This Week: January 18th

News and Updates

Snow?! In Georgia?! You know what that means…time to make a cup of something hot, grab a blanket and read! While the family may go outside to have a little fun, I’ll be taking advantage of the quiet to catch up on some reading. With all the events the past week, I’ve gotten a little behind again!

This Week

I’ll be recapping those author events later this week, but first, it’s Steampunk week here on the blog! I love the aesthetic of this genre but haven’t read much fiction that falls into it. If you like this genre, share your favorite reads in the comments!

Monthly Reading Challenge: Science Fiction

Weekly Reading Challenge: Steampunk

Steampunk mixes Victorian era aesthetics with steam-powered technology – the “what if” around earlier adoption and development of the technology and a delay in the changes in fashion culture. I have friends who attend steampunk balls here in Atlanta with costumes and decor – it’s gorgeous!

When searching for steampunk books, Nisi Shawl’s name came up multiple times. I loved the cover of this one and the blurb sounded fantastic!

If you’re looking for other great books for this prompt, try one of these reads recommended by our StoryGraph community:

Clockwork Canada, various
The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House, Joanna Davidson Politano
Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld
The Six Gun Tarot, R.S. Belcher

New This week

This week, one of our favorite romcom writers is back with a new sports romance! Tessa Bailey’s Catch Her if You Can promises friends-to-lovers and a fun baseball romance. I have loved her other sports romances and can’t wait to read this one!

If you’re looking for a new thriller, check out T.M. Logan’s The Room in the Attic. A family moves into an old home full of secrets. Soon they discover a secret room with forgotten items that sparks even more intrigue. But what the family should really be concerned about are their own secrets.

In Case You Missed It

Last Week’s Prompt

Lilith has been kept in suspended animation for years. Now the alien race that saved her from the war that destroyed Earth have woken her up and are looking to return her to Earth once again. First though, they need to teach her, and a handful of other survivors, how to live in the wild that has overtaken the planet. Will they be able to repopulate Earth, or will they turn on the aliens or each other before they make it back?

I give Dawn by Octavia Butler 3.3 out of 5 stars. Butler is often crowned the queen of this genre, and I can absolutely see why so many readers love this book. But I struggled to connect with the story — the plot felt hard to follow, the alien characters never fully clicked for me, and even Lilith’s character felt a bit off. Honest reviews matter too, and this one just wasn’t a favorite for me.

Last Week’s Articles

The first few months of the year deliver some of my favorite book and author events! Last week, I shared a handful I’m hopeful to attend and I hope to see you at. While I tend to stay around the Southeast, the list does have a few across the country I think you’ll love.

Did I miss an event you think I should know about? Drop it in the comments and I’ll update the list! And keep an eye on our Instagram and Threads pages – I’ll post my travel schedule there as it develops!

Last Week’s Preview

What if your entire universe was held together by a handful of engineers… and someone started pulling it apart?

I give The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu 4 out of 5 stars — inventive, emotional, and exactly the kind of smart sci-fi I love having on my shelf. Ellie is grieving her mom while trying to track down who might be sabotaging the very framework that keeps her world running. Chu combines his microprocessing expertise with a gripping story about grief, power struggles, and the ethics of technological innovation, and I flew through this one. You can read our full review here.

Reading Challenge Prompts

In 2026, we’re reading through the genres in our local libraries, starting with Science Fiction! This isn’t my favorite genre, but I’m having fun digging in so far. Which of our weekly prompts is your favorite type of science fiction?

This Week: January 18th

News and Updates

This Week