My favorite book for February was The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. It is the story of Ester Velasquez who lived in the 1600s in London's Jewish community. She was quite a compelling character. After having lost her entire family she begins to secretly be a scribe for a blind rabbi. This type of work is unthinkable for a woman of that era. Her intelligence and her job must be kept quiet in order to maintain her standing in the community as well as keep open her marriage prospects. Ester wasn't interested in marriage because she knew no husband would allow her to continue her reading. She thought that she could somehow make herself a life of intellectual activity but I won't tell you whether she succeeded or not. Read the book!
I began reading C. J. Sansom's Tombland which could have been a contender for book of the month but its 900 pages have me still reading it all the way into March.
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