February Reading Favourites

Another month of reading a random assortment of books! Here are my favourites.

This was an extremely fun and twisty horror thriller, about people living on a Scottish island and disappearing, only to reappear sometimes decades later, but the same age as when they left. It's mostly about sisters who get reunited and try to figure out what happened in the past. There's also a past timeline involved, with witches and curses! I had an amazing time.

This is exactly what I look for in a memoir. Lots of interesting, personal details and stories from their life, plus reflection on what their story shows about humanity in general. 
Zoe was assigned female at birth, but experiences gender dysphoria early, choosing to live as a boy when they move to a trailer park in Arizona. As they grow up and explore their sexuality and the power of writing, they can no longer pass for a boy and make an uneasy peace with being seen as female, or maybe something completely different. 
Zoe is a great writer, able to see meaning in the little moments of their life and experience, and shows that they've spent a lot of time mulling over their past. I got a really rich understanding of gender fluidity, life in the Arizona desert, what it was like growing up questioning their gender, and trying to conform to societal expectations.

Oishi is a psychologist studying what makes a good life, and says that while happiness and meaningfulness are common qualities people name as necessary for a good life, he believes that psychological richness is an undervalued quality. Richness includes curiosity, exploration, and experience that make your life fuller. 

I thought this was a really interesting idea, and I've been mulling over the ideas in this book ever since. He makes a quite good case for valuing and pursuing richness in our lives, although I wish a bit more time had been spent discussing how to balance the three dimensions of a good life. He uses lots of real-life examples and talks about his and other people's studies, making his points easy to understand. The book is quite short and doesn't overstay its welcome, which is also appreciated. 

I've found myself embracing experiences and doing new things instead of doing the most peaceful/comfortable thing because of this book, and I really appreciate it when self-help actually helps... my self.

Stephen is a paladin whose god has died, so now he's bereft and just helping where he can, all while he feels empty inside. Then he helps out a woman in an alley, who ends up being the perfumer Grace. They both can't stop thinking about the other, but feel like they have nothing to offer. But they keep meeting, and soon they stumble across a severed head together and get mixed up in an assassination plot. 
This book somehow feels fluffy and cozy, despite the murders and mild depression! Both MCs are in their 30s and a little damaged by their past lives (Grace is in hiding from an abusive husband). They feel like they're damaged goods, so hide their feelings from the person they most definitely have a crush on, which is a dynamic I love. The mysteries also give them things to do together and reasons to keep interacting. 
I've heard the books in this series of connected standalones just get better, and the lore is further explained, so I'm very eager to continue reading in this world.