January: What I Read

Dorothy’s TBR— I am here for it

It’s been a slow start to my reading year, and even though I have a whole stack of 2024 titles (even one that hasn’t really hit the shelves yet), I mainly floundered in the backlist and didn’t read with my eyes. 

Here’s howJanuary’s books break down:

NOPE (1):

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

Random Audio Books I Checked Out Because None of My Holds Were In (5):

1. You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose: THIS WAS AWFUL YOU GUYS. So bad it was actually art, I think. **Audio
2. The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan:: Meh, but also not bad. **Audio
3. Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger: A perfectly serviceable thriller. **Audio
4. Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Disturbingly, Good reads says I have already read this, but I have no memory of that LOL LOL LOL. Which really sums up the book. **Audio
5. Love Marriage by Monica Ali: Ok, this one was really excellent. Med student. Family dramZ. Funny. Great characters. **Audio

 Romantasy I  Lurved (2):

1. The House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas: I was intrigued enough to keep reading the series
2. The House of Breath and Sky by Sarah J Maas: I did not like this one enough to continue with the series-- UNTIL THE LAST PAGES and now I cannot even wait!!

(I pre-ordered the one that came out on 1/30 on Audible-- I read the first one as a book book and the second one on Kindle, so I thought it would be interesting to switch up the mode for book 3.)

A Book by a College Friend (1):

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh: Walsh usually writes Christian romance which is not my thing, but this mainstream romance is darling, and I loved it.

Great Ones From 2023 That I Am Just Now Reading (5):

1. Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Inlfuencer Culture by Sara Louise Petersen: This was FASCINATING. The author does not have the academic chops to tackle some of the theory she'd like to use, but the book is perhaps a little too esoteric for a popular read-- this is such an awkward spot for a book to be in. Still, the subject is fascinating enough to carry the whole thing. Reading about her rich East coast IG feed made me think about my middle class Midwest one-- SO INTERESTING. **Audio
2. The Last Love Note by Emma Grey: This was delightful. I loved the characters, and the story was predictable but so sweet. 
3. Stay True by Hua Hsu: This memoir is incredible, and anyone who went to college in the 90s needs to read it for nostalgia alone.
4. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride: I could not get into this one in print, so I quit it and requested an audio copy via Libby-- LOVED IT. **Audio
5. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese: The author reads all 31 hours of this audio book, and he is a gem. I loved this 3-generation family story, melodrama and all, and I cannot stop thinking of Baby Mol and Big Ammachi. **Audio

2024 Books!!!

Family Family by Laurie Frankel: Warning— Libby did not have this one for kindle (WHAT), so I had to read it on the Libby app, which would have been awful on my phone but was OK on my iPad. LOVED it, BTW. I didn’t realize how much until I was crying at the sappy ending.

STATS

Total: 15

Audio: 9

WITH MY EYES: 6