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New year, new books! Please let us know what you’re reading this month, and what you think of those books.

All genres welcome here!

I'm about 2/3 through War Master's Gate for the series read. I was hoping to finish it before the year was out but didn't quite manage it!

Scout's Training by Henry Vogel

My January Reading List (so far):

Giovanni's Room
Piranesi
The Paper Menagerie
The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)
This Is How You Lose the Time War
Flowers for Algernon
The Song of Achilles
Demon Copperhead

I won’t make it through all of these but I’d like to:

The Loneliest Place - Blight Harbor No. 3
the Riddlemaster of Hed (finish)
Usurpation
Our Wives Under the Sea
The Poppy War
January Fifteenth
The Radiant Seas
Larque on the Wing
Lady Susan (finish)
The Book that Wouldn’t Burn (finish)
Fool’s Errand (re-read) (finish)

What I’ve finished reading so far (just a couple of kid’s books):
- [x] The Bare stain Bears Get the Scaredies
- [x] Peanuts - My Best Friend, My Blanket

I'm still finishing up some books I started in December, When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress, which is very insightful and helpful. Not that I've got any of these illnesses, but it helps with considering the effect your childhood had and how to accept its part in your phycological development. Especially the part where you shouldn't hide from it, or only remember the good bits.

And A New Season, my latest canadian literature read.

I'm doing slow reads of Anna Karenina (year-long) and Pride and Prejudice (monthish-long). Also I hope to get in a quick reread of Frankenstein plus I'm doing a project to read all of Shakespeare's plays over the year, so I've started that (I love Shakespeare so this is highly doable for me). I read so much genre fiction in 2024 and it was great fun, but I want to get back into some classic lit.

Not that I'm giving up genre fiction! Never! I've just finished Our Wives Under the Sea (didn't care for it) and am now reading An Unkindness of Ghosts. Also finishing up rereads of I, Robot and Network Effect, and a first read of These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart. My library holds for Those Beyond the Wall and Our Share of Night just came in and at some point this month my library hold for The Poppy War ought to come in as well. I'll be busy this month, for sure!

I loved Anna Karenina when I read it for my Russian Lit class in high school - I should pick it up again sometime, because it's been a few decades...

I finished War Master's Gate (heading to put comments on the spoiler thread next) and am about to start The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which I've been meaning to read for a looooong time.

I've currently got 3 great books on the go - they're so good that I'm finding it hard to choose one to focus on.

Homecoming by Kate Morton (Dual-timeline story with a family mystery in Australia)

The Other Americans by Laila Lalami (multiple POV literary mystery in Southern California)

Private Rites by Julia Armfield (near-future dystopian focused on three queer sisters)

Lots going on but it's a good start to the year

A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber

Mary wrote: "A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber"

Memorable!

I just finished The Book of Doors which I enjyed and recommend; now I'll try The God of the Woods

I absolutely loved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (no surprises, SO many people have recommended it to me). Taking a genre break and reading some nonfiction right now with Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War, one of the few Mary Roach books I haven't read yet.

Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods is absolutely fabulous! Highly recommended for all who want to learn more about what it means to be Chinese... or Chinese American.

Eight-Legged Wonders: The Surprising Lives of Spiders is also even better than the title's promise. I knew spiders are good for the ecosystem, for pest control, etc., but I didn't know just how cool they are in their own right. You'll want the internet handy though, for pictures.

Cheryl wrote: "Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods is absolutely fabulous! Highly recommended for all who want to learn more about what it means to be Chinese...."

Grace Lin writes for children too. My kids loved her books.

This month, because I've been watching the TV show, I revisited Silo #2 and finally read Silo #3.

I just finished Journey to 2125: One Century, One Family, Rising to Challenges, not the usual character-driven sci-fi I enjoy, but it's an interesting book in its own way. My review

Started the year with two great books:

The Other Americans by Laila Lalami - a literary multi-perspective mystery in a California desert town

/review/show...

Private Rites by Julia Armfield - a beautiful climate dstopian about three queer sisters

/review/show...

Yesterday I read The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich in one sitting. It's an absolutely adorable graphic novel about a romance between a princess and a female courtier who is in disguise as a man, since women can't inherit in their country. It's filled with cheese puns (main character is Lady Camenbert, she has a friend named Zola, short for Gorgonzola, and there's a dog named Gouda....etc). Super cute.

Next up...Seal of the Worm! So excited to see how this series wraps up.

