books Here are the 12 books I read in January. As I was going back and writing a bit about each book, I realized I don’t always remember what the book was about, I never remember character names, but I tend to remember where I was or what I was doing when I was listening to/reading them. One of these I was driving to a hockey game and the weather was crummy, one was up on ladders doing some painting in the basement, another I was staining something. I just find it fascinating that there are feelings or things I remember more than the book itself. Anyone else?

I should also note, I fully intend to be better about this each month and write a little something right after I finish it. But, that doen’t usually happen. So I am looking up summaries of each of them now to write this post. 🤪

Check out my various pages for ⭐️ ratings of these books:

I hope you find something that looks interesting to you. Below are a few notes on the books this month.

Total books for the year: 12

  1. 🎧📱⭐️ Telephone Of The Tree by Alison McGhee - This was a sweet book for young readers. It tackles hard issues like the death of a child, but in a beautiful way for kids to relate to. I loved that the author used “they” pronouns so it makes the book more inclusive and relatable for anyone reading it.
  2. 📱⭐️❤️ Merry Little Bookshop by Ali Brady - Such a sweet story! I read another book by this author duo and then saw this “novella” (in quotes because it’s 238 pages). It was adorably festive and a great mix of Xmas and Hanukkah. Just all around delightful!
  3. 🎧 Mint To Be by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc - I bought this at the school book farit 100% because it had a mint scratch-and-sniff sticker on it. Written by the same author as :Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice”, this was a cute, innocent romance that is perfect for younger readers.
  4. 🎧📸 Bog Queen by Anna North - This cover!!!! I was so drawn to this cover. I loved the premise of the story, but felt like it got a little too scientific at times for my liking. Not because I don’t like science, it just didn’t seem to fit into the writing of the story. But I thought it was a lovely book.
  5. 🎧 Heart The Lover by Lily King - This book surprised me. I didn’t think I was going to be quite as engrossed with this one as I was. It was a different kind of love story, but so heartfelt and beautiful. I loved the support of characters throughout the book and truly enjoyed this one.
  6. 🎧 Not So Normal Norbert by Hatem Aly & James Patterson - This hit at the right time. This YA book hits on some aspects of not being normal and how the president/dictator “Loving Leader” wants to send people that don’t agree with him to another planet. So many of the lines were just so funny and might not be noticed by a kid, but I truly appreciated some of the nuanced writing in this one.
  7. 🎧 The Fear by Natasha Preston - I HAD to read something by this author because I had been subbing a lot in the Middle School library and this author is one of the most requested. And I felt remiss that I hadn’t read anything by her. The kids told me I should read this one. It was something. I will say the story overall was good, but my feelings and from what I have heard from others is that Preston falls short on her endings. But, I also can see why 11-13 year olds enjoy these stories.
  8. 🎧⭐️ The Secret Language Of Birds by Lynne Kelly - I love all of Kelly’s books. This was such a wonderful book about endangered birds as well as finding who you are and growing up. It was an all-around perfect book.
  9. 🎧 Matchmaking For Psychopaths by Tasha Coryell - Admittedly, I should have been more skeptical about this book than I was just from the title alone. But I was intrigued. It was weird. There’s not really a better way to say it. The story was unique, it didn’t so much keep me interested as it made me really want to see where it was going to go.
  10. 🎧⭐️ That’s A Great Question, I’d Love To Tell You by Elyse Myers - I have loved Elyse for years and I will say that when I got this book, the first thing I said was it was the most stunning book I’ve seen. The inside cover was gorgeous, the illustrations throughout - it just felt so personal and those little details felt like perfection mixed in with her storytelling.
  11. 📱⭐️ Deep In My Feels by Jennae Cecelia - I love poetry. I can’t say this enough. Sometimes I just need it to reset. The simplicity and complexity of it just make me happy. If I only could read one kind of book forever, it would be poetry or at least books in verse. There’s also not one thing I love about them. Because sometimes it’s the whole book, but other times it’s just that handful of poems that make you feel seen.
  12. 🎧 Buckeye by Patrick Ryan - I was truly surprised that I liked this one as much as I did. I thought the story would drag on, but it really didn’t. The only part that made me unhappy was the very ending of the book…like the last couple paragraphs. I get what the author was doing, but it just didn’t quite feel like enough after the rest of the book.

– Book Key –
🎧 - audiobook
📖 - paperback/hardcover
📱 - ebook
🎨 - graphic novels
👩‍👧‍👦 - read with kids
🌈 - book club pick for The Beacon
📚 - book club pick for Book Worms & Puzzle Piecers
📸 - gorgeous cover
⭐️ - books I rated 5 stars
❤️ - my favorite book of the month

Andi

Bright Book Randomness