Due to immersing myself in James Joyce’s Ulysses in February, I completed only six books. Quality almost always exceeds quantity, however, and the masterwork did not disappoint.

Reading The Odyssey followed immediately by Ulysses proved rewarding, in my fifties, in a way the experience would not have had I attempted the effort in my twenties or thirties. For that reason, Ulysses stood out as my favorite February read.

Here are all the texts I read this month:

• Ulysses (Gabler Edition), James Joyce
• Ulysses Annotated, Don Gifford
• A Small Porch, Wendell Berry
• Leavings, Wendell Berry
• The Year of Living Danishly, Helen Russell
• Artificial Condition, Martha Wells

If you’re going to read Ulysses, you definitely want to add Gifford’s annotations (20th Anniversary Edition) as a complement. Berry’s poetry continues to prove a welcome respite and reflection in today’s turbulent environmental and political climate, while Russell’s memoir of her experiences exploring happiness in Denmark is easily a recommended mid-Winter read.

Artificial Condition, meanwhile, proved a wonderful escape and respite. Not all reading must be of an educational, self-improvement or betterment nature. Sometimes you just need to be entertained, and the second installment in Martha Wells’ series performed well continuing the story of the so-called self-governing Murderbot.