Inside of a Dog: It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (February 2, 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...

This was a nice quiet end of January week. The temperatures which had been very cold moderated late in the week when we actually had a high temperature of 9 degrees on the 30th. Low temperatures were all below zero with Tuesday's -20 being the lowest.

This week is supposed to be warmer. It's 17 with light snow right now on Sunday morning. The coming week's forecast shows only one low temperature below zero with the highs ranging from 17 to 33. There isn't any significant snow in the forecast. In fact, the days are supposed to be sunny or partly sunny which will be good for making solar power if today's snow doesn't cover too many of the solar panels.

I have a friend coming to visit late in the week. She'll be here from Thursday evening until Sunday afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing her since it has been a while. Keeping up on Facebook is nice, but a real face-to-face visit is better.

My plan this week is to concentrate on review copies. I would like to finish the February releases before my friend arrives. This should be doable since I'm caught up on the Liaden Universe read along for a while. I'm finding reading the books in the order they were written to be a little jarring. When I read the series which I do pretty often, I always choose to read the books according to internal chronology and usually, if I skip around, I read according to story arcs within the series. Next in line for the read along is Balance of Trade which is the first Jethri book. I may skip that one since I reread the Jethri arc last August.

Tomorrow is a double points day at Amazon. I have two books on my "Books I'm Waiting For" list that I plan to purchase. I also have enough points to get a $3 discount on one of them. And then there is the Gift Card burning a hole in my pocket. The rest of that list hasn't been published yet. Most of them are auto-buys that I don't want to forget about like the latest J. D. Robb or the latest Kendra Elliot.

January Report

I read 40 books in January. Twenty-eight of the books were mine. Twelve were review copies. I listened to 24 audiobooks over the course of 302 hours in January. Most of the audiobooks were among the 21 rereads in January. I also read seven books from my TBR mountain.

I added 35 books to my collection in January. Twenty-six of them were review copies. I also added three Kindle copies and 5 Kindle/Audible Add-Ons copies. Since I have a Gift Card from Christmas, I didn't pay for any of the Kindle copies. I did pay for the Audible Add-Ons, but the highest priced one was $5.60. I spent somewhere around $27 for all five. That might be a low spending record for me.

Only 5 of my new additions are on my TBR mountain and all of them are on my reading calendar. I may not be lowering TBR mountain very much, but I am keeping up with 2026 purchases. TBR mountain totals 2689 on this First of February.

I published my State of the Stack post today. I read twelve review books but added 26 to my collection. I have 53 unread review copies with release dates from late February to mid-August. Another publisher has been added to those who offer me review copies. Besides Crooked Lane, St. Martin's, and Berkley, Atria now seems to have me on its radar.

Read Last Week

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong (Review, February 17) -- Latest in the Haven's Rock series has Casey and Eric dealing with a variety of problematic neighbors. My review will be posted on February 11.
When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook, Mine since December 3, 2025) -- First in the Sons of Anson Salinas romantic suspense trilogy. My review will be posted on February 24.
Plan B by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread)

Local Custom by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread)
Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove (Review, February 17) -- Debut mystery with ghosts. Enjoyable characters and interesting setting. My review will be posted on February 12.
Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread)

I Dare by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread)
The Edge by Dick Francis (Kindle, mine since January 1, 2026) -- A classic Dick Francis about an investigator for the Jockey Club and a transcontinental Canadian train trip. My review will be posted on February 13.
Beast Business by Ilona Andrews (Kindle, mine since January 30, 2026) -- Hidden Legacy 6.5 contains novellas and short stories. Most of them feature Arabella who is the youngest Baylor daughter.

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