What is the one book you will always recommend to anyone, be they complete stranger or someone you know?

For me it is The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone. Historical fiction about Michelangelo’s life. It was absolutely riveting to me and made me obsessed with his sculpture work for some time specifically the lost sculptures. It is also the only novel that my mother and I have both read and something about that just sits right with me. Maybe because we have no commonality in our reading tastes otherwise. Weirdly I have never met anyone else who has read it, even though I know my mom read it for a book club while living in Sardinia and sent it to me on a whim when she was done with it.

Let’s round up the first month of 2026!

What was your January: • favourite books: • least favourite books: • total books read:

For February: • What are you planning to read ? • Are there any books releasing you're interested in? • do you have a reading goal for the month?

Bonus Questions for February: • Favourite Romance Book of all time? • Favourite Pancake Topping? • Favourite Lunar New Year Traditions?

I’ve heard that most resolutions drop by the second Friday in Jan, so I’m curious how people are doing now we’re a month in! Any new favourites as a result of a resolution? A change in genre now we’re moving into February? Is January a wash and the new year is taking place at the end of the month instead?

Personally, non-fiction reading was a miss this month, but I did watch a fun documentary about penguins! 🐧 I’m aiming to read about embroidery in February, it’s a long-standing hobby but I don’t know much about the history of it. Wishing everyone the best with your bookish goals!

February is one of my biggest book release months to look forward to. I’ve got a few on my radar:

• The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan
• Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
• Hallowed Be Thy Name by Brooke Winters
• The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
• Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity

What releases are you looking forward to in February?

A book club is having a readathon for feb, so now I need some recommendations of book/graphics novels with this things on the cover:

• flower/s
• couple back to back(?
• only one person
• food
• minimalist (this is very vague lol)
• landscape/spot

thanks in advance 😙🫶🏼

If it makes sense, like:

• don’t obsess over every detail if it’s overwhelming, that might make you drop the book
• read fast/slow, do/n’t make an effort to hear the character voices

let me set the scene…for some additional context i just booked a trip to maine with some friends!

to me, this was definitely a nightmare. i was with family in what was presumably maine, at this huge bookstore that felt more like a venue. it had an outdoor garden area and everything. i was at a book signing for the song of achilles and the “author” was a very old woman. i had weirdly come unprepared and though they were sold out of almost every copy, i managed to find one, which had similar vibes to the cover of the illustrated edition of the hunger games.

on top of everything, it was going on much longer than it should have. my family was getting impatient and wanting to leave. finally, it seemed like she was heading over to the garden area to sign some books. i left my copy with my family to go investigate, and once i approached i realized i no longer had my copy! i ran back to my family but they had put it back so we would leave. the only copy remaining had the ugliest font i’ve ever seen, blinding vertical white and light pink stripes, and an asymmetrical lobster. it was the same texture as those classics found in the back of barnes and nobles! i left quite crestfallen.

have any of you ever had a dream like that either related to books or even with scenes from ones you’ve read? this is the first one i’ve had that i can recall so i was wondering if anyone’s had a similar experience!

Lately I've been reading so fast, travelling back and forth so I genuinely haven't got the time for bookmarks! 😅

That brings me to my question are you a bookmark sort of reader or do you just fold the corner over?

Also if anyone has any excellent bookmark recs I'd love to hear them! 📚🫶

What’s one book you DNFed OR wish you would have?! Gimme ALL the hot takes!!!

🌟ʜᴇʟʟᴏ(•̀’◡’•̀)ﾉ 🌟 A bit ago I asked for some fantasy book recs and was wondering if anyone had some stand alone recs, recently I hav been reading lots of long series and was looking for stand alone books (๑`✪̤◡✪̤)◞ღԵհɑղƘՏღ have a good day🩷🌟