My Month in Books | January 2024

It’s been a hot minute! This is Month in Books, a series that I (try) to publish monthly to recap all the books that I finished, currently reading (as of writing), and looking forward to. Though I posted my 2023 in Books, I haven’t done a monthly recap since March 2022 (which is crazy 🙀). I am restarting this series as this helps me keep track of my reading throughout the year. Here’s to hoping I get to post this more regularly. 😊

So let’s begin –

This January 2024, I was able to finish 6 books:

• 10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others that Didn’t Help by Benjamin Wiker – 2/5☕ [short review]
• Death at Wentwater Court (Daisy Dalrymple, #1) by Carola Dunn – 3.5/5☕ [short review]
• The Winter Garden Mystery (Daisy Dalrymple, #2) by Carola Dunn – 3/5☕
• Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang – 4/5☕ [short review]
• The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’ Donoghue – 4.5/5☕
• The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa – 3.5/5☕

I am kind of ashamed that my first read of the year turned out like this: a 2-star patronizing, conservative book. I was worried that it would send me into a slump because I started the year on a bad note. 10 Books That Screwed Up the World sounds like a very interesting book and to a point it was – but because of how obvious the writer’s leanings are (which, for most of it, I didn’t agree with), it left a bad taste in my mouth. I found it while I was looking for a random thing to listen to in Audible. Just goes to show that I really should pay attention to what I consume and do research before I waste a couple of hours of my life listening to things I don’t wanna be associated with. The only redeeming factor was that (there is still merit in the) research that the author put into the books, and it also introduced me to some crazy people, stories, and books that I otherwise wouldn’t have known.

The Daisy Dalrymple series is a cozy mystery I started this year. I am mainly drawn to it because of the cover art which centres art deco styling because of the 1920s setting of the book. It was good fun. Not that remarkable, but good fun still – sometimes, that’s just what I need in the moment.

A major achievement that I had this January was finally picking up and reading Babel! It was one of the two books I picked up for myself for my birthday (the other is Tomorrow 3x). And oh boy was it a journey. It was freakin’ long. Considering it is a standalone and how Kuang usually builds her world, this is to be expected. Though it fell short in some areas, I really hope this could be my gateway to reading long fantasy books again (see: My 2024 Reading Resolutions).

I read The Rachel Incident because it was one of my book club’s January pick – and what a revelation it was. It was my favourite book I read last January, which is saying a lot because I read it through audio and I have the tendency to detach to the material when in audio format. I thought it would be a simple chick lit, but it turned out to be an extremely layered story that presents a protagonist that is both messy and relatable. It also presented a snapshot of what it was like growing up in 90s Ireland (particularly Cork). It’s a coming-of-age novel at it’s core. It’s a story of a young woman confronted by hard choices to keep on living – a story of friendship, and, sometimes, of love. I didn’t expect to like it this much. Irish lit fic forever! 🍀 All these Irish authors have been surprising me since last year.

And finally, the ultimate comfort book: The Cat Who Saved Books. I borrowed this from someone and started reading it last year. I was interested because of all the Japanese translated fiction which centres around cats, that somehow are circulating a lot these days. It was a decent read but it was so calming – that’s the remarkable thing about it. I jokingly said before that it honestly feels like my personal brand of sleeping pills – I get sleepy the moment I start reading a couple sentences (even if I am outside) because of how chill it was. I’m gonna check if I will continue going through some of the popular cat books in the coming months.

What I’m currently reading

I’ve already finished a couple of things in the beginning of February. But right now, I am actively reading 2 books:

• Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – I had a lot of friends hyping up this book and I’ve been seeing reviews here and there. It’s one of Cindy’s best books of 2023. While out and about on a weekend date, I decided to just take the plunge and get it. I apparently got the last paperback copy in store. And not, I am just basking in the glory of it. It’s so nice! It goes back to the Faery angle that I liked – whimsical, playful, but also slightly dark. Coupled with an adorable protagonist and a (possibly) more adorable love interest, this cosy fantasy is ticking all the right boxes for me and is on track to being 4-star or maybe more.
• The Improbable Meet-Cute Series by Various Authors – I’ve already finished 2 of the 6 stories in here and is currently going through the 3rd one, Rosie and the Dreamboat. This third story involved a timid Rosie being stuck inside a sensory deprivation pod (a flotation tank, oh no!) in a wellness spa due to some malfunction (talk about creating a new fear for me). The Dreamboat in question is the apparently (yet to be seen) hot fireman that was assigned to keep her distracted and calm while they try to work on getting her out of there. I just have some issues about the baby talk and all of the guy (uhm, yeah), which if it was directed at me, I probably would cringe and stop responding. I don’t see this getting way past 3 stars for me but this series of shorts are adorable and the perfect listen around this month of love. 💕

What I’m Looking Forward to

We’re currently at the midpoint of February now (and it seems to be moving so fast!). But for the rest of the month, besides focusing on finishing the above, I wanted to work on getting through a couple of audiobooks I’ve saved from various app:

• Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn – (via Spotify) Finally reading this during the love month seems fitting.
• The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore – (via Everand) I have less than an hour to finish for this cosy romance so this is a sure one.
• Requiem for a Mezzo by Carol Dunn – (via Audible) Third book of the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries. I am planning to listen to at least one book in the series per month since it is currently included in Audible Premium.

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So that’s how my January went. Looking forward to the rest of February! ✨

P.S. I am also trying to be more active in StoryGraph just to give me better insight on my reading progress (because it has more detailed stats than Goodreads). Also, this is not owned by Amazon and have apparently better interface and rating system – so if you are looking for a good alternative from GR, this may be it if you haven’t signed up yet. If you have an account there, please do add me HERE. My community is a bit sad there so I would really appreciate the invites. 😀

HOW ABOUT YOU? HOW WAS YOUR READING MONTH THIS January? DID YOU HAVE ANY NOTABLE FAVE? 

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