January wrapped: the 12 books I read & 4 recs for you

January wanted to make sure we FELT all 31 days.

Happy Saturday! I hope you’re doing something fun, restorative, or both.

Before I hit the road for London and Edinburgh I teed up January wrapped so it’d land in your inbox today: a quick restrospective of reads and delights from the month. I’ll level with you, there were very few delights. I saw a meme somewhere that said January wanted to make sure we FELT all 31 days… extremely real… the month that felt like a year…

I’ll dive into the reads shortly, but those very few delights that I mentioned:

• Deeply, deeply fond of these comfy but put together pants from J. Crew. (Comfy but put together pants are the only kind of pants I want to own.)

• I have been fully consumed by the show Traitors. I want to do nothing but binge Traitors under my blanket. I love Traitors.

• Drooling over all of Katie Kime’s fun phone case customization options. Am I a toile girl? I’m on the fence.

• This lip stain is so good— I put it on 6 hours before my red eye flight to London and 18 hours (and no sleep) later, when I started to explore the city, it looked exactly the same.

The Most Famous Girl in the World by Iman Hariri-Kia // Kind of Anna Delvey inspired “mystery” set in a New York media-y climate. Insane twist at the end was the primary redeeming quality for me, I fear I hated the main character.

James by Percival Everett // This was my book club’s read for January and I’m glad, because it was not something I was planning to read, honestly. I’m glad I did— though I listened to the audiobook versus reading, which is absolutely the correct choice here. You’ll want to hear the narrator code switch between dialects. All in all: this should be required reading in schools. Poignant, moving, hard to read. They have to make this into a movie.

An Irish Bookshop Murder by Lucy Connelly // A cozy mystery set in a small Irish village, where a new bookshop owner becomes entangled in solving a murder that shocks the quaint community. This is a Kindle Unlimited read— I’m trying to cleanse the vibe after binging on romantasy and prep myself for a cozy winter week in England and Scotland!

The Assassin’s Blade, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, and Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas // Continuing my journey reading the Throne of Glass series. Guys…. you just have to read this. This is the best series I’ve ever read. It makes ACOTAR look like gum under your shoe.

The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins // This audiobook changed my life. It’s one of those ones I’ll listen to on repeat again and again until the message sinks in. I could write a whole letter on it.

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey // Speaking of something I listen to again and again whenever I need a vibe shift— I’ve listened to this on audiobook 10+ times in my life. My friends and I like to relisten at least once a year. Part memoir, part life guide, this book blends stories from McConaughey's life with lessons on embracing challenges and finding meaning in life's "greenlights." It’s a masterpiece.

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe // A gripping narrative about the Troubles in Northern Ireland— this is a must-read, by which I mean it’s a must-listen. This book is so LONG and so dense (like all of the author’s work) that it’s best listened to on audiobook. It’s narrated, appropriately, by someone with a Northern Irish accent. I just think that’s the way to do it. After reading, watch the show on Hulu!

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe // A deep dive into the Sackler family’s rise to wealth and their role in the opioid epidemic, exposing the devastating consequences of corporate greed and systemic corruption. I listened to the audiobook here again, after trying to read the hardcover six years ago and utterly failing. I crushed this audiobook! It’s author read, goes by quickly, and felt like history meets an informative podcast meets a touch of New York society gossip.

That’s all for today, folks! Excited to share nuggets from my travels with you— getting LOTS of reading in.