January 2021 Wrap Up

I read seven books in January and I'm quite happy with my reading month. I tried to read diversely and read some books that worked for my personal reading challenges as well (read more classics, literary fiction, nonfiction and Japanese literature).

These are the books I read in January:

1. Strange Planet (Strange Planet #1) by Nathan W. Pyle

This was a New Year's Eve present and I quite enjoyed this comic. Might read more of this in the future. 3.5 stars.

2. After Dark by Haruki Murakami

I loved this book, my third Murakami read (I can already tell you I bought some more since then). It was very atmospheric, I felt like I really was there in those cafés and such. Murakami references a lot of music and it felt wonderful to listen to those songs while reading the book. The first description of Mari felt like it could be me one day (when cafés and restaurants are open again). 5 stars! This was the first book I read for January in Japan.

3. If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

This was a fun story, even though the writing style was simple, it was thought-provoking. 4 stars.

4. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi 

Stamped was my first nonfiction book this year and quite an important one. It says it's not a history of racism but it definitely gives a clear overview. It's a shocking but important read. This is a remix from Kendi's book Stamped From the Beginning and is written for a teenage audience, which made it easy to get through but still gave a lot of new insights. Highly recommend! 5 stars!

5. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

I loved this book by Polish author Olga Tokarczuk. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature for Flights (another book I really want to read) but this book gave me all the winter vibes I needed. It's set in a remote Polish village covered in snow (it was snowing here while I read it as well) and some gruesome murders occur. The main character believes the deer are killing people. It's a gripping story and the writing style is simply stunning. This will most likely be one of my favourite books this year. 5 stars, I can't praise this one enough.

6. The Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya

This is a Japanese collection of short stories. I'm not a huge reader of short stories which is probably why it took me quite a long time to read this book. I really liked some stories and wished they were longer but I also didn't care about others. 3 stars.

7. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This was a fun children's classic and exactly what I needed to read at that time. It's very wholesome and during this pandemic I could use more of those stories. 4 stars.

Have you read any of these books or are you planning to? Leave your thoughts and recommendations down below!

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Have a wonderful day everyone!