January books
GOALS PROGRESS:
Books overall: 32/104+ Non-fiction: 3/24 52 Prompts: 31/52 New to me authors A-Z (by last name): 12/26 Re-read at least 1 book a month that had an impact on me 25-35 years ago: 1/12
BEST OF THE MONTH:
I think these two will be on my top 10 of 2025 - they’ve already surpassed a lot of my 2024 top 10!)
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman (fiction)
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown (non-fiction)
ALL TITLES & THOUGHTS:
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge - started in Dec. I really kind of loved it, but not quite 5 stars
Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo - novella, short, poignant, impactful!!!
Muffin But the Truth (Bakeshop Mystery #16) by Ellie Alexander - I only have a few of these left in the series. They’ve been my bedtime books for a lot of the past year.
The Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner - started in Dec. I could have lived without the whole first 25%. I liked parts of it, but this didn’t live up to the hype at all for me. Overall not mad I read it, but I also won’t be recommending it to anyone.
The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers by Samuel Burr - eh, I feel like this is reminiscent of The Christmas Jigsaw Murders that I read not too long ago. I didn’t really enjoy it, but powered through.
The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers by Samuel Burr - meh, it was just okay
Mining for Murder (Happy Camper Mystery #3) by Mary Angela - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me
Simple Murder (Will Rees Mysteries #1) by Eleanor Kuhns - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me. Really loved this and the time period. Will for sure continue with the series.
Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie - Meh, it was fine
Practical Magic (Magic Lessons #0.1) by Alice Hoffman - SWOON! I adored this! I think it will end up being on my favorite reads if 2025 list at the end of the year. (I didn’t overly care for Practical Magic, the book or the movie.)
The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce #10) by Alan Bradley - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me
Catch Me if You Candy (Bakeshop Mystery #17) by Ellie Alexander - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me
The Chosen (Reuven Malther #1) by Chaim Potok - This was excellent! It paired well with my rereading of East of Eden.
What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust (Flavia de Luce #11) by Alan Bradley - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me. Looking forward to the new one in the series this year!
Northwoods by Amy Pease - good, but not great. Had potential to be excellent though! Glad I read it.
A Smoking Bun (Bakeshop Mystery #18) by Ellie Alexander - cozy mystery/my easy bedtime reading
East of Eden by John Steinbeck - This was towards one of my 2025 goals to re-read 1 book a month that had an impact on me 25-35 years ago. This is still excellent and it was interesting to think about “though mayest” being older and having more life under my belt than the last time I read it. I honestly still hated the Cathy storyline. I thought that may have changed for me being older, but alas, no.
O Pioneers! (Great Plains Trilogy #1) by Willa Cather - swoon! How have I never read this!? So good!
The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan - Reese’s Bookclub pick. I requested this months ago when it was added as a coming-soon to my library’s catalog, before knowing it would be a Reese pick. I probably would not have put a hold on it if I knew it was going to be a Reese pick, because I’ve not really enjoyed any of her picks the last year or two (I used to LOVE her picks and read all of them!) Anyway, it was fine (2.5-3 stars if I had to really rate it), but in no way excellent and in no way comparable to what a great work of fiction Evelyn Hugo is, like the book blurb from the publisher says.
Down a Dark Road (Kate Burkholder #9) by Linda Castillo - easy mystery, I love this series!
Sticks and Scones (Bakeshop Mystery #19) by Ellie Alexander - cozy mystery/my easy bedtime reading. I am now caught up on the series until the next one comes out soon.
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - I always loved this movie and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, so thought I’d try the book. I really liked it, but this may be the only time I’ve ever liked a movie better than the book? Still thinking about it.
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown - ALLLLL the stars for this book! Excellently done! Same author as Boys on the Boat, if you read that and liked his narrative non-fiction style. I think this will end up being on my “best of 2025” list at the end of the year in December.
Weirdo by Sara Pascoe - meh, some lines were funny, but the book was not funny overall. And the character wasn’t overly weird or anything, just really insecure and irresponsible. I do not recommend.
A Better World by Sarah Langan - wtf was that ending? So, I def didn’t expect to journey into full dystopian-horror based on the book blurb (who is writing these now-a-days - they are awful!), but that’s where I ended up. I was totally hooked the whole time though. I would only recommend it if you want some dystopian horror. I would avoid it if you want a motherhood related domestic thriller (which is how the book blurb sold it.)
The Lodge by Kayla Olson - I was pleasantly surprised by this and it was cute! Loved the setting!
Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger - Really enjoyed this! I think fans of Hello, Beautiful, and/or other family dramas would like this.
The Most by Jessica Anthony - Novella, kind of Madmen Don & Betty vibes. I liked it!
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix - maybe my favorite one of his yet? He is hit or miss for me, but this was a hit!
Wintering: The Lower of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Time by Katherine May - meditative and I got some good things out of it. I read How to Winter a month or 2 ago, and I’d recommend that first though, over this one.
Before Elvis: The African American Artists Who Made Him King by Preston Lauterbach - I really loved this! Not a lot of totally new-to-me artists mentioned, but definitely a good amount of new-to-me stories about these artists. I’d definitely recommend it if you are interested.
Murder is Binding (Booktown Mystery #1) by Lorna Barrett - First in a new-to-me series. I liked it more than I expected to (I go into new cozy mysteries with very low expectations though.) I’ll may, but may not, try more in the series?
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle - This was fun and campy. I loved how he wove in screenplay formatting.
