January: What I Read

 

SO MANY AUDIO BOOKS THIS MONTH YOU GUYS because I have been in Avonlea. I bought 6 of the Anne books in a bundle and then had to buy Anne of Windy Poplars a la carte and will be treating myself to Anne of Ingleside as soon as I am done with Anne's House of Dreams. Ingleside and Windy Poplars were written after the others, so they are not in the common domain and not usually included with Green Gables, Avonlea, The Island, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside. I didn't even count the 5.5 I have finished in my total this month, but I am happy to say that I eliminated about 80% of my doomscrolling and replaced it with Anne and Kids Baking Challenge.

Because! The world is fairly horrible to engage with right now. I mean-- if you think domestic politics are horrifying, just peek at foreign relations for a second, and you are going to need smelling salts. Besides Avolnea and the intense inward focus of a good yoga practice, the only thing that makes me feel better is my favorite protest chant which is my sort of rosary these days-- the people united can never be defeated.

(Also, if you are also bereft at the death of Catherine O'Hara, I suggest a little Waiting for Guffman and also THIS episode of Wiser Than Me, which is really a podcast you ought to listen to anyway.)

ANYWAY. MY JANUARY READS in order form least to most favorite. Also! I have moved to  Storygraph, and I only have like 3 friends, so plz join me.

All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell: This was weird, and I liked it a lot-- a general overview of death and dying and our cultural rituals. **audio

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by LM Chilton: I liked this well enough to finish it, but only just. **kindle

Bad Tourists by Caro Carver: A decent thriller. **audio

Greenwich by Kate Broad: A great, quick read. **kindle

The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling: She is also Rachel Hawkins, and she smells as sweet by either name. **audio

A Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction by Elizabeth McCracken: I love these kinds of books on the craft of writing, and this one is particularly good.

Aint't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton by Martha Ackman: This was terrific, and the pictures in the middle were fabulous. Dolly Parton is our generation's Mozart.

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman: YES. Read this. Charming and delightful.

This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through US History by Beverly Gage: You had to figure a book about the US as told through our geography by a Pulitzer-Prize-winning Yale historian would be awesome-- and you would be right. **2026

The Last Session by Julia Bartz: This was weird and wild-- a great thriller to pass the time. **audio

Yearbook by Seth Rogan: We listened in the car on the way home from HH, and it was hilarious. **audio

A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst: THIS IS WILD. Ben and I would have died almost instantly. Def within the first 3 hours. **audio

 There Is no Place for Us: Working and Homelessness in America by Brian Goldstone: YES YOU SHOULD READ THIS RIGHT NOW. I think it is better than Evicted, and that book was great. Really hits home the lingering effects of the panny.

Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E Smith: Oh, please treat yourself to this family saga. Lauren Graham reads the audiobook, and I definitely cried. **audio

The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O'Neill: LOVED THIS-- definitely for fans of Mary Beth Keene. **kindle

Dog Show by Billy Collins: My brother sent me this poetry collection, and I adored it so much I helped Jack cut it into an 8-minute program for poetry reading on his speech team. **2026

Inhale, Exhale by Nicole MacPherson: YOU GUYS. This book is every bit as wonderful as you have known it was going to be from the first second you heard it was coming into the world. **2026 **kindle