Everything I Read In January 2023

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Why do I always feel like I had a bad reading month but I still end up reading a lot? Compared to most moths I feel like this, January was technically worse.

I read seven books though which is still quite a few. It was a NetGalley and dystopia month for me. I signed up for NetGalley years ago and never used it but finally tried it and was actually approved for a few books!

I’ve read five of the ten so far and while I’ve enjoyed them (everything this month, really) nothing has been like, a standout in either direction.

I did DNF one book and didn’t feel bad about it at all! Sometimes I’ll finish books I’m not liking if it’s at least fun not liking it (see Survive the Night next month) but this one was just boring.

I also joined a 23 in ’23 reading challenge where I have to read 23 books that have been on my shelf pre-2023. Only one in January was from the list (Flawed) but I’m on my third at the time of writing. I’ll keep updates on that throughout the year.

Overall, January was a decent way to start the year reading-wise but it wasn’t anything to write home about. I hope yours was better than mine!

• If you want to listen to some of these, consider trying Audible! You can get your first month free (one free book) plus tons of others they have for free.  Get that Audible deal here.
• If you’re on more of a budget, try Scribd!  You can get your first month free there. You can read books and listen to audiobooks. It is unlimited (especially the reading) but if you listen to tons of new audiobooks you may be restricted after a few. I don’t listen to enough to confirm this, but I do use Scribd myself and like it a lot. Sign up for Scribd here!
• Shop my collection of bookish goodies on Etsy! These aren’t my shop items, but other shops I’ve curated into a book-themed collection. Shop my Etsy bookish goodies here!
• If you want to read more on your Kindle but don’t want to buy books, Kindle Unlimited is a wonderful option. It’s $9.99 a month but if you read a lot and like to read more than just new releases, it could be worth it. Get Kindle Unlimited here!
• Get $5 off of $25 from BookOutlet! This is a great place to find new books for pretty cheap. They also have sales quite a bit, so keep an eye out for those. I tend to check here for books I want if they’re more expensive other places. They don’t have everything but they do have a lot. Shop BookOutlet here!
• Thrift Books has become my go-to when I’m looking for a book and want it cheap. It’s great if you like buying used books. With this you can get a free book after spending $30!
• Shop my book lists here! You can find every book list I have on Bookshop.org (except my monthly round-ups) and I add everything I can but they occasionally won’t have some. I do occasionally add extras though. If any lists are empty, they’ll be filled in shortly! Shop my bookshop.org book lists here.
• Shopping internationally? Check out Book Depository!

Elites of Eden

Final thoughts: I enjoyed this enough to want to finish the series but as I’m typing this now, I can’t really remember much about it so it wasn’t that memorable I guess.

Outlandish: Walking Europe’s Unlikely Landscapes

Final thoughts: From Goodreads: Thank you, NetGalley for a copy for review.

I love travel books, it’s half of what got me into reading as an adult so it pains me when I don’t love one. I really wish I liked this more than I did. That’s not to say it’s bad at all, but there were quite a few times I found myself wishing I was done.

I really enjoyed bits and pieces of all four parts of it, particularly Hungary, but some of it just really dragged. I absolutely love the concept of the book though and would never have known these strange landscapes could be found in Europe.

The writing is great, and the places are interesting, but I think it would have been better with a couple more locations in the same amount of book. I was also a little disappointed in the Jungle chapter even though II did enjoy it.

I was expecting more of a rainforest based on the ‘jungle’ title but it basically sounds like a regular forest. I found myself liking the travel parts more than the history parts, but that may just be a personal preference.

Overall, I’m glad I read it but I’m also glad I get to move on. I would recommend it if you like travel, geography, and history though.

Flawed

Final thoughts: I enjoyed this one. It’s not an all-time favorite dystopia but I’m glad I finally read it. I don’t have any deep thoughts on this one either.

Perfect

Final thoughts: From Goodreads: I enjoyed this but the constant repetition of “I was branded for a sixth time without anesthetic” or some variation of that was very annoying. We know what happened!

How Can I Help You

Final thoughts: From Goodreads: I received a copy of this from NetGalley for review.

I really liked this! It was such a fun premise and the whole time I was trying to figure out which way it was going to go. It wasn’t the way I was hoping, but I still liked the ending. It’s an easy read and what I would consider a popcorn thriller—big fan!

Everything You Left Me

Final thoughts: From Goodreads: I received a copy from NetGalley for review.

I want to preface this with the fact that I don’t do prose or poetry. I don’t get it, I don’t know how to read it and focus too much on that, and I probably wouldn’t have requested this if I realized it was prose (I don’t know how I missed that).

All that said, I’m glad I missed it because I really enjoyed this! I get really hung up on how to read prose, should it rhyme or have some kind of rhythm? I don’t know, but I liked this a lot anyway once I got past that.

I do wish it was written in a non-prose way so it could have been more fleshed out but I loved this anyway and the premise is very interesting: a girl finding out her father was a serial killer and having to deal with that. It’s intriguing and I’m so glad I read this one. It’s a nice quick read and even if prose isn’t your thing, it’s worth giving it a shot.

Rebels of Eden

Final thoughts: From Goodreads: DNF at page 228. This is pretty boring, full of typos, and I just don’t even care to find out the ending.

Not so Perfect Strangers

Final thoughts: From Goodreads: Thank you UnionSquare and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

3.5 rounded up. I did enjoy this, especially the ending and big reveal, but it feel like it dragged a bit in the first half at least and there were points where I wanted to put it down. Overall I mostly enjoyed it and I’m glad I pushed through. Morris drove me nuts though until basically his last scene.

Have you read any of these? Which ones? What did you read in January?