University of Kwazulu-Natal

Reading Lately January 2024 Book Reviews Booklist Queen

Bonisiwe Shabane
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reading lately january 2024 book reviews booklist queen

Which books are worth the read and which should you skip? Find out what books I’ve been reading lately and whether or not I recommend them. The start of the year means a new reading challenge and I love how all my January reads easily fit into the 2024 Reading Challenge prompts. Obviously, it helps that I am the one who created the prompts in the first place. As the months go on, it will be harder and harder to find matching prompts, but for now I’m going to enjoy my blank slate. I started the month off by finishing the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Which means I’m now one of those people who moan that George R. R. Martin never finished the series. I desperately need to know who wins the game of thrones! Usually I can’t wait to pick up my next book, but after reading those two massive books back-to-back, I found myself in an odd position of needing to take a reading break. Luckily my love of reading quickly came back because I apparently had three five star books waiting to be read.

It seems I always start out with a reading binge at the beginning of the year. Maybe it’s the shorter days, our lighter scchedule or the cold weather that tends to make me want to curl up with a book. I read three fiction books this month and thought I would round them up with a January Book Review along with one I finished on New Years Eve. Amazon: Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child.

Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t... And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared. Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they’re also building a new future—one neither of them could have anticipated My reveiw: This book started strong and I was invested and turning pages as quickly as I could.

That lasted all theway until near the end when it felt a little rushed as the author tied it all up. Maybe I just really didn’t love the way it ended. Overall it was a decent read until that point but for me it was only 3 stars. I’ve never heard of a mini-memoir before, but Two Women Walk Into a Bar sounds interesting! I also really like the cover on that one. Here’s what I’ve been reading: https://readeatrepeat.net/2024/01/15/books-in-progress-what-ive-been-reading-lately-january-2024/

January’s book roundup includes a variety of genres and two 5 star reads to kick off the year that I can’t wait to share with you! https://neverenoughnovels.com/2024/01/15/january-2024-mini-book-reviews/ The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction has been a favorite nonfiction friend for years. I’m enjoying yet another re-read – here’s my review and YOUR invitation to my 3 session online Book Club! https://lindastoll.substack.com/p/porch-125-the-listening-life-book It’s a new year with new beginnings, and it’s been a fun, strong start!

I’ve set some reading goals and recommitted myself to reading challenges. I continue to join Modern Mrs Darcy’s Quick Lit where I join other readers in sharing what we’ve been reading lately. A highlight of 2023 was the diversity of books I read both in regards to author perspective and genre, so in 2024, I am once again participating in the #DiversityAcrossGenres reading challenge. This year I am tweaking the genres a little. I’ll be reading General Fiction (a catch-all for all fiction that may otherwise not be included in the challenge), Romance, Mystery/Thriller (instead of Thriller/Horror), Historical Fiction (instead of Sci-fi/Fantasy), and Nonfiction. I am also traveling around the world again using the The Book Girls’ Book Voyage: Read Around the World reading challenge as a framework.

Their intent with the reading challenge is to travel from region to region together, but I will be jumping around as desired. My goal is to read more books set in countries I have not visited yet. As for my Scandinavian/Nordic reading challenge, I am still thinking about the best way to proceed in 2024. When possible, I will certainly be reading Nordic books for the other challenges I am participating in, but I do want to plan a specific reading challenge as well to keep me focused throughout... And finally, always a reading goal but really this year, is reading my own book shelf, especially unread Book of the Month selections. I’ve paused my membership until I’ve made greater process on that goal.

I love exploring the new books every month, but I don’t normally get around to reading my selections in a timely manner. Once I clear some space on my unread shelf, I’ll start up again. Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. I decided to focus on the Booklist Queen’s 2024 reading challenge books lately since it is the biggest reading challenge I’ve taken on and might be the most troublesome if I leave it too... I managed to get a little over the third of the way through the challenge in the first third of the year so looking good so far!

Which books are worth the read and which should you skip? Find out what books I’ve been reading lately and whether I recommend them. What do you do when you have a large backlog of work to do on your blog and in your house? You pop on headphones and listen to a whole slew of audiobooks. November has been an interesting reading month for me. Or should I say listening month?

I’ve spent the last few weeks borrowing books on Libby using my library card. I just search through the most popular books available now and select the first one I haven’t read yet. Although I am really enjoying the audiobooks, I’m ready to start switching back to some printed books. My stack of Book of the Month hardcovers by my bed is getting embarrassing large for me. But first, I probably ought to finish my 2024 Reading Challenge before the end of the year! Scroll down to see my reviews, and, as always, be sure to let me know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments!

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