How has your reading month been so far? What was your favorite read?
What I’m Reading
I went on a last minute trip to Chicago for work and so got in some uninterrupted reading time during the flights there and back. I was able to finish Cursed Daughters, Oyinkan Braithwaite. I started it on audio, but wasn’t able to get into it with all the different characters and shifting timelines. Once I switched to reading an eBook copy, I was hooked! This is an epic multi-generational story (set in Nigeria) of the Falodun family women who have been cursed by a betrayed first wife.
Braithwaite is also the author of My Sister the Serial Killer, which is a very different book, but one I also enjoyed (though I prefer Cursed Daughters).
I’m currently reading (and very close to finishing) Jamaica Road, Lisa Smith. I’ve been really enjoying it so far. It’s about two best friends who fall for each other, fall apart, and try to find their way back together in their tight-knit British – Jamaican community.
Reading Books By Authors of Color
In my travels last week, I saw this Authors of Color display at a bookstore I popped in. Happy to see 2 books that I’ve read in the stack – American Street, Ibi Zoboi which is on our list of 5 Young Adult Stand Alone Books That Adults Will Love. And Good Dirt, Charmaine Wilkerson, which we recommended on 4 [More] Fiction Books by Black Authors To Add To Your Book Club Reading List.
Sharing a recommendation from last year – 10 Audiobooks Centering Black Love and for us genre lovers, Celebrating Black Voices in Sci-Fi & Fantasy. Another place to check out is Penguin Random House’s All Ways Black Book Guide – an awesome resource if you’re looking for books by Black authors in different genres.
Going Analog
Is 2026 the year of analogue? This seems to be a rising trend this year, with increased searches for analog hobbies. I’m definitely feeling this vibe, and me reading more physical books fits in with this. Remember last year, we saw Book Clubs, Book Bars, and BookTok are a Thing.
The Washington Post is gutting its books coverage which brought to mind the question – where is the average reader getting book recommendations from. Tiktok? Blogs? Google AI snippet? Goodreads? Friends? Where do you get recommendations from?
Good Free Books
In case you are looking for FREE books, on January 1, 2026, books published in 1930 entered the U.S. public domain. Here’s 20 of the best books entering the public domain in 2026 … books like The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett (№ 4 in the Mystery Writers of America Top 100 Mysteries of All Time); and The Murder at the Vicarage, Agatha Christie.
There’s also free short stories from Subteranean Press. They release a new one every month or so. I haven’t kept up with this enough – so I’m adding a reminder on my calendar every month to check … or read a story that I haven’t read before.
February First Reads has been released at Amazon. These are free eBooks for Amazon Prime members.
Which book are you most looking forward to reading in February?
