The February Book Round Up

My January Book Round Up lead to such great discussion, I think I’ll do it every month and since I never claimed this blog was about spanking anyway, you’ll just have to live with it! February went so fast compared to how January seemed to drag on. In February I read 16 books, including several short stories. I’ve always loved short stories (and novellas) as a format. The ability to tell a complete story, in less words, almost feels like magic to me. I don’t benefit from the skill of brevity so condensing ideas is always a challenge and I feel triumphant when I am successful. In terms of audiobooks, they are also great for slightly longer car rides that aren’t quite road trip length, when you want a complete story.

The emotionally difficult things I am dealing with, are sadly, still unresolved. I had some hope in the last week that they may improve, but frankly, they may never. Coming to terms with that this week has been difficult and I’ve escaped into books (specifically the K.J. Charles series mentioned below). Kink still feels far away but Daniel and I have been connecting more, so I will likely write about that this week. I feel such a sense of loss though, in the friendships that have been lost and likely forever changed by what is going on. I’ve stayed busy this week and have a lot to look forward to, so I am trying to focus on those things as I process my grief mostly alone.

This month’s reads bring my yearly total so far to 26. Books after the jump!

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The January Book Round Up

This one isn’t about spanking…is that ok? You’ll have to let me know.

Happy Monday. I am avoiding work. Sort of.

I read 10 books in January, finishing 9 and 10 on January 31, when I took the day off for my mental health. Last year I fell behind on my reading and closed 2024 having read just 37 books compared to a clean 100 in 2023 and 92 in 2022. This year, I set a more modest goal of 50 and hope to surpass it. I have always been an avid reader and my undergrad was part of a self-designed degree program and titled “World Literatures” that allowed me to take classes at multiple colleges and across any department.

Anyway, January 2025 was an absolute shit month – not to mention LONG, too cold, with too much snow – but I read 10 books which is a great start to the year for me. I listen to a lot of audiobooks since moving out of the city because I spend so much dang time in the car, but I also read physical books and ebooks on occasion. I also purchase physical copies of my most loved books. I don’t actually read a ton of romance or fantasy. My particular favorite genre is historical fiction – especially WW2 novels, and then literary fiction with a focus on post-colonial lit. I try and read as few white men as possible. Alas, this month, two snuck in *wink*.

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