Everything I Read in January
A philosophical month with a book list revolving around nature, pursuit, and limitation. February'll be lighter.
Published February 3, 2025



I love February. At the very least, I'll be in a great mood up until and through Valentine's Day; give me the doilies, the pink-and-red wardrobe motifs, the slow-dancing songs. Sure, it's a commercial holiday, but I appreciate the general atmosphere of love and sappiness.
Certain pockets of January still felt weighty with responsibility—chasing a book deal'll do that to you—but the habits and rhythms at least felt incredible. I didn't always have control over my month, but everything felt intentional. I've gotten much better at correcting myself about what really matters.
Simplicity to complexity then back again to simplicity—a gorgeous idea articulated in Becoming Wise by Krista Tippett, a new favorite which I'll write about below (and a full review!)
“'For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.' Oliver Wendell Holmes. ”
And again in Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, an enduring favorite that totally reset and clarified me.
I read a ton in January. I finished 20 or so books, and my reading tracker tells me I'm in the middle of maybe another 10-15 that I started this month. I'll add images for these shortly, but have a stacked to-do beforehand.


For one, my reading and writing appetite lately has been insatiable. I read one book and it sparks ten others I want to reread. For a few reasons:
- I've wanted to read widely and expand my POV, so have also reached for writers and perspectives I wouldn't go for normally. I'm in a mood in which I really, deeply appreciate the ability of others to change my mind.
- I swear to God I'm the smartest I've ever been right now—a blessing and a curse. My brain is firing on overdrive. I can connect each book I read to maybe ten others and I want to write about each of them singularly and in relation, so it just feels like I can never get my words down quickly enough to process them.
- I'm so, so sick of phones and the Internet, so I've been especially grateful for the way a book resets me and pulls me out of myself. I still feel burnt out from my book process, so have been paying extra close attention to what gives me energy.
So I'm excited for the month ahead (and my various reads.)


