It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (January 5, 2026)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

Happy New Year to everyone on the Christian/European calendar! This between holidays week felt like it had several Sundays. We had a dusting of snow every day but no plowable accumulation. We began 2026 with 8 inches of snow on the ground. We are currently under a Winter Weather Advisory with snow, fog, and freezing rain predicted. It should only be 1-2 inches of snow and even less of the more hazardous ice. 

I don't have any appointments this week. I also don't have any TV programs that I want to see. My Minnesota Vikings are playing as I'm writing this and then are finished for the season. The Voice finished up before Christmas. Now, I'm just waiting for Baseball Spring Training to begin. 

My brother has the day off and is out grocery shopping so that he can cook his Cajun Chicken Fettucine today. He's working the next five days starting no earlier than 2:30 PM. A refrigerator full of leftovers will be very useful since he doesn't have time to cook anything complicated or time consuming before work most days. Also, I like leftovers for my suppers while he's at work.

I've spent a lot of the week gathering statistics about 2025 and thinking about 2026. I set my Goodreads goal at 365 books. I will be using Goodreads again this year to keep track of what I'm reading despite its oddities. Here's a screen shot to show what I mean:

Why is it listing books twice? What is this "Author not available"? Last year, I tried deleting duplicates but when I tried to delete the duplicate both copies disappeared from my list. This year I'm just throwing up my hands and going "Oh, well!" and keeping track on my Google spreadsheet. 

While I don't take part in any challenges beyond this one from Goodreads, I do set some tentative reading goals. This year I would like to get caught up on two long-running series. I came to both series late by accepting review copies at NetGalley. I'm near to catching up with the Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews and should catch up if I don't mind reading Christmas books out of season. I have five books to go with four of them being Christmas books.

I'm also four books behind on the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt and intend to keep chipping away at it. For some reason, I've been reading these really out of order. I have books 16, 19, 20 and 23 left. In both cases, the books I need to read are on my TBR pile. I just have to slot them into my reading calendar. 

I have other long series that I'd like to start including William Kent Kruger's Cork O'Connor and Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily series. 

I have a lot of review copies with February release dates. I set up my February calendar while I was listening to an audiobook this week even though I have 5 books unread on my January calendar. Two of them are February 3 releases including Stolen in Death which is a much-anticipated title.

2025 Report

I read 438 books in 2025. 272 of the books were mine including 140 from my TBR pile and 132 rereads. I also reviewed 167 books. 211 of this year's books read were audiobooks. I read 7 nonfiction books which met my self-imposed goal, but my biggest category was mystery/thriller/cozy mystery with a total of 329 books. 

I added 551 books to my collection this year. 124 were audiobooks and 178 were review copies. Currently, 225 of 2025's additions are still on my TBR pile. My total TBR pile is 2699 books high. My total LibraryThing collection numbers 8276 with just about half of them being Kindle copies. 

Here's my State of the Stack post. I use this to keep track of review books. 

Read Last Week

• Kirkyards & Kindness by Kelley Armstrong (Kindle, mine since December 15, 2025) -- A Rip Through Time novella.
• Bone to Pick by Kristi Rose (Chirp Audiobook, mine since February 11, 2025) -- second in Cold Case mysteries. My review will be posted on January 22.
• Lost and Found by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook, mine since December 3, 2025) -- An early romantic suspense title by a favorite author. My review will be posted on January 27.

• It Takes a Psychic by Jayne Castle (Kindle and Audiobook, mine since June 5, 2025) -- Audiobook reread of a recent book by this favorite author. 
• A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King (Audiobook Reread) -- Second in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mysteries.

• Terns of Endearment by Donna Andrews (Audiobook, mine since December 5, 2025) -- 25th Meg Langslow mystery takes place on a cruise ship marooned in the Bermuda Triangle. My review will be posted on January 29.
• The Moor by Laurie R. King (Audiobook Reread) -- Third in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mystery series. 
• A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L. Cullen (Review, January 27) -- Retiree Harry and his carer Emma find themselves solving the mystery of one of Harry's neighbors in his condo community. My review will be posted on January 20.

• O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King (Audiobook reread) -- fourth in publication order but third in internal chronology of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mysteries.
• Tell-Tale Treats by Jennifer J. Chow (Review, January 27) -- Third in the Magic Fortune Cookies cozy mysteries. My review will be posted on January 21.

Currently

• Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh (Review, January 27) 
• Agent of Change by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook reread) -- I'm taking part in a read-along hosted by the author. She intends to read all of the series in publication order. She posts her thoughts and remembrances periodically.
• Justice Hall by Laurie R. King (Audiobook Reread) -- I'm working my way through the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mysteries. 

Next Week

• Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle, Mine since August 6, 2025) -- Barnes is one of the few YA authors I still read
• Stolen in Death by J.D. Robb (Review, February 3) 
• Books & Bewitchment by Isla Jewel (Review, February 3) -- new author to me

• The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (Audiobook Add-On, $5.61) -- After reading some books recently about the Queens of Crime, I decided to try a book by this Classic author.
• Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan (Review, February 10)
• Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer (Review, February 10)

Reviews Posted

• The Devil in the Details by Vicki Delany (Review copy)
• The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (Review copy)
• Wildwood by Amy Pease (Review copy)

• The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (Review copy)
• Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day (Review copy)
• Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton (Review copy)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

Bought:

The Last of 2025:

• The Search by Nora Roberts (Kindle copy of book from my keeper shelves; BookBub, $2.99)
• Death of a Ghostwriter by Gaynor Torrance (BookBub, $.99)
• See How They Hide by Allison Brennan (BookBub, $1.99; adds to a series I'm collecting)

• Scream for Me by Karen Rose (BookBub, $.99; an author I enjoy)
• Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner (BookBub, $2.99; an author I enjoy)

2026:

• The Edge by Dick Francis (Kindle copy of book on my Keeper shelves; BookBub, $1.99)
• When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle copy to go with recently purchased audiobook; $2.99)

What was your week like?