January 2026 Reads

Cheers to the start of a new year. In 2026, I’d like to document all the books I read each month. I know I’m starting a bit late, but late is better than never.

Here’s everything I read in January 2026:

The Sword of Summer, Rick Riordan

Myths are simply stories about truths we’ve forgotten.

Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis

“Magnus Chase has seen his share of trouble. Ever since that terrible night two years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, Magnus learns that someone else is trying to track him down—his uncle Randolph, a man his mother had always warned him about. When Magnus tries to outmaneuver his uncle, he falls right into his clutches. Randolph starts rambling about Norse history and Magnus’s birthright: a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

The more Randolph talks, the more puzzle pieces fall into place. Stories about the gods of Asgard, wolves, and Doomsday bubble up from Magnus’s memory. But he doesn’t have time to consider it all before a fire giant attacks the city, forcing him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents. . . .

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die.”

Genre

Young Adult Fantasy

My Rating

My Thoughts

The first book in another Rick Riordan mythology trilogy, this one surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. A middle grade adventure fantasy that features Norse demigods, monsters, and gods themselves, The Sword of Summer was an easy and fun read. Maybe this is the ELA teacher in me, but I enjoy reading young adult novels. There’s a lot of good lessons to be learned and it is just easy on the brain.

I listened to the audiobook version on Apple audiobooks, which wasn’t bad. The narrators of this series can sometimes be irritating, but then again, I’m picky.

The characters themselves were diverse, with two very different main characters. Magnus Chase is white (and homeless), so not super diverse there. But there’s Samira, a Muslim character that you get pretty in depth with. There’s a lot about Islam when it comes to her, and you can tell this was one of the ways Riordan was trying to educate young readers about Islam. I thought that was pretty cool.

Would I recommend it? I do think I’d recommend it, it was a fun read and something I feel like middle grade readers would definitely love, and it’s something older readers can enjoy without feeling like they’re swallowing stones with how heavy content can be for adults. It was a good in-between book for me, and I’m glad I read it.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, Bill Bryson

Hunters will tell you that a moose is a wily and ferocious forest creature. Nonsense. A moose is a cow drawn by a three-year-old.

Bill Bryson

Goodreads Synopsis

“The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America—majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way—and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).”

Genre

Travel Memoir

My Rating

My Thoughts

Let me explain my rating here. I started out really liking this book. It was interesting, had some adventure with it, and was what I was looking for with a travel memoir with a focus on hiking. But as the book continued, it just started to drag.

Bill Bryson talks about his experience hiking the Appalachian Trail. It is an impressive feat, to be sure, but everything just starts to get repetitive. And not to mention, he has a somewhat odd view of women. He’s not exactly creepy, but he does give weird vibes. So that tainted my view of his experience, too.

At first, all the facts were very interesting and made reading his experience overall more interesting. You got plenty of background information on the trail itself, some of the disasters of hiking, dangers of hiking, and whatever else. But as I neared the end of the book, I think he may have just lost some steam with writing his stories, because most of the chapters were just filled with facts rather than his experience hiking. That’s where he lost me. If I wanted to read about random Appalachian Trail facts, I’d pick up a history book or something.

Maybe this book is perfect for someone else, who wants an in-depth history of the Appalachian Trail, but it wasn’t perfect for me. I lost interest and it was a grueling fight to finish it.

Would I recommend it? Probably not. But I’m sure someone out there would love it.

Ladies in Hating, Alexandra Vasti

She knew not how to curb the fierce and maddening fever that raged within.

Alexandra Vasti

Goodreads Synopsis

“A pair of Gothic novelists trade rivalry for love in this swoony, steamy, sapphic Regency by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti.

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s also acquired an enemy: the enigmatic Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her rival, of course. But unmasking doesn’t go according to plan–because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s very secret, very embarrassing teenage infatuation.”

Genre

Sapphic Regency Romance

My Rating

My Thoughts

Anytime I see sapphic literature, I will buy it, and it doesn’t really matter if it is outside of my wheelhouse. It’s going to end up in my hands one way or another. I love the regency era, and so seeing this was a sapphic regency novel, I knew I needed to read it.

It was a good book. We’ve got the good tropes of enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity, which are classics. Personally, I felt like the main characters were good, but lacking some depth. That’s kind of why I didn’t give it a higher rating. That, and I’m also not a gothic reader, and this had some decent gothic themes in it.

