Words of February || Wrap up

February was full of things to do and it went by quickly.

I knew that February would be busy and exhausting so I made sure to rest when I had the time. I wrote blog posts in advance, planned stuff out, and made all time for the most important things. Not everything went according to plan (best-laid plans...) but they weren't too bad.

There are many things to update you on so let's get to it.

reading

I read 8 books in February, much more than I expected. The 8 books consisted of 4 paperbacks and 4 ebooks. There were no audiobooks. 1 was non-fiction. 1 was a reread (Just for the Summer).

Most of them were read during my week of break at the beginning of the month. The rest of the month was filled with more important real-life things which didn't allow for a lot of reading. Considering that, I'm really happy with the 8 books that I read.

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Months after reading books 1 and 2, I finally read book 3 in The Inheritance Games series. I had to read recaps of the first 2 because I forgot what happened in them. It took me a while to get into this book but I finished it in 2 days. It was only okay, though. I didn't enjoy it much.

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon. This was cute! A YA romance with a touch of magical realism. The plot and characters were interesting. The book was easy to read. I really liked the message of this story which isn't spoken about enough. I read it in one sitting.

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods. This was an interesting fantasy book that follows characters in two different timelines simultaneously. It took a long time to see parallels between the two timelines. The writing was whimsical and mysterious. It was an adventurous read. Although I guessed the twist at the end, I enjoyed the book.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh. I did not expect this to be so sad based on the cover. It was absolutely heart-wrenching and I had to pause reading it a few times. The story is set in Syria when the revolution started. Read the trigger warnings before you pick it up. But do read it because it's such a good book. The story, the characters, the twist towards the end, and the overall message about Syria were so touching. I was thinking about this book for several days after I read it. 5/5 stars.

How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens. This was a non-fiction guide to notetaking for academics. It was mainly about the Zettelkasten method. It felt like a book that Building a Second Brain took inspiration from. Although there wasn't much new information in it for me, I liked reading it. It had some really good essays on note-taking and learning.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshigazu Kawaguchi. This was my second attempt at reading it and I finished it! I didn't like it, though. I understood the message that the stories showed but I wasn't a fan of the writing. I didn't like how things were explained in each story again. Unfortunately, I don't get the hype.

Praise Me: Princess by Jessa Kane. I saw a rave review of this so I tried it out. It was okay but not my thing.

I have no idea how my reading will go next month. I have zero expectations. I'll let you know how it goes in the next wrap up 😂

blogging

It was as expected! I wrote a bit during my break in the first week of February but not much after that. I took the entire month to write one unplanned blog post, which I'm glad I wrote (it'll be up next week). That's it.

4 posts went up in February only because I wrote all of them well in advance. I knew that I wouldn't get time to blog during the month. Partly because of that, I might not regularly post in March. I have one post scheduled that I spoke about above.

I don't know if I'll have the time or the energy to write more posts during March. I want to write, but I'm not sure how my days will go. I'll try.

In case you missed them, here are the posts that went up in February:

• Words of January || A Start and an End
• Lovely Runner || Kdrama Review
• A Five Letter Word for Love by Amy James || Book Review
• My 2024 Blog Stats || Numbers and Thoughts

February also marked 4 years since I got a .com site and went self-hosted! Time flies, haha. Although it costs quite a bit, I would spend that much on any other hobby anyway. Now, I'm quite used to the freedom that comes with self-hosting and I don't think I could go back to a free WordPress site unless blogging gets highly deprioritized.

Although I didn't blog much, I did write a couple of newsletters on Substack and I'm getting used to the platform! I like that content is long-lived there and the initial engagement within a day or two doesn't predict how long it will be seen. I read posts that were published weeks ago as well.

It's nice to pour my heart out in a short essay about a specific feeling. The end of an era and The community I built are two of my favourite newsletters ever.

I plan to continue writing newsletters monthly (at least) which go out on the 1st of each month. If I have extra time, I'll write and post more. That depends on how much time and energy I have.