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 13 by Kamome Shirahama

I started the month rather slowly—only 2 books so far and they were both ones I started last year!
Seven Dials by Anne Perry, 7/10, another historical mystery in her Charlotte & Thomas Pitt series.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune, 9/10, comments in the discussion folder for this former BotM.
Currently reading War Master's Gate for our series discussion and listening to Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman.

I just finished Under the Whispering Door and it is a wonderful book. Well written, great characters, fantastic storytelling!

Leserling wrote: "I just finished Under the Whispering Door and it is a wonderful book. Well written, great characters, fantastic storytelling!"

Yes, I just loved it, too! The group read it back in May 2022–here’s a link to our discussion topic thread if you’d like to read the comments and add your own: /topic/show/...

Kathi wrote: "Leserling wrote: "I just finished Under the Whispering Door and it is a wonderful book. Well written, great characters, fantastic storytelling!"

Yes, I just loved it, too! The grou..."

Thank you, I'll check that out!
Now I am reading: Vital Organs after I just finished Everest 1922.

I finished Seal of the Worm last night and was immensely satisfied in how the series wrapped up. Detailed comments on the spoiler thread!

Next up is some nonfiction that I've just downloaded from the library: Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters. I've always been fascinated by neuroscience so I'm looking forward to this one!

Recently finished:

Translation State by Ann Leckie
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Mechanize My Hand to War by Erin K. Wagner
Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow
Return from the Stars by Stanislaw Lem
Your Utopia by Bora Chung

The first 3 I thought were phenomenal, while I was not as enthused by the Doctorow or Lem titles. The Bora Chung title is a collection of short stories and as short stories collections go, it was pretty good.

Currently reading The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells and Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice and rereading Homeland by R.A. Salvatore.

In typical style I'm jumping on a hyped book a decade after the hype with Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. It is a god example of Fantasy YA of that era which (despite its faults) I prefer to the new trend of Romantasy

Fairest of All: The Graphic Novel by Sarah Mlynowski

I re-listened to Dawn of Wonder. I still loved it just as much as the first time around eight years ago. Then I finished the first two books of the Glass and Steele series by C J Archer and have just started the 3rd book in that series: The Apothecary's Poison

The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Finished System Collapse which marks the finish of my Murderbot reread.

Starting Roadkill at the hearty recommendation of my husband.

After that, I am planning on starting the Expeditionary Force series at the prompting of both my husband and a coworker. This may take a while since the series is quite huge.

Finished Roadkill

That was a lot of fun.

Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski

Random wrote: "Finished Roadkill

That was a lot of fun."

Looks fun! Just added to my endless list :)

Shel wrote: "Random wrote: "Finished Roadkill

That was a lot of fun."

Looks fun! Just added to my endless list :)"

I just heard that the author is going to turn it into a series. I believe 2 more books planned. However, Roadkill works just fine as a stand alone.

Started Columbus Day, which is the first book of a huge series (17 so far and counting).

I literally laughed the entire way home. If this keeps up, I'm going to enjoy it. :D

I'm reading Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Really enjoying it. Wasn't expecting it to be The Gulag Archipelago in space, but in hindsight, if there was an author who'd go there, it'd be Tchaikovsky.

If the Shoe Fits by Sarah Mlynowski

Sink or Swim by Sarah Mlynowski

Dream On by Sarah Mlynowski

Bad Hair Day by Sarah Mlynowski

Cold As Ice by Sarah Mlynowski

Beauty Queen by Sarah Mlynowski

Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

I finished War Master's Gate by Adrian Tchaikovsky and my comments are in the topic thread for our series discussion. I also read Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt and my comments are in that BotM topic thread.

I’m currently reading The Last Guardian by Michael R. Miller, book 3 of The Dragon’s Blade trilogy, for a different Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ group, and still listening to Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman.

I’ve really struggled to find the time & motivation to read this month. Maybe February will be better�

I finished Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters, and it was fascinating. Recommended if you, like me, like to nerd out about the brain!

Next up I'm about to start The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young.

Once Upon a Frog by Sarah Mlynowski

I finished reading and The Gathering Storm (Book # 12 of the Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. I was pleased that major arcs were completed in Rand’s and Egwene’s stories. I am reading Wind and Truth (Book #5 of the Stormlight Archive) by Brandon Sanderson and A Betrayal in Winter (Book two of the Long Price Quartet) by Daniel Abraham. I plan to read The Waste Lands (Book three of the Dark Tower Series) by Stephen King next.

Gary wrote: "A Betrayal in Winter (Book two of the Long Price Quartet) by Daniel Abraham...."

I really liked that series!