She blinked and somehow January was already over. I spent the first (almost) 2 weeks of the month in Sri Lanka attending a friend’s wedding, ringing in the new year, and going on a mini-beach vacation. It was jarring to fly back to reality because my brain had basically been checked out since Christmas 2025, and I had to remind myself what days and dates were a little too quickly for my liking, lol. 😂 Coming back to work after close to 3-weeks away wasn’t fun—especially since I was thrown straight into the deep end—but we survived. Despite passing so quickly I can’t believe it’s over, January also felt like a decade long. There was so much chaos and heartbreak in the news. I’m sending so much strength and support to my friends on the other side of the world! I hope everyone is taking care and doing as okay as can be. 🫂
Here’s a small January photo dump:
I surprised myself but January was a fairly decent reading month overall! I finished 11 books in total and while the majority of them were in the 3-4 star range, I did find my first 5-star of the year (and one that got very close to it)!
My favourite book of the month was ✨The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty.✨ I’m so happy this turned out to be as amazing as everyone said it would be, especially because I gave it a go last year and was so not in the right mood for it. That clearly wasn’t the case this year and I had so much fun following Amina’s wild adventures. The banter was amazing but the world-building was immaculate! 🤩
In terms of blogging, I can’t say that I was particularly organised. I posted my End of Year Survey stuff but I didn’t wrap-up December, and neither did I recap the reading challenges I did last year. I did give a brief overview in my survey posts though, and at this point, I think that’s fine. The blogging year has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start and it has left me feeling a bit like I’m forgetting something every time I come online! But as with my reading this year: I’m just rolling with it and maybe February is when I’ll finally get myself sorted?!
It was also another fun month co-hosting the Let’s Talk Bookish weekly meme. You can learn more about it, read all the discussions, and see the upcoming month’s topics HERE.
TEXT is linked to my review (if available) and COVERS are linked to Goodreads
5 pandas
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Book Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
4.75 & 4.5 pandas
In a Second by Kate Canterbary (4.5 stars), Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb (4.75 stars)
4 pandas
Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien De Castell
3.75 & 3.5 pandas
3.25 & 3 pandas
ARC Review: Better the Devil by Erik J. Brown
As I mentioned above, I’m not really sure what or how many challenges I’ll be doing this year, but the three I’ve decided on are: the Goodreads Reading Challenge, the 2026 Buzzword Reading Challenge, and Beat the Backlist! So far, I’m happy to report, that I’m on track! 🤩
✔ Goodreads Reading Challenge: 11/100
✔ Beat the Backlist 2026: 📚 7 backlist books // 📱 0 backlist ARCs ⇢ 4/25 Bingo Spaces
✔ 2026 Buzzword Reading Challenge: January (“before” & “after”) ⇢ The Nightmare Before Kissmas
And with that, we’re down one month in the year. What a January it has been, huh? How was your reading month? I hope everyone is doing as good as can be and taking good care. Hope February treats you well, friends! 🫂
dinipandareads 
So exciting to get your first five star of the year in the first month of the year! Also goes to show how important it is not to force yourself to read a book when you’re not in the mood for it!
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Ahh those photos are so aesthetic!! ✨ So glad you already have a 5-star read this early in the year! 😍 And I can fully understand you when it comes to work – being away for so long and then coming back to utter chaos makes one go crazy 😂
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Those are some lovely warm weather photos as I sit here in the Washington DC area longing for warmer weather haha. Glad you survived coming back to work after 3 weeks off. I hope you had a good February!
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Ah so happy you had fun in January! My my it seemed to take AGES to pass for me 😅
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Great photos Dini! Glad you had fun on your mini vacation!
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Oh wow you had a great January! Glad you seen your friends and had some time off. The photos are lovely too
I also read 11 books last month and only liked 3 and had only one 5 stars read. Glad you found yours too.
I hope you don’t stress yourself too much and take it easy ♡
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a vacation is the best reason to feel off beat when you return haha. im sure you’ll get back into the rhythm soon enough!
in a second by kate canterbary sounds so good?! i enjoyed in a jam too so this has been added to the tbr at a glance 😂
hope you have a great february!
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I loved the photo dump! It looks like you had an interesting reading month. My January was a bit chaotic, as we were extremely short handed at work. Hoping that changes in February!
Pam
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I think you started the year amazingly, both in your personal life and regarding reading. I am sure it was not easy going back to work, but I also know you took advantage of those weeks off. And, despite everything, you still managed to read 11 books, wow!
I always enjoy your photo dumps, and it seems like you had tons of fun!
If you decide or discover new challenges through the year that you like, just go for them! Bingos are always calling to me, but I find them a bit difficult.
Hope you have a fantastic February as well!
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I hope you had a wonderful time in Sri Lanka and have adjusted to being back at work and on a schedule now. I love the Waterfall picture and Drinks on the beach with a book sounds fantastic too 🥰🥰 the bridge looks kind of intense though 😅 I’m so glad you loved Amina! And it looks like a great reading month overall. Very fantasy and romance centric ❤️ I finished Assassin’s Apprentice this afternoon and loved it. I cant believe how perfect the worldbuilding was and the storytelling was so immersive. I definitely plan to treat myself to the sequels soon. Which actually gives me another reason to pick up Amina sooner rather than later (I believe its bh thr same publisher and they quite often do 40% off sales so it makes sense to figure out if I want Tapestry Of Fate too).
I was so tempted to join in with the challenges you’re doing but I already had a lot going on 😂 cant wait to see how you get on with them though.
I hope you have a wonderful February 🥰🥰
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[…] Monthly Wrap-Up: January 2026 […]
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Yay to Amani being a 5* read for you. You’ve made me want to re-read it, especially with the second book coming out this year. Sri Lanka looks amazing, though I don’t envy you having to go back to work after 3 weeks off. I hope you’re having an amazing February so far 🙂
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*Amina… I really shouldn’t post things when I’m tired lol
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