Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: January 2018

In December my wrap-up was pretty impressive. I read 15 books, which I think was a record for me. Consider that record smashed, in fact, annihilated, this January. Again, I had a week off work just like I did in December, which helped. I also participated in my first read-a-thon, and several of the books were poetry anthologies, but I’m still very proud of coming in hot with 23 books read in the first month of 2018.

Without further ado, here’s my January Wrap-Up! Kicking ass and taking names!

Harry Potter: A History of Magic – The British Library ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Journey Through A History of Magic – British Library ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Caraval  – Stephanie Garber ⭐⭐⭐
Rebel of the Sands – Alwyn Hamilton ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#GIRLBOSS – Sophia Amoruso ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chasers of the Light – Tyler Knott Gregson ⭐⭐⭐
Our Numbered Days – Neil Hilborn ⭐⭐⭐
Helium – Rudy Francisco ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Braving the Wilderness – Brené Brown ⭐⭐
Quiet Girl in a Noisy World – Debbie Tung ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Graduate – Charles Webb ⭐⭐
Depression & Other Magic Tricks – Sabrina Benaim ⭐⭐⭐
Adultolescence – Gabbie Hanna ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just Little Things – Nancy Vu ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry – Neil deGrasse Tyson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dear Ijeawele, Or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
whiskey words & a shovel volume I – R. H. Sin ⭐⭐⭐⭐
whiskey words & a shovel volumes II-III – R. H. Sin ⭐⭐⭐
Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Commonwealth – Ann Patchett ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sara J.  Maas ⭐⭐⭐
Lily and the Octopus – Steven Rowley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In total, that’s 23 books! Also, I didn’t read everything I’d planned, as usual (see my January TBR). However, I did read far more books than I expected!

2018 Challenge:

This year I’ve set my Goodreads reading challenge goal to 110 books, 10 more than last year’s 100, which I beat by 5.

Overall, my favourite books of this month were Station Eleven and The Hate U Give. Shoutout to Lily and the Octopus for also being awesome and making me ugly cry.

Compared to last month, this one was a bit of a mixed bag as far as how much I enjoyed everything I read. It’s doing my string of 5-star reviews some good!

Stay tuned for some upcoming reviews, and finally, happy reading!

– Paperback Patronus

Monthly To Be Read List: January 2018

I got a lot of books during Black Friday sales that I’m really excited about, so I had a pretty ambitious To Be Read (TBR) stack for December, and I’m doing the same for January.

Without further ado, here’s it is, pictured with the beautiful book lamp my husband got me for christmas! It opens like a book and is insanely satisfying.

Harry Potter: A History of Magic – The British Library
The Invention of Wings – Sue Monk Kidd
Caraval  – Stephanie Garber
Rebel of the Sands – Alwyn Hamilton
#GIRLBOSS – Sophia Amoruso
Lily and the Octopus – Steven Rowley
The Wonder – Emma Donoghue
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
Braving the Wilderness – Brené Brown
I’ll Give You the Sun – Jandy Nelson
The Graduate – Charles Webb
Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
This Song Will Save Your Life – Leila Sales
Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls – Lynn Weingarten

Where I’m at, and what I’m looking forward to!

As it’s already January 6, I’ve finished three of these! I read Harry Potter: A History of Magic first, Caraval second, and Rebel of the Sands third. Reviews upcoming for all of them! Out of the three, I enjoyed Rebel of the Sands the most! I think my next read will be #GIRLBOSS! I’m feeling some non-fiction.  I think my most highly anticipated reads of this month are The Hate U Give and Station Eleven, which both come highly recommended from friends and Bookstagram alike.

It’s highly possible that you think there’s no way I’ll finish all of these…

You might be right, but I’ve already read three and I read 15 books in December! I’d bet on myself for this one.

Now that I’ve shared this with you, I’m off to keep working on all the reviews I need to post thanks to my warp-speed holiday break reading spree!

– Paperback Patronus