Light Reads for Getting Through a Cold Winter: Romances and Children's Books

 

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

Publication: Feb. 3, 2026, Berkley, NetGalley

Genre: adult fiction, romance

When Mathilda Nightingale lost her husband, Joe, to cancer, her grieving is soothed by the gift he left her. Alfie, the bookstore owner, was asked to give Mathilde (Tilly) a book gift a month for twelve months. The books are meant to mean something to Tilly or to send messages to her from Joe. She had, after all, lost her interest in reading since the time Joe became sick. 

The first book  given to Tilly was Mathilda by Raoul Dahl, about a book loving girl with exceptional powers. I had never read the book, so I immediately borrowed it from my library. I'm loving it for all Mathilda's gumption and love of books.

After finishing Joe's gift book, Tilly sets off to the library to read more children's books, getting Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. I borrowed it from the library too, for a reread. It was fun reading all the clever, silly verse.

I am still reading This Book Made Me Think of You, so am curious about the other books Joe has gifted Tillie through Alfie, the book seller. I also sense a developing love interest between Tillie and Alfie.

Other light reads

Singing to the Sun by Regina Rodriguez Sirvent, translated, Jan. 20, 2026; Amazon Crossing, NetGalley

Genre: adult fiction

A young woman with failed plans for college sets out from her home in Barcelona to New York, and then on to Atlanta as an au pair. This will be an interesting read for me as I would love a Spanish take on America, au pairs, and Atlanta. 

Our Ex's Wedding by Taleen Voskuni, Publication: Jan. 20, 2026; Berkley, NetGalley

Genre: romance

Armenian wedding planner, Ani, is shocked to learn that the bride of the wedding she is set to plan is an ex girlfriend, Kami. 

Exes abound in this rom com, as Ani has to work with a man who is also an ex of the bride to be, Kami. How things get ironed out might make or break this romance plot.

What are your winter weather book choices? Light or heavy reading? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland: a Review

 

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland, Dec. 13, 2022

Genre: cozy mystery, England

Several seniors form their own detective agency based in a charity shop for dogs that one of them operates. The group wants to solve the stabbing death of a senior female in their village and start by listing possible suspects and spying on possible future victims. 

The Domino Murders are so called because the killer leaves at each crime scene the name of the next victim, etched on a domino tile. The group intensifies their sleuthing when one of their own, Fiona, is listed as the next victim. Fiona declines safe house protection by the police, intent on finding the killer. 

 I enjoyed how the group went about finding the killer's tactics that made the unsuspecting victims open their doors and invite him in. The whys and who of the case eluded them till the end, when they are come face to face with the dangerous perpetrator. It was interesting that the crime motive was such a simple one.

All in all, an enjoyable cozy mystery with elderly and sometimes quirky sleuths. I gave this four stars.

Choosing Books by Their Titles

 

Sisters of a Halved Heart

by Nayantara Roy

 My Vote:

 26 0

I Give You My Silence

by Mario Vargas Llosa

Boring Asian Female

by Canwen Xu

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block

by Jesse Q Sutanto

Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead

by Mai Nguyen

Love and Other Brain Experiments

by Hannah Brohm

Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue

by Spencer Quinn

Evil Genius

by Claire Oshetsky

Bad Bad Girl

by Gish Jen

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat

by Syou Ishida

Becoming Ghost

Poetry

by Cathy Linh Che

Butter

A Novel of Food and Murder

by Asako Yuzuki

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant

A Memoir

by Curtis Chin

The Japanese Way of Parenting

And What It Taught Me About Raising (Mostly) Calm, Caring, Capable Kids

by Lisa Katayama

Hooked

A Novel of Obsession

by Asako Yuzuki

Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies

A Novel  Jeny Eoke

Bomb Shelter Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott

a Novel by Evelyn ClarkThe Ending Writes Itself

The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Piano

A Novel by Kendra Langford Shaw

What books are on your reading list now? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves

Choosing Books by Their Covers: Sunday Salon

 

Choosing Books by the Covers

I was first attracted to these NetGalley books because of their covers - the colors, the picture(s), the font, the titles. Do you choose books by their covers? 

Publication: Feb. 5, 2026

Genre: memoir, food and cooking

Published May 18, 2023; romance, mystery

Published Jan. 6, 2026; romance, mystery

Publication: March 17, 2026; mystery 

Publication: Oct. 30, 2025; mystery, women's fiction

Publication: May 26, 2026; mystery 

Publication: June 2, 2026; romance 

Publication: May 5, 2026; romance, mystery

Any of these covers catch your eye? 

What books are on your reading list now? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves 

Hollow Inside by Asako Otani: Book Review

 

Japanese Literature Challenge 19 

I’m

Hollow Inside by Asako Otani, publication Feb. 12, 2026; Pushkin Press, NetGalley copy

Genre: Humor and satire, Japanese literature, translated

This review may contain spoilers 

This novel tells me that there are some social attitudes in Japan that reflect ambivalence towards women in their late 30s or 40s who are single, especially if they decide to become roommates, even if they are not partners.

Suganuma, 40, earns a living making hollow plastic dogs to order, for people who have lost their pets and want a replacement for the dogs.  She does however, have an outside life, though with a married man. Hirai, 38, on the other hand, has been unlucky in the dating scene, and longs for a child but is strangely happy to have the hollow plastic baby that roommate Suganuma makes for her on her 3D printing machine.  

The lives of the two women seem to be hollow, however, as they make do with replacements for a full life with a fake child and  making fake dogs for people who have lost real pets. Hirai, however, comes to accept that the future of a real child or family is not in the cards for her at this point.

I thought this was a sad but somewhat satiric novel on single women living as outliers in their society. An unusual but very interesting novel.

I hope others in the challenge will read this book. I would love to have other opinions and discussions on the novel. 

For The Japanese Literature Challenge 19