publish_date: 2026-02-01T06:00:00Z slug: reading-roundup-january-2026 status: scheduled subject: "Reading Roundup: January 2026"

Reading Roundup: January 2026

Welcome to the first of my reading roundups for 2026. As you will know if you've been a devout follower of last year's updates, the weekly schedule fell apart after the baby arrived. SO rather than punish myself and disappoint you by not committing,I decided to go monthly instead.

Life updates

Obviously, the biggest news since last October is the arrival of a baby. I had intended to take my full-paid paternity leave and be back at work by now, but things have meant I needed to extend that. I've dropped pay and am now aiming to be back in the summer. Naturally, reading time with a newborn has been dramatically curtailed, but hopefully as he grows, so will my freedom.

Rereads or books off-catalogue

[Ignore the Dementor by NinjaPandaScholar ]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/37190689/chapters/92785399)

When things go very wrong before his fifth year, Harry Potter tries to pretend everything is normal…while also taking care of his Harry-suit so that it stays healthy and alive and learning to rein in his new powers, yeah everything is definitely normal.

I enjoyed this just as much on a second read. It doesn't take itself too seriously and really plays with the idea of there being more magical creatures at hogwarts.

[Acceptance by AsphodelWolf15]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27570811/chapters/67440538)

If Vernon and Petunia were so concerned about their image why did they treat Harry the way they did? A child with a bad reputation living in their house forced them to tell tales, when it would have been much easier if they treated him like part of the family. How would Harry have turned out if he was accepted?

Realtime Interrupt, by James P. Hogan

One of my absolute favourite virtual world stories.

Who's on First?By tkepner

Timothy Lamont Cranston, a Bank of America employee, is at Universal Studios Resorts and Parks in Florida. A Potterhead, he buys & drinks one of the Felix Felicis good-luck vials. Passing through Knockturn Alley in Harry Potter World, he trips and falls — and finds himself somewhere that looks much more real than the Harry Potter Resort Park — then he sees Hagrid with Harry Potter!

Again, a very Meta read this time. Heavy use of the Room of Requirement, and I hadn't realised I'd already read a tkepner until I looked and recognised Amalgum – Lockhart's Folly which I reread again and found a lot of similarities to,.

The Practice Effect, by David Brin

an old classic. I clearly have a dodgy scan of this one from the good old days, as the chapter titles are missing.

Infinity Born, by Douglas E. Richards

I reread this because it was on offer for £0.99. I'd already paid for it, naturally, but it just felt right. Every time I hear the title of the opening chapter I hear it in Jeff Harding's voice, even though he didn't read the audiobook: "The Rod of God".

Star Trek: Vendetta, by Peter David.

Pad's death in May last year while I was abroad saddened me greatly. I had brushed over the Sir Apropos and Modern Arthur books and remembered him fondly a few weeks ago, but then Vendetta re-caught my eye.

New reads for January

2 stars to Harry Breaks Free, by Fairywm

Book Description:

Fandom: Harry Potter -------------------------------------------------- Harry feels there is more he can do with his life. He is not sure how. A night time visit from Kreacher helps him along his way. After OoTP: mostly stays in canon until the last few chapters. This is an Independent Frugal Harry.

My Thoughts:

Even with a rewrite, this is a pretty paltry performance. Fairywm themself routinely mentions its their first fic and it shows.

This Book: has 395 pages, a community rating of 3.25, was first published in 2016.

4 stars to Press Enter, by John Varley

Book Description:

Book by John Varley

My Thoughts:

A quick and clever little scary story about technology doing the dirty. Must've been quite intense at the time of publication.

This Book: has 148 pages, a community rating of 3.95, was first published in 1984.

4 stars to Crosstalk, by Connie Willis

Book Description:

Science fiction icon Connie Willis brilliantly mixes a speculative plot, the wit of Nora Ephron, and the comedic flair of P. G. Wodehouse in Crosstalk, a genre-bending novel that pushes social media, smartphone technology, and twenty-four-hour availability to hilarious and chilling extremes as one young woman abruptly finds herself with way more connectivity than she ever desired. In the not-too-distant future, a simple outpatient procedure to increase empathy between romantic partners has become all the rage. And Briddey Flannigan is delighted when her boyfriend, Trent, suggests undergoing the operation prior to a marriage proposal - to enjoy better emotional connection and a perfect relationship with complete communication and understanding. But things don't quite work out as planned, and Briddey finds herself connected to someone else entirely - in a way far beyond what she signed up for. It is almost more than she can handle - especially when the stress of managing her all-too-eager-to-communicate-at-all-times family is already burdening her brain. But that's only the beginning. As things go from bad to worse, she begins to see the dark side of too much information, and to realize that love - and communication - are far more complicated than she ever imagined.

