy and predictable, this one wasn’t. Well, it was a bit predictable, but I thought the writing was creative and different.

The Lost Lieutenant was published in 2020. It is a regency romance. It involved a marriage of convenience, people from vastly different upbringings, family secrets, and ultimately love. If you are looking for a clean easy romance, you will probably enjoy this one.

The Gentleman Spy by Erica Vetsch

The Gentleman Spy is the second book in Serendipity and Secrets series. It is the continuing story of, Marcus, one of the characters from The Lost Lieutenant. When Marcus’s father and brother die, he becomes the new Duke of Haverly. However, becoming a Duke puts his life as a spy at risk.

The story involves his life as a spy, his new life as a Duke, and of course love. This book was also published in 2020. There is a third book in the series being released in March of 2021. This book was another easy to read clean historical romance. After reading a couple of slower more intense reads, these two books by Erica Vetsch were just what I needed.