This Week in Reading - January 4

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

Nothing Yet!  I did place an order over at Thrift Books but since they haven't arrived it doesn't count.

Currently:

Reading:  Someone to Care by Mary Balogh and The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz

Slow Read:  Brought to Book by Antonia Fraser

Listening:  The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Watching:  911, Lone Star 911, and VERY slowly Death in Paradise on BritBox.  I'm watching this one with my husband and we watch an episode or 2 a week so it's taking us awhile.

Off the Blog:

2026 is off to a quiet start which is heavenly.  I'm loving my books and have been enjoying all the TV I'm watching.  Tomorrow I'm back to my regular life and it'll be good to be back to routine though I do enjoy the slower pace of between the holidays.

I have two non-bookish projects going for this first quarter.  The first is to get my office organized and decorated in a way that makes me happy and is useful.  I'm also trying to get all of my favorite recipes in one location to make things easier.  It's slow going but it'll be nice when it's done.

Have a great week and happy reading!

Last Monthly Recap of 2025 - December

Monthly Reading Total: 31 - A lot of these books were started in previous months so December was mostly finishing up books I had already started.

Type:

Print: 12

Ebook:  8

Audio: 11

Genre:

Mystery - 25

Fiction - 6

Favorite Books of the Month:

The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves- I expected to enjoy this one but was surprised by how much I did.  The audio especially was really good.

A Chapter of Accidents by L.M. Montgomery - This isn't my favorite collection of short stories but any newly published collection is going to be a winner.

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A Grave Deception by Connie Berry - I really love this mystery series and I really enjoyed this one.

This Month's Armchair Travel

Domestic Travel:  No new states but I did visit California (three times), Massachusetts (twice), New York, Georgia, Maine, Arizona, Ohio (twice), Alabama

International Travel: England (ten times), Canada, Italy, France, Japan, Scotland, and the Atlantic Ocean

How was your reading for December?

Friday Fives - January TBR

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. Since this is the first Friday in January, I'm planning my January TBR.  Here are 5 books I plan on reading in January. 

1.  A Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle by Darci Hannah - I enjoyed the first book in this series and I'm really curious to see how the series develops.

2.  We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida - I've really been enjoying Japanese cozy fiction and just the title of this one makes me smile.

3.  Panic Button by Kylie Logan - This is the next book in a short series that centers on a button shop and its owner (who has a tendency to stumble over dead bodies).  It looks like a fun cozy.

4.  The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams - This is set in post-war Bahamas and looks fantastic.  Plus, I could you a bit of warmth - even if it's from a book!

5.  Murder in the Crypt by Irina Shapiro - Audible Plus Catalog got rid of the bulk of the books I want to read so I'm trying to focus on finishing up the ones I do want to listen to this month.

What are you hoping to read in January?

First Books for 2026

 

I can't believe it's 2026!  Last year wasn't my best reading year in multiple ways so this year I'm focusing on favorites.  Favorite authors, favorite rereads, favorite tropes or just books that I genuinely think I'll love.  Here are the books I'm starting out the year with.

Print Book:

Someone to Care by Mary Balogh - This is a series that I've really been enjoying and this is the next book in the series.  This one involves the mother of the Westcott family and I'm really looking forward to reading her story.

Ebook:

The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz - I enjoy this series and this is a side character that I'm looking forward to knowing more about.

Audio Book:

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst - I adored the first book in this series and am so looking forward to listening to this one.

Slow Read:

Brought to Book by Anthea Fraser - This book has been on my TBR for years and looks like a good classic mystery.

How I Did on My 2025 Reading Goals

 

I made al my goals this year but it was definitely just barely for a few of them.  I definitely didn't enjoy my reading as much as I would like and had a few slumps or major slow downs during the year.  

1.  Read 200 books - I read 201!

2.  Complete the Read Christie Challenge for 2025 - Finished!  I read the November and December books in December but got all 12 books read.  The theme for 2025 was occupations and it was a fun mix of books.

3.  Read all the books on my 2025 Priority List - I picked 5 books from my shelves and 5 books from the library that I really wanted to read and I got all of these read.

