Rearview Mirror // January 2021

Okay so yes it’s April, but sometimes life just gets behind, so hear I am with a throwback to January!!

Favorite January Read

Although I had a couple of rereads that I enjoyed more, I think that Time and Time Again was my favorite new read of the month.  It was such a fun concept and so well done.

Most Disappointing January Read

I’m going with Circles in the Snow for this one.  It was the final book in Patrick McManus’s Bo Tully series and it just… was weird?? It also lacked some continuity with the earlier books, which felt awkward.

Other January Reads 

• 3*
  • The Fortune Teller by Gwendolyn Womack
  • The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemison
  • The Tamarack Murders by Patrick McManus
•  3.5*
  • Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
  • Act Like You Love Me by Cindi Madsen
  • Avalanche by Patrick McManus
  • The Double-Jack Murders by Patrick McManus
  • Falling for Her Fiance by Cindi Madsen
  • The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison
  • The Flip Side by James Bailey
  • The Huckleberry Murders by Patrick McManus
  • An Officer and a Rebel by Cindi Madsen
  • Resisting the Hero by Cindi Madsen
  • The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemison
  • Susannah the Pioneer Cow by Miriam Mason
  • Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie
  • Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey
• 4*
  • Bill the Conqueror by P.G. Wodehouse
  • The Blight Way by Patrick McManus
  • Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer
  • Eyewitness Guides: Brazil
  • The Newark Earthworks
  • The Pioneers by David McCullough
  • Thirteen at Dinner by Agatha Christie
  • Unknown Threat by Lynn Blackburn
• 4.5*
  • The Grand Tour by Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
  • The Mislaid Magician by Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer

January Stats

• Total Number of Books Read:  29 (4 Kindle, 25 physical)
• Total Pages Read:  8694
• Average Star Rating for September:  3.7
• Longest Book: The Grand Tour (469 pages)
• Shortest Book:  An Officer & a Rebel (106 pages)
• Oldest Book:  Alice in Wonderland (published 1865)
• Newest Book: Active Defense (published 2021)
• Number of New-to-Me Authors:  5

January DNFs

The only one I bailed on this month was a random Kindle book I got for free at some point, The Boden Birthright by Mary Conneally.  It wasn’t exactly a bad book, but, as my notes say – “Why did I even download this book?? It’s a Christian western?? What was I thinking??”  …just not my style!!

TBR Update

This I keep updated as I go, so it’s current as of today, rather than as of the end of January. Still a million years behind on reading blog posts, though! :-/

For those of you who don’t know, I’m weirdly obsessive with organizing the TBR, and have it on a spreadsheet divided into six different tabs:

• Standalones:  513 (down two)
• Nonfiction:  125 (up one)
• Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  638 (down nine!!!)
• Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  253 (down two)
• Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 115 (down three)
• New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 128 (up thirteen!!)

Current Read

I’m reading Shoot the Moon by Kate Watson, the sequel to Seeking Mansfield.  While I really enjoyed the first book, I’m finding this one to be a bit of a drag.

Up Next

The probable next five(ish) reads…

• Off Script, the third book in the series by Kate Watson that I’m reading
• A Lady’s Guide to Mischief & Mayhem by Manda Collins – this month’s book for my traveling book club!
• Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie – still working my way through all Christie’s books (again)
• The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Rauf – a little outside my usual zone, but this one was recommended to me by a friend.
• Mansfield Park Revisited by Joan Aiken – I reread Mansfield Park last month, so I’m hitting a few variations/retellings this month.  I really enjoyed Aiken’s variation on Emma (she tells the story from the perspective of Jane Fairfax) so I’m interested to read this one.

Final notes – I think I finally have my WordPress editor back to “normal”, which means I can still access the Classic editor!!! Life is good again!!! I really appreciate everyone’s patience with all my whining lately.  I’ll try to focus on reviews going forward!!!

Happy spring – I’ll be back soon with some February book reviews!!!