More than any other month of the year, my January TBR most closely resembles what it’s like inside my brain. It’s a unique blend of structure and chaos. Between my ambitious “these are the topics/challenges I’m most excited to explore right now” and my book clubs’ equally ambitious “let’s start the year off with a bang” and also my “maybe I should also read something light and fun because rest is resistance/important” tendencies, the list is all over the place. It’s also super long, because this is Ridiculous Optimism Week, and I love it.
As one of my reading goals for the year is to read more broadly across the different genres on my TBR, I’m going to note the category that I have each book listed under in brackets.
Book Clubs
- The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom [general fiction]
- The Alchemist by Paul Coelho [fantasy/nonrealism/sci-fi/etc.]
- Revolutionary Letters by Diane Di Prima [inspire/self-help/community care]
- The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx (et al.) [essays/short stories]
- Beartown by Fredrik Backman [favorite authors]
- Fantastic Strangelings pick – TBA but probably [general fiction]
- Single Player by Tara Tai [romance-ish]
Wonder
I loved starting my word for the year during Advent (the start of the church year). It’s especially useful to do so when the word of the year is wonder, and both Slowing and Enchantment [both are inspire/self-help/community care] were a great place to start. So I’m going to continue with both of these books and add a few more.
- Mary Oliver poems (see various collections in the picture above) [poetry]
- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil [essays/short stories]
- Year of Wonder: Classical Music To Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill [essays/short stories]
Goals
When I set a goal for myself, one of the first things I do is gather information (sometimes I gather too much and get bogged down in all the scintillating details, but that’s another story for another day). So here are some books I’m reading/starting this month to get me started on my resolutions.
- Financial Feminist by Tori Dunlap [inspire/self-help/community care]
- The Bookshop by Evan Friss [general nonfiction]
- The Big Bucket List Book by Gin Sander [inspire/self-help/community care]
- DIY MFA by Gabriela Pereira [books/writing]
Reading Challenges
My two main reading challenges this year are from the 52 Book Club and Libro.fm, but if/when Overeducated Women With Cats and Nowhere Bookshop post theirs, I’ll probably jump on those as well. I joined another online book club and I’m not sure where I’m going to put the prompts, but they’ll probably be in this section as I ease my way into the community. For now, though, here are the books I’m reading this month for specific challenges.
- Couplets by Maggie Millner – told in verse [poetry]
- Search by Michelle Huneven – title is ten letters or less [foodie fiction]
- Small Rain by Garth Greenwell – “I think it was blue” [queer lit]
- Go as a River by Shelley Read – set in the 1940s [general fiction]
- Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig – last sentence is less than 6 words long [gothic fiction]
- The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx (et al.) – explores social class [essays/short stories]
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, read by Richard Gere and Haley Joel Osment – Reread an old favorite on audio [fantasy/nonrealism/sci-fi/etc.]
- The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop – Read a winning audiobook from our 2024 Bookseller Choice Awards [memoir]
- One of the prompts is to share Libro.fm with a friend or family member. I’m still trying to figure out how to pick a book for that prompt for my StoryGraph tracking, but in the meantime, click this link to check it out!
- The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny – an anticipated sequel to a book you loved [series]
- House of Light by Mary Oliver – a book under 150 pages [poetry]
Additional Reads
I’ll probably also start the next/first books in a few of the series I want to read.
- The Lady With the Gun Asks the Questions by Kerry Greenwood [series]
- When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn [series]
- Fatalities and Folios by ACF Bookens [series]
Here’s to a new year of reading!
M. Suzanne Terry 
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