February was a quiet month and I didn't really do too much. This was partly attributable to the heatwaves which dominated the first half of the month but also due to stress / anxiety. Despite spending most of the month in bed / on the couch in my spare time, surprisingly, I didn't watch too much on Netflix. I also finally purchased private health insurance, so I guess I am officially an adult now.
The books that I read / listened to were largely uninspiring and underwhelming apart from two books, A Brief History of Seven Killings and Half of a Yellow Sun. Marlon James' "A Brief History of Seven Killings" won the Man Booker Award 2015 and I was introduced to it by Sunbeamsjess mid last year. I had attempted to read it back in September however I ended up simply reading words. Fast forward 5 months later and I gave this novel another try. It is definitely a challenging read and I found it most manageable to read a few chapters in one sitting only. Between the different "languages" used - Jamaican patois, British English, American English-, the 75 character list including gang members, politicians, American journalist and a very intricate story, it is definitely not for the faint hearted. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was less of a challenging read however the prose is absolutely beautiful and effortless. It is centred around 5 characters in Nigeria during the Biafara Civil War and the best book I have read in a very long time.
This month, I also noticed a trend: I feel that I have been seeing a surge in posts about the Maldives / Bora Bora over the past year or so. Has anyone else noticed this? I find it strange when influencers / bloggers are sent on sponsored trips there, courtesy of the hotel, because I don't really understand the return on "investment". It is not as though the average person would be inspired by so-and-so's Instagram photo or blog post because, let's be real, who can really afford $1000+ accommodation per night?!?
Still on the topic of travel, the insanely cheap flights to Europe, Santiago and New York City are killing me. Around $1000-$1100?!?!?
I also have a giveaway going on right now which will finish by the end of this week so please enter as soon as possible!
How did the month of February treat you?