January’s been my best reading month since, well, December! I’ve read 12 books this month and all of them were most excellent. Some highlights include my Ursula K LeGuin reread, Nghi Vo’s Singing Hills novellas, Malka Older’s Infomocracy from her Centenal Cycle, Bethany C Morrow’s A Song Below Water and A Chorus Rises, Tash Aw’s Five Star Billionaire and Devan Barlow’s Curses and Curtains series which are some of the best books I’ve read in the subgenre if you like cozy fantasy of the kind Patricia Mckillip writes and the subtle world-building found in some of Diana Wynne Jones’s novels. Barlow’s world in which curses form an important part of the social framework is inventive, delightful and surprising. It’s almost criminal that these books are not getting enough kudos. I highly recommend them!
World-building-wise, Older’s, Barlow’s and Nghi Vo’s books all contain unique worldbuilding elements that enthralled me and which had me hungering for more. I was slow to warm up to Infomocracy but once I got in I was really excited about the post-apocalyptic world Older had built with engaging characters who were surprisingly relatable. Right now I’m enjoying Older’s Null States which is the second book in the Centenal Cycle. Having finished Tash Aw’s riveting Five Star Billionaire, I naturally hopped onto We The Survivors. There’s something about the way Aw can spin a yarn!
I look forward to diving into the rest of the Singing Hills Cycle novellas (two more to go!) as well as Barlow’s third book in the Curses and Curtains series. I’m also planning to continue on my journey of rereading LeGuin’s novels, and start rereading McKillip’s novels for both enjoyment and for the development of my own craft. I’ve drastically cut down on my online time after work so as to preserve my blood pressure and nervous system, which has resulted in me reading much more at night. This will probably be my status quo for 2026 because if books give me the healing I need after working hours, then more excellent books I shall read.
In other news I’ve also uninstalled all of the games apps on my phone except for the chess apps because I need to get unrusty at the one game that I’m most passionate about. I’ve never been particularly good at chess but the chess videos and tutorials I’ve been following have been slowly taking my game to the next level. That’s very satisfying.