January Wrap-up
I had alot of fun this month.
Total hours spent on listening to audiobooks for challenge books: 153 hours and 4 mins
Total pages read for challenge books: 281 pages
Current Goodreads TBR: 1924 Books
Average rating including DNFs for challenge books: 1.95
Average rating without DNF for challenge books: 3:36
Challenge books DNFs: 8
Challenge book finished: 11
2026 Diversity Challenge
“Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” by Matthew Desmond was trama porn and I got tired of it really fast. I made it to 20% and then I DNF. I skimmed the rest to see if it got better. It didn’t get better.
2026 TBR Tackle
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew" by C.S Lewis was a fun read. 3 Stars! I like the punishment given to the uncle. I started the rest of the books as well.
“The Girls in the Garden” by Lisa Jewell was dull, and I guessed the ending quickly. This whole mess started over a boy! I DNFed at 50% and skimmed the ending.
The 52 Book Club’s 2026
I only liked two of the books from this set, but I love those two books so much that it made this set worth it.
“The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow is how I want all time travel books to be. The reveal about the queen and the scene about the children were amazing. I loved everyone in this book. The happy ending was amazing; they were still traveling through time while making a safe place for anyone who needed to hide. I will be looking for more of her books. 4.25 stars!
“Work Won’t Love You Back” by Sarah Jaffe the book was preaching to the choir, but I still had fun with it while I was listening to the ebook while at work. Jobs tell us so many lies, so we give up more of our lives. 4 Stars!
"A Forgery of Magic #1: Nocturn” by Maya Motayne writing just didn’t grab me. I got bored with it after 10% and DNFed.
“The Haunting of Paynes Hollow” by Kelley Armstrong had a terrible ending that ruined the whole book for me. I was enjoying it until the ending was revealed. 2.5 stars, but I am enjoying the rest of the horror books about the Great Lakes that she has written.
The Sapphic Book Club’s Readalongs 2026
Bloom Town #1: Bloom Town: Genesis by Ally North was cute. I enjoyed Abby teaching the kids how to read, and her learning how to survive off the land. The reveal about who hired Joey was great, even if I guessed it early on. 3 stars!
2026 ABC Challenge
I had terrible luck with this set. I DNFed two and really wanted to DNF the one book that I finished.
"The Alice Network" by Kate Quinn was another case where the writing and I just couldn’t get together. DNFed at 4%, and I skimmed the rest.
“Becoming” is a memoir by Michelle Obama. I found this very boring. 2 Stars!
"Great Cities #1: The City We Became" by N.K. Jemisin was so annoying to read. I just didn’t like the writing style. DNFed at 5%
2026 TBR Clearing Challenge
2 out of 3 isn’t bad. I enjoyed Vampeerz and Wild Swans, so I will call this a win.
"Vampeerz, Volume 1: My Peer Vampires" by Akili was cute and creepy. 4 stars! I am ready for more toxic yuri. I will be starting the rest of the series. 4 Stars!
“Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China” by Jung Chang was an interesting look at the before, during, and after effects of Mao. I am aware that the author was very biased, but I enjoy the book. 3.5 Stars!
“The Stranger Beside Me” by Ann Rule was not what I thought it would be. She opened with covering his early life, and I thought it would focus on her time with him. I care more about her experience with him and not her covering his childhood. DNF at 5%
Reading My Shelves 2026
“Blueblood Vampires #1: Dark Prince” by Michelle Hercules was not the start of me getting back into dark romance. It was just too soft for me. DNF at 20%
“Travels with Charley in Search of America” by John Steinbeck was very boring, and it just became background noise for me while I worked. 2 Stars!
“In One Person” by John Irving was amazing. I loved Billy, a bisexual man, as he keeps falling in love with “the wrong people” and ends with how the AIDS crisis affects his life. I like how he just didn’t care that much about what people thought towards the end. 4.25 Stars!
Closing
Looking back, January was not as bad as I thought. I only DNF 8 books, and I finished 11. I thought my DNF rate was like 50%, but I did better than that. I am excited for February.
Also, I finished my first series of the year: Red Files by Lee Winters. So I am getting close to my goal for #FinishingTheSeries2026. I am aiming to finish 4 series this year.
And I finished Storygraph’s #JanuaryPagesChallenge. I read every day of January!
How was your reading in January?