February just might be my least favorite month. It’s so close to spring I can taste it, yet also wet and dreary; sometimes snow, sometimes rain. Probably the month’s most popular (commercial) holiday doesn’t boost its case much either. But I still managed to read a fair amount despite the winter blues. The gardening books helped.
Counting the days till spring though…
Total Read: 9
Book of the Month: The Magical Language of Others by E.J. Koh
I surprised myself with this month’s top book. For sure thought it’d be Come Tumbling Down because the Wayward Children series is a favorite, and for the record, I loved the latest installment. But Koh’s memoir really stole my heart.
I read The Magical Language of Others in one sitting and almost re-read it immediately. Mother-daughter dynamics fascinate me anyway. Add in even more complicated issues like being first generation American to Korean parents, losing your parents to better career opportunities in their home country, plus the cultural differences… poignant and beautiful. I really can’t wait to read what Koh writes next.
Synopsis: “The Magical Language of Others is a powerful and aching love story in letters, from mother to daughter. After living in America for over a decade, Eun Ji Koh’s parents return to South Korea for work, leaving fifteen-year-old Eun Ji and her brother behind in California. Overnight, Eun Ji finds herself abandoned and adrift in a world made strange by her mother’s absence. Her mother writes letters, in Korean, over the years seeking forgiveness and love―letters Eun Ji cannot fully understand until she finds them years later hidden in a box.”
Read About the Book | My Review
Movie of the Month: Haunt (2019)
Okay, so this movie wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. What it did “right,” it did really well. Sweet, terrible tension. A fabulous underlying dread from the minute they arrive in the parking lot. Edge of my seat dang near the whole movie! I kept asking myself who or what exactly the haunters were — human, demons, something else??! And I really liked the final girl in this one. I think we’ll see a lot more of Katie Stevens in the future.
Synopsis: “On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an “extreme” haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are real.” (source)
Check out HAUNT on IMDb | Watch the trailer
Song of the Month: Aurora – Winter Bird
Heard this in a movie trailer YEARS ago. For some reason it’s my jam this month.
(In case you’re interested, this is the movie and here’s the trailer.)