
Whoa, January was a good month in my reading life! I had lowered my Goodreads goal for the year, after not meeting mine last year, but at this rate, I’ll surpass last year’s goal! I also had three 5-star books, which is pretty remarkable for me. A 5-star book is typically rare for me, so I was very excited to have so many this month. Here’s what I read:
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Good Talk, by Mira Jacob (One World, 2019): I loved this graphic memoir so much. Told in a series of conversations, many of which are with her young son, Mira chronicles growing up and growing into adulthood as a brown person in America. While my experience is obviously different than hers, I found so many parts of her story so relatable, from her discussions of pregnancy and raising a son, to the challenges of interacting with in-laws who you simultaneously love and experience the world so differently from, to figuring out your place in the world. A gem.
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Look Both Ways, by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum 2019): As I mentioned in my full review of this one, I think short story is Jason’s true masterpiece, as he displays so well in this collection of interwoven stories of middle school students walking home from school. Each story is so full and his respect of young people just shouts from the pages.
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The Only Plane in the Sky, by Garrett M. Graff (Avid Reader Press2019): This book caused emotion in me in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time. By artfully compiling the voices of so many as they experienced September 11, 2001, Graff gives us such a broad and detailed view of the day that changed our country forever. I don’t say this often, but I truly think this is a must-read for all Americans. Check out my full review for more details.
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Beartown, by Fredrik Backman (Atria Books2016): I loved the construction of this novel, as Backman layers brief moments of all the different characters, building to a tumultuous conclusion. It took me a while to establish myself among so many characters, but once I did, I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Already picked up the sequel. Check out my full review for more.
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Chirp, by Kate Messner (Bloomsbury Childrens 2020): My first NetGalley review was for this important new middle grade novel that so beautifully displays the internal struggles felt by young people. It will be a great conversation starter and a true light post for some readers. It comes out this week!
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Legacy (KOTLC #8), by Shannon Messenger (Aladdin 2019): Several of my students initially suggested this series to me a few years ago, and I absolutely devoured them, feeling like it had been since Harry Potter that I felt so swept away. But lately, the last several in this series have a way of causing me to resent its length and repetition and lack of action, and then the last 100 pages leave me begging for more. At 800+ pages, it’s a lot of get through to get to those last 100, and yet, I still want more. I’m hoping #9 will be the last for Sophie and her friends, just so I can move on.
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Baby-Led Feeding: A Natural Way to Raise Happy, Independent Eaters, by Jenna Helwig (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2018): Got this as a free Prime deal on my Kindle, and then ended up buying a paperback copy too, because I think we’ll be referencing it a lot over the coming months and years. I admire her moderate approach to starting babies on solids, rather than the “your child will choke if you start them on anything but purees” camp or the “feeding your child purees will make them obese and will make them never want to start actual food” camp. Generally, I find any parenting advice that is ABSOLUTE to be absolute BS, so her gentle “do what works for you and your baby” recommendation feels just right. Plus, the recipes in it for older babies and families look delish.
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Love Poems for People with Children, by John Kenney (G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2019): My mom gave me this one for Christmas, and it is spot on with our life right now. I read several poems while still opening presents and got so giggly about how accurately they represented us, I immediately passed the book to my husband. I squeezed the rest of the poems in yesterday during a naptime, mostly so I wouldn’t already miss my goal of reading one book I owned prior to 2020 each month, and had to stifle my laughter so as to not wake the baby sleeping on my chest.
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Guts, by Raina Telgemeier (Graphix2019): Raina’s books are always sure-fire hits with my middle school crowd, pleasing girls, boys, 6th graders, 8th graders, and everyone in between. This is her third graphic memoir, and I have to say it was my least favorite of the three (my favorite being Sisters), but it was still fine. I’m sure my middle schoolers gobbled it right up and will read it about 8 more times each, which of course is the point.
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Let It Snow, by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson (Penguin Books, 2019 – Audio; 2008 orig.): I grabbed this audiobook on Libby, because I had seen that there was a Netflix movie coming out, and of course I wanted to read it first. It ended up taking me a suuuper long time to finish, because I wasn’t all that motivated. (I have to say, however, that the book was WAY BETTER than the movie, which was complete nonsense, and hardly even Hallmark-worthy.) I liked the premise of three interconnected novella romances, but if you’re looking for holiday-themed YA short romances, I’d be much more likely to point you toward My True Love Gave to Me.
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Book Love, by Debbie Tung (Andrews McMeel 2019): I saw this book somewhere on Bookstagram, and thought it looked delightful. In reality, it was just okay. The comics were mostly nothing new, and while it was mildly fun to read, I can’t say I remember a single thing about it.
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 Twenty-One Truths About Love, by Matthew Dicks (St. Martin’s Press 2019): This was my palate cleanser before bedtime after reading The Only Plane in the Sky during the day. Light and breezy romance, right? Eh. Obviously snagged this one because of its gorgeous cover, and there were lots of parts I liked, but there were also lots I didn’t. Be on a lookout for my full review later this week.
DNF: The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism, by Karen Armstrong (Ballantine Books 2000): I don’t often DNF books, but this one had to go. Like I mentioned in my Winter TBR post, I was reading this one as part of my mini-book club where we read religious-focused books. We’d read The Case for God by Karen Armstrong several years ago and felt like we learned so much from it, and were hopeful this would do the same. Instead, we both felt completely bogged down by its density, and I found myself bribing myself to read 3-5 pages before reading something I actually wanted to read. Perhaps its because we both have children under 1, but in any case, NOT WORTH OUR TIME.
PHEW, that’s it! 13 total books, three 5-stars, 1 DNF. Not a bad month, January. Let’s see what February has in store…
What was your favorite read of January?
I’ve had Beartown on my TBR list for forever! I have four books tied as my favorite books in my January wrap up post, but one of the ones that really stood out was Convenience Store Woman – it’s so different from most books!
Beartown is definitely worth it! I’d say give it a go! I’ll have to check out Convenience Store Woman… thanks for the rec!