But, I am a sucker for romance, and so I liked it overall. It has a satisfying ending that any romantic can appreciate, and a good build up. I also liked the entire idea of the teenage crush, and falling back together due to crazy circumstances.

Would I recommend it? For sure. I love recommending sapphic romance novels.

These Burning Stars, Bethany Jacobs

Auntie, if I was drowning, I would use my last strength to pull my enemy under with me. If I was burning alive, I would run into their arms like a lover. If I was bleeding to death, I would bite out their throat. I am not one to die with dignity and temperance. I will be vindictive and selfish to my last breath. Just as you would be.

Bethany Jacobs

Goodreads Synopsis

“A dangerous cat-and-mouse quest for revenge. An empire that spans star systems, built on the bones of a genocide. A carefully hidden secret that could collapse worlds, hunted by three women with secrets of their own. All collide in this twisty, explosive space opera debut, perfect for readers of Arkady Martine and Kameron Hurley.

Jun Ironway—hacker, con artist, and occasional thief—has gotten her hands on a piece of contraband that could set her up for proof that implicates the powerful Nightfoot family in a planet-wide genocide seventy-five years ago. The Nightfoots control the precious sevite that fuels interplanetary travel through three star systems. And someone is sure to pay handsomely for anything that could break their hold.

Of course, anything valuable is also dangerous. The Kindom, the ruling power of the star systems, is inextricably tied up in the Nightfoots’ monopoly—and they can’t afford to let Jun expose the truth. They task two of their most brutal clerics with hunting her preternaturally stoic Chono, and brilliant hothead Esek, who also happens to be the heir to the Nightfoot empire.

But Chono and Esek are haunted in turn by a figure from their shared past, known only as Six. What Six truly wants is anyone’s guess. And the closer they get to finding Jun, the surer Chono is that Six is manipulating them all.

It’s a game that could destroy their lives and devastate the stars. And they have no choice but to see it through to the end.”

Genre

Sapphic Sci-Fi Space Opera

My Rating

My Thoughts

Honestly? Woah. This book was a bit crazy. I picked it up because it’s a sapphic novel (so I obviously needed to get it), but I got so much more than that. There was no romance in it, which I was a little disappointed by because I love romance, but everything else made up for it. This was such a twisted book, and I liked it. It didn’t take me long to get through because it kept you on your toes.

There’s such a complex social system in here that sometimes it was hard to follow, and you didn’t really get the religious system or much else about the planets. That’s where it was lacking. I feel like Jacobs could’ve taken more care in getting the reader to understand these details that make it a space opera. But of course, beggars can’t be choosers. I don’t really know of many other sapphic space operas.

What I liked about this book was the complex characters. There’s such a strong theme of obsession here that really makes you question the sanity of nearly everyone involved. That, and there is a HUGE plot twist that even I did not see coming, and I pride myself on being able to predict books. After a while, you start recognizing patterns and everything starts to become a little predictable. This, however, was not predictable in the slightest. So, well done Jacobs. You completely threw me for a loop.

Would I recommend this? Yes, yes I would. If you’re looking for a mind-bending sapphic space opera, this is probably a good place to start.

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

Intelligence evolves to gives us an advantage over the other animals on our planet. But evolution is lazy. Once a problem is solved, the trait stops evolving.

Andy Weir

Goodreads Synopsis

“A LONE ASTRONAUT.
AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION.
AN ALLY HE NEVER IMAGINED.

RYLAND GRACE is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and Earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could imagine it, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.”

Genre

Science Fiction

My Rating

My Thoughts

I’ve been reading a lot of sci-fi lately, which I have also been enjoying. This was another one of those sci-fi books I’ve enjoyed, and also felt good about reading. My girlfriend and I saw it at a Barnes and Noble and decided we each would get a copy, and that it would be something that we’d read together, instead of the classic let me read this then tell you to read it thing we have going on.

Weir created a humorous sci-fi novel that takes on a very heavy topic, which happens to be the end of the world. You have some strong female characters in here, and a reluctant hero. It was a very technical novel, and something that was maybe a bit difficult for me to fully grasp. After all, I am but an English teacher. I don’t do much science, and don’t have a fixation on space or everything else that goes with it. I had to look up what some things were, and I needed to find explanations of certain concepts that were used in a way where Weir just assumes the reader knows what he’s talking about. Fair, but I wasn’t one of those people.

I loved the friendship in this book (won’t say more to not spoil it), and the ending was satisfying, yet unsatisfying. It was a happy and sad ending. I don’t really know how else to explain it. But since I struggle with that, Weir did a good job.

