Best Books of January
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from January.
Tick Tock (Simon Mayo): This was my first Simon Mayo book, and it came to me at the perfect time. End of break. Didn’t want anything too mentally taxing. It’s a fast-paced thriller set during a pandemic. Everything fits together a little too neatly, but I enjoyed reading it.
The Thing in the Snow (Sean Adams): It reminded me of the book Finna, and the television show Severance. If you like either of those, you will likely enjoy this. I read it over a weekend and snickered a lot.
The Villa (Rachel Hawkins): I was super excited about this book, so I probably felt more let down by the ending than I would have if I had gone into it without the high level of anticipation. I enjoyed the writing a lot. Five stars. And I liked how the two stories weaved together. But I didn’t believe a lot of the actions taken by the characters. And by the end, I didn’t like any of them. At all. As in, I didn’t want to spend time with them. So 5 for writing, and a 2 for plot and characters, averaging a 3.5 that I rounded up to 4 because I like her other books.
A Murder at Balmoral (Chris McGeorge): It was cute. It was fun. I wanted to like it more because the setup was amusing — a murder mystery with an alternative royal family. But you’d have to love cozy mysteries to put this on your TBR.
Heartstopper (Volumes 1 – 4) (Alice Oseman): If you don’t smile while reading these graphic novels, you don’t have a heart. They are the most delightful, wholesome teens, falling in love and navigating big feelings. The four books go to some dark places but handles the situations beautifully. The television show on Netflix is equally delightful. It’s like Schitt’s Creek — it just feels good spending time with these people in this world.
Sweet Sorrow (David Nicholls): It was perfect to read this in conjunction with Heartstopper because it’s about teens in the summer after high school, putting on a community theater performance of Romeo and Juliet. This went beyond a five-star read for me. It was gorgeous and aching and I read it at the perfect time. It will make you cry and think deeply and enjoy your old memories. A perfect perfect perfect story.
What did you read last month?
3 comments
January was a good reading month for me, with 6 books finished — all reviewed on my blog & on Goodreads.
* “The Empty World” by D.E. Stevenson. This is my DES group’s current group read… it’s a departure from her usual light romances (although there is romance!) — a dystopian/science fiction novel, published in 1936 and set in a future world (1973) in which a group of airplane passengers & crew members discover, upon landing after a violent storm, that all other living creatures have vanished and they’re the last people left on earth. (Or are they?). It’s an interesting premise, but although it’s set in the future, too much of it reads like a 1930s gangster movie script for my liking. 😉
* “Living the Life Unexpected” by Jody Day. This was a chapter-by-chapter group read that just ended, and probably the 4th? time I’ve read it, and it remains an invaluable resource for those of us who are navigating an involuntarily childless life.
* “Anne of Avonlea” by L.M. Montgomery. Second in the “Anne of Green Gables” series. Not up to the original (but then, few books are…!) and nothing really consequential happens, but the writing still sparkles and it’s a welcome return to Avonlea and the characters we’ve come to love, along with some new ones.
* “Anne of the Island” by L.M. Montgomery (#3 in the series, and the current pick of my LMM Facebook group). Anne goes to college and navigates romance, new friendships and other life changes. Love this one!
* “The Metal Heart” by Caroline Lea (a book club pick). Based on a true story about a WW2 prisoner of war camp on a remote island off the coast of northern Scotland, and the two reclusive sisters who live there. It’s a romance, but also a bit of a thriller too, with some dark undertones.
*”Spare” by Prince Harry. Whatever you think of him and Meghan, whether you think this book should have been written — as a book, it’s a pretty good read. 😉
Echoing your sentiments about Heartstopper! Our 13 YRO introduced us last month and they are so good (books and TV series), as you say!
(You once again posted only books that I haven’t read.)
Here are my best books from January:
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. This book had been on my TBR list for many months, and it did not disappoint. Should be required reading for every American, though the subject matter is heavy at times.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book due out in April. It was a romance that is a twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope that was laugh out loud funny in places, with very enjoyable characters.
The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker. UGH. This is book 4 in the Bruno, Chief of Police series. I have been enjoying these books, but something happened near the end of this installment that gutted me. I have been considering writing to the author, that’s how upset I was, but considering that the book was published in 2012, he’d probably find that more than a little strange. HA!