January 2026 Books

* Bear by Marian Engel - A short book that I heard about on a podcast, maybe? Or a TV show? Who can remember. It was written in 1977, set in Canada, and is the story of a woman, Lou, who goes to a rather remote island to study and catalog the contents it. There she meets the island's bear, who is somewhat tame, and takes a liking to him. This then turns into her falling in love with Bear which then becomes a sexual relationship with him. It's unique, to say the least, and very strange, but rather compelling. I'd love to have a cup of tea or two with someone else that has read it and dig into the deeper meanings presented. Definitely loneliness is the central emotion. It's the kind of book that people are either intrigued by or disgusted by. I fall into the former. 

♥ Darkness Descends on Princeton by Jeff Jacobs - Princeton-area artist Kate Gabrielle mentioned on an Instagram story that her father wrote two books and that he is her favourite author. I ordered both and dived right in to the first, Darkness Descends on Princeton. I absolutely love love loved it! It has a very Nancy Drew quality to it; a mystery involving a young woman in 1939, with a lovely beau who is always willing to go above and beyond to help his beloved, and the knowledge that no matter the pickle or predicament that Eve Krell finds herself, the reader always knows that everything will turn out okay in the end. Virtually anxiety free-reading! There's no swearing or vicious violence and the story is peppered with characters named after famous and not-so-well-known actors from back in the day. The writing is the sort that 100% plays out as a movie in your mind's eye. Absorbing and brilliant. 

* The Nightingale ¹ by Kristin Hannah - This is one of my mother's favourite authors and it's Isabella's number one book. I gave the audiobook version a try and it was good, but I didn't love either of the sisters or feel any real connection for most of the book. The end was well done and I genuinely liked it. 

♥ A Waffle Lot of Love by Ben Clanton - After the heaviness of World War II in The Nightingale I needed something fun and read the newest Narwhal and Jelly book. Oh my gosh it was cuteness overload and I want every book in the series. It's joyful reading and utterly adorable. 

♥ One Lonely Night ¹ ² by Mickey Spillane - I really can't stand when an audiobook version is abridged, buuuut I had to listen to Stacy Keach narrate. This early Mike Hammer novel was fabulous and I will be reading the paperback copy I have in the not-so-distant future.

¹ - audiobook
² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.