My Thoughts:

I started this quite a while ago and found the opening wall of text quite dense. But getting passed that this time found me enjoying quite a clever and fun little story. Despite leaning a bit more toward the romantic than my usual, I was pleasantly surprised to have come away having enjoyed the whole thing.

This Book: has 480 pages, a community rating of 3.52, was first published in 2016.

4 stars to NanoStrike, by Pete Barber

Book Description:

* Indie Book Awards Finalist * Terrorists attack a London Underground train, slaughtering two-hundred innocents in seconds with a nanoweapon small enough to hide in a hint of perfume. First responder, Detective Chief Inspector Quinnborne, defies orders and hunts for the weapon’s unhinged genius creator. The authorities label Quinnborne a traitor, but when the nanotechnology spirals out of control, his grit and bloody-minded determination become humankind’s last thin hope of surviving a weapon of mass destruction that can be deployed at will and against which there is no defense.

My Thoughts:

The inevitable "gray goo" scenario was both well-telegraphed and neatly executed here, elevating this run-of-the-mill thriller onto a slightly higher plateau. I can't say I was hooked, but I enjoyed the unfolding story.

This Book: has 242 pages, a community rating of 3.89, was first published in 2012.

5 stars to 16 Forever, by Lance Rubin

Book Description:

It’s the morning of Carter Cohen’s 16th birthday, and everything’s going his way. He’s psyched and ready to get his driver’s license, his little brother’s not hogging the bathroom, and, man, something smells good for breakfast… But when Carter bounds downstairs, Mom bursts into tears. It happened again. It’s Carter’s 16th birthday—for the sixth time. Every time he’s supposed to turn 17, he loops back a year. His memory gets wiped clean, his body ages backward—the rest of the world moves on, just not him. Maggie Spear, on the other hand, has been dreading this day ever since she and Carter started dating. When she spies him in the halls and he doesn’t seem to know her at all, it’s obvious that it’s over between them. She can’t be in a relationship with someone who is just going to forget her again and again. Since Carter doesn’t remember that they’re together, then it’s probably better if she just pretends that they never were. Except Carter senses that there’s more to their story than Maggie’s letting on, and Maggie’s keeping secrets of her own—but in the process of trying to let the other go, they find themselves falling in love all over again. With Maggie soon leaving for college and Carter’s birthday quickly coming around again, will they be able to find a forever that isn’t stuck at 16? Filled with tender moments, silly banter, and lots of teenage angst, 16 Forever is the latest YA page-turner from New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Lance Rubin.

My Thoughts:

Romance not being my forte, I nonetheless found this irresistibly fun and fun. Obviously I'm a little out of the age bracket now, but this gave me a glimpse back in time whilst being another clever and worthwhile entry into the time-looping genre.

This Book: has 368 pages, a community rating of 3.76, was first published in 2026.

3 stars to Infinity Gambit, by James P. Hogan

Book Description:

Book by Hogan, James P.

My Thoughts:

Although lacking any sort of science fiction elements at all and with perhaps a bit too much of the hush-hush, wink-wink nature of experts in the forces getting together, I still found myself wanting to carry on and enjoying this for what it was. Not one of my favourites by a considerable margin, but an interestingly plotted yarn all the same.

This Book: has 452 pages, a community rating of 3.77, was first published in 1991.

5 stars to Harry Potter and the Hero's Path, by TheJackOfDiamonds

Book Description:

Fandom: Harry Potter -------------------------------------------------- Ritually abused by the Dursley's, young Harry Potter learns to count on himself. After discovering magic at a young age, he practices to become stronger and protect those weaker than him. He escapes from Privet Drive with his two best friends before his 11th birthday, leaving Dumbledore confused and desperate to find him. Eventually, he is drawn back into the magical world, but the Harry Potter that arrives at Hogwarts is already powerful, refuses to be led, and doesn't trust easily. Contains graphic violence and child abuse.

My Thoughts:

So, yes. There were issues with this story. But even after a 20 year pause, rendering both sides of the gap utterly different to each other, the author came back, finished the story, and did some pretty cool stuff. I really enjoyed the mirror world theme, the nods to so many of the fanfiction authors of my heyday were very much appreciated, and even if the direction changed completely, the ending worked, the Harry that had been built up was well-defined and cleverly done, and the whole concept was executed with a great readability.

This Book: has 808 pages, a community rating of 3.33, was first published in 2006.

