Happy new year, star bits! I hope you are all having a wonderful start to your year. All two days of it, anyway. I kicked off 2024 by reading The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma, which is fantastic, and I am SO excited for all the amazing books coming our way this year. There is a fair amount below, but just wait until you see the first Tuesdays in February and March! And you can keep track of it all with our new reading spreadsheet and read some of them for the 2024 Read Harder Challenge! At the top of my list to acquire today are The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan, Mercury by Amy Jo Burns, and The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri. And Danika and I will be back with a new episode of All the Books! next Tuesday to tell you about great books out that day.
2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!
Today, I am doing a round-up of several exciting books from the first Tuesday of January 2024. Below, you’ll find titles (loosely) broken up into several categories to make it easier for your browsing convenience. I hope you have fun with it! And as with each first Tuesday newsletter, I am putting asterisks *** next to the books that I have had the chance to read and loved. YAY, BOOKS!
Fiction
Mercury by Amy Jo Burns
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri
Nonfiction by Julie Myerson
Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts
The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer
Middle Grade
Last Laugh by K. R. Alexander
Courtesy of Cupid by Nashae Jones
The Unbeatable Lily Hong by Diana Ma
The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee, Dan Santat***
Mystery and Thriller
Anna O by Matthew Blake
Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody
Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton
Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston***
This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack
Midnight by Amy McCulloch
The Ascent by Adam Plantinga
Nonfiction
Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma by Dr. Mariel Buqué
Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia by Louis Ferrante
Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth by Natalie Haynes
A Hitch in Time: Reflections Ready for Reconsideration by Christopher Hitchens
The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with our Wild Neighbors by Erika Howsare
On Thriving: Harnessing Joy Through Life’s Great Labors by Brandi Sellerz-Jackson
Fog and Smoke: Poems by Katie Peterson
Romance
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming***
Last Call at the Local by Sarah Grunder Ruiz
Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror
A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch Vol. 1 by Hiro Kashiwaba
Young Adult
The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling
Immortal Games by Annaliese Avery
Stay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan
Cupid’s Revenge by Wibke Brueggemann
Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver
Ghost Roast by Shawneé Gibbs, Emily Cannon
Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
Diary of a Confused Feminist by Kate Weston
Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White (Song of the Last Kingdom Book 2) by Amélie Wen Zhao
This week: I’m currently reading The Night of the Storm by Nishita Parekh and Dead in Long Beach, California by Venita Blackburn. Outside of books, I thought the Barbie movie was pretty great, and I started rewatching Leverage, the original series, so I can finally watch the new series. It’s making me want to watch The Librarians again. The song stuck in my head right now is “Clouds” by Børns (once again, thanks to a car commercial.) And here’s a cat photo: This is Farrokh, who claimed this cat tunnel for himself on Christmas and wouldn’t let the others in it. For about five minutes, anyway. Then he got out and has ignored it ever since, like every other toy they have received. Cats, amirite?
That’s it for me today, friends. I am sending you love and good wishes for whatever is happening in your life right now. Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty