January Review Roundup - 30 book review links

In January we ramped up our reading from December and managed to get more reviews posted. In case you missed any, here's what we reviewed in January:

On January 1, Donna and I made the extreme effort to quantify our favorite books over the last decade. Not an easy task, I can tell you! Our reflections on our reading over the last 10 years can be found on this post. The list of our 20 favorite books (plus a few honorable mentions) can be found in the Our BEST Lists tab in the top menu.

This month's Buddy Reads are The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan, historical fiction about the Mughal Empire of India in the 1600s and I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh, contemporary fiction about a mom whose little boy is hit by a car. Take a peek at the reviews and see if we agree. In addition, we reviewed:

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali - an unconventional love story that lasts decades

#NotYourPrincess edited by Lisa Charleyboy - a YA nonfiction collection of poetry and essays by Native American women

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini - a children's book about a father and son fleeing Syria

The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton - a mystery wrapped up in a mystery as a man is tasked to solve a murder while trying to figure out why he jumps from host body to host body

Educated by Tara Westover - a memoir of a woman overcoming an impossibly difficult childhood to achieve and exceed her dreams

The Long Walk by Stephen King - a contest where a group of boys volunteer to walk (and die) until only one is left standing

The Ask and The Answer AND Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness - books 2 and 3 of the Chaos Walking series (see the review for the first book here); a YA sci-fi series where a young boy and girl are trying to save themselves and create a peaceful planet with the indigenous species

Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen - a story of a man who finds his way back from the loss of his wife with the help of trees, mother nature, and a child (with a touch of magic)

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates - the black son of a plantation owner, slavery, the underground railroad, a splash of magic

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - a classic story of a fantastical journey

Howl by the Editors of BARk - a collection of humorous short stories involving dogs

Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke - a Texas Ranger tries to find the missing son of an Aryan Brotherhood leader in rural Texas

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni - a coming-of-age story of a boy born with a condition that makes his pupils red

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver - two timelines share some similarities in a story about striving for job recognition, politics and more

The Right Side by Spencer Quinn -

The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan - a Buddy Read historical fiction set in India about an emperor and how he came to power as well as his love for his 20th wife

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh - our second Buddy Read; a thriller about the after effects of a deadly hit and run and nothing is as it seems

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei - a graphic memoir of his time in the Japanese internment camps

Inside Out by Demi Moore - a celebrity autobiography

We also added a group of EIGHT mini reviews - books we read and want to share but don't really warrant a full review. You can find the short and sweet reviews here.

• The Friend by Sigrid Nunez - a friend reflects on the suicide of her best friend and is roped into caring for his LARGE aging dog

• Self Portrait With A Boy by Rachel Lyon - debut novel about a photographer whose selfie takes on new meaning when it captures an unexpected event; moral dilemmas ensue

• Fifth Avenue, 5 a.m. by Sam Wasson - nonfiction account of the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's and Audrey Hepburn

• The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - a fantasy about two magical creatures trying to make their way in NYC without discovery

• The Guardians by John Grisham - story of a man unjustly imprisoned and the attempt to free him

• The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton - a memoir from a man wrongly imprisoned for over 30 years

• Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay - a thriller where the elevators in NYC are being sabotaged

• M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang - a play, retelling of Madame Butterfly

A couple of noteworthy articles were posted this month too - we reflect back on a decade of reading, talk about joining reading challenges, and wonder How Many Book Genres Are There Anyway?

As always, we're so glad you're here and reading our comments. We're happy to hear what you think as well - leave us a comment!

Here's to a year of Happy Reading!