January 2026 Reading Wrap Up

 Well, I must first remark upon the weather. 

It's super cold here. Like. the coldest I can recall in years and years. 

It's a little bit hard to handle just because I don't really have cold weather gear.  but I do have a space heater, and blankets and an indoors so I am exceedingly blessed in this world. 

Ok now.  Moving on. 

Winter's embrace needs to move on, or tone it down some. 

in Winter's Embrace. , 1907. [United States: publisher not transcribed] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2018696747/.

In January, I finished a whopping 21 books. I am really enjoying my Outer Space theme, more than my Water theme from last year. 

Lets Break it down a bit. 

Books in Translation:  2/21  So about 9.5 % of my reading. Both of the books I read were excellent reads and I was very happy to have read them. 

    

Books By Diverse Authors:   3/21  14%

 

Of these three, I highly recommend The Manor of Dreams, but I don't know that any of these would steer a curious reader to DNF, they were all well written. 

This was not my month to be reading books by diverse authors. Many of the books had diverse characters, but the authors I looked into pretty much...were kind of the standard white bread authors. 

Non-Fiction reads:  3/21 14%  I read three books about Outer Space,  all of which were interesting and helped me understand the universe.  They did kind of decrease my excitement when reading some space setting romances, especially the idea that astronauts are really just moving about the space station in maximum absorbency garments - diapers if you will. 

Total Books on my Outer Space Theme? 9/21 about 43%  so I am approaching half of the books read to be about Space.  

Favorite reads?  I really liked almost everything I read this month.  I did have to DNF a non-fiction book about Black Holes.  I started it several times and eventually just gave up.  I could not with it. I will have to get black hole understanding elsewhere. 

Will I complete 21 more books in February?  That remains to be seen.  It helped that I read a few novellas this past month, and I don't know that I've got more of that on the horizon. 

I am starting off February pretty strong with some diverse authors, and a book in translation (The Plotters!) but it's a short month, and I'm finding I may not have quite as much reading time as I work to master my new job and continue at my old one part time. 

Life is full and ok. Things in the world are on fire and thus I feel I must also, in my own way, attend to that fire.  Sadly, reading will likely not be the actions required to throw some dirt on the fire.