4.  Read all the Authors on my Authors I Plan to Read list - Finished!  I read the last one (The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves) this month and I have a bunch of new authors to read more from.

5.  Read all the books on my Classics List - Finished!  I read the last three books on the list in December.

6.  Make progress on 10 series - Finished!  This year I focused on reading one book from each of the series I'm reading and while I enjoyed that it was a bit frustrating to not make more progress.

7.  Read 5 Overdue Review Books - I accomplished this one earlier in the year.

8.  Read 5 Nonfiction Books - Another one I accomplished earlier in the year.

9.  Finish 2025 ARCs - Done!  I got the last couple of stragglers done this month.

10.  Create a TBR jar and read 2 books from it - Done!  I created 2 TBR jars - one for audio books and one for print books - and have had a lot of fun with it.  I did just redo the audio one as Audible Plus cleared out pretty much all the books I want to read from the Plus category.  The good thing is now I can cancel it!

How did you do on your reading goals for 2025?

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Most Recent Additions to My Shelf

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is Ten Most Recent Additions to My Shelf.  Last year I was buying books like it was my job but this year I've been a bit more restrained so I don't have quite the stack.  All is not lost however, and I did pick up a few books!

1.  The rest of the Westcott series by Mary Balogh - I've been really enjoying this series and when I stumbled on the rest of the series at my local used bookstore I couldn't resist!

2.  The Chocolate Jewel Case by Joanna Carl - I've picked up a few books in this series and I need to read them to see if this is a series I want to read from start to finish.

3.  Mrs. Jeffries on the Trail by Emily Brightwell - I was so excited when I found this one.  It's the next one I have to read in the Mrs. Jeffries series and I've had a hard time finding it.

4.  A Ghostly Light by Juliet Blackwell - This was another one I was thrilled to find.  It's the only one I didn't have in this series and I'm only about a book away from it.

5.  The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters - I just finished the first Jacqueline Kirby book so when I saw I could get the second book in the series as a reward on Thriftbooks I had to grab it.

6.  Other People's Summers by Sarah Morgan - I've really loved everything I've read by this author and had missed this latest book of hers.  I'm really looking forward to reading it - it may be my pick for first book of 2026 buy I haven't decided yet.

7.  In the Middle of Hickory Lane by Heather Webber - This is another maybe for first book.  I love everything I've read from this author and I'm looking forward to this one.

8.  The Scarlet Circle by Jonathan Stagge - I know nothing about this book or this author but it called to me at the bookstore so I bought it.

9.  The Sandy Page Bookshop by Hannah McKinnon - This author has been on my TBR for awhile and I loved the premise of this one.

10. A Cruise to Die For by Heather Graham - This is the latest book I've gotten from NetGalley and it looks like a fun one.

What have you added to your shelf recently?

Authors I've Been Meaning to Read - The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves

At the beginning of the year, I made a list of authors that I've been saying I need to read and commit to reading at least one book by each of the authors in 2025.  Here's my thoughts on one of those books/authors.

Goodreads:  The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope #1) by Ann Cleeves

Blurb:  At the isolated Baikie's Cottage on the North Pennines, three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey. Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal...
For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double-betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide...

When Rachael arrives at the cottage, however, she is horrified to discover the body of her friend Bella Furness. Bella, it appears, has committed suicide - a verdict Rachael finds impossible to accept.

Only when the next death occurs does a fourth woman enter the picture - the unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, who must piece together the truth from these women's tangled lives...

My Thoughts:  This was not what I was expecting at all and that's not a bad thing!  I was fully expecting this to be a cozy English countryside mystery with a quirky detective.  I guess in very broad strokes it is all of those things.  It takes place in the countryside and Vera is definitely quirky however, I definitely would consider this a cozy read.  This is the story of 3 very complicated women who are living in a cottage in the woods working on environmental surveys.  Vera shows up about halfway through the book after an unexpected murder with no immediate suspects (but a few  possibilities) and is determined to untangle the mess at Baikie's Cottage.  I had about 45 theories as the book went along and still ended up surprised.  This was my first time meeting Vera but it definitely won't be my last.  I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and look forward to the next Vera book.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)