I've always been a reader on and off throughout my life. I've jumped around through science fiction, fantasy, mystery and historical romance. And when I made the decision to retire and was facing my last semester of teaching, I fell deep into reading contemporary romance. Looking back I was obviously hiding from life and all of the changes and stressors and everything going on by reading voraciously. Most of these books are easy reads to begin with, but I was reading before work, during lunch, in the evening late into the nights (and not just the weekends unfortunately). I consumed about 150 books in that 5 months period. And then it dropped to a trickle after my retirement day. And then it stopped completely a few months after.

I've read a little here and there since then, but I decided I really wanted to get myself into a more healthy reading pattern for 2026. I am doing a lot of re-reading, but I've always liked re-reading so I'm not going to feel guilty about that. I also am taking my time to actually absorb the books instead of inhaling and I've set out the rule for myself that I won't read a series one after another because last time I read these I would get bored with the series and it would begin to feel like a chore.

So here we are. January 2026 reads.

Lingus by Mariana Zapta
Security Breach by Evan Grace
Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid by Maureen Driscoll
A Tempting Arrangement by Jessa Wilder
Liars Like Us by J. T. Geissinger
Big Bossy Mistake by Lilian Monroe
Friends & Foes by Sara Eden