GOALS PROGRESS:
Books overall: 32/104+ Non-fiction: 3/24 52 Prompts: 31/52 New to me authors A-Z (by last name): 12/26 Re-read at least 1 book a month that had an impact on me 25-35 years ago: 1/12
BEST OF THE MONTH:
I think these two will be on my top 10 of 2025 - they’ve already surpassed a lot of my 2024 top 10!)
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman (fiction)
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown (non-fiction)
ALL TITLES & THOUGHTS:
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge - started in Dec. I really kind of loved it, but not quite 5 stars
Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo - novella, short, poignant, impactful!!!
Muffin But the Truth (Bakeshop Mystery #16) by Ellie Alexander - I only have a few of these left in the series. They’ve been my bedtime books for a lot of the past year.
The Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner - started in Dec. I could have lived without the whole first 25%. I liked parts of it, but this didn’t live up to the hype at all for me. Overall not mad I read it, but I also won’t be recommending it to anyone.
The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers by Samuel Burr - eh, I feel like this is reminiscent of The Christmas Jigsaw Murders that I read not too long ago. I didn’t really enjoy it, but powered through.
The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers by Samuel Burr - meh, it was just okay
Mining for Murder (Happy Camper Mystery #3) by Mary Angela - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me
Simple Murder (Will Rees Mysteries #1) by Eleanor Kuhns - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me. Really loved this and the time period. Will for sure continue with the series.
Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie - Meh, it was fine
Practical Magic (Magic Lessons #0.1) by Alice Hoffman - SWOON! I adored this! I think it will end up being on my favorite reads if 2025 list at the end of the year. (I didn’t overly care for Practical Magic, the book or the movie.)
The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce #10) by Alan Bradley - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me
Catch Me if You Candy (Bakeshop Mystery #17) by Ellie Alexander - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me
The Chosen (Reuven Malther #1) by Chaim Potok - This was excellent! It paired well with my rereading of East of Eden.
What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust (Flavia de Luce #11) by Alan Bradley - usual easy bedtime cozy mystery for me. Looking forward to the new one in the series this year!
Northwoods by Amy Pease - good, but not great. Had potential to be excellent though! Glad I read it.
A Smoking Bun (Bakeshop Mystery #18) by Ellie Alexander - cozy mystery/my easy bedtime reading
East of Eden by John Steinbeck - This was towards one of my 2025 goals to re-read 1 book a month that had an impact on me 25-35 years ago. This is still excellent and it was interesting to think about “though mayest” being older and having more life under my belt than the last time I read it. I honestly still hated the Cathy storyline. I thought that may have changed for me being older, but alas, no.
O Pioneers! (Great Plains Trilogy #1) by Willa Cather - swoon! How have I never read this!? So good!
The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan - Reese’s Bookclub pick. I requested this months ago when it was added as a coming-soon to my library’s catalog, before knowing it would be a Reese pick. I probably would not have put a hold on it if I knew it was going to be a Reese pick, because I’ve not really enjoyed any of her picks the last year or two (I used to LOVE her picks and read all of them!) Anyway, it was fine (2.5-3 stars if I had to really rate it), but in no way excellent and in no way comparable to what a great work of fiction Evelyn Hugo is, like the book blurb from the publisher says.
Down a Dark Road (Kate Burkholder #9) by Linda Castillo - easy mystery, I love this series!
Sticks and Scones (Bakeshop Mystery #19) by Ellie Alexander - cozy mystery/my easy bedtime reading. I am now caught up on the series until the next one comes out soon.
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - I always loved this movie and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, so thought I’d try the book. I really liked it, but this may be the only time I’ve ever liked a movie better than the book? Still thinking about it.
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown - ALLLLL the stars for this book! Excellently done! Same author as Boys on the Boat, if you read that and liked his narrative non-fiction style. I think this will end up being on my “best of 2025” list at the end of the year in December.
Weirdo by Sara Pascoe - meh, some lines were funny, but the book was not funny overall. And the character wasn’t overly weird or anything, just really insecure and irresponsible. I do not recommend.
A Better World by Sarah Langan - wtf was that ending? So, I def didn’t expect to journey into full dystopian-horror based on the book blurb (who is writing these now-a-days - they are awful!), but that’s where I ended up. I was totally hooked the whole time though. I would only recommend it if you want some dystopian horror. I would avoid it if you want a motherhood related domestic thriller (which is how the book blurb sold it.)
The Lodge by Kayla Olson - I was pleasantly surprised by this and it was cute! Loved the setting!
Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger - Really enjoyed this! I think fans of Hello, Beautiful, and/or other family dramas would like this.
The Most by Jessica Anthony - Novella, kind of Madmen Don & Betty vibes. I liked it!
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix - maybe my favorite one of his yet? He is hit or miss for me, but this was a hit!
Wintering: The Lower of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Time by Katherine May - meditative and I got some good things out of it. I read How to Winter a month or 2 ago, and I’d recommend that first though, over this one.
Before Elvis: The African American Artists Who Made Him King by Preston Lauterbach - I really loved this! Not a lot of totally new-to-me artists mentioned, but definitely a good amount of new-to-me stories about these artists. I’d definitely recommend it if you are interested.
Murder is Binding (Booktown Mystery #1) by Lorna Barrett - First in a new-to-me series. I liked it more than I expected to (I go into new cozy mysteries with very low expectations though.) I’ll may, but may not, try more in the series?
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle - This was fun and campy. I loved how he wove in screenplay formatting.