🧤 January Reviews ❄️
January 1st-31st
I had a great start to the year and read 17 books in January. Found so many new favorites during the month and read a full series.
Book 1: I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons
By Peter S. Beagle
Read January 1st-3rd
Pages: 278
Release Year: 2024
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Peter S. Beagle is one of the best at writing fantasy and it is always an absolute joy to pick up one of his books. He has this whimsical way of writing which pulls me in from the first page. I love the way he writes his fantasy worlds and the characters. This is a bit darker than you might expect but it doesn’t surprise me based on what else I have read from Peter over the years. I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons is such an enjoyable story which I highly recommend to fans of high fantasy.
Book 2: The Library Mule of Cordoba
By Wilfrid Lupano
Read January 3rd
Pages: 272
Release Year: 2021
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A beautifully illustrated graphic novel with a powerful story and message. The Library Mule of Cordoba is based on the true historical event of the destruction of the Library of Cordoba. The main plot of the story is fictionalized for the graphic novel. It tells the story about what happens after the Caliph of Cordoba, Spain dies and his vizier takes over in his place. Caliph Abd al-Rahma III and his son al-Hakam II made Cordoba the capital for learning in Western society. In 976, al-Hakam II dies young, leaving his son the rightful Caliph, even though he is only eleven years old. One of al-Hakam’s viziers, Amir, takes power and decides to burn over 400,000 books in the library.
On the night before the burning, the head librarian, Tarid gathers as many books as he can to try and save them. He loads the books onto a mule and sets out on his adventure. With the help of Lubna, a copyist, and Marwan, an old apprentice of Tarid, who turned into a thief, Tarid travels over Spain trying to protect the books from the vizier’s men who are searching for them.
The historical context behind the story is explained at the end of the graphic novel. It is unknown if the book burning which occurred at the heart of the story actually happened or at such a scale. There are sources which discuss the event but not many. All that is known is that the library was destroyed. This graphic novel takes a horrendous event from history and gives it a semi-humorous fictionalized story. I enjoyed reading about Tarid’s determination to save as many books as he could. It is not easy with men chasing after him and also a mule who does not want to lug around so many books and keeps trying to eat them. The illustrations fit well with the story with them being humorous and serious when needed. It is a style which compliments the story being told.
This graphic novel gives some levity to a hard topic of book burning, but the message comes through. The importance of making sure we don’t let knowledge get destroyed or taken away from people. At the end of the story, the author shows other events in history where similar events have occurred. It is a powerful story which I enjoyed reading about.
*Thank you to Edelweiss for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 3: Monday or Tuesday
By Virginia Woolf
Read January 4th
Pages: 155
Release Year: 1921
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Virginia Woolf was a master at writing stream of consciousness stories. I enjoyed a good amount of these but some are too short. “Blue & Green” and “Monday or Tuesday” might have worked better in a different format such as poetry, though I did enjoy the idea of “Blue & Green.” The longer pieces such as “A Society,” “An Unwritten Novel,” and “The Mark on the Wall” were great.
“A Haunted House”- ⭐️⭐️
“A Society”-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Monday or Tuesday”- ⭐️⭐️
“An Unwritten Novel”- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The String Quartet”-⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Blue & Green”-⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Kew Gardens”-⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The Mark on the Wall”-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 4: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
By Heather Fawcett
Read January 5th
Pages: 317
Release Year: 2023
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An absolute delight of a novel. I adore Emily and Wendell’s banter throughout this entire book. My goodness the amount of times this had me chuckling and grinning from ear to ear. It is just a joy to read from Emily’s perspective in her journal entries.
I also enjoyed the stories Emily gave about the fae and also about the various creatures she has come across in her studies. Makes me hope there will be a companion book to this series with even more of these stories. It would be great to have the stories annotated by Emily and Wendell.
This was a book I knew I would love as soon as I heard about it, but I didn’t realize how much I would. Looking forward to reading the second book.
