What I read & recommend: January 2026

WHAT I RECOMMEND

 

Total Read count: 12 Books

Recommend: 10 Books

Couldn’t recommend: 2 Books

The first half is all the books I read & recommend.

The second half are books I started reading / read but do not think highly enough of to recommend (although some I had to finish simply because I got too invested in what was happening and needed to know the ending).

No book links because I thoroughly encourage you to use a library or a local, independent bookseller and absolutely by all means possible, avoid Indigo/Chapters, and Amazon.

If you need one that delivers in Canada, I very much like McNally Robinson. They can order any book you like.

A party to murder: Diana Harper

Debut novel – Murder mystery – Set in 1920s – Family squabbles and intrigue

It is like Harper chose every word with precision and care. I could not help but read each and every word, and wonder at how it so perfectly described the scene to me, the characters came alive, and the mystery was brilliant. No wasted words! It is Harper’s debut novel and a good one at that, I am excited to see what else she comes with. The setting is of a patriarch that dies mysteriously in a house with his family around him and no real opportunity or chance for someone there to have done it to begin with. I read like a demon until the end, it was that engrossing.

How to read a book: Monica Wood

WOMEN’S PRISON – DIFFERENT ANGLES ON IMPRISONMENT – RIPPLE EFFECT ON SOCIETY AND FAMILY / FRIENDS

I absolutely adored this book, reading about women in a prison, one girl in particular, and seeing the angles of her sentence from her confession to how it impacted those around her who knew her, didn’t know her and met her outside of certain situations. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it gave me food for thought, which is always a good thing. A wonderful, heartwarming read, honestly (even if it was painful in places).

Art of spending: Morgan Housel

SPENDING MONEY – DEFINING LIFE DREAMS

His other book is pretty life changing too if you haven’t read it – The Psychology of Money. I have a whole list of personal finance books here as well if you are interested. Anyway, this book is a sequel on his first one, to teach you what money means to you, how you want to use it as a tool and take back your life by defining what it is you want your life to become.

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this strange world: Elif Shafak

Multiple perspectives – Heavy familial expectations – Second family of friends – Memoir in the last moments of death

I did not expect much from this writer though I have heard her name before, but my goodness I did not expect this book to break me open and for me to read every single word that was so precisely chosen to weave the story of a young girl trapped under the expectations of her family, trying to break free and finding her own second family in the final moments of her horrible death. The book showed multiple perspectives as well, from the killer to her family to those who saw her and from each of her friends. Truly stunning. But heavy.

 

Winter Garden: Kristin Hannah

Russia – World War II context – Family secrets – Familial expectations – Mystery – Very cold mother

I am on the fence about this book because I was quite irked at the ending. I get that it is meant to be sorrowful, but being the idealist I am, I already get enough of reality in today’s world and I would like my books to be a bit happier, as they are fiction after all. So while I enjoyed the book, the part that also made me feel very angry was the mother figure in the story because I have such a soft heart for children and respect for the parental ties to them, that I cannot bear to even read a fictional account of a parent who isn’t warm and loving. That is my personal issue, but the rest of the story was good but only starting halfway through it, then it became interesting enough to finish because I wanted to know what happened.

Am I there yet: Mari Andrew

ADULTING – HUMOUR – ILLUSTRATED – MINI MEMOIR – ANECDOTAL

A fun lighthearted illustrated book of someone adulting with cute anecdotes throughout.

My Friends: Fredrik Backman

Abusive childhoods – Troubled families – Alcoholic – Finding yourself – Artistic – Giving hope

Another wonderful book from Backman. Have you ever read his 2024 Simon & Schuster speech? Hilarious, dry and witty. This book however, will tear you apart. I was getting so angry at the whole situation halfway through but was pleasantly surprised at the end. Happy, even. It didn’t make me angry, and the story will annoy you in some parts, but the rest of it is basically about finding yourself and giving hope to others.

Long Bright River: Liz Moore

Mystery – Murders – Troubled childhood – Prostitution – Drug addicts – Police officers – Small town mentality

I know this was a sensation that made it into a TV series, and while I very much enjoyed it, I felt unmoored at the end. I liked the whole book but I needed a stronger, less open-ended ending that gave me a definite epilogue. That said, it is about two sisters growing up, one went to become a cop to try and take control back of her own life essentially, and the other became a drug addict.. and the whole book is trying to solve a mystery grows out from there of who has been murdering the prostitutes in their town.

Mrs. Jeffries Aims to Win: Emily Brightwell

Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders: Emily Brightwell

Cosy murder mystery – Housekeeper as the detective – Victorian England setting

I finally finished my last 2 books in this Mrs. Jeffries series – it is all cosy murder mysteries and great to give your brain a break.

Want more book recommendations?

All of my previous book recommendations are here.

If you’re lazy like me, here are my YEARLY book roundups from each year.

DO NOT READ

Dirty Laundry: Michael Robinson

Awful. Okay yeah, he talked a bit about his job and so on, but it was badly written and it wasn’t interesting at all, except for some facts. Give it a miss.

Welcome to Hyunam-Dong Bookshop: Hang Bo-Reum

I tried. I really tried. I love bookshops. I love South Korea. I love K-Dramas, but this was just so GODDAMN DRY. I fell asleep through a chapter and found I didn’t miss anything.