I’ve kicked off 2018 with reading 9 books in January, including 2 books that were REREADS and 1 that I was avoiding because of the hype BUT I LOVED AND IS NOW A FAVORITE OF 2018. IS A NEW YEAR, NEW ME A THING FOR THIS READER?

Sure, now calm down with the caps lock, please.

Now, I’ve set my Goodreads Reading Goal at 70 books, but my stretch reading goal that I’m hopeful about (and I’ve only told my bookish best friend IRL and my sister who probably had her headphones on about) is to read 100 books. I read 91 books in 2017 and while I can’t predict what the rest of my reading time in 2018 will look like, I think I might be able to pull it off. More often than not, I count what I’m reading in class towards my reading goal and this semester alone, I have to read a combination of 14 graphic novels and books.

While I read my fair share of contemporaries, I was really drawn to fantasy this month — I guess I’ve also fallen to the stereotype of winter being the perfect time for fantasy reads- and I plan on sticking to the genre in February!

MY JANUARY READS

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan | 5/5 Stars

Review: Here

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (reread) | 5/5 Stars

This is evidence that I FINALLY started my Throne of Glass series reread in 2018 (thank you very much to the snowstorm that kept me home from work and motivated me to start reading ToG). I’m going to have a review-type post up in February for Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight.

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu | 4.5/5 Stars

Review: Here

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe | 4.5/5 Stars

I promised myself that I would be better in January about getting reviews up for the books I actually read during the month, but I guess a new year doesn’t totally mean a new me! For right now, just know that I really enjoyed The Librarian of Auschwitz for its unique story set during the Holocaust.

The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances (ARC) | 4/5 Stars

Review: Here

 

 

 

Scythe by Neal Shusterman | 5/5 Stars

Here it is friends, my favorite book of the month and my first favorite of 2018: Scythe. I’m not going to go into too much detail right now because I have a extra-long review going up tomorrow!

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli | 4.5/5 Stars

Another review that will be up shortly, but The Upside of Unrequited is now my favorite Becky Albertalli book and after thinking about it more and more (it’s been coming up in my dreams, guys), I think I’ll be adding it to my favorites of 2018.

 

 

 

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (reread) | 5/5 Stars 

THE AMOUNT OF CHAOL IN THIS BOOK HAS MY HEART SQUEALING. I think Crown of Midnight will forever be my favorite ToG book, depending on the level of Chaol-ness in Tower of Dawn (*sighs in shame that I haven’t read this book following one of my favorite characters yet*).

This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz | 2.5/5 Stars

This is How You Lose Her was the first text I had to read for my Contemporary American Lit class (we’re reading short story collections this semester). I’ve been curious about Junot Díaz’s writing, since I’ve seen a lot of hype over The Brief Wondrous History of Oscar Wao. While I enjoyed analyzing Díaz’s various forms of language, I just wasn’t a fan of the characters that were interwoven into each story and I experienced a major disconnect from the main narrator. However, Junot Díaz actually came to my university this week to give a talk, so it was interesting to hear him talk about his work as my class was reading This Is How You Lose Her.

Have you read any of the books above? What did you read in January? Share in the comments!