Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

Every year, I find that January is always the longest month of the entire year. Even though we have been stuck in our houses since last March, it still feels like this January was the longest month of all. I got quite a bit of reading completed for the first-half of the month, however, I probably could have read double the amount if I had read consistently during the last two-weeks of January (you can blame George Springer for that!).

The first book I read this year was SHOCKINGLY a 5-star read! The title of the book is MILK FED, written by Melissa Broder. Every year for the past three years, I have managed to read my least favourite book of the year as my first book of the year. Thankfully, that curse has now been broken by this wonderful book. My review will be going up tomorrow, so I am going to save my opinions for tomorrow’s post. Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC!

The second book I read in January was EVERY LAST FEAR by Alex Finlay. I feel like this book is getting a lot of pre-release hype – similarly to THE SILENT PATIENT (one of my absoulte favourite books) – but, I do feel like it is earned! My review for this book will be up on it’s release date, but I will say that I really enjoyed it! Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

The third book I read this month was A GOOD MARRIAGE by Kimberly McCreight. I have been wanting to read this book ever sense it released last year, but I am currently on a small book-buying ban, which entails only buying/pre-ordering new releases I am excited to read. For any backlists books that I am interested in, I will be getting them from the library for the foreseeable future, because if I really wanted to purchase them, I would have done so already. Anywho, back to this book! I really, really loved it! I am a huge domestic mystery/thriller fan, and this book was absolutely perfect for me! I loved the characters, the plot, and the twists and turns. I did not see the end twist coming, which made for a 4.5 star rating for me!

The fourth book I read this month was ALBATROSS by Terry Fallis. This one was recommended in a recent Ariel Bissett video, and since I typically love her book recommendations, I decided to try this one out. While I am glad I read it, I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. I really enjoyed the beginning of this novel, where the main character begins his adventures in golf, but by the end, I thought that it was dragging on. Overall, I gave this book a 3-star rating.

The fifth book I read this month was INDIAN HORSE by Richard Wagamese. I read this book for my “Education Re-Imagined” course, and I am SO glad I read it. This book broke my heart in some sections, and lifted me up in others. I had a lot of previous knowledge about Residential Schooling in Canada, but this book shared much more graphic details about the horrible abuse and trauma children experienced, and how it changed their lives as they grew up and out of the schools. This book should be required reading, especially if you live in Canada.

The final book I read this month was SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut. I read this book for my mandatory “Intro to English Literature” course, and unfortunately, it was not for me. I found the story structure a bit too confusing and complex for me, especially because I am very used to reading linear stories in prose narrative. However, I am still glad I read it, since this book was quite the adventure! Overall, I rated it 2.25/5-stars.

In January, I read about half of one of my favourite books of all-time, BASEBALL LIFE ADVICE by Stacey May Fowles. If you aren’t already aware, along with reading, Baseball is my second passion/hobby. I am a huge baseball “nut”, and look forward to watching and attending games every season. Fowles is a passionate Toronto Blue Jays fan (like myself), and is one of my biggest writing inspirations. BASEBALL LIFE ADVICE is a collection of essays about the Blue Jays, and about baseball in general. From writing about the Bat Flip, to how Baseball gets women-fans all wrong, this book is always a pleasure to read. I have read this book in chunks several times before, but I am currently slowly making my way through the entire thing. I hope to finish it by the end of February, right around the time Spring Training begins (hopefully…)!

Those are all of the books I read in January! Overall, I am happy with my reading this month, and hope to continue on a steady pace going into the next several months! Did you read anything fastastic this month?

Good Night Book Owls!