Sunday Post 126

Hi everyone!

Through Monday, I am linking with the following: 

Reading Reality, who hosts Stacking the Shelves

Readerbuzz, who hosts Sunday Salon

Caffeinated Reviewer, who hosts Sunday Post

The Book Date, who hosts It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

So here we are at the end of January. I've been keeping up with NetGalley Reading Journal to log everything I read. These are not so much challenges for me. They're more of a way to track everything after I finish books, simply because I enjoy doing so. Although it's from NetGalley, I use it for all books I finish. Here is my January Check-In:

All of the books I finished were cozy mysteries, so I didn't read any new-to-me genres. I thought In Farms Way, by Amanda Flower, was set in January, but it's actually set in February. Since there were other books I wanted to read in January, I decided to move In Farms Way to my late February TBR. My favorite book was Public Anchovy #1, by Mindy Quigley. Honestly, it's going to be hard to top that one for the entire year. But we'll see.

My NetGalley ratio dropped because I requested and was surprisingly approved for another book - Moonlight Murder, by Uzma Jalaluddin. I'm really going to put more of an effort into reading NetGalley books soon after I receive them, while also reading ones already on my shelf. So hopefully in due time my NetGalley ratio will rise. I was hoping to finish at least one more book by the end of January, but it was not to be. However, I did enjoy all of the ones I finished. Here are the ones I finished:

And here are the U.S. states I visited through cozies:

It's probably impossible to see the titles of the books, but I'm tracking which books took me to each state. Again, not a challenge. I'm not intentionally trying to visit all the states. I just like seeing which ones I do visit. If I visited a state more than once, like Pennsylvania, then I note all the cozies that took me there.

Overall, I'm pleased with how my reading went in January. And I posted reviews for all books I finished.

IN THE BOOKS

RECENTLY FINISHED

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I finished listening to Murder with Cinnamon Scones, written by Karen Rose Smith and narrated by C. S. E. Cooney. This is the follow-up to Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes. The mystery was tighter and more prominent in this one, but I still wanted more "bread crumbs". Also, there were a lot of characters to keep track of. I've gotten used to the narration. I liked the book enough to continue the series in the spring.

IN PROGRESS

Week 6 in The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by Billy Renkl, was about finding comfort in nature when the world seems to be falling apart. She recognizes that bad things happen, but that we can also find truths in nature that give us hope. It helps to turn off the news and tune into nature.

Moonlight Murder (Detective Aunty 2), by Uzma Jalaluddin is still in progress. I'm about 60% into the ARC. I'm enjoying it overall, but I'm turned off by the sprinkling of strong language. There was none of that in the first one, so it surprises me to see it in this one. Fortunately, the rest of the book is strong.

I started working on Trapped in the Bookstore, by Beth Martin. This is basically an Escape Room in a book. The reader is the main character and we have to solve puzzles to move on to each part of the bookstore and eventually (hopefully) escape. It's a concept I've never seen in a book. Beth Martin is a local author and I had the pleasure of meeting her last fall.

UP NEXT

I've had The Tell Fang Heart (Vampire Boutique Mystery 2), by Elle Wren Burke, on my TBR for a while and I was recently reminded that it is set around Valentine's Day. So this one is up next. I bought a signed copy directly from the author a couple years ago, so it's also on my physical book shelf.

My next audiobook listen will be Sleep in Heavenly Pizza (Deep Dish Mystery 4), by Mindy Quigley. This one is set around Christmas. I usually save these for Christmas in July or December, but book 5 is set around Valentine's Day and I want to read that one soon without skipping book 4.

ON THE SCREEN

• Gilligan's Island - This is random, I know. I've been recording the whole series. I had seen a few episodes before, but never the pilot. I remedied that. But I don't think I'll be watching too many more episodes. It's a little too over-the-top for my taste. Also, why are Ginger and the movie star not in the opening credits in the pilot, but they are in that episode?
• Let it Snow - This movie, I think, first aired on Hallmark, but it's now on GAF. I've always enjoyed it, so I watched it again. It's fitting for the season even though it's a Christmas movie.
• Christmas Under Wraps - This is another older Hallmark Christmas movie, but is fitting for the season because of the snowy scenes. I had seen it before and enjoyed it, so I watched it again.
• Love on the Amazon - This is part of Hallmark's 2026 Winter Escape series. Hmmm...this is not one I'll be watching again. It's okay, I guess. Maybe.
• Amazing Winter Romance - I love this 2020 Hallmark movie. It has one of my favorite tropes where two childhood friends reunite and fall in love. Their playful banter in this movie is fun to watch. Plus, there's a lot of snow in it.
• Caught By Love - This is another one in Hallmark's 2026 Winter Escape series and so far it's my favorite. The strong leads, Rachel Leigh Cook and Luke McFarlane, make it great. There's a also a fun mystery element to this one.

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 01/25 - Weekly Recap
• Book Review - 01/29 - The Puzzler, by A.J. Jacobs
• Friday Features - 01/30 - Bookish response, Excerpts, Feline Friday, and Nature Pic
• Puzzle - 01/31 - Winter Promise

Have a great week!