9 reads & 5 recs from January!
Multiple 5-star reads and great winter recs for you from January.
Howdy, friends! I’m excited to bid January adieu officially with this dispatch. It’s a good one, I have so many great book recs! If you’re new around here or just need to fill up your TBR, click here for my reading recs & reviews column— and be sure to view this letter in your browser since it’s got lots of links and images which might get clipped in your inbox.
January was long, slow, and record-breakingly cold here. I broke out the Hanni Splash Salve, which is essentially the thickest, balmiest moisturizer that you apply in-shower— so when you step out, freezing, you can just jump into PJs or a robe and focus on getting warm. The scent is my favorite and I love the way it locks in moisture for 12+ hours— no scaly shins or elbows here.
Traitors being back on air got me through January. I love everything about Traitors. Not much more needs to be said! Alan Cumming is a treasure.
I went down a rabbit-hole trying on 5+ pairs of fleece-lined leggings from different brands so that there was even the remotest chance I might be able to comfortably exist in my activewear between the months of January through April… hands down, the winner was this pair of fleece-lined leggings from Vuori. Thick but not cumbersome, they manage to retain their shape and compression without getting baggy or sloppy. They stay in place whether I’m walking the dog or doing squats. (My only complaint is I would love some more colorways!)
In other news, I was glad to see that you were as excited as I was about Cadence’s “community only” sample sale on their usually pretty pricy (but endlessly useful) pods, capsules, and dopp kits. It appears to still be going on! I’m quite excited to have expanded my set and to say goodbye to wasteful travel-sized products.
There’s no easy transition here: I was heartbroken to hear that Tatiana Schlossberg, author of one of the best books I’ve ever read— and Kennedy family member— had passed away at just 35. (I really rubbed salt in the wound by reading the New Yorker essay she penned as she battled an uncharacteristic form of leukemia that her doctor discovered just as she gave birth to her second child.) If you’ve not yet read it, this is an incredible time to honor her legacy and pick up one of my favorite books of all time: Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have. It is eye-opening, mind-bending, and you will never think the same again.
My monthly reading round-up is here, and I couldn’t be more excited! I had two 5-star reads this month, which is awesome. In my reviews below I’ve omitted re-reads (I indulged myself to a few to cozily descend into January). Paid subscribers get full, honest book reviews below for books like Hungerstone, Best Offer Wins, Happiness and Love, The Correspondent and Katabasis, as well as…
What to read if you watched Netflix’s The Seven Dials and are craving more of an Agatha Christie vibe this winter
The book that I fear I may have peaked with and is my top contender of best book of the year (!!! yes, I know it’s only January!)… that somehow no one else seems to have mentioned much of yet?
Honest thoughts on The Correspondent, the book that people can’t seem to stop talking about!
Let’s get into it, shall we?