And that’s a wrap for … January

Man, what a year it’s been. I mean, month. I am not normally one of those people who feels like January lasts an eternity but this one was a doozy.

Only word sums up January and that word is : shit. The gift that kept on giving. On the 23rd my maternal grandmother passed away. She was turning 98 this year so it really was a case of sooner rather than later, I suppose. And yet, we are never prepared, are we? I was definitely not prepared for all the crap that happened, and is still happening, after. Families, man. The story is way too long and ugly to get into here, although it might do me some good to write it all down and get it out of my system. But for now, let’s just say I’m feeling somewhat off-kilter and it might take some time to get back to my “normal” self.

Needless to say, my reading took a knock as well. I was so determined to get a decent head-start on my Goodreads challenge this year. Let’s see what happened …

| WHAT I READ IN JANUARY |

Boy, am I getting off to a good start or what?! 😳🤣. I mean, sure, 5 isn’t bad. But I was kind of aiming for something between 10 and 15 so you know …

| BOOK OF THE MONTH |

Just about the ‘book of the month’ because if I had finished another one a few hours earlier, it would have been a different story.

| WHAT I BOUGHT IN JANUARY |

It hurts and the withdrawal symptoms are extremely ugly, but I think I’m getting the hand of this whole “buy less books” thing. Also, I already read two of these so the TBR is staying nicely under control, thank you very much.

| RECEIVED FOR REVIEW |

I like me some Simants. Don’t have a clue what this one is about.
I heard a lot about this new Jewell novel and it sounds good so tried my luck and here it is.
May have gotten Sam Lloyd confused with someone else, so this is a bit of an accident but hopefully a good one.

| ON THE BLOG IN JANUARY |

Review : The Simple Truth by James Buckler
Review : The Hiking Trip by Jenny Blackhurst
Review : The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
Review : Exiles by Jane Harper

Repost of a review for the reissue of Remember Me by Lynda Renham

A look back on the year that was 2022
The ones that got away in 2022
Some of my most anticipated books of 2023

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And that’s a wrap for January! Not exactly the best of starts but onwards and upwards, right? Hope you all had a great month. Until next time! xx