I finished 4 books in January.

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson. A chonk of a book but my favorite book of January. A deep dive into Franklin’s amazing life, filled with tons of primary source information, and building an in-depth portrait of this complex man. Franklin was truly a member of the Enlightenment in terms of how he approached the world. Mostly self-taught/self-educated, he was a scientist, politician, diplomat, writer, businessman and wit. His writing and egalitarian approach, as well as a strong belief in fair debate and compromise left their stamp on all of the major documents that formed the United States (the Albany plan, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Treaty of Paris.) Well worth a read if you are interested in foundational history in the US. 4.5 out of 5 stars

The Happiness Collector by Crystal King. This was a fun and creative fantasy novel about a young woman who is trying to get researched published for her doctorate, but when that falls through, she accepts a “too good to be true” job offer from a mysterious antiquities collector to visit and catalog how much happiness artifacts and historical sites in Italy bring her. The job does indeed turn out to be too good to be true as there are forces at work here which she at first has to puzzle out and then attempt to fight against. I don’t want to give too many spoilers but if you’re a fan of ancient myths and have a penchant for beautiful things in this world, you’ll probably enjoy this one. (Stick with it – the beginning is a bit slow but there’s payoff at the end.) 4 out of 5 stars

A Study of Scarlet Women and A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas. I’ve had this series on my TBR for a while. My mum sent me the first 6 of the series which is a clever retelling of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries with the main character now a young woman, Charlotte Holmes, at the center of them. Charlotte is, to say the least, unconventional and her neurospicy take on London society and her decision not to marry find her on the run from her family and forced to find work. Luckily, she has an amazing mind and powers of observation and deduction, and with a little help from a “Mrs. Watson”, she winds up masquerading as a brilliant male detective. Fun, quirky and unique, I’m enjoying this series immensely. 4 out of 5 overall stars.

Overall a really great reading month to start off 2026!