A selection of quotes and pictures to represent January’s reading:
commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.
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I love the cycle of it, the repetition. Whatever changes in life, wherever I end up, the patterns of the garden will always be the same.
A Slow and Secret Poison by Carmella Lowkis (2026)
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Round and round they run in that long-ago, and in the now Angie realizes her face is wet with tears, tears as silent as the space between her and that other life. Nostalgia is nothing more than a trick of the mind, she tells herself. A way to turn plain memories into great ones.
Penitence by Kristin Koval (2025)
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Richard II and Henry IV
They both loved the excitement of the chase, learning to ride with hawks on their wrists and greyhounds at their heels. Otherwise, the two boys were finding that they had little in common, even apart from the suspicions Richard had already begun to harbour about the political intentions of Henry’s father. On both sides, greater familiarity bred, if not contempt, then at least a profoundly wary distance.
The Eagle and the Hart by Helen Castor (2024)
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‘I wish only to paint well. To please those who employ me, and to create something beautiful to offset the darkness in the world.’
The House of Barbary by Isabelle Schuler (2025)
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The obvious tactic would be to make a good impression in the courtroom. If she’s deliberately doing the opposite, I think that must be because she really is sure of her innocence. After all, the defendant knows better than anyone else whether they committed the crime.
Suspicion by Seichō Matsumoto (1982)
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The winter of 1962/63
Photo by Richard Johnson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
“And though he was not much given to thinking about love, did not much care for the word, thought it had been worn to a kind of uselessness, gutted by the advertising men and the crooners, and even by politicians, some of whom seemed, recently, to have discovered it, it struck him that in the end it might just mean a willingness to imagine another’s life. To do that. To make the effort.”
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (2024)
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Is it that they reinforce each other’s strengths and compensate for each other’s weaknesses? Or is it the reluctance to be alone that bonds them? It doesn’t apply only to romantic couples either, but to friends, relatives, colleagues. How many good things, and how many crimes, have been the work of a bonded pair?
The Killer Question by Janice Hallett (2025)
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His profession was strangely intimate: selling an apartment or a house was a big deal. It was selling a piece of your life, a piece of your memories – sometimes even a whole life. It was closing a door that you would never open again.
An Astronomer in Love by Antoine Laurain (2023)
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Saint Brigid of Kildare
By Octave 444 – CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
But it is an easy thing to be angry with someone you do not care about. To be angry with one you love, that has weight to it.
Brigid by Kim Curran (2026)
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What makes you sad about the thought of dying? had been one of the questions. The team had debated whether to ask it. But they had posed the question and none of the interviewees had seemed to mind. She remembered the most poignant of the answers: ‘There will always be unread books.’
Room 706 by Ellie Levenson (2026)
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That night I really grasped the fact that most of the time we have no notion of what we really want, or we lose sight of it. And the even more important fact that what we really want, just doesn’t fit in with life as a whole, or very seldom. Most folk learn slowly, and never altogether learn at all. I seemed to learn all at once.
All the Fear of the Fair by various authors (2025) – quote from The Swords by Robert Aickman
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My favourite books read in January:
The Killer Question
Authors read for the first time in January:
Kristin Koval, Seichō Matsumoto, Antoine Laurain, Ellie Levenson, Eleanor Smith, L.P. Hartley, Tod Robbins, W.L. George, Charles Birkin, Robert Silverberg, Richard Middleton, Charles Davy, J.D. Beresford, Gerald Kersh
Places visited in my January reading:
England, US, Switzerland, Japan, Ireland, France, India, Madagascar, Isle de France (Mauritius)
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Reading notes: January was a good month for me in terms of reading. You’ll have noticed that I tried lots of new authors, which I’m pleased about, although most of them appeared in the short story collection All the Fear of the Fair, a book I’m hoping to review soon. I read Seichō Matsumoto’s Suspicion for the Japanese Literature Challenge and as that particular challenge continues to run throughout February, I’ll see if I can fit in something by another Japanese author as well.
Also in February, Karen of Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings is hosting another #ReadIndies month, highlighting books published by independent publishers, and I’m sure I’ll have at least a few reviews to post that will count towards that event. I didn’t take part in the Read Christie challenge in January because I’d already read all of the suggested titles, but I’m planning to join in with Mrs McGinty’s Dead in February.
How was your January? Do you have any plans for your February reading?
She Reads Novels 
All so beautiful quotes! The Suspicion quote, the one about dying… thanks for sharing and adding the pictures.
I’m glad you like them.
January was blighted by having a wisdom tooth removed and therefore not being in the mood for reading or writing reviews, just pain killers. I’ve been on soft food for a week and I never want to see a bowl of porridge again!
February will be catching up with reviews & rereading the five books shortlisted for the Winston Graham Historical Prize in the hope I can come up with something reasonably intelligent to say about them when I get together with the other judges in March.
Oh no! I hope you get back to normal soon! I’ll look forward to seeing which book wins the Winston Graham Prize.
some great quotes and The Killer Question does sound good, what an interesting question it’s posed just in that one quote! I’m slow off the block with January’s Christie, I’m reading Cards on the Table, but it is good (as always!)
Yes, Cards on the Table is a good one! I read it a few years ago and really enjoyed it.
I love these quotes as always especially the one from Room 706
Yes, I loved that quote from Room 706!
Nice to meet someone else who keeps a commonplace-book. You have some elegant quotations. The one that touches me most is sadness at the thought of dying. Yes, too many unread books. Too many projects started and not finished. I can only hope there are books in the Afterlife.
I loved the quote about the unread books. It’s sad to think about, but also a reminder of the importance of choosing our books carefully and making sure we read the ones we really want to read while we still have time.
Glad you had a good month! My very first book of the year, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, was a great one to start with (and very seasonally appropriate). Other highlights were Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, Boudiccas Daughter, and The Correspondent.
I read The Snow Child when it was first published and loved it – and yes, it’s perfect for the time of year! I’m glad you enjoyed Boudicca’s Daughter as I’m hoping to read that one eventually as well.
These are some beautiful quotes. I think the ones from Penitence and The Eagle And The Hart are my favourites but its hard to pick. I cant believe how many new authors you’ve already discovered this year (although those kind of collections definitely help) and places you’ve visited in fiction. Sounds like your reading is off to an incredible start this year. Ive wanted to try something by Janice Hallett for ages so seeing her book highlighted as a favourite is exciting. Good luck with your February reading plans and I hope you have a wonderful month 🥰
Yes, short story collections are a good way to add lots of new authors to your list all at once! I love Janice Hallett’s books but they’re written in an unusual format which doesn’t work for everyone. I’ll be interested to hear what you think if you decide to try one!
Its the format that especially intrigues me. Hopefully it’ll work for me too.
Hey Helen 👋 I am glad to see you had such a good month of reading in January, especially trying all those new authors. I was reading Christmas Books, Tales and Sketches by Charles Dickens all through January, however I didn’t manage to finish it till a couple of days into February. Happy reading this month. Blessings, Jessica 💌
Thanks, Jessica! I’m pleased to have tried so many new authors, although most of them were all from the same short story collection. I hope you enjoy whatever you read in February!