Books I Read in February

It’s incredible really, but February is almost over…and I am back to feeling my normal energetic self! This means, even though I’m in the last year of my Master’s in Childhood and Youth studies, I’ve done well in my regular reading. Here are the books I read in February.

Fiction Books I Read in February

A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett ***

A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories is a collection of early, previously forgotten short stories by Terry Pratchett, written in the 1970s and 1980s. The stories span fantasy, science fiction and supernatural humour, featuring mischievous gods, odd characters and playful twists on myth and folklore. While not part of his Discworld series, the collection reveals the early development of Pratchett’s signature wit, satire and imagination, offering fans a charming glimpse of ideas and styles that would later flourish in his more famous works.

Non-Fiction Books I Read in February

Get It Done: How to Complete Your Dream Project by Gretchen Rubin ***

Get It Done: How to Complete Your Dream Project by Gretchen Rubin is a practical guide to finishing the big project you’ve been postponing, offering clear strategies to move from idea to completion. Rubin argues that success comes less from bursts of motivation and more from understanding your personal work style, breaking ambitious goals into manageable steps, defining what “done” truly means, and building steady momentum through small wins. Blending insights on habits, personality, and planning, the book provides structured tools to overcome procrastination, perfectionism, and overwhelm so you can finally turn long-held ambitions into completed achievements.

Hack your Body, Heal your Mind by BBC Studios ****

Hack Your Body, Heal Your Mind is a health-and-wellbeing audio guide produced by BBC Studios and narrated by psychologist Kimberley Wilson that explores how simple changes to everyday habits, like eating colourful plant foods, getting morning sunlight, walking, napping, mindful breathing, cutting back on alcohol, playing more, and even cold exposure, can positively influence both physical health and mental wellbeing, offering easy evidence-based tips you can start using right away to boost mood, focus and energy.

Reset Your Health with Jamie Oliver by Jamie Oliver ****

Reset Your Health with Jamie Oliver (often associated with Jamie Oliver’s health-focused work) is a six-part Audible Original series in which British chef, author and health campaigner Jamie Oliver explores the science behind everyday health and wellbeing, cutting through conflicting advice by talking with leading experts about topics like gut health, how food and habits affect your body, memory and ageing, and simple lifestyle changes — all through practical, relatable conversations and actionable takeaways that aim to help listeners make positive, achievable improvements to their health and happiness.

This Year Will Be Different: 8 Ways to Enjoy Life More, Regardless of What It Throws at You by Domonique Bertolucci ***

This Year Will Be Different: 8 Ways to Enjoy Life More, Regardless of What It Throws at You by Domonique Bertolucci is a motivational self-help guide that offers eight practical strategies and mindset shifts to help you stop living on autopilot, build confidence and resilience, and make the coming year or any period of life, genuinely more fulfilling and joyful, no matter what challenges arise. The core message is that meaningful change begins with changing your own habits, attitudes and responses, empowering you to break repetitive patterns and live with more intention, courage and happiness.

Declutter Your Home and Simplify Your Life by Sophie Largen, The Great Courses ***

Declutter Your Home and Simplify Your Life by Sophie Largen is a concise, practical guide to clearing clutter and creating a more organised, calming living environment without needing to become fully minimalist. It walks you through building a realistic roadmap and schedule, tackling each area of your home step-by-step, and offers easy-to-apply strategies for letting go of excess (including sentimental items) while avoiding common pitfalls. Alongside motivation and exercises, it also covers how to maintain your simplified space once you’ve created it, ultimately helping you free up time and energy for what matters most.

Sculpting Healthy Brains with Everyday Activities by Kelly Lambert, The Great Courses ****

Sculpting Healthy Brains with Everyday Activities by Kelly Lambert (from The Great Courses) is a science-based, accessible guide that explains how simple, engaging everyday activities, what Lambert calls “behaviorceuticals” like cooking, gardening or learning new skills, can harness the brain’s natural ability to adapt (neuroplasticity) to promote mental resilience, emotional well-being and cognitive health, showing that meaningful experiences can be powerful complements or alternatives to traditional approaches for maintaining a healthy brain.

The 6 Habits of Growth by Brendon Burchard ***

The 6 Habits of Growth by Brendon Burchard is a practical personal-development guide that identifies six key daily habits, including clarity, energy management, courage, productivity, influence, and connection, that when consistently practiced, help individuals expand their potential, improve wellbeing and relationships, and create sustained personal and professional growth. The book blends research, actionable exercises and simple frameworks to help readers embed these habits into everyday life so they can live with more purpose, resilience and long-term fulfillment.

Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential–and Endangered by Bruce D. Perry, Maia Szalavitz *****

Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential and Endangered argues that empathy, our capacity to understand and share the feelings of others, is a biologically rooted but developmentally fragile trait that’s essential for healthy personal relationships, emotional wellbeing and functioning societies. Drawing on neuroscience research, clinical case studies and psychology, authors Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz show how empathy develops from infancy through responsive caregiving, why modern lifestyles and social changes threaten it, and how its absence underlies many social problems; they also offer ideas for nurturing empathy in children and communities to strengthen connection, compassion and trust and improve both individual and societal health.

You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter by Dr. Joe Dispenza ***

You Are the Placebo by Joe Dispenza argues that the placebo effect demonstrates the mind’s powerful ability to influence the body’s health and healing. Dispenza combines neuroscience, biology, and real-life case studies to suggest that by changing our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, we can trigger measurable physical changes and even recover from illness. The book encourages readers to use meditation and focused intention to rewire their brains, shift subconscious patterns, and harness the body’s natural capacity for self-healing.

Memoirs

Quite by Claudia Winkleman *****

Quite is a warm, witty and personal memoir by British TV presenter Claudia Winkleman, in which she invites readers into her world with a series of humorous, honest reflections on life’s everyday absurdities and truths — from the importance of melted cheese and the value of black coats to the highs and lows of friendship and parenting. Rather than following a traditional plot, the book is a love letter to real life, combining sharp observations, self-deprecating humour and heartfelt insights about what really matters, all delivered in Claudia’s unmistakable voice.

Seasonal Books?

It’s weird, I honestly thought I’d not be reading so much this year, so I didn’t collect my seasonal books for a reread. I LOVE a good seasonal book! So this month I shall search them out and perhaps catch up on the last two months.

So…they are the books I read in February…a glut of non-fiction. I’m making up for last month when I read absolutely no fiction. The stand out this month? It has to be Quite by Claudia Winkleman. She, as always, is unapologetically one hundred percent herself, warts and all. Brilliant read!

Click here if you’d like to see all the books I’ve read over the last few years.