When I could understand the book, I loved it. When I couldn’t understand it, I got a little irritated at my lack of knowledge and the fact I had to look stuff up.

Would I recommend it? Yes, and I already have recommended it to a few people.

The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan

Deadlines just aren’t real to me until I’m staring one in the face.

Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis

“Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse – Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena – Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.”

Genre

Young Adult Fantasy

My Rating

My Thoughts

Another Rick Riordan book, I know. This was another audiobook, too. I feel like I have to explain a little here. This book series is my absolute favorite series of all time. I read it as a middle schooler and it has stuck with me ever since. I have bought and read every single book Riordan puts out that is either sequel, prequel, or whatever else for the world of Percy Jackson. It doesn’t matter. You name it, I’ve got it.

Another middle grade book, you follow Percy Jackson as he discovers himself and embarks on a great adventure to save the world. And, it has Greek mythology. Like, come on. It can’t get better than that. I love all the characters and their complexity, I love how Riordan represented the gods, and I love the internal and external conflict that the characters go through.

This is one of those books I’ll come back to no matter how old I get, or where I’m at in life. It will be just as comforting, just as interesting, and just as entertaining as it was when I was an 11 or 12 year old. I still love this book, over ten years later.

Would I recommend it? Without a doubt. Don’t even think about it, just get it.

The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker

Great Achilles. Brilliant Achilles, shining Achilles, godlike Achilles … How the epithets pile up. We never called him any of those things; we called him ‘the butcher.’

Pat Barker

Goodreads Synopsis

“The ancient city of Troy has withstood a decade under siege of the powerful Greek army, which continues to wage bloody war over a stolen woman—Helen. In the Greek camp, another woman—Briseis—watches and waits for the war’s outcome. She was queen of one of Troy’s neighboring kingdoms, until Achilles, Greece’s greatest warrior, sacked her city and murdered her husband and brothers. Briseis becomes Achilles’s concubine, a prize of battle, and must adjust quickly in order to survive a radically different life, as one of the many conquered women who serve the Greek army.

When Agamemnon, the brutal political leader of the Greek forces, demands Briseis for himself, she finds herself caught between the two most powerful of the Greeks. Achilles refuses to fight in protest, and the Greeks begin to lose ground to their Trojan opponents. Keenly observant and coolly unflinching about the daily horrors of war, Briseis finds herself in an unprecedented position, able to observe the two men driving the Greek army in what will become their final confrontation, deciding the fate not only of Briseis’s people but also of the ancient world at large.

Briseis is just one among thousands of women living behind the scenes in this war—the slaves and prostitutes, the nurses, the women who lay out the dead—all of them erased by history. With breathtaking historical detail and luminous prose, Pat Barker brings the teeming world of the Greek camp to vivid life. She offers nuanced, complex portraits of characters and stories familiar from mythology, which, seen from Briseis’s perspective, are rife with newfound revelations. Barker’s latest builds on her decades-long study of war and its impact on individual lives—and it is nothing short of magnificent.”

Genre

Historical Fiction, Mythology Retelling

My Rating

My Thoughts

What a retelling. The Silence of the Girls made my chest ache in the most important way. Whenever we read about the Trojan War, the focus is always on the men. But what about the women? What about the countless women who deal with the real horrors of war? Men don’t survive long enough to experience them, and women are kept alive just to experience them.

Greek mythology has always been a major interest of mine, and a genre that I know I will be reading forever. This is one of those books that is important to read because of the content, and because we don’t really get stories from the perspective of women in these Greek myths. More and more stories are being written, but it still isn’t enough (in my opinion).

Achilles and Patroclus are glorified heavily throughout literature, but here we get another view of them. Monstrous, heartless men who care only about glory and some terrible, meaningless war. Sounds familiar, right? History only ever repeats itself, doesn’t it?

Would I recommend this book? 100%. Please read it.

The Hammer of Thor, Rick Riordan

How did you decide when someone was irretrievably lost—when they were so evil or toxic or just plain set in their ways that you had to face the fact they were never going to change? How long could you keep trying to save them, and when did you give up and grieve for them as though they were dead?

Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis

““Magnus Chase, you nearly started Ragnarok. What are you going to do next?”

