This month has been the BEST January of reading that I’ve ever had. January usually signals the end of winter break and the start of a new spring semester for me, aka my reading life taking a dip, but I am SO enjoying the free time that has come with post college life… and yes, I am prioritizing reading in my free time after work vs. scrolling on my phone and watching TV — on TV, I also feel like lately I find maybe 1 TV show a month I’m obsessed with, binge it in a handful of days (and yes, you’ll find out the show I’m talking about below), and then feel meh about any other TV I watch.
I read a total of 15 books in January and I either really enjoyed or LOVED all of them. I also spent the past two weekends starting a book on Friday night or early Saturday morning and then having it finished by Saturday night… and then starting another in between/after doing my weekly school prep on Sundays. I don’t even finding myself pressuring to read or thinking about any annual reading challenges, as I genuinely just want to be reading & hope to keep this motivation up!
This month was about getting to some backlist books I’ve had on my TBR, a new release from a favorite author, some ARCs, and the start of an unexpected YA kick. Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon was my favorite book of the month, always loving any adult contemporary romance or YA book that Rachel Lynn Solomon writes. I attended Matzah Book Soup’s book club meeting with Rachel yesterday afternoon and it was so fun learning more about the book & her upcoming releases. I read both Denise Williams’ The Fastest Way to Fall & How to Fail at Flirting – I enjoyed The Fastest Way to Fall the most out of the two & I attended BBBC’s virtual meet with Denise Williams. I FINALLY picked up my copy of Erin Hahn’s Never Saw You Coming (this was one of my most anticipated YA releases of 2021), and reread my favorite book of hers, More Than Maybe, before picking the former up.
The books I was the most obsessed with below include The Boys Club by Erica Katz, Wish You Were by Jodi Picoult, & Very Bad People by Kit Frick. I’m so glad I finally read Jason Reynolds’ Long Way Down, definitely one of the most powerful books I’ve read and one with an ending I’m still thinking about. I’ve mentioned before that 2021 was exactly the year of YA books for me, reading way more contemporary romance than YA, but I found myself picking up so much YA this month, including some of the books I’ve mentioned & specifically, All the Right Reasons, If This Gets Out, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
The Boys Club by Erica Katz | 4.5/5
The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams | 4.5/5
All the Feels by Olivia Dade | 3.5/5
Writers & Lovers by Lilly King |4/5
All the Right Reasons by Bethany Mangle (ARC) | 4/5
More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn (reread) | 5/5
Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn | 4/5
Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen | 4/5
How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams | 4/5
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon | 5/5
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult | 4/5
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds | 4/5
If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzalez and Cale Dietrich | 4/5
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson | 4/5
Very Bad People by Kit Frick (ARC) | 4/5
Cheer S2 (Netflix) – Yes, the show I was talking about in my intro that was my binge-watch of January was indeed the second season of Cheer. I told myself I was going to savor the second season of one of my favorite docuseries… and I watched the entire season in about 4 days. I loved the storytelling and chronology in this season, beginning shortly after the championship in 2019 . I loved returning to Navarro, but also getting to learn more about TVCC. I know it’ll be a long time coming, but I’m really hoping season 3 is in the works!
Abbott Elementary (ABC/Hulu) – I most often use TV to relax from work and not think about school, but I am absolutely obsessed with the mockumentary sitcom, Abbott Elementary, set in a Philadelphia public school.
Moxie (Netflix) – I FINALLY watched the film adaptation of Jennifer Mathieu’s Moxie! I read the book a few years ago and figured there were some differences, but overall I thought the movie was well done and captured the spirit of the book & its feminist themes.
How I Met Your Father & How I Met Your Mother (Hulu) – Blame it on Hilary Duff, but I started watching How I Met Your Father and feel pretty meh about it – I think it will be one of those shows I put on for background noise while working. However, I decided to watch for the first time the show it was inspired by, How I Met Your Mother, and I’m loving it! I’ve seen bits & pieces of the show before, but this is my first time really sitting down to watch.
Book Reviews
FIRST 2022 FAVORITE READ: Weather Girl Review
What I’ve Been Reading Recently: January 2022 Reviews
The Fastest Way to Fall Review
Bookish Fun
Recent TBR Additions: January 2022 Edition
5 Star Predictions: 2022 Edition
January and February 2022 Anticipated Releases
What did you read & watch in January? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? What are some of your reading goals for 2022? Share in the comments!
Fangirl Fury 