January 2026: Books I Read Last Month

Written by Graeme

December was a better reading month for me, which was nice. I’ve also set a bit of a stricter work schedule for 2026 – no more 12-14 hour days. Hopefully! Then I can use that time to read.

I only read about 60 books in 2025 which was a low for me. Usually double that.

Here’s what I read in December 2025:

Assassin’s Anonymous by Rob Hart: I was hesitant about this one as despite being a big Rob Hart fan, the plot sounded a bit odd. I finally gave it a try and glad I did. While it did get a bit silly at the end, I really enjoyed the story and characters, and I thought the fight scenes were tremendously written.

Still Life by Louise Penny: A re-read for the I Care About Books Book Club. You can see my thoughts on there.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden: A re-read due to the movie coming out and not remembering much of it at all. Glad I re-read it. The adaptation was superb! 5/5 for adaptation quality I’d say.

The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden: I’d love to mark every book by Freida as “read” on Book Notification, and I am only about 4 or 5 away at this point Solid book but one of her early ones and it showed with a bit of a weak final act, filled with a fair bit of misplaced humour. Back when it was a “twist for a twists sake” – she has thankfully finessed that over time.

Animal Farm by George Orwell: I listened to this one. I read it many years ago in high school and I mean it was okay, but it was so much better this time around. Especially listening to it. Ralph Cosham was the narrator and he did an absolutely superb job. I enjoyed this one so much, and highly recommend it.

Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard T. Chizmar: Great little short story about three hours long, and one that I listened to. Good narration, fun story and well written and at a fast pace. Enjoyed it a lot and currently listening to the next one.