Good morning!

It’s wrap up time!

January has been and gone! We are now in a new month of reading… what a month of reading January was! I didn’t expect much from it to be honest. Let’s just say that ‘Lockdown 3: Winter’s Here’ hasn’t been treating my brain very kindly… however, that doesn’t mean that I’ve not had the chance to read ANYTHING (it just means that my brain has more often than not wanted to just watch a load of Netflix crap than read a book!)

In January, I read 9 books

Now, if I’m aiming for 52 books (we’ll get to bookish aims at the end of this), then I’m ‘ahead’ already, ha. They were all kids’ books and tbh, I’m okay with that: that’s where my brain has been and that’s cool with me. I have got some pretty epic YA books lined up for February (I’m thinking half term!) and I can’t wait for that… but my brain just wasn’t in THAT space.

I read 3 graphic novels.

Three smashers! I’m not a massive James Bond fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed Silverfin! Well recommended for any James Bond fans, or fans of graphic novels in general! BIG BIG fan of Chad Sell (his book The Cardboard Kingdom is one of the most borrowed graphic novels in my library – so much so I have 2 copies!), so finding out there was a new one coming out made me delighted… and it’s great! Sunny Side Up is another great graphic novel – perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier graphic novels.

(Proper mini reviews for these to come in the next few weeks)

I read 6 middle grade novels

I know, I know. Look at this bevvy of ABSOLUTE TREASURE that I had the absolute pleasure of reading in January. I had such an incredible time with each of these books: new authors to me, favourite authors of mine. Some sequels, some new series and some classics in a format I actually want to read (thanks Jack Noel!). I’m not going into full detail about these books because either FULL reviews or mini reviews are to come in the coming weeks, but let me tell you, EACH ONE OF THESE IS A WINNER.

Side note: I realise how INCREDIBLY LUCKY I am to have read some (all?) of these early. I will forever be in absolute awe of the fact that I get to read some books by some incredible authors from some incredible publishers early. I’ve been doing this blogging thing for almost 5 years now (WOAH), yet it still blows my mind that people care (?) what I have to say about books, ha! Trust me, I do not take any of this for granted. It is massively appreciated.

So book challenges you say?

Like last year, the most important thing I want out of my reading is to ENJOY it. I wanna continue to read books that I love and that I can share with my friends/my kids. I’d love to continue to explore graphic novels (especially kids graphic novels… so any recommendations please shout at me!).

I’m actually being EXTRA EXTRA this year and I’m tracking my reading on Goodreads and StoryGraph (don’t ask… I don’t actually know why, ha. I imagine I will eventually phase out GR), so I have had to set myself a target – as ever, I’ve gone for 52, with the thought of doubling it if I need to.

And that’s about it for this month!

What did you read in January?
What was your favourite read in January?
What are your reading aims for 2021?

Talk to me in the comments, or shout at me on Twitter! I’d love to talk and know what’s worth reading!

S x