February, Logged (Early)
Featuring the blizzard that tried to ruin my honeymoon.
Hello all, from the TWA Hotel at JFK. Sexy, I know.
These past few days have been a wintry blur. My husband and I were supposed to leave for our honeymoon to Thailand on Monday night, but we either forgot to pay the Etsy witch or we pissed off Elsa, and naturally it decided to blizzard to historic proportions the day before our departure.
Thinking we were being smart and proactive, we booked an egregiously expensive night at the TWA hotel (connected to the JFK airport) for Sunday into Monday thinking we could wait out the storm and get on our flight Monday night since it was scheduled to depart late at 10pm.
Literally seconds after we booked the hotel and checked into our flight on the app, they canceled it.
A privileged-person problem, of course, but it was shitty luck, and the TWA reservation was nonrefundable, but after cryingscreamingthrowingup they let us move our stay to today since our flight got pushed to Wednesday.
TL;DR We’re set to depart to Thailand in a few hours.
Since I’ll be enjoying my long overdue honeymoon through the end of this month, I decided to write my Feb wrap up while waiting for my flight. (Potentially also on the flight, because said flight is 19 HOURS).
I read 2 books in February (thus far).
Okay still slow, but better than January! Also, I’m titling this “thus far” because I’m about to get on a LAF (long ass flight) and hope to get through a couple books on the journey. I brought with me:
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir — It seems like everyone has read this? I want to check it off the list before seeing the film adaptation in March.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney — I’m a Rooney fan, and this is her only novel I’ve yet to read. Heard mixed things, but I love chess so I’m digging the cover.
Love Forms by Claire Adam & Seascraper by Benjamin Wood — these are reads for the Booker Book Club I’m in. I know little about them, but I generally love reading the Booker noms, so I’m looking forward to these!
So, what have I actually read?
Babel by R.F. Kuang — a fantastical dark academia/political thriller set in an alternate 1830s Oxford that explores themes of colonialism and the use of violence for revolution through the lens of translation. If it sounds like a lot, it kind of is, but it’s a meticulously researched and thoughtful novel that I’d highly recommend. It is very long. For a more detailed review, check out my last post: The Art of Betrayal: Reviewing Kuang’s Babel and Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights.
James by Percival Everett — a retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through the voice of Jim the runaway slave. I love finding unlikely connections between reads, and this novel, like Babel, also uniquely explores language and how translation can be used to identify or disguise oneself. Obviously, the comparison mostly ends there. If you’re familiar with Everett, you know he tends to write biting satires that deal with the politics of race. This novel, although less a true satire and more a historical rewrite, has the powerful humor + gut punch combo that makes his writing so brilliant. I would highly, highly recommend, especially if you enjoy retellings or had to read Huck Finn in school.
I watched 14 films in February (thus far).
But my watchlist for my upcoming flight is stacked!
Recent watches since my last recap post:
Queen of Chess (2026), directed by Rory Kennedy — 4/5 — not reinventing the wheel when it comes to documentary filmmaking, but this is an incredible story about one of the greatest chess players of all time who had to deal with SO MUCH bullshit because she was a woman. I love chess and loved this story, so it sat well with me — would recommend!
Song Sung Blue (2025), directed by Craig Brewer — 3.5/5 — I thought this was a Neil Diamond biopic, so I was quite pleasantly surprised to discover it’s rather a character drama about a Neil Diamond tribute band. Much more interesting material if you ask me, and it was grounded by strong performances from Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. It’s a pretty standard drama with familiar beats, but I found it moving nevertheless — soft recommend, especially if you like traditional format dramas
Wuthering Heights (2026), directed by Emerald Fennell (adaptation of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë) — 3/5 — this one is contentious, so I wrote about it in long form here — would recommend, if only because it’s topical.
Watches I reviewed in my mid-February recap (go read for more thoughts!):
LOVED:
The Secret Agent (2025), directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025), directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
Pillion (2025), directed by Harry Lighton
The Plague (2025), directed by Charlie Polinger
Rebuilding (2025), directed by Max Walker-Silverman
LIKED:
Sauna (2025), directed by Mathias Broe
The ’Burbs (1989), directed by Joe Dante
The Ugly Stepsister (2025), directed by Emilie Blichfeldt
JUST OKAY:
Kika (1993), directed by Pedro Almodóvar
The Lost Bus (2025), directed by Paul Greengrass
The Running Man (2025), directed by Edgar Wright
I beat 0 video games in February (thus far).
But will I do it on the plane?
I started playing Hades, which is a Roguelike game, which I learned means your goal is to beat the entire game in one run, and you do that by starting over and trying again… and again, each time gaining more information, abilities/power-ups, and (naturally) practice at the gameplay.
I thought I’d find this style frustrating and boring. It’s not so far! It’s actually quite addicting because on each run you learn more and more about the world, and this world is Greek mythology. So it’s kind of like a lit nerd’s video game wet dream. That said, it’s pretty tough, so I am worried I won’t be compelled to play and finish it if I find I’m not progressing. Will report back!
I ate at 5 new restaurants in February (thus far)
With many more to come in Thailand!
Loring Place — a cute brunch spot that I believe is well-known by most city-dwellers but was new to me! They serve seasonal Americana and had plenty of seating, so it was the perfect place to see off a friend who’s leaving NYC.
Café Chelsea — this hotel restaurant has been on the list for a while. It can normally be a little tricky to get a table, but my husband and I went after a screening of Pillion because it was open late. My review may be biased because we were STARVING, but the food here was awesome. We split one of the best burgers I’ve had in the city plus a croquette and their signature ravioles du dauphine, which were so tasty, trendy as they may be.
GupShup — got dinner with friends here and absolutely loved the food and the ambiance! We normally order Indian food in, but this experience encouraged me to eat out more for Indian cuisine. The serving sizes were modest given the prices, but also—it’s New York. We ordered a bunch of plates to share, and the Goat Dum Biryani was the unanimous favorite.
Bad Roman — this was a trending TikTok-y spot that opened in 2023, was impossible to get into, but now pretty much always has open reservations. It’s part of the Quality restaurant group (which my husband and I generally like, Quality Bistro is one of our go-to spots before seeing a show), but transparently it’s the least successful of their restaurants. All of the dishes are quite kitschy and seem made for cool photos rather than a delicious meal. The food wasn’t bad, but it was just fine. I wouldn’t rush to eat here again.
I would not eat here. We thought it’d be maybe okay because technically it’s a Jean-Georges restaurant despite being in the airport hotel. ‘Twas not.
I listened to 11 complete albums this month.
A lot of Bad Bunny in Feb, due to his amazing performance at the Super Bowl.
And lately, Hillary Duff on repeat. I starred* first-time listens.
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS — Bad Bunny (repeat from January!)
The Art of Loving* — Olivia Dean
Hadestown — Anaïs Mitchell (this OG version is just as good as the Broadway version! Check it out if you like this show!)
Cant’ Take My Story Away* — Elles Bailey
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We — Mitski
Un Verano Sin Ti — Bad Bunny
Pang — Caroline Polachek
KPop Demon Hunters Soundtrack (Oscar season)
Wuthering Heights* — Charlie XCX
Saves the World — MUNA
luck… or something — Hilary Duff
As always, thanks for following along! If you connected to anything in my recap let me know in the comments! Always looking for recommendations :)