january book report.

The Rosie Effect. This is the follow-up to The Rosie Project, which I read a while ago. I probably should have reread it, because I couldn't remember the complete storyline, but I still liked this sequel (though not as much as the first one). The story is about Don, a man with social awkwardness (who likely falls somewhere on the autistic spectrum) and his wife (who he found in the first book) expecting their first child. His is an interesting perspective to hear from, though the way he thinks and processes certain things can be a bit stressful — and hilarious.

Where They Found Her. After reading Invisible City, I wanted another murder mystery from a journalist's perspective. This was a little less about the clues — in a case about a baby found dead by a river (I know, it's grim) — and more about different connecting stories, which I loved. The twist at the end totally got me. Highly recommend.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This is the first HP book that really varies quite a bit from its movie counterpart, and because it's been so long since I read this, but I've seen the movie dozens of times, it kind of felt like I was reading it for the first time. As always with Mr. Potter, I was not disappointed.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard. This was a really fun read, as it's a cheeky expansion on the HP series. The book is a children's book read to young witches and wizards the same way fairy tales are read to us when we're young, which is mentioned in the novels a few times. Each story ended with commentary from Albus Dumbledore, which killed me — so funny. It's less than 100 pages and the text was huge, so it took me just two train rides to finish it.