I committed this year to monthly updates on my 52 Book Club Challenge, with short blurbs on anything I hadn’t written about yet. I am pleased to share that this approach seems to be working! I’ve already tackled 16 books from the challenge in January, and many are books I may not have touched if I expected to write an extended essay. Even better, I’m now motivated to write blog posts about some of them – which is exactly the kind of reading and writing exposure I hoped for. (Note that below I’ve only posted links to the books I’d actively recommend – it felt disingenuous to link to books I didn’t love in this context.)
January was also a month of a lot of reading adventures! I’ve covered many of them here already – the book box, the Maui reading binge – but we just spent 10+ hours this weekend making an absolutely gorgeous book nook. (Photos and some thoughts on this at the end!)
52 Book Club Challenge update
Before we get into my bookshelf indulgences, though, it’s probably best to start with the actual reading…
2. A character with red hair: It’s Elementary
This was warm, suburban, and snarky – a cozy read recommended by my Tailored Book Read bibliologist. Certainly fun, though the mystery is mostly surpassed by life happening.
3. Title starts with the letter “M”: Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency
This was actually the first book I read this year and it felt perfect for unwinding after the holiday season. Most of the action takes place just after the holidays, so it felt quite timely. It’s also fun to watch how a professional handles juggling domestic labor at work with a series of personal crises. I found that some of the mystery and general plot elements were perhaps a bit too zany for my taste, but overall, a warm and friendly way to get my 2025 reading started.
10. Author’s last name is also a first name: The Stardust Thief
My partner loves reading stories that feature djinn, and so I often pick up new ones to see if I’d recommend them. I had high hopes for The Stardust Thief, which followed a thief, her djinn companion, and a disguised prince as they retrieve a treasure from deep in the desert. Perhaps Aladdin-inspired?
And while The Stardust Thief certainly delivers on its djinn story, it felt somehow lackluster. The worldbuilding was theoretically intriguing – djinn blood creates life! Seven powerful ifrit! But the djinn characters felt perhaps too direct, not ancient or twisty or surprising enough. The human characters were more entertaining – but felt quite dense at times – all action, no consideration beyond the moment. A fun read, but more action than complex magical adventure.
12. Has a moon on the cover: Water Moon
I feel like I’ve seen Water Moon all over my reading feeds, and I thought I knew what to expect. Based on the description (daughter inherits magical pawnshop, life changes with first customer), I thought we were squarely in healing novel territory.
Nope.
If I had to compare Water Moon to anything, it would be Spririted Away. The protagonists have to adventure through a spiritual realm, parallel to ours, to uncover secrets neither imagined. Water Moon was full of darkness and surrealism, translating abstract concepts into physical manifestations. I devoured it on the beach in Maui and loved its creativity (though found the ending a bit abrupt). Potentially one to post about – stay tuned.
19. Has short chapters: The Queen of Fives
As a lover of mystery novels, I’m almost honor-bound to read their close cousins – con novels. The Queen of Fives follows a con artist in the 1800s as she attempts to marry (and con) a duke in 5 days. Little does she know that her plans will force her into the path of another con – and danger from her own past. The story itself is structured around five “days” of the cons – a structure enforced by the criminal society Quinn leads.
This was twisty, Regency fun. Tons of historical place setting, and there’s something particularly fun about old-timey criminal associations. Are the structures and constraints realistic? No – but that’s kinda the point with this type of story – you’re trying to see what the author can do within the rules of the game they set. And The Queen of Fives’s rule set results in lavish, enjoyable ride with great “reverse mystery” energy.
20. A fairy tale retelling: Strike the Zither
A gender-bent retelling of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, with a magical twist. I read this hoping that I would enjoy the strategic elements, but was not expecting it to be so war-oriented. (Did I know that it adapted Three Kingdoms going in? No.)
Still, I enjoyed it enough to read the sequel…
22. Found family trope: The Spellshop
(Covered this lightly in my post on cozy reading!). Peak cozy fantasy. Kind of feels like we attempted to shove every single fantasy creature into one story and make them all important. Silly, warm, a good way to spend an afternoon when you want a distraction.
26. More than a million copies sold: Fourth Wing
I had been avoiding this for several years, because every time I read the description I worried that I’d be too annoyed with the characters to enjoy any plot or worldbuilding.
I was right.