While I try to write posts for March, here are a couple of older ones you can check out:

• Are book reviews enough for book blogs?
• Required Reading || Is academic reading making a difference?

content consumed

Blog Posts

• Kal wrote on How to break up with Amazon as a book lover
• Michelle wrote about her 48 hours in Dublin
• Clo wrote on Knowing Your Creative Bandwidth As A Blogger

Newsletters

• The Marriage Question — LOVED this.
• Becoming unrecognisable.
• literally just do things
• 50 easy ways to make 2025 better
• Low-energy habits that improved my mental health.
• The work that happens in the shadows.
• Why women pay the price for caring for and understanding men.

TV Shows

• Modern Family (rewatch). I stayed in an AirBnB for a couple of weeks and started Modern Family from the beginning as a chill watch after long days.
• Melo Movie Kdrama. This had potential but the execution kinda sucks. I'm still watching it but I doubt I'll like it by the end.

life

February was a whirlwind.

I had the first week off as my last working day in my first job got preponed. It was a proper break after 5 years of working and I cannot explain just how good it felt. Not having any work apps to look at or work on my mind was brilliant. It was a much-needed break before the chaos started.

The biggest news is that I started a new job! I joined Google as a software engineer and it has been a very, very different experience. There's the job itself that comes with a ton of new things to learn and get used to. The office is massive and has multiple restaurants, cafes, a gym, a spa, and more.

Since Google is a dream destination for many software engineers across the world, and their interview process is known to be super hard, I've been getting a lot of awed reactions from people which is new. People in my old office respected me because I knew a lot and worked well, but that was due to the work that I did. Now, I'm getting compliments and being asked for advice just because of the company I work at.

I'm from a Tier 3 college that is barely known within the city. I honestly did not even consider the top companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. I knew that my resume wouldn't pass the initial check itself. I once applied for a job at Amazon through a referral and still didn't get a call back.

On the other hand, tons of software engineers and new grads prepare for months to get into these companies. Several people who joined Google have later made entire careers out of influencing and teaching others to "crack Google." Because of that reputation that the company has, my reputation has increased exponentially too.

Earlier, whenever I told people where I worked, I had to give a small brief about the company because almost no one knows it. Now, I don't have to. In fact, saying it opens doors. It's a new world 😂

Most of February was spent acclimatising to the new office. I met my team, explored a bunch of different areas, understood how the food system works, and more. My old office worked 11-8 and now I do 8-5 which required getting used to.

The Google office is quite exciting. At least, so far. There's healthy food all the time and round-the-clock cafes. There's a library (with fiction books) that I can borrow from. There are sports groups that I can join. There's stuff happening all the time. The amount of internal tools that exist just to make life easy at office is astounding.

I haven't had a chance to experience everything yet because I've been rushing out of the office to house-hunt, but I'm looking forward to it.

Although there are multiple Google offices in my city, I got a position in a different city. So, while I've been getting used to the office, I've also been getting used to a new place and trying to find a home. I basically worked 8-5 and went looking for places 5:30-9.

House-hunting is annoying and stressful. Mom and I are very different people and have different requirements and tastes. It's already hard to find a place that works for both of us. Even when we both compromise a lot, we found it so hard to find a good place. When we did, it slipped through our fingers. Twice, we agreed to rent a flat and the owner gave it to someone else after that.

Eventually, we did find a place. Thankfully. We're still in the process of shifting but hopefully we can settle in soon and the weight of setting up in a new city will be off my mind. It's hard to work and house hunt at the same time. That too while staying in an AirBnB, no matter how good the AirBnB is.

I'm not fond of the new city yet. The vibe is different and the sounds are different. People speak a different language here, which I have to get used to. I can understand the language but I'm not comfortable speaking it, hopefully it'll come to me over time. I miss my home and my city, but I'll give this place a shot. Change is growth, after all.

New job, new city, new opportunities, and new routines. In between all of that, I also reported a guy for harrassment 🙂 It's been a busy month.

be wordy!

How was your February? What did you read? What did you watch? What were the highlights of the month? Chat with me in the comments!