Photo by David Lezcano on Unsplash
This year, I aim to roundup the books I read each month with the ultimate goal of picking a book of the month each month leading up to a book of 2023! I've always kept lists of the books I've read but I've never really pitted them against one another in head to head competition so here goes.
In January, I read:
- Tarot by Marissa Kennerson
- The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama
- One Rough Man by Brad Taylor (Pike Logan Series, Book 1)
- Book Lovers by Emily Henry
I almost finished Drawing Thought by Andrea Kantrowitz but had to return it to the library. I'm on a book buying break in 2023 (which I've violated three times already but within the rules I set for myself which is a book for book club I can't get in time from my library or a book for a school/work assignment that is required).
Reviews & Observations
My first observation is this is WAY more fiction than I usually ever read. Part of the motivation for the book buying break is that I have 42 unread books left on my shelves at home after cleaning them out and paring down anything I just know I won't read. (We won't talk about how many books are hiding on my Kindle that I haven't read). So the Brad Taylor book is because I have 2 books later in the Pike Logan series on my shelf so I'm trying to read up to those in the series so I can read the books off of my shelf.
One Rough Man
So, I'll start there. I love compelling characters and Pike is just that. I didn't enjoy the female protagonist all that much as she wasn't well written. I felt as though Taylor simply gave her skills and abilities at times that it was convenient to him to advance the story. He gave her some interesting backstory but not enough to really make me empathize with her. The book was good enough that I'm waiting on book 2 from my library.
Tarot
Another from my shelf was Tarot. This book probably could have been categorized as young adult which I like but it lacked the depth that most young adult novels have. The story was fantastical but without any real depth to make the magic and fantasy come to life. This was my least favorite read of the month and I'm glad to get it off of my shelf.
Book Lovers
I'll round out the fiction books with my favorite of the three of them which is Book Lovers. This anti-Hallmark movie book takes the point of view of the woman left behind in the big city when the hero runs off to the small town to live out their magical fairy tale life. I actually identified the most with the male lead character - Charlie. He was, by far, my favorite character in the entire book. This book was our book club pick for January and I truly enjoyed the discussion and seeing the book from so many other points of view. This would make a good beach read or vacation novel.
The Light We Carry
Michelle Obama's first book, Becoming, is without a doubt one of my absolute favorite books. The only reason The Light We Carry remains a 4 star rating for me instead of five star is my own choice in how to read it. I listened on audio book which was a wonderful opportunity to experience the book. However, I really wanted to take some notes all along the way and I just don't have a good workflow for that in audio. Regardless, The Light We Carry is definitely my top book of January.
How do you keep track of what you're reading? What are you reading in February?
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