lately with lila january 2026 | baby it’s cold outside!

Hello again, dear friends! I hope all is well with you, and if it’s not, then I hope brighter days head your way soon! Can you believe we’re already one month into 2026? It seems impossible, and yet here we are, having arrived at February, the month of love! And guess what? January was a great month for media consumption for me!* I did some reading, although I didn’t finish any books—but!! I actually watched a lot of book-to-screen adaptations! Does that count?? I sure think so 😂 So let’s hop right into my wrap up and check out what went down!

*Admittedly this was in part due to being stuck inside after being snowed in because of The Big Snowstorm, but whatever, we’re looking for silver linings!

I started reading the audiobook of The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar in January and, friends, I implore you to listen to this novella on audio because the entire production is absolutely outstanding!! It’s got sound effects going in the background of the narration including a river burbling, a town bustling, and even singing (among other sounds)! One of the beautiful things in this audiobook is that one of the sound effects in the background is women singing the encoded Palestinian folk song “Tarweeda Shamali,” which was just such a special moment to hear as a Levantine Arab! And it’s made better by the fact that the story of The River Has Roots is so utterly enchanting!! El-Mohtar really has a way with words that just pulls you right into the magic of the story she tells. So, needless to say, I’m looking forward to continuing this read!

I also started the audiobook of Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross in January, and I’m hoping to continue it into February. I loved Ross’s debut series (the The Queen’s Rising duology) when it initially released and she was more of a midlist author, so given that fact and Divine Rivals‘ wild popularity, I think it’s a safe bet that I’ll enjoy this book. And, from what I’ve read so far, that assumption holds up. Fingers crossed that stays the same throughout!

I think this year I’m going to try my hand at Readathin again! Readathin is a readathon created to help “thin out” your TBR. For this readathon we read books already on our TBRs that fulfill certain prompts and also take part in some activity prompts as well. All of the prompts are laid out as a bingo board, but of course, you can complete as many as you like in whatever order you prefer (the bingo is just a bonus, haha!). I’ve elected to try to complete one row and one column of the bingo board. The following is my loose TBR and my activity plans…

• Spend Some Time with Friends
  • As an extrovert, this prompt seems relatively easy (and fun!) for me, seeing as I try to get together with at least one friend at least once per month! This February, I’m planning on seeing if my good friend Rowan wants to visit the Women’s Art Museum in DC. So, if everything goes as planned, I should be able to check this prompt off!
• Book to Get You Ready for Spring
  • Thankfully, as I mentioned previously, I started reading The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar in January, and I’m enjoying it enough to hopefully finish it by the end of February. This book is really lush with nature imagery, which instantly reminds me of spring, so I think it’s a great fit for this prompt.
• Read After Completing A Chore
  • This one is tough, since I usually enjoy listening to stuff (including audiobooks) while I do chores. But I suppose I could just listen to music, a podcast, or even a YouTube video while doing the chore and then read my audiobook after…
• Book Toward A Yearly Challenge
  • As I mentioned before, I’m also currently reading Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. I’m not really participating in any yearly challenges, but I did set my Goodreads Challenge goal to 12 books, and if I finish Divine Rivals, I’ll definitely be counting it towards that, so I guess it works?
• Self Care Day
  • This was kinda difficult for me to consider in terms of what type of activities I’d do for a “self care day.” But don’t worry too much—I finally figured it out! I think for a self care day I’d like to take an audiobook and my journal to a local cafe and get a nice hot beverage that I can drink while listening to said audiobook and/or journaling! I’ve been stuck in the house lately due to The Big Snowstorm, so I think a nice trip out would be really good for me!
• Cozy Read
  • I happened to receive an audiobook ALC of The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin through Libro.fm, and started reading it immediately upon delivery to my library. While it’s definitely not a novel that falls into the “cozy fantasy” subgenre, it has the feel of a fairytale that your parents tell you at bedtime—which certainly evokes cozy memories and feelings for me!
• Read During A Sprint
  • This prompt seems fairly straightforward, no need to repeat it lol!
• Book That’s Been Screaming Your Name
  • I’ve been wanting to read The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow since I first heard about it back in 2024, but now that it’s out and I keep coming across rave reviews of it, I’m really worried that it somehow won’t live up to my expectations.

The first thing I watched in January was the Netflix adaptation of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. I feel like this might be a hot take, but this movie was just okay in my book. All I feel like I can really say about it is that it was a movie that definitely movie-ed? I’m not upset that I watched it, as a matter of fact, I had a relatively decent time watching, buuuut…it just felt very “meh,” very “blah.” I don’t know if I would’ve felt differently had I read the source material before watching, but I didn’t and I gotta be real. The characters were cute enough. The plot was okay. And the cinematography…all I can say is “Netflix lighting.” Need I say more? The ending hints at this film being the start of a series, but honestly I’m not sure if I would watch any sequel.

Rating:

Next, I watched Netflix’s adaptation of Emily Henry’s popular romance novel People We Meet on Vacation and… maybe this is another hot take, but this film was also very “meh” for me. Like, I didn’t hate it, I had a decently fun time watching it, but I also feel like it’s the type of film that I’ll forget I even watched a few months from now. I know people love the book, but, honestly, the movie doesn’t do the source material any favors in regards to making me want to pick it up. The characters seemed so…bland and lifeless. The story lacked heart. Even the cinematography was just “blah.” I think it’s safe to say I won’t be rewatching this one anytime soon.

Rating:

Then, I watched Netflix’s miniseries adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, and I’m happy to say that I really enjoyed this miniseries! I guessed two of the three big twists kinda on accident, but I still had a lot of fun watching. I also gotta say that the entire production was excellent and so well directed and acted! I watched the recent adaptation of Death on the Nile a while ago and to be honest that film bored me to tears, so I went into Seven Dials with tempered expectations. Turns out that wasn’t necessary—Seven Dials was very fast paced and intriguing and fun to follow along with! I had such a great time that I wish there was a sequel/series to follow!