It’s been six weeks since Magnus and his friends returned from defeating Fenris Wolf and the fire giants. Magnus has adjusted to life at the Hotel Valhalla—as much as a once-homeless and previously alive kid can. As a son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus doesn’t exactly fit in with the rest of Odin’s chosen warriors, but he has a few good peeps among his hallmates on floor nineteen, and he’s been dutifully training for Ragnarok along with everyone else. His days have settled into a new kind of normal.

But Magnus should have known there’s no such thing as normal in the Nine Worlds. His friends Hearthstone and Blitzen have disappeared. A new hallmate is creating chaos. According to a very nervous goat, a certain object belonging to Thor is still missing, and the thunder god’s enemies will stop at nothing to gain control of it.

Time to summon Jack, the Sword of Summer, and take action. Too bad the only action Jack seems to be interested in is dates with other magical weapons. . . .”

Genre

Young Adult Fantasy

My Rating

My Thoughts

Here we are at book two, following Riordan’s The Sword of Summer. I found this one a bit better than the first, I think. But then again, both are pretty good. It was fast paced in some areas, and slow in others, but per usual, Riordan’s books are a must-read for me.

Just like last book, we’ve got diverse characters. Samira is back, and we’re introduced to Alex, a homeless genderfluid character. Cheers to Riordan for that, honestly. You don’t really see a whole lot of diversity like this in books, especially for when this was published (2016).

While it’s a fun book, I also think it’s an important one, if only for the diversity. But there’s also great themes of trust, friendship, and acceptance here that could benefit a lot of people.

Would I recommend it? Like the first book, yes I would.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers

No sapient could sustain happiness all of the time, just as no one could live permanently within anger, or boredom, or grief.

Becky Chambers

Goodreads Synopsis

“Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.”

Genre

LGBT Science Fiction Space Opera

My Rating

My Thoughts

I really wanted to like this book. Truly. But I found that I could hardly finish it. As time goes on and I read more and more books, I have found that I am not someone who reads a cozy book, unless it’s just a typical romance. Otherwise, books labeled as cozy tend to bore me. Unfortunately, this was one of those books.

This is a sapphic space opera, and I was excited to read it. Unfortunately, the sapphic characters are just brushed over, there’s little to no action, some romance (sapphic, and between a human and AI which was weird given the climate now), and not a whole lot else. I’m also not a fan of romance across different species, and that’s what this had.

It’s supposed to be a feel-good book, which it kind of was, but I also feel like Chambers could’ve done a lot more with it. Or maybe I’m just critical.

Would I recommend this? It depends. I feel like you have to really be looking for a cozy sci-fi with low stakes to truly enjoy it.

The Ship of the Dead, Rick Riordan

I think the hardest thing we can ever do is see someone for who they really are. Our parents. Our friends. Ourselves.

Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis

“Magnus Chase, a once-homeless teen, is a resident of the Hotel Valhalla and one of Odin’s chosen warriors. As the son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus isn’t naturally inclined to fighting. But he has strong and steadfast friends, including Hearthstone the elf, Blitzen the dwarf, and Samirah the Valkyrie, and together they have achieved brave deeds, such as defeating Fenris Wolf and battling giants for Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Now Magnus faces his most dangerous trial yet. His cousin, Annabeth, recruits her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, to give Magnus some pointers, but will his training be enough?

Loki is free from his chains. He’s readying Naglfar, the Ship of the Dead, complete with a host of giants and zombies, to sail against the Asgardian gods and begin the final battle of Ragnarok. It’s up to Magnus and his friends to stop him, but to do so they will have to sail across the oceans of Midgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim in a desperate race to reach Naglfar before it’s ready to sail. Along the way, they will face angry sea gods, hostile giants, and an evil fire-breathing dragon. But Magnus’s biggest challenge will be facing his own inner demons. Does he have what it takes to outwit the wily trickster god?”

Genre

Young Adult Fantasy

My Rating

My Thoughts

The third and final book in Riordan’s trilogy, The Ship of the Dead wasn’t the ending that I had hoped for. I was a little disappointed in this book, and it felt like Riordan had just run out of steam.

The characters were great, they were likable despite their flaws, and again you were rooting for the good guys the entire time. But I feel like this dragged on for a bit, and maybe Riordan was running out of enemies. Listen, it was a good ending, it wasn’t a bad ending, but it just wasn’t the best ending.

I feel like there isn’t a whole lot for me to say about this book. It was a good trilogy, and I’m glad I read it, but it’s probably not something I’ll go back and read again and again, like I do with other books.

Would I recommend this? Yes, I think so.

L.M.R

March 17, 2026