January in books + bookish bingo update

The combination of new year with excessive free time resulted in me reading 16 books. To be honest I do have loads of novellas in my 2026 tbr, so as to not let myself get bored bcs of a never ending book. And whether by new found energy post new year or by a fortuitous selection of various good books in a row, 4 and 5 stars were aplenty. 

The nigger of the narcissus, Joseph Conrad
Pretty solid Conrad novella, am always happy to read about ship crew dynamics. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

 
Sparow, James Hynes

It took me a while to get into this one, and the characters are kinda storeotypical, but I got involved in the story.  

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The seagull, Anton Chekhov

It's difficult to rate plays, but I like Chekhov's writing in general, so it's a solid 

⭐⭐⭐

Solito, Javier Zamora

I'm glad I did not give up this one because it's a very moving account of the author's many tentatives at getting illegaly into USA from El Salvador at just 9 years old. Had to remind myself that I was reading a child talking. But also his choice to leave the word 'también' untranslated bothered me to no end! 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

O mundo cá tem fronteiras: uma aventura Brasil-Cabo Verde, Paulo Rafael

Didn't know this was a middle grade book until I got it from the library, but decided to read it anyway. There's nothing much to it, but the illustrations are super cute.

⭐⭐⭐

The stepford wives, Ira Levin

Having never seen the movie, I decided to go with the book instead. A bit too predictable, but good enough.

⭐⭐⭐1⁄2

Life in Nelson's Navy, Brian Lavery

Great book for a first contact with the life of a 19th century sailor and ship life, would've helped me tremendously when I was getting into Age of Sail lit. 😂

⭐⭐⭐1⁄2

The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides

The way this book is so much better than the movie when the movie is already great! I love the narrator's voice, the mood, the way we learn about the girls from an outside perspective, it's really poetic!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Os invasores, Dinah Silveira de Queiroz

Once again Dinah Silveira de Queiroz promising something and giving me (almost) nothing. I like this one better than Margarida La Rocque, but it still feels like it could be more. The beginning got me intrigued, but got a bit stale as soon as I was getting absorbed in the story. Still, not a bad book.

⭐⭐⭐1⁄2

If We Were Villains, M.L. Rio

It's a mystery how much I enjoyed this one, because it has so many dark academia/YA cliches that usually rub me the wrong way and that should have made me DNF it by chapter 1 (constant Shakespeare quoting I'm looking at you), but THE WAY I ATE IT ALL UP???

⭐⭐⭐⭐

El Gaucho Martín Fierro, José Hernández 

The writing! The themes! This is an absolute masterpiece.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Out of Darkness, Shining Light, Petina Gappah

Another one I almost DNF'd because the first of the two narrators was bordering on annoying, with her constant turns of phrases and repeating informations, but I love me a journey story, and I got really attached to the characters.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe

Goethe's Faustus without all the padding out. Really like Marlowe's writing.

⭐⭐⭐

Três Buracos, Shiko

Great art, interesting plot, and that's it.

⭐⭐⭐

A Pocketful of Happiness, Richard E. Grant

I love REG and it's really difficult to read about his wife's battle with cancer. What a bittersweet couple of years he had. Also got me thinking about all this getting old and dying stuff, which I always rather not.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Colors of Infamy, Albert Cossery

Why is this so short, I was so invested??? ):

⭐⭐⭐1⁄2

I did DNF a few books tho, namely:

• Small things like this by Claire Keegan - main character with perfect human being vibes, social comentary too on-your-face;
• The murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson - interesting premise but way too graphic for my liking;
• La Fontaine's Fables in the original French - too complicated for my level of French;
• Imagens Estranhas by Uketsu - way too boring and badly written;
• So long a letter by Mariama Bâ - I really wanted to read this one but nothing happens, so I might come back to it in the future.

Finally, this is my how my Bookish Bingo board stood at the end of January. Definitely a good month, especially considering how both the squares and my reading order were completely random! 🤭