Also, the worldbuilding here is insane, and is absolutely designed solely to make the story move forward. I have no idea how this military or economy could feasibly function. I know Onyx Storm is out this month and I am Very Happily Not Reading It.
27. Features a magician: The Poppy War
I LOVED Babel and I keep hoping that I will read more R. F. Kuang and love it just as much. (Still holding out hope for Katabasis this year!) I was excited for The Poppy War’s “school of warriors” premise, and quite explored the worldbuilding in that section. However, I was NOT expecting the pretty strong tonal shift in the second half of the novel (when Rin ends up at war).
I’m of two minds about whether I want to read the rest of the series. Empire-building fantasy is not exactly my speed, particularly when it’s so focused on violent war. At the very least, it takes more focus and emotional coin than I may be willing to spend right now… Anyone have any thoughts on this one?
28. A crossover: Tress of the Emerald Sea and 29. Set in the same universe: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Tress of the Emerald Sea is actually such a cozy fantasy story and one that made me sad that Brandon Sanderson writes mostly epic tales. I wrote about this a little bit in my cozy fiction post, but I loved Tress so much I picked up Yumi almost instantly. (Also I instantly bought all the extra-special editions of the Secret Projects, because I am nothing if not a book dragon.) I definitely want to cover this in an upcoming post – so stay tuned!
33. A standalone novel: Scenes of the Crime
(Covered most of my thoughts on this one in my first blog post of the year!)
35. Written in the third person: We’ll Prescribe You a Cat
Actually a healing novel this time. The bits with the cats unfold about how you might expect – pets force you to slow down, can make a family engage, etc. Very cozy, very warm, very fun. But We’ll Prescribe You A Cat also includes a throughline related to the clinic. I will not spoil it here, but I’m not strictly sure it’s necessary.
For me, it’s a great example of the genre, but I prefer my healing novels to include more books, or food, or tea. If you like cats much more than I do, you will probably enjoy this book.
40: Stream of consciousness narrative: Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime
I really enjoyed The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp, and was very much looking forward to this follow-up. This story takes Agnes and the crew to a luxury “eco-hotel” by the sea. And of course, when murders abound, it’s up to Agnes, Edwina, and their housemates to solve the case.
This was honestly a pretty fun cozy mystery, with bonus narration from a massive snake. (And the plot is definitely fair play! Joy of joys.) But I went into it expecting something as poignant as its predecessor, and Trip of a Lifetime is not that. If you’re looking for more “old friends solve mysteries”, though, this will be right up your alley.
49. Set in a country with an active volcano: Molten Death
(Covered in my post from last week!)
51: 300-400 pages long: Sound the Gong
The sequel to Strike the Zither. Very much a war novel, and one that dramatically expands the world and levers far beyond the first. Enjoyably, not super focused on the romance – but because it follows the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it packs a TON of war and strategy into a dense 300 pages. Perhaps better read spread out over several reading sessions…
Can I live in Sunshine Town?
As promised, here is my latest shelf excitement – my second-ever Book Nook!
For those unfamiliar, a book nook is basically a tall-ish diorama that can serve as a book-end. These were all over my insta feed two years ago, and I finally succumbed to the temptation to make my first one. It depicts the interior of the most perfect tiny little bookstore and lives amongst my fantasy novels. I like to think that, if fairies lived here, they’d frequent it and enjoy their finds.
That being said, they are a ton of work, even when you get a kit, and so I’ve left my book nooks at one for years. But this weekend, after a quick and successful miniature build, we decided to take on our second Book Nook. Surely, after all that experience, this one would be simpler, right?
Reader, it took us ten hours.
And I spent probably eight of them painting the edges of balsa white. Meanwhile, my partner learned both basic practical electrical skills and how to use heat-shrink for wires. 200+ pieces later, we finished the project…
…And I’m obsessed. Look at how cute that is. A perfect little street – cafe, bookstore, trees. It sits on our latest bookshelf, next to our Curious Correspondence Club puzzles and our book donation pile. It’s a shelf that makes me feel even warmer and cozier every time I see it. I didn’t think a second Book Nook would have this much impact – but it’s a great little reminder to get out to a street that looks like this one.
Perhaps that’s my big reading lesson for this month – a reminder that, at least in my reading, I own my own destiny. And if ever the hobby starts to feel forced, there might a good way to reshape it, drop a little magic back in. In turbulent times, it’s nice to start the year with a reminder of your own agency, even if it’s just in your hobbies.
Until February – stay cozy, and stay curious!
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