I want to believe that this month of reading was not a fluke. I have always been a reader growing up, it was one of my favorite hobbies as a child and I even have a degree in English, writing and literature. As an adult I haven’t been able to make time to read, even though it has been a goal for most of the past few years. Last year I set a lofty goal to read 20 books, and I only squeezed out 9, just because I wasn’t making time for it. This year, I set a HIGHER goal of 50 books, and I am happy to say I read 9 in the month of January.
I did receive a Kindle for Christmas from my in-laws, and that has helped immensely in getting access to books quickly. It didn’t take me super long to figure out how to get library books on my Kindle. I am TRYING not to purchase as many books and if I do, purchase the physical copy of something that I will really love or is hard to get at the library,
I liked pretty much everything I read, but I will recap for you all in these monthly roundups and let you know what I suggest!
#1 Pretty Things – Janelle Brown – This was my first read, which is a quick thriller about 2 con artists, a socialite, and all the twists and turns that come with telling their story. I liked this story ok, I felt like it moved slow at times and I did guess the twist. Overall I do recommend this one!
#2 One By One – Ruth Ware – a Murder Mystery that takes place at a remote ski resort. This one also took awhile to get into but I did end up really liking the main protagonist. There were a LOT of descriptions of skiing which I didn’t enjoy, haha. I didn’t guess the twist so I was pretty satisfied!
#3 The Wife Upstairs – Rachel Hawkins – I picked up this book off of a recommendation from the Bad On Paper Podcast. From my understanding it was a retelling of Jane Eyre. I really enjoyed this one and read it VERY quickly.
#4 The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires – Grady Hendrix – I’ve read a few of Grady Hendrix’s books and they are always spooky, gory, and fast reads (for me). I loved this one! It wasn’t my absolute favorite for this month, but I enjoyed the book club aspect, the vampire, and the protagonist.
#5 Verity – Colleen Hoover – I’ve heard everyone sing the praises of Verity, and they are correct. I read this book in one weekend day, and I really enjoyed it. I gravitate towards horror, and this one was SPOOKY. It also flowed really well and I kind of hate/loved all the characters.
#6 Layla – Colleen Hoover – Once I read my first Colleen Hoover, I needed more. Layla is on more of the paranormal side, and it was also a really fast read. I don’t want to say too much, but if you like ghost stories, I would recommend you check this one out.
#7 Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid – This was one of my favorites of the week. A black babysitter is accused of kidnapping a child of a wealthy affluent family at the beginning of the novel, and what happens after is the fall-out. I really loved the voices of this novel and I can understand why the hype is so big. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
#8 Home Before Dark – Riley Sager – This was my other favorite of the month. This is a true haunted house story and it had me spooked for real. I read this in an evening, and I really had trouble sleeping. This may sound insane but this reaction is what I really look for in a book.
#9 Boomtown – Sam Anderson – Ugh, I had this on my to-read list for awhile and it was a slight slog to get through. I enjoyed an outsider’s view of Oklahoma City, but by the end I was skipping the game recaps and wishing for some diversity of thought. I didn’t love this one, but if you live in Oklahoma City or are curious about Oklahoma City, this is a good primer.
That was it for the month of January! What did you read this month?