January 2022 Reading Recap

Here we are…at it again with a whole new year full of great books! I’m once again on an award committee this year, so instead of sharing the EXACT books I’m reading this year, I’m going to be doing some roundups and recaps and talking more about my backlist reading.

January 2022 was a really interesting reading month for me, because it felt like a FRESH START! I had just come off of one award committee, my next one hadn’t started, and the local Best Of list I was working on was coming to an end, so I had less than 10 books to read for that meeting in January. I finally got a chance to dig into some back list titles, and make somewhat of a dent in my insane Book of the Month TBR and library TBR piles.

For the big backlist draw, I finally read the first two Percy Jackson books. Has my librarian card been renewed? They were pretty good! I can definitely see the appeal, and while I’m probably not going to finish the series right now, I feel better equipped to help kids in my own library find what to read next if they enjoyed the series.

Here’s some general stats from the 23 books I read in January!

• 8 graphic novels–including 2 mangas (something new and different for me!)
• 1 modern adaptation of P&P to review for JASNA
• 3 YA novels
• 2 past BOTM picks–a domestic thriller/mystery and a romance novel
• 1 book in verse
• 1 non-fiction book being considered for the Mock Newbery Committee I did
• 1 MG book I was reading for a book chapter I’m publishing
• 2 books in consideration for the Capitol Choices 2022 list
• 1 celebrity memoir from Bachelor Nation

One strange thing I’ve noticed recently is how HARD it has been for me to get into any audiobooks. I LOVE AUDIOBOOKS…but maybe not as much as I love podcasts, right now. Is it a commitment issue? Perhaps. Audiobooks can be looooong, and a 30 minute podcast episode feels a lot more feasible. I think, to remedy this, I’m going to try and find a good celebrity memoir on audio, or maybe do the new Chanel Cleeton, which I have on Audible. I love Cleeton’s books on audio, even though I normally prefer non-fiction audiobooks. I remember walking down the street during the twist on the audiobook in Last Train to Key West and gasping aloud, startling the people around me. I’m writing this roundup in mid-February 2022, and I truly have not finished an audiobook this year. Wow.

Also…I set my Goodreads goal to 250, and it says I’m 2 books behind schedule! AHHH!!!