January got a little out of hand. Earlier this month I mentioned I had already picked up 26 books in 2026. That number did not stay put. A few more stops at thrift stores, a few late-night dives into public domain archives, and suddenly the count jumped to 55 books acquired in January alone.
Some are physical. Heavy, real, and space-taking. Others are digital .epub files pulled from places like Project Gutenberg, quietly stacking themselves in folders instead of corners of the room. Different formats, same outcome. The collection keeps growing.
I am not pretending all of these will be read immediately. That is not the point. Unread books are not a failure or a burden. They are potential. Reference points.
According to my book tracker software, the library now sits at 282 titles. Most of them are physical, thankfully. I still prefer paper, weight, and the slow creep of shelves filling up over time.
The full list of the 55 books acquired this month is below. January set the tone. We’ll see whether the rest of the year keeps up or mercifully backs off.
