Reader Rayna

Welcome to the end of January! I swear, it always feels like January is the longest month of the year, though… well, it seemed to go by relatively quickly this time, so that’s a nice change of pace!

Today I’ve got my wrap up post for you! I haven’t done one of these in a long time, but I wanted to do a brief round up of all of the books I read this month, some brief thoughts on them, links to any reviews I did, as well as talk about what I did on the blog itself, too!

I also wanted to show some stats from StoryGraph regarding my reading habits because I honestly think it’s fun, and it’s something new I had never tried in the past (I’m not good with Excel/Sheets, but I’m learning lol).

It’s been a busy month of getting back into this, and I gotta say, I’ve been loving it! I’m so glad to be back and doing this again; I forgot how much I loved and enjoyed it! So without further ado, let’s start January 2026’s Reading Wrap Up!

What I Read This Month

• Sweat and Soap volumes 8-11 by Kintetsu Yamada – I didn’t make a formal review for the last four books of this manga series, but this is an adult romance series that follows Asako, a woman who works as an accountant at a soap and perfume company that has a propensity to sweat a lot, and Kotaro, a man with a strong sense of smell that works as the company’s lead product designer, and how the two end up falling in love through strange circumstances. It’s funny and a slice of life style story that was honestly really heartwarming. I had started it years ago and never finished it, so what a way to boost my reading numbers right at the beginning of the year lol
• This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi – The first book in this series and what a great one at that! It pulled me in, and though it was slow to start, once it hooked me, I had to keep going.
• These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi – A great second installment with a lot of romantic and other tension brewing, and so many questions to answer.
• All This Twisted Glory by Tahereh Mafi – *internal screaming* This was a fantastic sequel with so much tension, fantastic world building and environmental descriptions, and character interactions. I can’t wait to continue the series!

The Stats

Here’s some fun stats from StoryGraph that I find interesting!

So far, so good! I’m on track to meeting my goals! I’ll be raising my goal once I finish the 12th book.

This honestly could have been faster, but I also have other hobbies and things going on outside of reading, so this isn’t bad!

These graphs show the various moods, pacing, and page numbers of the books I read this month. I’m interested to see how these charts are going to look as the year progresses, as I’m expecting to read more in the 400+ category.

It’s cool to see this chart and what your reading looks like from month to month. This will obviously be a much cooler comparison when it comes to later months, as I’ll be able to see the fluctuations of my reading habits.

I’ve read SUCH good books this month! Honestly, I’m glad for it. It’s been a great start to the year, and I hope to keep the momentum going.

I participated in the StoryGraph’s January Pages Challenge, where you’re challenge to read every day for the entire month. Let me tell you, this was truly a challenge because there were some days I just didn’t feel like reading. But I’d push through on a chapter, even if it was five pages, and it still counts. I’m so proud of myself! And yes, I put in my reading log for the 31st, but the bar doesn’t update until the next day (when this post goes up it’ll be complete).

What I Talked About This Month

This list doesn’t include the above reviews because I already talked about them! lol But Here’s what else I talked about on the blog in January:

• 2026 Blogging Goals – The post that started it all and rekindled this love I have for my blog! It’s been my not-so-secret place where I share my thoughts on what I read, opinions on bookish related things, and more, and so to be back just feels great. These goals, so far, have been achieved!
• Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books for the First Half of 2026 – There’s a bunch of new releases coming out that I cannot wait to pick up! Though I already have an extensive library, who says I can’t add more? lol
• Top Ten Tuesday: Goals for 2026 – These were my other goals I have for the year, specifically reading goals. These goals are all obtainable and don’t feel stressful at all. In fact, I’ve already done a few of them! It’s been fun setting small achievable goals, because then I can create bigger goals as the year goes if I choose to do so!
• Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025 – This was a challenging post to make, I won’t lie! I definitely could think of at least some things, but it was tough coming up with ten. I wonder what discoveries I’ll make this year?
• February 2026 TBR Hopefuls – I’m glad that I’m bringing back TBR posts as well, but ever since I saw them first introduced as “hopefuls” back on TikTok, it takes off so much pressure from actually reading the books on the list! Plus having fun with my TBR Prompt Jar helps a bunch lol

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And that’s it for this month! I’m so proud of myself for all of this! Even though it may feel normal to many people to write these types of posts on a weekly, or daily, basis, I’ve been out of touch with my blog for years now, trying to hop back into it every now and again, and I’ve finally done it. It feels great, and being able to see names I recognize from years ago is also so sweet!

Thank you for coming to my little corner of the internet. ❤

What blog post of yours are you most proud of? Feel free to share the link in the comments and I’ll go check it out when I can! Happy reading!