The January Roundup

Feb 06, 2026

How was your first month of 2026? I know really stupid things are happening in the world right now, but I hope you’re finding little pockets of joy. Last weekend I was at a betrothal ceremony which was basically one huge gathering pot of love, support and delicious food. My older son’s best friend is getting married in a couple of weeks, and hundreds of friends and family gathered to celebrate. How cool is that? Imagine being sent out into the world to love with that many people cheering you on.

January was a good reading month for me. But I also had my first DNF in a long time. I’m usually good at gaging if I’ll like a book early on, so I don’t often get DNFs, but with this one I got passed the mid-point, found myself skimming more than reading and with a heavy heart called it quits. I really wanted to like it and go all the way to the end, because the writing was good. It just came down to not having the tension required to hold my interest.

Here are the books I did finish:

A Guardian and a Thief, by Megha Majumdar

This was my first read of the year and I absolutely loved it! I watched Oprah interview the author which peaked my curiosity, and I put the book on my Christmas list. The story takes place in a near future Kolkata during a time of climate change induced famine. Ma, her two-year-old daughter and her father-in-law are a week away from joining her husband in Michigan, when their passports, stamped with the climate visas, are stolen by a thief called Boomba. Looking for food, Boomba breaks into their house in the middle of the night and takes Ma’s purse avec passports. Thus starts the week of trying to get back their passports, where their lives and Boomba’s become forever entwined. The prose is beyond beautiful. Megha Majumdar is a master of metaphors. But, no matter how beautiful her writing, the story invariably leads to a devastating end. Usually when reading a book, I try to guess the ending, and sometimes I come close. But this one left me gasping in horror.

Flesh, by David Szalay

I read this book right after A Guardian and a Thief, and wrote about it here. The writing in the two books was as different as night and day. It made me appreciate how both rich and sparse prose have their place and can be equally enjoyed. The story is about the life of a fifteen-year-old boy who lives with his mother in an apartment complex in Hungary, and how he moves through the world in relationship to the women he is with. It was my favourite read of the month and would have tied with A Guardian and a Thief. The reason it won out, was firstly, the ending of A Guardian and a Thief was a little too horrific for my liking and secondly, Flesh had such a quiet way of hooking me in and keeping me stuck to the page, that I quite marvelled at the skill.

An Academic Affair, by Jodi McAlister

After reading A Guardian and a Thief and Flesh, both books with heavy endings, I needed something light. That is what I love about romcoms. There’s a guaranteed happy ending. I found out about this book here, where Smart Romance by Rena Rani interviewed the writer, Jodi McAlister. I put it on hold and the book came just in time for my heavy heart. The story is about two english professors, rivals since their student days, who have to embark on a fake marriage scheme to both get the full time teaching position they’ve been dreaming of.

The Wedding People, by Alison Espach

This is the first audio fiction I’ve listened to. I could never quite get into fiction on audio books. I’m a visual reader. But I needed something to keep me company while my heart rate was zone two-ing on the treadmill. And I’m quite happy I tried this one out. I’ve been wanting to read it for a while, because I’ve seen so many good reviews on it. It’s about a woman who has booked the last available room in a grand 19th century hotel to kill herself, but when she gets there, she ends up getting caught up in the lives of a group of people who are at the hotel for a six day wedding celebration.

Dandelion is Dead, by Rosie Storey

This is my 2026 read of the month. I’m trying to read a newly published book each month this year. I wrote about the novel here. I have to admit, the cover was definitely a draw on this one, which speaks to the importance of a book cover. But luckily, the story turned out to be fun too. It’s rom-dramedy about a 37 year old woman, Poppy, who responds to an unanswered Hinge message in her dead sister’s inbox, pretending to be her. The recipient of said message is Jake, newly separated from his wife who’s started dating a twenty-something-year-old, hot, fitness enthusiast.

Definitely Thriving, by Kerry Clare

A Bridget Jones’s Diary like story that takes place in Toronto (so neat to read about neighbourhoods I’m familiar with), which comes out in March and which I will review in an upcoming post.

What I watched:

My letterboxd diary looks pretty bleak this month. I watched three things

The film adaption of Emily Henry’s People We Meet On Vacation.
The first four episodes of Bridgerton Season 4 of course, which I’ve been waiting not-so-patiently for! Beth Lisogorsky gives and excellent review on all its side plots here, and I agree with everything she says. And Erin Carlson just posted about the top gripe fans have with this season. So far I’m enjoying it, but it still hasn’t topped season 2. It’s hard to beat the Kanthony chemistry and I have a weak spot for the enemies to lovers trope. Let’s see what the last four episodes have to offer.

My absolute favourite watch this month was Hal & Harper! It’s an eight episode limited series by Cooper Raiff, from Cha Cha Real Smooth, who wrote, directed and starred in it. It’s about two siblings who find out their father’s girlfriend is getting a baby and is selling their childhood home. Starring Mark Ruffalo as the dad, Lili Reinhart as one sibling and Cooper Raiff as the other. They are best friends, each other’s rock. Their relationship is heartfelt, heartbreaking, just everything at once. The acting, the camera work, the editing—it is all superb, real and tender. And Cooper Raiff is a master at conveying emotion.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know about the goodies you’ve read, watched and listened to this month.

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