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January 2026 Reading Recap: Best Books Reviewed

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by

Erin Keller
in , , , ,

That’s a wrap on January – the month that felt like a whole year.

From cozy comfort reads to full-blown chaos, here’s a recap everything I read to kick off the year.

A collage showing a user’s January 2026 recap, featuring fifteen book covers arranged in rows with star ratings beside each one.
Discover thirteen January 2026 reads with ratings to help you find your next great book.
A summary of January reading recap stats, featuring book totals, time spent, ratings, favorite picks, and colorful graphs.
Monthly reading recap showing books read, total pages, reading time, and favorite titles to inspire your next book list.

Top Three:

  • My Life in France by Julia Child
  • Chocolat by Joanne Harris
  • The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

My Life in France by Julia Child

This isn’t just a food memoir, it’s a story about curiosity, partnership, and discovering your calling later than you planned.
Julia Child’s voice is warm and funny as she learns to cook and fall in love with French cuisine. Her love for French food eventually led to co-writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Simone Beck. Julia details the endless testing, measurement conversions, ingredient research, and trial and error it took to create the classic cookbook.

Julia’s marriage to Paul is the heart of the memoir. The memoir uses excerpts from letters that she and Paul wrote to family and friends and includes the hilarious photos they sent.

A simple layout with the book ‘My Life in France’ in the middle, descriptive text bubbles around it highlighting its themes and a row of five yellow stars beneath it.
A warm spotlight on the book ‘My Life in France,’ celebrating its themes of food, travel and personal storytelling with a bright five‑star feel.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

I’ve always loved the movie Chocolat and only recently realized it was based on a book. Even though the novel is set in the 1990s, it still captures the same atmospheric charm as the film’s 1959 setting. The adaptation makes some big changes, especially with the villain, and the book is darker overall. Still, both versions share the same core dynamic, Vianne’s free spirited presence clashing with a rigid, moralistic town. At one point, she even describes the townsfolk as “self important bigots with a taste for gossip.”

A white audiobook player showing the cover of a book titled Chocolat against a background of assorted chocolates. Beside it, a white rounded box shares an audiobook review with star ratings and short notes about the story.
A cozy audiobook highlight set against rich chocolate treats, featuring a warm story with magical realism and small‑town charm.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Millie moves into a wealthy home as the new maid and quickly realizes the family’s perfection is a total illusion. Every rule feels like a warning and every closed door feels like a secret. The tension builds fast as she tries to figure out what she has really walked into and who she can actually trust. It is addictive, twisty, and incredibly bingeable in that classic domestic thriller way. I tore through it because I needed answers and the payoff delivered with a very satisfying twist.

A book review graphic showing a large house in the background with the cover of The Housemaid in the center. Around it are phrases like domestic thriller, morally grey, popcorn fiction, and dark secrets.
Mini book review of The Housemaid, sharing quick thoughts on this dark and twisty read.

On to February and whatever reading mood shows up next 📖✨

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