Book 5: The Great Good Thing
By Roderick Townley
Read January 7th
Pages: 224
Release Year: 2001
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I wish I had found this book as a child because I know it would have been one of my favorites growing up. It has everything I loved then and still do now. I'm glad it is getting reprinted and hopefully will be found by many new readers.
Metafiction is one of my favorite things in a book. I love it when characters know they are characters and interact with the world outside of their story. It was enjoyable to read about what they did when the book was closed. I loved reading about them having to run to whatever page the reader opened to. This brought a good amount of humor to the story that I'm sure young readers will love, as will those young at heart, like myself.
Sylvie's story is heartwarming and quite sad at times. She's a great heroine for young readers to read about. There are many hard topics in this book which were handled well. The message behind this book is quite powerful, especially with the title. I won't spoil that here. Also, it embodies the joy of reading and falling in love with a story. I remember being Claire's (one of the readers in this book) age and rereading my favorite books repeatedly. Rereading is still one of my favorite things but I do not do it even close to the amount I used to. When I fell in love with a story, I liked to experience it as much as possible, which often meant rereading the same book five times in a row. At least my favorite scenes.
This is a book about how important a story can become to a reader and how it becomes part of your memories. It shows how even after so many years a story can still greatly impact your life for the good. The Great Good Thing is a great story for book lovers who get lost in the stories they are reading. It made me feel nostalgic for those magical times when I would fall in love with a book as a child. Reading really is special.
I highly recommend this for young readers and those like me who still feel enjoyment from reading whimsical books like this.
*Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 6: Ghazal Games: Poems
By Roger Sedarat
Read January 9th-10th
Pages: 80
Release Year: 2011
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Book 7: The Little Liar
By Mitch Albom
Read January 11th
Pages: 352
Release Year: 2023
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My first Mitch Albom book in almost nine years and it was perfection. I love how Mitch chose to tell this book from Truth’s perspective and focuses on four characters: Nico, Sebastian, Fanni, and a Nazi officer, Udo.
The story starts in 1943 in a coastal Greek city during the Holocaust. We see the horrific events which occurred there and then in Auschwitz. I didn’t even know about any of the events which occurred in Greece before reading this book. Mitch does not shy away from the gruesome details like I have seen some do when talking about WWII. This made the story even more powerful.
It continues decades into the future showing how the war has affected each character as they try to navigate life after everything. This book is an important one, especially with the themes explored in its pages. I know I will be thinking about this for a very long time.
Book 8: Tale of the Flying Forest
By R. M. Romero
Read January 12th-13th
Pages: 368
Release Year: 2024
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R.M. Romero writes such wonderful fantasy worlds which come alive on the page. This book was a joy to read. I loved the way she weaved in the interludes and other stories from the past of Bei Ilai. It was great to learn about so much of this world while also seeing how Anne’s adventures unfolded.
Portal fantasy stories will always draw me in. I’m hoping Romero will return to Bei Ilai in further books so we can see more adventures with Anne and Rainer. Definitely, want to see what happens with them both after the ending.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.*
Book 9: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands
By Heather Fawcett
Read January 15th-17th
Pages: 345
Release Year: 2024
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An absolute delight of a novel which I enjoyed just as much as the first. I loved watching the relationship between Emily and Wendell grow throughout. There was even more Celtic folklore which drew me into this world from the beginning. We also got two new characters Rose, another professor at Cambridge and Emily’s niece, Ariadne. I liked seeing what they added to the dynamic of the group and the adventure in Austria. Cannot wait to see what happens in the third book. This is definitely one of my favorite series.
Book 10: Winnie-the-Pooh
By A.A. Milne
Read January 18th
Pages: 161
Release Year: 1926
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January 2025 reread:
I decided to reread this for A. A. Milne’s birthday today. It will forever be one of my favorite books.
