Forever Lost in Literature: Month in Review: January 2026

January continues to earn its reputation as the longest month of year, haha. I might be in the minority, but I don't typically mind it because I feel like it gives me plenty of time to adapt to a new year... but maybe that's just me. This post is up a bit later than I intended, but this past week has just been hectic as hell so I'm glad I'm getting it up at all. I have felt very fortunate to live in Southern California this month as I've seen the crazy winter storms hit so many places throughout the country, so I hope if you are somewhere caught up in all of that that you are safe and doing well!

I also posted my Best Books of 2025 and my 2025 Reading Stats posts if you missed those!

In personal news.. January has been... a lot. The good news is that I started a new part-time job and I still have a couple interviews and leads, so fingers crossed things end up going well and work out in whatever way they are meant to. There's also some less fun personal things that have happened in my life in January, but let's just focus on the positive, haha.

In reading news, it was a pretty decent reading month. I started out strong, but then fizzled out a bit as the month got crazier. Still, I'm not complaining! I read some great books this and I don't think I really disliked any, so that's always a plus for me. I posted about a review a week which is less than I meant to, but I'm trying to be realistic about what I can feasibly get up right now, haha, so I'm going to just accept it and keep trying to improve each month.

How was your January and what books have you been reading? How's the new year been? Any reading-related goals? Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

# books read: 11

The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry

Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I finally got around to this one and really enjoyed it! I appreciated how unique it felt for a haunted house type of story.

Native America: The Story of the First Peoples by Kenneth L. Feder

Source: NetGalley | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: This is a fantastic overview of the history Native American peoples and I thought the author did an incredible job of explaining things clearly and in a very readable manner. It has more of an introductory vibe to me, so if you're new to learning about Native American history, this is a great place to start.

The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper

Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to finally finish this trilogy, but I'm so glad I finally did because it was a very solid ending to a fantastic trilogy.

Patchwork Dolls by Ysabelle Cheung

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: This was an incredibly thought-provoking and weird (good weird!) collection of stories and my review for it will be up next week!

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: For some reason, I though I read this years ago. And then I realized I hadn't, so I decided to finally check it out and it was very informative. I still hold true to the belief that it is exceedingly rare for any catastrophic event/etc. to ever be handled well by any government/people in power... and this was not an exception.

Just Watch Me by Lior Torenberg

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

Thoughts: This was a bit of an adrenaline-fueled fever dream that I was hooked on for the entire ride.

The Compound by Aisling Rawlee

Source: Library | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I started reading this a couple months ago, but couldn't really get into it so set it aside. But then I started hearing so many mixed things about it that I was tempted to try it again, so I did and I was much more engaged this time--I found it to be surprisingly compelling and an interesting look at social dynamics and individual nature.

Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: Detour is a sci-fi/space thriller with a super intriguing concept. It's a bit slow to start, but places with some fun ideas and I'm eager for more.

Eden of Witches, Vol. 2 by Yumeji

Source: Library | Format: Ebook
Thoughts: I've been enjoying checking this one out, though I wouldn't say I'm overly hooked on it. I really love some of the art!

The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff

Source: Publisher | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: This was such a fun Greek mythology-inspired middle grade read, and my review is already up for it!

The Power of Guilt by Chris Moore

Source: NetGalley | Format: ALC
Thoughts: My focus hasn't been great with fiction books on audio lately, so I've been trying to stick to more nonfiction and this was one I saw on NetGalley so decided to give it a read. Although I didn't find too much to be necessarily "groundbreaking," I think it does make some really interesting points about guilt and where it manifests, its effects, guilt vs. shame, and more--I'd recommend it!

To-Be-Finished:

For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce
I really tried with this one, but it just wasn't working for me. I really love the concept and thought this book would be amazing, but the directions it took and how it explored the concept were pretty disappointing and, honestly, a bit boring, so I've set it down for now.