January 2026
I don’t always feel like writing a full review for everything. I was inspired by Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit posts and decided to do something similar as a way to briefly discuss the books I read in a month but don’t write full reviews for.
My 2026 reading got off to a pretty good start. I read nine books (and DNF’d one: The Librarians by Sherry Thomas). I participated in a January reading challenge hosted by a bookish podcast I love, Book Talk Etc., and had fun doing that.
Of the books I finished, I’ve reviewed two here already:
The Burning Library by Gilly MacMillan; and
Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein.
So here are my thoughts on the rest of my January reads!
Lovely Recipe, Myra Rose Nino (eARC) – 4
This was a really sweet read, with beautiful illustrations! I read it as an advanced copy, and it’s out now. It’s a very cute story!
Asylum Hotel, Juliet Blackwell (library) – 3⭐
This was fine. I loved the idea of abandoned buildings and their exploration, but this turned into a fairly run of the mill read for me.
Walking: One Step at a Time, Erling Kagge (library) – 3⭐
I don’t really know what I expected from this. There were some moments that I thought were somewhat insightful, but then there were others that made me roll my eyes. But it did motivate me to get back out into the world during this freezing, snowy winter.
A Bit Much: Poems, Lyndsay Rush (library) – 4⭐
I follow Lyndsay Rush online (where she goes by @maryoliversdrunkcousin) so when I learned she had a book of her poetry, and my library had a copy available, I snagged it immediately! I really like her style so I quite enjoyed this collection.
Milk & Mocha Comics Collection: Our Little Moments, Melani Sie (e-ARC) – 5⭐
This was incredibly sweet and adorable! It was like a cozy blanket.
The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, Matt Dinniman (purchased) – 3.5⭐
This series is so fun and inventive, and I am obsessed with Princess Donut! I loved the concept going into this, with a crazy tangle of subway lines full of monsters. I really liked learning more about Katia and some of the other crawlers, and the titular Anarchist’s Cookbook, but I found parts of this story really confusing in terms of the subway lines and worldbuilding. This is a great series but I have to confess that a lot of the details go over my head, so I kind of just have to go with it and not try to make too much sense of things.
About a Place in the Kinki Region, Sesuji (purchased) – 3.5⭐
This was one of my highly anticipated reads of 2026, because I enjoy a good horror novel and this one has already been adapted into a movie that I really want to see. I also liked that it’s a mixed media novel because those can be really fun (the way I find found footage horror movies fun). This was a very quick read for me. Once I started, I didn’t want to put it down. It took me a while to see how different parts were connected, but I enjoyed reading various creepy snippets that came together in the end.