April 2017 review:
So this is the first time I have read this book since I was a child and all I can say is that I adored it. It was funny and very cute. I have loved these stories since I was very little whether I read them or watched the movies and tv shows. I was obsessed with Pooh Bear and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood. At first I thought that I would like this book from nostalgia and yes I am nostalgic for these stories. As I was reading it I realized just how cute the stories were and how much I loved it. I am twenty-three years old but I can say without a doubt that I adore these stories. I want to now get the other books so I can read them. All I can say is that if any of you out there loved Winnie the Pooh as a child and have never read the book, you should. Or if you read the book as a child read it again. I do not believe that you will be disappointed. It was one of the funniest books I have ever read that was for children and it just made me so happy. I could not stop smiling while I was reading it. Also the illustrations are great.
Book 11: Heroides
By Ovid
Read January 13th-19th
Pages: 288
Release Year: 17
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A great set of epistolary poetry mostly from heroines of Greek and Roman antiquity.
Book 12: Illuminations
By T. Kingfisher
Read January 19th-20th
Pages: 260
Release Year: 2022
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Book 13: Pride & Prejudice
By Jane Austen
Read January 22nd-24th
Pages: 405
Release Year: 1813
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January 22nd-24th, 2025 reread-
I enjoyed this even more than I did the first time. Darcy and Elizabeth’s story is one of my absolute favorites.
February 9th, 2018 read-
I have been wanting to read a Jane Austen book for years but never have picked one up. The book that I figured would be the perfect one to start with was this one because of its reputation. I am very happy to say that this not only held up to what I figured but was so much better. This is one of my favorite romances ever. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth feel so right together and the build-up to their relationship was perfect. I loved watching them fall in love and knowing it far before, at least she ever does. I believe Mr. Darcy knew for a good portion of the book. Their hate-love relationship is one of the best that I have ever read and I'm glad I can finally say that I did.
Also, I really loved Elizabeth's father, Mr. Bennet. I really enjoyed his scenes especially when he is messing with his wife. He is a loving father that cares for each of his daughters, but Elizabeth is obviously his favorite. It's great to see his relationship with the family and just the relationship between each of the family members.
This is a novel that I believe fully deserves the amount of praise that it has always received. It's now over two hundred years old and still is considered one of the best classics. It's obvious why and it has become one of my absolute favorites.
Book 14: The Story of Gumluck and the Dragon’s Eggs
By Adam Rex
Read January 24th
Pages: 132
Release Year: 2024
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Another adorable book in the Gumluck series. I definitely recommend these books for your young readers.
Book 15: In a Glass Grimmly
By Adam Gidwitz
Read January 27th
Pages: 352
Release Year: 2012
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Such a great companion to the first book. Adam’s humor is top-notch and I love how he weaved together the various fairy tales in this story with Jack, Jill, and Frog’s adventures.
Book 16: The Song of Orphan’s Garden
By Nicole M. Hewitt
Read January 29th
Pages: 352
Release Year: 2025
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A gorgeously lyrical book written in verse that draws readers into its world through the characters of Lyriana, Zave, and Brob. I love it when fantasy books are written in verse. Nicole does an incredible job using the various poetic forms to create a powerful story. There are so many parts that stand out throughout the novel. It has such a unique magic system with music, and I loved seeing how it was used.
I highly recommend this beautiful story.
Book 17: Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales
By Heather Fawcett
Read January 30th-31st
Pages: 368
Release Year: 2025
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Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is a beautiful conclusion to the Emily Wilde series. It picks up right where the last book ended. I love the banter throughout, and I’m glad we got so much of it even with everything else going on. Wendell is his same endearing self and brings so much humor to the book. He is one of my favorite romantic interests ever in a book. I adore him.
This was much more romantic than the previous entries and I loved seeing Emily and Wendell together. Emily uses a lot of her faerie knowledge as usual to help figure out how to save the day. I was surprised by the direction this story went, and I loved every minute of reading it. Also, I’m glad we got to see most of the other characters from the previous books again.
The Irish folklore is one of the best parts of these stories, and it was probably the best in this one out of them all. Hopefully, Heather will return to this world someday because I would read anything with Wendell and Emily together. My biggest hope is that she writes companion books to the series of each of the books Emily is writing, along with commentary from Wendell. I would love to read the lost tales with annotations from them both.
I highly recommend this trilogy. It is definitely a new favorite for me, especially because of Emily and Wendell.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
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