Books I Read in January
For the past two years I’ve made the goal to read 50 books in a year, and I haven’t actually accomplished it.
Should I do it again to prove that I can?
Nope. Not interested in failing something that should be fun.
Instead, I’m going to shoot for 48 books this year. That’s four a month, which I can do.
No, don’t ask me why 2 more puts me over the edge, because I don’t know.
I’m also going to rank each book I read, so at the end I have a list 1 to 48 of how much I liked them.
I didn’t rank them last year, but I have to say the book I thought about the most after I read it was Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. There were others that were excellent, but this was probably my top book read of 2025.
What will this year’s be? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Five down!
What I liked:
This book is delightful and hilarious! It’s short with amazing illustrations and all the tropes of an English murder village packed into a small package.
What could have been improved:
Honestly, it was too short! I wanted more!
What I liked:
You all know I enjoy my clean romcoms. This book is the fourth in a fantastic series about a family of football players who buy a small town in Texas in order to revitalize it. It was cute, fun, and enjoyable with adorable characters.
What could have been improved:
The chemistry in this book of the series isn’t quite as good as the past installments. I liked it, but wasn’t obsessed with it like I was with books one and two.
What I liked:
All the lists said this book was the best, and they’re not wrong. I loved the characters, including the pompous octopus. The setting was rich, the writing beautiful, and the ending so satisfying.
What could have been improved:
At first the character of Cameron bordered too much on the loser side of things for me. However, he redeems himself and is amazing.
What I liked:
The premise of this book is insanely awesome—what happens to the kids who go down the rabbit hole (or a portal into a different and always bizarre land) and then have to come back? It was short, which I appreciated, and filled with all sorts of interesting characters and concepts that were both recognizable but also alien.
What could have been improved:
I wasn’t expecting it to turn into a murder mystery. The premise was so strong that I thought the author should have leaned into it more. The mystery felt like a distraction.
What I liked:
Violent unicorns, forbidden magic, a magic school, fun characters, and great worldbuilding. This book has a lot going for it. I particularly enjoyed the snarky dialogue.
What could have been improved:
This is technically a middle grade book, so characters carry the idiot ball longer than I appreciate. It works, because they’re like twelve-years-old, but a few things got old for me.
Rankings:
- Remarkably Bright Creatures
- Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village
- Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
- Every Heart a Doorway
- The Wild Card
