what I read in January
January flew by (and at other moments felt as if it would never end). Overall, I’m making nice progress on my reading goal and trying to find new-to-me authors to read. Is there a book you think I’d enjoy? Please let me know.
January Reading List
- Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking
- The Winter of The Witch by Katherine Arden
- How Long ’til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
- Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Child of Venus by Pamela Sargent
- The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen
- The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson
- Empire of Sand (The Books of Ambha #1) by Tasha Suri
- The Incomplete Book of Running by Peter Sagal
- Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History by Blair Imani
- The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
Recommendations:
How Long ’til Black Future Month? is a collection of N.K. Jemisin’s short stories. It includes one of my favourite stories, Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Under the Still Waters, which pairs well with the next story…
The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark was a delight. I loved meeting Creeper and Captain Ann-Marie. I hope to read more of these characters.
The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal was everything I wanted it to be and more. This book combines everything I enjoy in a really good story — women in non-traditional roles, space, maths, climate issues, science, and more. If that weren’t enough, add a good dose of realism — race issues, real religious observation (meaning: not cut-and-dry only this way, but messy how a real human practices and often questions). Everything about this story had me reading slower so it would last. Not sure why I didn’t read this when it was published but I’m happy I did now! She’s extra amazing because she used a Dr Who colourway to crochet my VLSI pattern.
I’m both excited and sad that the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden has come to a close, with The Winter of the Witch. It was great watching Vasya grow as well as her relationships with her siblings, her magic, and Morozko.