Rating:

And, finally, I watched Dune: Prophecy Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2. I haven’t read any of the Dune books, and I’ve only watched half of the first film adaptation (I’ve been meaning to finish it and to continue on to the second film), so I went into this show pretty blind. Honestly, at first it was hard to understand without having the background knowledge from the Dune films and books, but eventually I managed to figure out a bit of what was going on, and it was pretty intriguing! I feel like the first two episodes that I watched were pretty slow in regards to the plotlines, largely because the series spent most of the time on world building and setting up for the plot to take off. That said, I’m hoping that things will pick up a bit as the series continues. Nonetheless, I did actually enjoy the episodes I watch this past January, so I think I’ll continue on with watching!

Rating: what i listened to

for readers

• Princess Weekes joined the conversation on booktok, romantasy, and critical thinking (Video)
• Roisin discussed the myth that romance readers are porn addicts, along with other right-wing myths about books (Video)
• Vanessa defended fantasy through a sociopolitical lens (Video)
• Noah fact checked the YouTube channel Second Story about the literacy crisis (Video)
• Beck explained why booktok can’t decide what makes a “good book” (Video)
• Nicole said goodbye to her book blogging era
• The gals at Pages Unbound absolutely hit it out of the park with their posts in January!
  • Briana listed forty-five book bloggers to follow in 2026
  • Krysta pondered over how publishers can increase book sales
  • For the “Fantasy with Friends” discussion meme, Krysta discussed what makes a compelling fantasy world for her
  • For the “Literary Inbox” discussion meme, Krysta investigated whether or not she reads books because of influencers
  • For the “Fantasy with Friends” discussion meme, Briana shared her thoughts on romantasy
  • The gals suggested Middle Grade readalikes for classics
  • For the “Fantasy with Friends” meme, Krysta gabbed about her favorite depictions of fae
  • Krysta hypothesized about book blogging trends we might see in 2026
  • Krysta explained what writers can learn from Jane Austen
  • Krysta recommended feel good and cozy reads to lift your spirits
  • For the “Literary Inbox” meme Krysta wondered if it’s possible to overconsume books
• Rachel talked performative reading and the rise of “the performative male” (Video)
• Maria gushed about why Frankenstein remains a timeless classic
• Elle gabbed about Divergent and the death of YA dystopian (Video)
• Amy suggested audiobooks for readers who are new to the format
• Robin highlighted romances to read during winter
• Carolyn Marie made the case for why we need to reread books (Video)
• Rosina recommended books that remind her of the Lolita fashion aesthetic
• Nadia investigated the question “are we confusing intellectualism with reading comprehension?” (Video)
• Sela showed off four bookstores and libraries to visit in Seoul
• For the “Fantasy with Friends” meme, Gem talked fantasy worldbuilding
• Ashley explored plagiarism vs. inspiration (Video)
• For the sake of the recent 2016 nostalgia, Rachel shouted out her favorite books from 2016 (Video)
• Laura Elise gabbed about how booktok made reading go viral and why that might be a problem (Video)
• 24hryabookblog pondered how one creates a book review “style”

for fun

• Leonie discussed how the idea of “you don’t owe anyone anything” gets in the way of friendship (Video) and also discussed why confidence tips don’t help you and how we’ve made confidence a product (Video)
• Sumedha celebrated ten years of blogging and shared her goals for 2026
• Laura Elise explained the female gaze and why women love Heated Rivalry

My January was actually pretty quiet, but still good. I had planned to go to a couple events towards the end of the month, but The Big Snowstorm threw those plans out the window. But I still did manage to do at least one fun thing this past month, that being a “crochet and catch up” session with one of my good friends. We got lunch, went to the library to do the actual crocheting and catching up, and even managed to grab some ice cream before we headed home. It was such a fun day!

Speaking of crafty hobbies, I did manage to indulge in a few in January, which made the month extra cozy! At our crochet and catch up session, I started working on the body of the Evania cardigan (pattern by Ilhios), which I’m looking forward to s l o w l y completing. I also worked on my journal insert for my Physics I friend group’s “sisterhood of the traveling journal” project, and I managed to put together some spreads that I think came out really nice! In addition, although I know this isn’t strictly an arts and crafts hobby, but I got my 2026 planner (a B6 Common Planner from Sterling Ink) and I’ve enjoyed using it and decorating spreads in it.

Last, but certainly not least, my sole class of this semester—Choir—also began in late January, and I’m so happy to be back and singing again! This semester I’m only taking Choir, which I’m really happy about (it’s a nice break from doing my core anthropology classes). I was enrolled in Jazz Ensemble and really excited for that course, but it was cancelled due to low enrollment. I’m disappointed about that, but I figure nothing’s stopping me from just taking it this fall semester. Ah well, ya win some, ya lose some, I suppose.

Hmmm…Honestly I don’t yet have much of anything planned for February. I’m hoping that it warms up a bit and that we’re not hit by any more blizzards, that’s for sure! I’d also like to get together with friends once or twice, and maybe to go to some fun events and gatherings around town. I’m also hoping to do more crafting, namely: journaling, working more on crocheting the Evania Cardigan, knitting a quilt star pattern scarf, and finishing up and posting a letter for my pen pal. Oh! I also joined a local gym in January, and I’m hoping to make going to the gym a regular habit starting in February!

How was your January of 2026? Did you read, watch, or listen to anything interesting or do anything fun? What’s on your TBR for February of 2026? Is there anything you’re looking forward to in the upcoming month?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.