It's the first day of February already. How did that happen? How's 2024 going so far for you? I'm sick with a cold that's slowing me down, but otherwise, I'm hanging in there. I hope you are well. If you are, enjoy breathing easy for me! I never think about how nice it is to breathe without restriction until I can't.

I didn't have any plans to read bookish books in January, but I ended up finishing a few anyway. Bonus: I enjoyed them all. Here they are in the order that I read them:

The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor by Aubrey Hartman—I loved this debut novel about a girl who gets more than she bargains for when she makes a deal with a water nymph. Her wish is inspired by her love for The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Last Word to the Wise by Ann Claire—This is the second installment in a cozy mystery series featuring two sisters who run their family's bookshop in Colorado. When the sisters reluctantly agree to be guinea pigs for their cousin's new bookish dating service, they end up in the middle of a murder investigation, with one of them as the prime suspect.

My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows—This YA novel is part of a series of alternate history stories starring famous females. Not all of the installments are bookish, but this one is. It features Charlotte Brontë and Jane Eyre (the "real" one) as they help to solve a murder. Oh, and Jane can see ghosts. The story is all kinds of fun! I especially enjoy these books on audio.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson—The hero of this clever mystery novel is an author who self-publishes guides to writing Golden Age-style crime fiction, even though he's never written a novel before. He uses all the knowledge he's gained from studying detective novels to solve a series of murders that occur at a reunion of his dysfunctional family.

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I have a couple bookish books planned for February. Right now, I'm listening to another installment of the Lady Janies/Marys series:

Welcome to the second year of the Bookish Books Reading Challenge, hosted right here at BBB by Yours Truly. I had such a grand time doing this last year that I couldn't resist bringing it back for another year. I'm so glad you all are joining me! If you haven't signed up for the challenge, please do. It's a fun, laidback, no pressure event that's all about sharing our love for bookish books. 

I'll publish a post at the beginning of each month with a Mr. Linky where you can link up your bookish books reviews. This is a great way to share what you're reading, get ideas for more bookish books to try, and to give each other's reviews some extra love. I'll do my best to visit every review that is linked up. Last year, I was absolute rubbish at writing and posting reviews. Hopefully, I can do better this year!

I also like to chat about the bookish books I'm planning to read in each given month. At the moment, I'm still concentrating on reading books for the two book awards programs I'm judging. I'll be at it for a few weeks still at least, but when I do get a chance to read my own picks, here are the first two bookish books I plan to read in 2024:

There have been a number of books lately about "underground" libraries operating in under-siege cities during World War II. I find the subject fascinating (natch) and Jennifer Ryan is one of my favorite historical fiction writers, so reading The Underground Library is a no-brainer. It doesn't come out until March 12, but I have an e-ARC that I'm anxious to start.

I enjoyed Dead and Gondola, the first book in Ann Claire's cozy mystery series set in a bookstore in a mountain town that is accessible only by gondola. This second installment sounds just as intriguing. Last Word to the Wise concerns a murder that occurs in the wake of a matchmaking event based on people's tastes in books. Fun!

If you are participating in the 2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your January reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.

Happy May Day! I don't know how April went for you, but for me it was a busy month and it rushed by in a bit of a blur. My third child graduates from high school in a few weeks, which will make May busy as well. Also hot. We haven't hit 100 degrees yet, thank goodness; we've come close, though. Ugh. It's already way too warm to read by the pool. Ours doesn't have much shade so I'll be enjoying my books inside my air conditioned house, under a whirling fan, until further notice (probably around December). 

I did manage to read one bookish book in April. Book Lovers by Emily Henry has been getting all kinds of buzz ever since it came out. Contemporary romance really isn't my genre, but I wanted to see what all the hype was about. Book Lovers is a fun, enemies-to-lovers story with lots of playful banter, humorous scenes, and an entertaining plot (although it did seem overly long at times). I listened to the book on audio, with Julia Whelan narrating. She did a great job bringing the characters to life. Overall, it was an enjoyable listen. I just wish it would have been more of a closed-door, PG-13 kind of romance. 

I've yet to read the majority of the books I've listed in these monthly posts as potential reads for The Bookish Books Reading Challenge. Still, here are a few that have caught my eye recently that I could, potentially, get to this month. We'll see how it goes.

I mentioned these two in my recent book haul posts:

Shaun Bythell is the owner of the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland and his books are supposed to be insightful and hilarious. I can't wait to dig in.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson is my book club's pick for May. I've already read it, but it's been a few years, so I'm going to re-read it and then move on to The Book Woman's Daughter. I've heard the sequel is just as good as the first book, which is always reassuring.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can score an e-ARC of Last Word to the Wise by Ann Claire. It's the second installment in a fun cozy mystery series set in a mystery-themed bookstore that is accessible only by (or, at least, most conveniently by) gondola. I enjoyed the first book in the series and am excited to see what happens in the second. Hopefully, the Edelweiss gods will grant my pending request...

It's hard to believe the first month of 2023 has already passed us by. How did your January go? Did you read any bookish books? I read these four:

I enjoyed all of them, with Dead and Gondola being my favorite of the bunch. It has a fun mountaintop setting, complete with a gondola and a charming bookstore. The mystery is entertaining, too. Of these four, I only managed to review The Blackout Book Club here at BBB, but you can see my quick reviews of each on Goodreads. Hopefully, I'll get at least a couple of these reviewed here in the next few weeks. We'll see.

My goal is to read 2-3 bookish books a month. I rocked it in January. Here's what I'm thinking of reading in February: