Hey readers, it’s February already, can you believe it! January was such a lovely reading month for me. I started the month reading The Poppy War in Texas (which I finished after I got home, I’m not that fast) and ended the month reading Written in the Waters a memoir by National Geographic writer Tara Roberts. Both books made me cry, but I’m a softie so I guess that’s not a huge surprise. January also had a lot of nonfiction for me. I learned more about Utah and the honestly pretty dark history of the LDS Church through Jon Krakauer’s book Under the Banner of Heaven. I believe this was the second book by Krakauer I’ve read and I forgot how deep he goes into his topics. Reading a book of his is like “to learn about Mormons first we have to understand what Utah is” and honestly… I love that style of writing. I also read What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia, a book that clarifies some misconceptions about Appalachia and corrects some widely spread misinformation (if you have heard of the book by J.D. Vance, just know he’s full of sh** and you should read this one instead) and loved every moment of it. There was even a video game reference in the end of the book - the author mentioned Night in the Woods as a good game for further information about Appalachia so I’m extra eager to play that. Also I have to add a massive shoutout and thank you to my dear friend Alanah (or @Lans_I_Guess online) for letting me borrow a very hot and very gay book that kept me warm when we got some extra freezy temps.

Oh AND, wow I have even more to say about January, I was so inspired by books that I um… joined BookTok? So there’s another place you can enjoy my book yapping, if you’d like.

Anyways, we’re moving into February which is another lovely reading month (well, I guess they all are). Here in the United States, February is Black History Month so I’m making sure I have Black authors in my reading list for the month. Here’s a reading list from Barnes & Noble if you’re looking for a place to start! It’s also the month before the next Hunger Games book comes out so I’ve got an entire trilogy on my TBR this month… I regret nothing. I’m so excited to dig in to these books!

Also, Happy Valentine’s Day - I hope you take a moment to take stock of all the love you’ve got in your life. Romantic love, friend love, community love, whatever you’ve got!

January 2025 Reads

January 2025 StoryGraph Numbers

📚 total: 4 books
📖 read: 1,637 pages
🎧 listened: 0.0 hours

February 2025 Hopeful Reads

Bella is on BookTube

After creating bookish content on Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram, I’m finally ready to try out YouTube. My brand new BookTube channel is up now and I would love it if you watched a video and left a supportive comment (because even though I’ve been making content for a while it’s still so nerve-wracking to try new things)! You can expect some deeper dives on recent reads, book reviews, and just in general more book chats over there.

The Hunger Games Buddy Read 2025 StoryGraph Challenge

This year, in honor of the new Hunger Games prequel book releasing in March, Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins, I’m re-reading all of The Hunger Games series and you’re welcome to join me! I have buddy reads through StoryGraph set up for each book in the series and an accompanying StoryGraph challenge to track progress with the re-read. Join for shared discussion on the books, or just take a peek at my comments (and there will be… a lot).

Cashew Town Book Club

We’re back in 2025 with a new structure for book club! This year, book selections will be made every other month, so we’ll have two months to finish our books before discussions. Plus, discussion times will be set ahead of time so you can keep them on your calendar as you read. If you’d like to join Book Club stop by Bella’s stream for the Discord invite. You can keep up with book club selections and additional discussion forums through the StoryGraph book club.

Bella’s Book Recs

I’ve shared a few different lists of book recommendations (my list of books with queer representation and my list of books that are great for halloween) but I’ve realized I didn’t have just a general list of books that I recommend… so now I do! This is a list that will continue to evolve and grow as I come up with more recommendations so keep in mind it’s not exactly 100% done, but I hope you enjoy!

Great places to get books:

  • Audiobooks: Libro.FM (use my referral code: lfm461686)
  • Free books: use the Libby app to get audiobooks and ebooks for free with your library card
  • Public domain books: use the Project Gutenberg website to view ebooks and digital copies of books in the public domain
  • Digital ARC books for reviewers: NetGalley