Books I Bought or Borrowed in January 2023

Click to clap and let me know you stopped by!

Welcome back!

Here’s my first monthly round-up of books I bought or borrowed in 2023! January was very much a reading month with all the awful weather we had. It might’ve caused some spontaneous purchases…


Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries – Alan Rickman

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: In progress

This image shows the book cover for Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie. It features pink roses and outlines of birds flying.

Sad Cypress – Agatha Christie

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: Yes

Read as part of the Read Christie 2023 challenge. A short, fun read but also kind of forgettable.

This image shows the book cover for 'Partners in Crime' by Agatha Christie. It features a blood read backgroup and two dice.

Partners in Crime – Agatha Christie

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: No

I’ll be reading this one as the February book of the Read Christie 2023 challenge. I actually ended up with two copies of this in January as I bought the eBook, totally forgot about it, and then picked up a copy at the charity shop. I’ll be shipping off the hardcopy to my friend who is also doing the challenge.

This image shows the book cover of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: DNF

I didn’t rate this at all. DNF’d fairly early.

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy

The Passenger – Cormac McCarthy

Format: Hardback

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: No

I was fairly elated to find this at my local charity shop for £2.99 in excellent condition.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides

Format: Paperback

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: No

I’ve had The Virgin Suicides on my ‘to read’ list for literally years and years. I’ve seen the film a few times and I’m really curious to read the book. Another charity shop bargain, lightly read.

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies

Pottermore presents: Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Kindle Unlimited)

Read: Yes

This image shows the book cover of Pottermore Presents Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics, and Pesky Poltergeists.

Pottermore presents: Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Kindle Unlimited)

Read: Yes

Pottermore presents: Hogwarts – An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Kindle Unlimited)

Read: Yes

The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie

The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side – Agatha Christie

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Kindle Unlimited)

Read: No

That Bird Has My Wings – Jarvis Jay Masters

Format: eBook

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Kindle Unlimited)

Read: No

I stumbled across this book by accident and borrowed it immediately, having just last year read The Buddhist on Death Row by David Sheff. He tells Masters’ story beautifully, but I can’t wait to hear from the man himself.

Cook Slow: Light and Healthy – Dean Edwards

Format: Paperback

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Library)

Read: Yes (Well, as much as you can read a cookbook.)

I’ve enjoyed cooking for a while but the New Year brought on some resolutions that meant I needed to up my game and start eating better. I borrowed this book from the library and I have made some amazing recipes from it. I love that you can either do it the ‘conventional’ way or in a slow cooker. I ended up buying my own copy on Kindle and returning this one to the library for other patrons.

Miss Benson’s Beetle – Rachel Joyce

Format: Hardback

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Library)

Read: No

Undoctored – Adam Kay

Format: Hardback

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Library)

Read: DNF

Sadly, Kay’s latest book was a DNF for me. I have nothing but praise for This is Going to Hurt and Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas, but Undoctored missed the mark for me.

Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention – Johann Hari

Format: Paperback

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Library)

Read: No

I had intended to read Stolen Focus when it was first released and honestly just didn’t get around to it. I picked it up at the library on a whim and I’m looking forward to hopefully working out why I’ve got the attention span of a drunk gnat.

The Moving Finger – Agatha Christie

Format: Paperback

Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed (Library)

Read: Yes

The Moving Finger is the March book for the Read Christie 2023 challenge but the premise really spoke to me so I decided to read it early. I don’t feel it’s one of the better books, it’s a bit slow going but I ultimately still enjoyed it.

They Came to Baghdad – Agatha Christie

Format: Paperback

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: No

Hickory Dickery Dock – Agatha Christie

Format: Paperback

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: No

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie

Format: Paperback

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: Yes (in the past, planned re-read)

An Introduction to Mythology – Lewis Spence

Format: Paperback

Purchased or Borrowed: Purchased

Read: No


Comment below!

What books did you get this month? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to share a link to your own blog.

Wishing you a bookish week,

Laura

One thought on “Books I Bought or Borrowed in January 2023

  1. The first Adam Jay book was excellent but the Christmas one felt far too flimsy. I was hoping Undoctored would be a return to the quality of the first one, and have similar insight about the way the NHS treats its staff.

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s