January Review & February Preview

It’s time to take a look back at our favorite reads this past month, and catch a sneak peak of what’s coming up! First – what were your favorite reads in January? I’d love to hear about them in the comments! Here’s the books that got 5 stars from me this month:

January Reads

In January, I read 11 books – 5 audiobooks and 6 print. The links below will take you to the reviews previously posted. Visit this list on the Bookshop page for links to purchase a copy of each yourself!

• 5 Stars
  • Wild Dances, William Lee Adams
  • Take My Hand, Dolen Perkins-Valdez
• 4 Stars
  • Mad Honey, Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
  • Smoke, Catherine McKenzie
  • Dark Angel, John Sandford
  • Five Winters, Kitty Johnson
  • Overcoming Top Sales Objections, Made for Success
  • Nine Days, Stephen Kendrick & Paul Kendrick
  • China Rich Girlfriend, Kevin Kwan
• 3 Stars
  • Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin
  • Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow

My favorite this month was Wild Dances! I can’t wait to post this full review later this week. This poignant memoir was written by someone I have known for nearly 3 decades and is about finding where you fit in personally and professionally, as well as overcoming the shared family trauma that so often restrains us.

February Reads

I won’t lie – I was a little concerned I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the aggressive reading schedule I had planned for January. Between three book clubs, and holiday reads, it was a lot! Here’s what I have planned for the next month – it’s just as aggressive! (You can find all these books on the Bookshop page here!)

• The Girlfriend Book Club – The Quarry Girls, Jess Lourey
• Friends & Fiction Book Club – Written by a person of color: The Color Purple, Alice Walker
• The Booklist Queen
  • Published in Your Birth Year: The Color Purple, Alice Walker (this one is pulling double duty to help me meet my goals!)
  • Famous Author You’ve Avoided: Paradise Lost, John Milton
  • Character with a disability: The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
  • Fiction/Nonfiction Pairing (Fiction choice): Jackie & Maria, Gill Paul
• Additional reads this month
  • Valentine’s Day: A Vineyard Valentine, Nina Bocci
  • Mardi Gras: The Seamstress of New Orleans, Diane C McPhail

Do you have any good reads planned this month? Share them in the comments! I’m always looking for my next good book!

What I’m reading