January is generally seen as the longest month in the year. It genuinely is actually one of the longest months in the year and feels endless simply because it is winter and it is after Christmas where we had two short working weeks and are now back to full working weeks. There are a lot of things that make January a very miserable time, although it is not all bad. I felt my heart lift a little when I spotted the snowdrops coming out.
For those of us who love reading, books are a big way to get through this time of year and they're also one of the best things about January because of the reading challenges, if you're on Goodreads or Storygraph. It's quite nice to renew the challenges and be looking at a whole new year of reading.
Mine got off to a bit of a slow start. Because of reading a chunky book that I didn't take to brilliantly at first, I fell behind on the total of books, only just kept on track with pages and, struggling to find an audio book I wanted to listen to, I also got behind on hours. I did feel slightly satisfied that I was actually reading a bit slower. I've targets with the fear I wouldn't meet them and then beating them halfway through the year. Maybe this year I was being more realistic. But I soon stormed ahead. Partly because the only other person I know who really uses Storygraph is pulling ahead of me very quickly for the first time ever and it's motivating me to read more. I know it isn't a competition, which I'm always telling people, but at the same time, I have always been like this. It goes back to several instances at school where I was talked down to several times for being slow and supposedly one of the worst in the class and behind everyone else. Reading, as I got older, seemed to be where I was ahead of everyone else around me and I've never been able to shake that.
Here's a breakdown of my reading progress throughout January:
Books finished: 9
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin; Solitaire by Alice Osman; Stories of Hope by Heather Morris; The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro; Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce; The Cornish Rebel by Nicola Pryce; The Black Moon by Winston Graham; Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie; The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and 3/4 by Sue Townsend
Paper Books: 5
E-Books: 1
Audio: 3
Re-reads: 2
Currently reading: 3
(Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan; The Mystery of Blue Train by Agatha Christie; Understudy by David Nicholls)
Pages read: 2,595
Hours listened to: 33.2
Favourite read of January 2024
The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro
It was, quite simply, just classic Riordan. It was funny and easy and also plucked at the heartstrings
Least Favourite Read
Tied, between Black Moon by Winston Graham and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. As a re-read I always struggled with Black Moon as it never had the same charm as the others and introduced characters and elements that were intensely irritating. Roger Ackroyd I think is probably a very good book, but for me it was boring because I had full knowledge of the plot and conclusion. So this isn't a criticism of the book, just that it wasn't a great read for me.
What does February look like? I'll obviously be finishing off the books I'm currently reading. I generally try to only have two books on the go, one audio and one print, but a reserve I really wanted came through when I was halfway through another. There's the new Sarah J Maas book which I will hopefully get within the week and I know that's a chunky book so, depending on how good it is and how much time I am able to spend reading, that will a few days. I'm also waiting for Yellowface, another Agatha Christie and have some audios lined up, though some won't be available for a while yet. I'm hoping others will get through them quickly. At the end of February I will be working which will probably lessen the time I spend reading print books and increase my audio hours. Hopefully, I can get some audios I really love to help me through the cold mornings and long walks.
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