January 2025 Monthly Wrap Up!

It may be two weeks into February, but time isn’t real! So that means I’m now going to share my January 2025 wrap up! I’ll talk about the books I read, and the movies and TV I watched. Let’s get to it!

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Books Read

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1. The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire (GR || SG) – an adult urban fantasy novel, 18th book in an ongoing series
2. Thyme Travellers edited by Sonia Sulaiman (GR || SG) – a speculative fiction anthology of short stories by Palestinian and Palestinian diaspora authors
3. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire (GR || SG) – a young adult novella, 10th book in an ongoing series
4. A Little Too Familiar by Lish McBride (GR || SG) – an adult fantasy romance standalone
5. Dating & Dragons by Kristy Boyce (GR || SG) – a young adult contemporary romance standalone
6. Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel (GR || SG) – an adult romance standalone
7. The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August (GR || SG) – an adult science fiction standalone
8. Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Chloe Liese (GR || SG) – an adult romance, 3rd book in a series that follows 3 sisters

I really enjoyed all of these reads. The Innocent Sleep was my favorite – it was so good to be back in the October Daye world with all of my favorite characters. I can’t say much about the plot since it’s the 18th!!! book in the series but I will say it was cool to get a novel from Tybalt’s perspective.

Two others that I want to highlight are Thyme Travellers and The Last Gifts of the Universe. I have a hard time with anthologies, but this one really worked for me. The difference perspectives and speculative elements were wonderful to read. I hope to read more Palestinian speculative fiction in the future! The authors in this anthology are some that I will be checking out.

The Last Gifts of the Universe felt like a really timely read considering the mounting oppression so many people are facing. It’s all about doing what you can and fighting for the good moments. fighting for everyone to live. There is some action but it is definitely more focused on character journeys, and how people connect to one another. Oh, and there is a cat named Pumpkin that wears a spacesuit and goes planet-side with the main characters.

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Movies + TV Watched

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Movies:

1. RRR – an Indian Telugu language film, historical action/adventure drama
2. Duel – road action/thriller
3. Nosferatu (2024) – remake of the 1922 film Nosferatu, gothic horror
4. The Sugarland Express – crime drama
5. Barbie – fantasy comedy

My partner started watching RRR on his flight back from visiting his family but didn’t get to finish it, so we watched it together once he got back. I really enjoyed it! I think it was my first Indian film I’ve watched. Duel and The Sugarland Express are both directed by Steven Spielberg. I’ve mentioned this previously but my partner listens to a podcast that discusses movies by different directors and they are currently doing Spielberg’s filmography. I’ve seen his more famous films (Indiana Jones, E.T., etc) so it’s interesting to see his early films. My partner likes horror so we went to see the new Nosferatu movie at a local independent theater. It was a tad bit scary for me (a baby). But I would love to go to that theater more and support it! And lastly, I FINALLY watched the Barbie movie. I’ve been meaning to since it came out but never did. I watched this with a friend and had such a great time.

TV:

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What were your media highlights of January? How was your month in general? I know that it was a bit rough (understatement) in a lot of the world, but I hope you were able to find some points of joy.