January 2022 TBR List

I have several books that were on my December TBR list that I kind of owe you a review on, but since I fell behind with those, I’ll add my thoughts to the ones I didn’t write a full review on below. A few notables but some not-so-notable as well. Let’s take a quick recap of the list, shall we?

1. A book with a 1-word title: Little by Edward Carey. I finished this one but am still not sure what to think about it. On the surface it’s an historical fiction that follows the life of Madame Tussaud. This book is quirky and odd, maybe veering off into “weird”, and it’s VERY hard to describe. I did enjoy the historical parts of it and as an interesting personal tie-in, the Grosholtz family (Madame Tussaud was born Anna Marie Grosholtz) is from the same area my great-grandmother came from – with the same last name – so perhaps we’re distantly related to Madame Tussaud?
2. A book that is part of a series, but a sequel or later: Namesake by Adrienne Young. Finished and loved this second in the duology – a fun YA/fantasy read with great world-building and pirates!
3. A book with snow on the cover: I read, reviewed and loved In the Kingdom of Ice. You can read that review here.
4. A book with a strong female lead: Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer. Another wonderful YA Fantasy read. This was my December BOM fantasy club selection and I loved it.
5. A book with a title that starts with “C”: Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah. A disappointment for me. I enjoyed The Nightingale by this author and thought I would love this holiday-themed contemporary fiction but I sadly did not.
6. A book with “husband”, “wife”, “love” or “marriage” in the title: TBD I read The Zookeeper’s Wife – see my review from yesterday on this one. Not a favorite either.
7. A book with a red or green or red and green cover: Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang. Meh. Another one I was under-whelmed by. I had hoped I’d enjoy this one as I’ve read another by this author but the combo of vampires and drug addiction was not for me.
8. A book published in December of any year: I read Murder at St. Anne’s by JR Ellis. This is book 6 in a series of British mysteries set in Yorkshire in the UK. Entertaining, light reading.
9. A book where the MC doesn’t fit in or overcomes obstacles: The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow. LOVED this one. So many great characters in it – I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read this one as it’s been on my shelves for almost a year.

Here’s what I have on tap for my January 2022 reads:

1. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
2. The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick. (This was my Page1 BOM club book from December and I want to try to keep up with my 2 BOM subscriptions this year.)
3. The Map of Time by Felix Palma.
4. The Origins of Wizards, Witches and Fairies by Simon Webb. This is an advance reader’s copy I’m really excited to review.
5. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. I’m reading this one as a buddy-read with my friend, Jennie.
6. If I have time, I’d also like to try to read The Last Mona Lisa by Jonathan Santlofer, which I’m doing as a buddy-read as well, but it’s slated for anytime in the first quarter, so if it gets moved to February, that’s okay too.
7. Finally, again, if I have time, I’d like to read Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat.

This last book is part of The StoryGraph Reads the World challenge that I’ve added on to my reading challenges for 2022. It challenges you to read 10 books each set in a specific country (not the US or UK) by an author from that country. The above book is for Haiti (other countries included are Russia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, Palestine, South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam and Zimbabwe), and I’m hopeful this will encourage me to expand my reading horizons. If you have an account on The Storygraph, please let me know – I’d love to see what you’re reading over there. (And if you aren’t familiar with The Storygraph, they are a woman/minority-owned platform similar to Goodreads – but not owned by Amazon or another large company. They have many similar things like lists and tracking, book recommendations and reading stats but they also do an excellent job with challenges, which I particularly love.)

What titles are you looking forward to in January?