3 stars to Pilgrims, by M.R. Leonard

Book Description:

Out-of-work Latin teacher and borderline alcoholic Austin DeSantis is determined to spend his final days in the arms of a prostitute—that is if the aliens don’t exterminate humanity first . . . But when the aliens land at the Vatican, begin speaking Latin, and reveal themselves to be Catholic, the world turns upside down. Pressed into service as a translator and thrust into the center of humanity's first contact with a cryptic alien race, Austin must uncover their true intentions before religious turmoil rips the planet apart. But with Austin caught between the Catholic Church, the US military, and an enigmatic alien AI, he'll have to decide where his loyalties lie as the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. PILGRIMS is a sci-fi retelling of Augustine's Confessions, mixing a high-concept premise à la Children of Time with the ceaseless pacing and rich characterization of Red Rising.

My Thoughts:

I struggled through this, not really having any interest in organised religion. The writing wasn't bad and if it'd been more thematically interesting to me I could have quite enjoyed it.

This Book: has 404 pages, a community rating of 3.82, was first published in 2024.

5 stars to Roadkill, by Dennis E. Taylor

Book Description:

Jack Kernigan is having a bad day…a bad year…a bad life. After being booted out of MIT, he’s back in his Ohio hometown, working for the family business, facing a life of mediocrity. Then one day, out on a delivery, his truck hits…something. Something big…furry…invisible. And, it turns out, something not of this Earth. Fate can play funny tricks. Which is why Jack suddenly finds himself the planet’s best hope to unravel a conspiracy of galactic proportions that could spell the end of the human race. All Jack and his best friends Natalie and Patrick have to defeat an alien threat is their wits, a lot of coffee, and a rather snippy A.I. named Sheldon. Plus, their own spaceship. After all, if you’re going to rescue the world, the least you can get out of it is your own spaceship.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this very much indeed. I don't do audiobooks and find the concept of an "audio-first" really annoying, largely because of the fact that growing up everything was "paper-first" and I couldn't access them without a lot of hard work. But I heard Ray Porter's interpretation of Sheldon in the sample, so of course that's his voice in my head now. And it just so works! I didn't want to put this down. With a similar feeling to David Liss's Randoms or the Spaceman jack books for me, this was a cracker.

This Book: has 333 pages, a community rating of 4.31, was first published in 2022.

5 stars to Flybot, by Dennis E. Taylor

Book Description:

Mysterious tech, a devious AI and a couple of scientists in over their heads collide in the latest sci-fi adventure from the number one best-selling author of the Bobiverse series. Physicist Philip Moray is having a good day. He’s chipping away at his big work project. The lunch in the cafeteria is at least edible. And he’s looking forward to his end-of-the-day drink and a soak in the hot tub. Then, a strange device turns up in his office. A piece of technology he has never seen before–and shouldn’t even exist. Suddenly, corpses start turning up, eco-activists go on the attack, random people suffer bizarre symptoms. And every time the authorities get a lead, it traces right back to Philip and his colleague, Celia Hunt. Then, a mysterious caller contacts Philip–and, suddenly, staying out of jail is the very least of his problems. Apparently, that hot tub’s going to have to wait.

My Thoughts:

Fabulous, all the way through. Of course I'd had my suspicions and by Chapter 53 everything was confirmed, but the whole work just oozed Scalzi vibes. The SPI idea is clever, the regulation of AGI totally plausible, the police procedural stuff executed neatly and all the virus work top quality. An absolutely brilliant few hours of entertainment and no mistake. What a rush!

This Book: has 432 pages, a community rating of 4.41.

5 stars to Gold Rush, by Peter Cawdron

Book Description:

Astronomers discover an interstellar comet on a collision course with Venus. Not since Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 struck Jupiter in 1994 has a collision captured the public's imagination, but all is not what it seems. Additional observations reveal a second comet also on a collision course with Venus, sparking speculation about the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement. NASA astronaut Dice Newman is already in space, heading to Venus to observe the impact, when confirmation comes of an alien spacecraft entering the solar system. "Gold gave birth to cities and cemeteries alike.” —John David Borthwick, California (1854) FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact.

My Thoughts:

I was utterly sucked in from the very first page. Even if we are doing a Podcast, which is nothing new, and even if we're looking at an extraterrestrial comet, again, nothing new - Peter manages to take the happening of now and turn it into something special. I was very sad to see in his afterword that his sales have dropped over the last year. His content is as epic as ever.

This Book: has 401 pages, a community rating of 4.51, was first published in 2025.

Coming up

I've got the new John Marrs book already, which I'd intended to have read by now but am still looking forward to. then there'll be the new Doug Richards to enjoy as well. I'm not so sure how I feel about his collaborative works compared with his own work, but I'll give it a go.