Chelsey's February 2026 Reads | 18 Books

You’ll notice this post is later than usual. I had hoped to post it on Monday (March 2), but I spent my usual Friday writing time on a retreat with the women of our church. I tried to work on it to get it out Tuesday, but other obligations intervened. Finally, on Tuesday, March 3, I was in the process of finishing it up when we realized our dog was not doing well and required an emergency vet visit that ended in us having to say goodbye to him. And so I finished it Wednesday, and am posting it a week later than I wanted to, but that is life. Thank you for reading.

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February was a good reading month! I’m excited to share my 18 reads with you. I’m experimenting with not listing the picture and title of each book individually, leading to a very long scrolling experience. It makes the post a bit more compact and, I hope, easier to follow along. I’d welcome any feedback if you prefer this format over the way I used to do it—or vice versa.

Books of the Month

I had to pick three favorite books this month—it was too hard to decide.

Blame It on the Brain?: Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders, and Disobedience by Ed Welch

I cannot commend this book highly enough. This is a revised version of the initial book that came out in the 1990s, and I found it simultaneously informative and evidence-based as well as pastoral and truth-telling. He addresses Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injuries, ADHD, homosexuality, depression, and more.

Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden

This book has been all over the place and I love a good memoir, so I waited weeks and weeks to be able to listen to the audiobook. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. The premise is that the author’s husband of 20 years suddenly said he was leaving her shortly after the Covid lockdowns started in 2020. The rest of the book is her grappling with the end of her marriage and it’s effect on her and her kids. She is extremely self-aware and is willing to examine herself while also realizing that it’s OK for her to say that what her husband did was wrong.

This is for Everyone: The Unfinished Story of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee

I didn’t know what to expect about this book, but it turned out to be a delight. The book is read by Stephen Fry, which was the first point in its favor. But this was a fascinating look at how the World Wide Web actually began and the journey from huge computers sending basic messages to each other to the Internet we all rely on today. He addresses AI, social media, and other current controversies. I know you can’t know a person completely from reading their book, but Sir Berners-Lee seems like a genuinely nice person, and most importantly, he does not take himself too seriously. He is credited with one of the greatest inventions of all time and he still seems surprised throughout the book when he is invited to do things with famous people.

Nonfiction

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O’Neill

This was the only nonfiction book I read other than the two that were some of my favorites. That is rare for me! I thought I would be engrossed in this book because it has all things that I have previously loved reading about: the CIA, cult behavior, murder, etc. However, this book completely dragged on and on. It was mostly about this period of history but also about the author’s attempt to find information about the Manson murders that had been covered up for decades. It felt very disjointed and boring at times. I was disappointed.

Fiction

The Gwendy’s Button Box series consists of three books: Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King, Gwendy’s Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar, and Gwendy’s Final Task by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. (I don’t know why Stephen King isn’t listed as an author on the second book.)

Anyway, these were all published in the last 10 years and the last book actually features the pandemic in the storyline. For some reason, when I initially heard the title, I imagined the series would be about a little girl who collected buttons. Why I thought Stephen King would have written an innocuous book like that, I don’t know. The actual plot is much darker and more intense, not surprisingly. The three books span the life of one Gwendy Peterson, and each book sees the button box (which is not a box of fabric buttons) showing up in her life unexpectedly. I flew through these three books and enjoyed the dopamine hit from a good binge read.

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny

This is the 20th book in the Inspector Gamache series, and I’ve read every single one. I feel like not enough people know about this series. If you’re interested in starting, you need to start with the first book, Still Life, and press on for several books until you start to get to know the characters. Then you won’t be able to stop reading.

I went to look up Still Life and saw that the 21st book in the series has already been announced and will be coming out in October. I count on her fall Gamache release in the same way as I count on Christmas to come every year.

Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite

I read the author’s debut novel, My Sister the Serial Killer, and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to see she had a new book. This one is slightly slower-paced, and there are a good many trigger warnings (suicide, child loss), but it is set in Africa and the setting was so unrelatable to my life that I wanted to keep living there while reading the book.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This was a Substack recommendation from Faith the Writer. She listed this as one of her favorite books. I didn’t realize it was a middle-grade/YA book until I got into it, and I often struggle with that genre. I thought for what it was, it was a really beautiful book. It would be a wonderful book for a tween/pre-teen who is struggling with grief.

The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud

This was another book recommendation I got from Substack, but I can’t remember who. Whoever it was said it was one of their best books of 2025, and based on the premise I thought I would really enjoy it. It was fine. The narrator’s voice was a little annoying, and I didn’t love the main character.

