Everything I Read in January 2026

This was a lighter (but still great!) month of reading. There were many, many DNFs, I had a bunch of travel, and I am working on a project that has pulled me away from both reading and TV. (More to come on that!) The new Colleen Hoover was not my favorite, but I loved The Vanishing Place and really liked My Husband’s Wife.

Everything I read in january 2026

Tell me what you read and loved in the comments section: I always shop your recs. And for even more books, check out The Library: a catalog of every single book I’ve read over the past ten+ years; you can even filter by genre and sort by best/worst. Also – check out last month’s list!

Contemporary Fiction

Heartburn, by Nora Ephron

It’s hard to believe this book was written 40 years ago! I had never read it (though I realized quickly that I’d seen the film a few years ago) and picked it up as a quick read for my flight home from LA. It’s a thinly veiled account of Ephron’s own divorce (Everything is copy, after all!) and honestly, quite hilarious. It clocks in at just under 200 pages, but you will want to savor it as the writing is so good! Our protagonist Rachel is seven months pregnant when she learns that her husband Mark is in love with another woman, Thelma. What is a woman to do!? The book takes us back to her first marriage, tells us about her food career (it’s interspersed with recipes) as Rachel simultaneously tries to win her husband back while also wishing him dead. I really enjoyed it. Overall Score A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Thrillers

The Vanishing Place, by Zöe Rankin

This was utterly, completely, unputdownable. The story grabbed me from the first page and I didn’t want to put it down! Effie grew up in the New Zealand bush with her beloved parents and three siblings. Throughout her childhood, she believed that her parents left civilization to be with nature and give their children a better upbringing. When she witnesses her father behaving violently, she escapes, fleeing halfway around the world to Scotland. In modern day, Effie’s still in Scotland, working as a police officer. But when a horrible murder takes place and the only witness is a little girl who looks just like her, the past comes hurdling back, and Effie heads back to New Zealand to face her past, what has become of her family, and the identity of this mysterious little girl. This is fast-paced with unforgettable characters and a few twists I didn’t see coming. I loved it so much and would highly, highly recommend it! Overall Score A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Woman Down, by Colleen Hoover

Petra Rose is a world-famous author whose star has fallen somewhat after viral backlash over her latest film adaptation. Struck with a horrible case of writers block, she heads to a secluded lakeside cabin to find inspiration and reset. Her savings are running out, and she will be in serious trouble if she can’t finish this novel. All seems lost when something disturbing happens in her neighborhood, bringing a handsome detective her way. Nathaniel Saint is exactly who Petra had envisioned as the male lead in her newest book. Her creative juices return, and she finds herself more inspired than she’s been in years. Petra lets Saint in on this, and he offers to help. Their “research sessions” start to get steamy, and Petra finds herself feeling more alive than ever before. But when Saint begins to take his role in Petra’s career a little bit too seriously, Petra starts to get scared. A lot is on the line. I will say no more but this was just okay for me. It started out very slow and got nice and twisty, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped! Overall Score B // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

My Husband’s Wife, by Alice Feeney

This has already been picked up to be developed into a TV show! Alice Feeney has been a favorite for a while and I love that she’s having such a big moment right now. (If you saw His & Hers on Netflix, that’s also her work). Eden Fox is an artist living in Cornwall. Tonight is going to be her big break, with her first exhibition! She goes out for a run, but when she returns to her home (called Spyglass), her key doesn’t fit in the door. A woman (who looks a lot like her) answers the door, and her husband is confused–insisting that this woman is Eden and that the (real) Eden is a stranger. Eden tries to figure out what is happening, but it seems that the whole village is turned against her. No one seems to know who she is! Meanwhile, six months earlier, a different woman (Birdy) inherits Spyglass from a long-lost grandmother. Birdy is still reeling from a life-changing diagnosis. She’s discovered a clinic in London that claims to accurately predict a person’s date of death. As Birdy realizes she doesn’t have much time left, she becomes determined to right some old wrongs. The stories intersect in a dazzling, twisty way. Nothing is as it seems, and there are countless secrets and twists. I really enjoyed this and found it unputdownable. Overall Score A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Non-fiction

Notes on Being a Man, by Scott Galloway

I read this because my boyfriend wanted me to (he has two teenage boys). I thought the title sounded dumb and was like, “Seriously? You want me to feel bad for men!?” He continued to urge me to read it, and I reluctantly agreed. I quickly changed my tune and found that I really enjoyed this book, taking away not only great advice for raising boys but for my own life and career. The premise is that young men in America are in crisis. They’re less likely to graduate from high school, one in seven report having no friends, and often live at home and find themselves exposed and vulnerable to a more toxic version of masculinity. This is obviously terrible for men, but also for women: we can’t flourish if men aren’t doing well, and we certainly don’t need anymore insurrectionists. As Galloway says, “as we know from spates of violence, there is nothing more dangerous than a lonely, broke young man.: He draws from lessons from his own life and the young men he mentors, passing along vulnerable life lessons, stories that are funny and poignant, and tons of great advice. I learned a lot from it and found myself really enjoying the book. I would highly recommend that everyone listen to this; men and women alike. Overall Score A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon