Reading Journal | 1.16.25

Before I enter into a new weekend, a quick reading journal entry about the last one (and about this past week).

A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness

I was about halfway through this book at the time of my last journal entry, and I have finished it (yesterday). Last weekend I went on a snowy getaway with my family and when we weren’t spending time together, I was reading this.

As I’ve mentioned before, this was a reread, and I was just as charmed by the story and characters as I was during my first read. I’m not sure if my personal growth or changes have influenced this, or if I’m less able to ward off the cynicism I’ve developed since 2016, but I did find myself a bit more skeptical of the timeline within the book. All the events take place in just over one month – which means Diana and Matthew became obsessed with each other far too quickly, even as non-human creatures. While it makes me roll my eyes a bit, this ridiculous pace does not stop me from being fully invested in every detail Deborah Harkness has written. Shadow of Night is the next book in this series, and I do plan on starting it soon.

The Way of Kings
by Brandon Sanderson

This book has been sitting unopened since January 5th. I haven’t had the urge to reach for it as I fell back in love with A Discovery of Witches, and I’m unsure if that urge will show itself again anytime soon.

The Fifth Season
by N.K. Jemisin

This will be another reread, as I am hoping that by revisiting familiar books, I will better develop the reading habit I’ve neglected. Another series will help this too (ideally), since I already have my “next reads” all lined up. One habit I can’t seem to shake is the one where I read two or more books at once – not sure I’ll ever let that one go.

Those are the updates for my long weekend of reading. I’ll be continuing to update my daily reading progress on The StoryGraph if you are interested in following me there!

What did you read this weekend? Please share any recommendations (or non-recommendations) in the comments!