Loved One by Aisha Muharrar

This one is all by itself because it was a surprise finish. I already had most of this post finished before the end of the month, and then I finished the audiobook sooner than I expected. I really enjoyed this book. These kinds of books—general contemporary fiction—always feel risky to me. Sometimes, they’re great. Other times, I don’t even finish them. This one captured me at the start with the main character, who is funny, smart, and willing to recognize her own character flaws. The book is mostly about the relationship between her and her ex-boyfriend’s most recent girlfriend. The guy in question has just died (not a spoiler—the book opens at his funeral) and the two women have to wrestle with what the other meant to the man they both loved. I found out later that the author was one of the writers on Parks & Rec, a show I loved—so it’s not too surprising I enjoyed her book.

Spiritual

These five books were all books I read in order to prepare to teach on prayer at our church’s women’s retreat. Three were re-reads; two were new. I’d recommend all of them, but if you are only going to read one, then I’d choose A Praying Life.

Both Praying Together and Prayer deal more with praying with others and the importance of corporate prayer, while the other three are more about one’s individual prayer life.

• A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller

• Pray With Your Eyes Open: Looking at God, Ourselves, and Our Prayers by Richard L. Pratt, Jr.

• Praying Together: The Priority and Privilege of Prayer in Our Homes, Communities, and Churches by Megan Hill

• If God Already Knows, Why Pray? by Douglas Kelly

• Prayer by John Onwuchekwa

Surviving an Unwanted Divorce: A Biblical, Practical Guide to Letting Go While Holding Yourself Together by Lysa Terkeurst

This was my final read of the month. I’ll admit that I felt a little strange carrying it around with me to appointments and wanted to give disclaimers if I felt anyone was reading the title. Happily, my marriage is fine, but I do have several friends who have been or are currently walking through unwanted divorces. I’ve also listened to Lysa Terkeurst’s podcast over the years and have found her ministry’s position to be biblical. I had a few things I’d disagree with in this book on a theological level, but overall, I think this would be helpful for anyone in this situation or anyone who loves someone who is in this situation.

2026 Reading Goals Check-In

I set a list of goals for each month, and this month I met 4 out of my 7 goals. I am struggling with reading a classic; that’s the only goal I haven’t met in either month this year so far. I am reading Les Mis, but I believe I’m only 5% finished.

• 🎯 3 spiritual books (I read 3!)

• ❌ a classic

• ❌ a book published before 1986 (I was close, though — Pray With Your Eyes Open was published in 1987)

• 🎯 a physical TBR book (Blame It on the Brain)

• ❌ a Kindle TBR book

• 🎯 book by a BIPOC author (3—Prayer, Loved One, and Cursed Daughters)

• 🎯 17 books total

Books Abandoned

I’m an unapologetic DNF’er of books. I think I usually give books a pretty good chance. Usually what causes me to DNF them are the following:

1. The narrator’s voice (audiobook)

2. I keep having to repeat the first few chapters (audiobook)

3. The format or style of the book isn’t what I expected

4. I truly hate one of the characters who is introduced early on

Sometimes I abandon an audiobook because I realize I will better be able to enjoy it in print form. That said, here are the four books I abandoned this month:

• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell — I have just come to realize I don’t enjoy books set in 16th/17th century Great Britain/England. Even if it’s Shakespeare. Even if it’s about the Black Death. I restarted it three times.

• 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation by Andrew Ross Sorkin — This was a book I thought I’d love. But it just did not start well. Another one I restarted twice before giving up.

• The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden — I think I might try this one again some time. The pace just wasn’t working for me.

• Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski — I WILL return to this book. This book did not meet any of the above categories. I could tell I would love it. It is just extremely long and I got it from the library and I need to purchase it for my Kindle so I can take my time.

Books Purchased

I don’t buy books that often, so when I do, I think it’s worth mentioning.

• Psalms ESV Scripture Journal — bought as part of our women’s retreat at church

• The Writing Life by Annie Dillard — Kindle deal

• Partypooper (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #20) by Jeff Kinney — bought for my daughter

• With God in Russia: The Inspiring Classic Account of a Catholic Priest’s Twenty-three Years in Soviet Prisons and Labor Camps by Walter J. Ciszek — a Kindle deal that looked interesting

• Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry — a replacement for a copy I lent out

Books Continuing

These are most of the same books I brought into February, which isn’t all that surprising given the kinds of books they are and the length. I would really, really love to finish The Wingfeather Saga book with my kids and move on to the next one in March, as well as finish How to Read a Book, which I’ve been slogging through for a year.

• 52 Weeks in the Word: A Companion for Reading Through the Bible in a Year by Trillia Newbell (using to stay accountable to Scripture reading)

• Deserted by God by Sinclair Ferguson (reading with a friend)

• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (long-term classic)

• How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren (personal development)

• On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga #1) by Andrew Peterson (reading out loud to my kids)

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As always, I’d love to know what books you read this month—what did you love, what did you hate, what are you hoping to read next month?