My The StoryGraph counter is a little inaccurate because it counts several essays as separate works—and I think I may be missing a book in here—but I'm going to take y'all through what I read this month and what I thought. The goal will be to expand those I haven't covered yet into full reviews, but I'm also trying to "write short" more.
“PS. In case you missed it, I released my Best Books of 2024 list via my newsletter. So sign up!”
What I Read in January
- Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Why I Read: Murakami's been on my list, and I've seen a lot of quotes from this one and finally wanted to turn to the primary source.
What Was Notable: This one put me in a funk, admittedly. It's very circular and sad, about emotional distance and clawing yourself out of it (or not.) I have a rosier view of reality, but appreciated its nuance, so I see why it's a literary favorite.
- Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver
Why I Read: I needed a palate cleanser after Norwegian Wood, and Mary Oliver aligns much more with me in terms of dignity and things ultimately mattering. How personal responsibility also means harnessing the good and the beautiful, and knowing when to put yourself aside.
What Was Notable: This time rereading, I especially picked up on the parallels she drew between appreciation of nature and of literature, solidifying this idea of mine about avenues in which we're "alone together" i.e. solitary but still feel connected to others. Plus, I love her imagery, and especially adored her spider essay.
- On Writing by Stephen King
Why I Read: I read Carrie, my first Stephen King novel last year.
What Was Notable: I've been really into craft memoirs lately in analyzing how other writers have handled all of it—writing bleeding into life and vice versa. Stephen King is really incredible to other writers in that he's very generous with his attention and lifts up the little guys in a way I deeply appreciate, so I admire his approach.
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Why I Read: I forget why this popped into my head in January, but I placed a library hold and slotted it into my list as soon as it came in. I love a reread.
What Was Notable: I stayed up far too late reading this one and cried over it (and I can't remember when I last sobbed over a book.) It hit hard this time, and I wasn't entirely sure why. Gorgeous, and joined the hall of fame list.
- To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Why I Read: Similarly, I've seen a lot of quotes from Virginia Woolf lately and decided I needed to finally tackle this one.
What Was Notable: Admittedly, Woolf's writing style is a little...cluttered for me, maybe? It's detailed and slightly exhausting, but there are lines and sentiments that strike me.
- How to Be Multiple: The Philosophy of Twins by Helena De Bres
Why I Read: Twin. Birthday. A perpetual struggle between independence and closeness. You do the math.
What Was Notable: de Bres makes a compelling point that twins fascinate others because of the questions of selfhood they raise—enmeshment, relational definition, free will, etc,. The book pushed me in some uncomfortable ways, but also felt gratifying in how it articulated certain conflicts of being a twin.
- Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
Why I Read: I've been on a Stoicism kick.
What Was Notable: I don't like Seneca as much as Marcus Aurelius (see Meditations) but still thought he had some good lines and thoughts—even when they felt hypocritical or contradictory.
- Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Why I Read: I adore Rilke. I think his poetry is devastatingly romantic and meaningful to me in a balance similar to Mary Oliver's. Very much captures awe. And again, I've been mulling over the balance between being a writer and being a person lately, and how much I need to reconcile in one avenue of life in order to succeed in the other.
What Was Notable: This is a pretty quick read. I think I finished it in an evening? He had some valuable thoughts on solitude, craft, and more.
Why I Read: Sometimes, I reread a book as a "primer" of sorts, and this one was a helpful reset for me during book revisions. What really matters about what I'm writing?
What Was Notable: The Science of Storytelling does an incredible job describing what stories do for us and what we're seeking within fiction, especially as it relates to the tension between the controllable and the uncontrollable (an unintentional theme of my reading month.) And had such fantastic fun facts.
- The Incurable Romantic: Tales of Madness and Desire by Frank Tallis
Why I Read: I'll occasionally read an outlier book like this—tackling the most extreme cases in a human behavior as a way of illuminating the universal—and I obviously drifted towards reading about connection and distance lately.
What Was Notable: Eh. There were some good insights and I definitely want to discuss it with anyone who's read, but it was so Freudian in a way that made me deeply suspicious of all its insights. I don't know.
- The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams
Why I Read: At my core, I need to be outside. I love natural beauty. I want to live in gorgeous places. I'm not nearly as good at making time for it when busy as I'd like, but I know that nature settles me like nothing else so wanted to read more about its effects.
What Was Notable: Loved! I appreciated its organization, analysis, inspiration, etc,. I love to read about the outdoors (and nature tends to be the number-one thing people cite as sparking awe for them) so loved the concrete proof of the why I crave it.
- Nature; Self-Reliance; The American Scholar; An Address Delivered Before the Senior Class in Divinity College... (essays) by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Why I Read: I've always liked Emerson, for the most part. A lot of his insights feel right to me re: God and nature, the pursuit of beauty, etc,. and he's cited by a lot of writers and thinkers I love to read too.
What Was Notable: I've always had a handful of Emerson quotes and philosophies at my beck and call. I do feel like some of his individualism contradicts itself (?) but maybe it goes over my head some. And then again, he's one of those thinkers who is open to changing his mind, so it's okay to me that some of his viewpoints shift as he articulates them. Still working my way through The Portable Emerson.
- Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
Why I Read: This reread was long overdue. It crossed my mind when I read Good Old Neon (story) in the fall and has always been important to me since I read it in high school—so I wanted to know if it would hit the same or whether I'd understand a new layer.
What Was Notable: I do think by now I've read other works that strike me more deeply than Franny and Zooey for similar reasons, but still found it special. Recently, I've been considering how much self-awareness (especially of contradiction as you grow) is really helpful, and Franny and Zooey does a great job resolving that particular existential dilemma and pushing me back into the outside world rather than my own head.
- All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess by Becca Rothfeld
Why I Read: A high school friend of mine thought that excess (in any domain) was generally the reason for any unhappiness. I've been reading some minimal writers praising simplicity, so I was curious.
What Was Notable: In some ways, this book exhausted me, but I appreciated its challenge. If I had to put it into one word, it would be: aggressive. Essays on decluttering and Sally Rooney and love vs. enmeshment were a lot but that's what the book promises anyway. Not for everyone, but if you're curious about the subject matter, you'd likely appreciate it.
- All-American Girl by Meg Cabot
Why I Read: This entertaining, funny YA is one I'm very fond of. I remember reading it and eating lemon drops in my middle school library. So it pulls me back to a simpler time.
What Was Notable: I still love this book, and definitely think it's great for younger teen readers. It's warm and nostalgic for me, and I love how it's one of the few books that I think captures that Presidential and D.C. feel without being heavy-handed. Meg Cabot's a coming-of-age classic for a reason.
- Novelist as Vocation by Haruki Murakami
Why I Read: Sure, Murakami hurt my feelings with Norwegian Wood's harshness, but he's a prolific novelist, so his craft-focused memoir seemed safe.
What Was Notable: It turns out Murakami and I share similar sentiments about the endurance of the novelist, the commitment, etc,. The tone felt a bit faux-humble to me (which I hate to say), but it's clear, persuasive, and very similar to my own POV in many ways.
- Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Why I Read: This is one of my favorite books. It meant a lot to me when I first read it, and was a necessary refresher now. It catalyzed a lot of the epiphanies I needed to have when I first encountered it.
What Was Notable: This one hits hard now for different reasons, namely centered around the themes of control and permanence and finitude. We tend to avoid the things that we care about most, and this book does a beautiful, humane job articulating why. Truly such a marvel.
- Nature, Man, and Woman by Alan Watts
Why I Read: Nature and connection—two themes of mine lately. Plus, I like Alan Watts as shared via pithy voiceovers and quotes.
What Was Notable: Admittedly, his actual writing made my head spin, almost to a headache. Sometimes, it felt overly complicated, and I do think there's a certain skill in articulating at a more baseline level. But his insights on self-definition, ecstasy, whirling dervishes (looooooove), etc,. added a curious theological lens to some of my curiosities lately about independence, flow, self-knowledge, etc,.
- Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner
Why I Read: Awe is undoubtedly the theme of Words Like Silver, which I knew by 2022 (in this cute anniversary post I rediscovered) but have only deepened lately. I love the studies of it, and I would love the pursuit of awe to summarize me as a person too.
What Was Notable: This book felt like an easy read, maybe because so many favorite other books now specifically reference this one and add more dimension. Awe is passionate, clear, and full of value, so I'd highly recommend. A deeper review to come!
- Becoming Wise by Krista Tippett
Why I Read: The power went out! This was on my shelf! I love On Being! And, although I have my struggles, I ultimately just want to be wise, resilient, kind, generous, etc,. without spinning myself in circles. So I wanted to dive in.
What Was Notable: Also a new favorite! Similarly, Becoming Wise embodies so much of what I want and believe, while also stretching me in new directions. I especially appreciated Tippett's conclusion that a lot of the science I love is now "catching up" to these instinctive truths we have, and I have certain passages that will stay with me forever. I have a lot more to say on this one, but need to share my full review.