January 2026 reading review

Another big'ol goal I had for 2026 is to read a significant (yet undisclosed tho arbitrarily 26 via my goodreads) amount of books. I will attempt to include any audio books I successfully finish (full disclosure I do have a nasty tendency of not actually completing those... oops). 

In Jauary  I read a total of 4 books; let's have a little review and discuss, shall we?

Book the 1st: The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold. A sequel to a book I read (last year or maybe the year before) by an author that I read faithfully as a teenager. Now I will not lie this book is in no uncertain terms smut gasp! *or smut as far as I am willing to read, and therefore not actually smut*. Like my tolerance for spicy food my tolerance to spice in books is next to nothing haha. Was it a quick read? Yes! Did it check all the delicious tropes that we love in a good popcorn rom-com? Yes! Was it as good as the first? I don't think so (truth be told I don't remember). However, this sequel is really happening more before/during and sorta kinda after the events of the first so not remembering much of that book didn't really help. Either way if you like tropes, enjoy a spy story and want some smut I'd definitely recommend this one. 

Since my sister is currently solo styling through life we have been actively reading books in tandem. We decided at the end last year that we'd begin 2026 by reading the entire chronicles of Narnia series. Much debate ensued about the order in which to read them. The debate being whether to read them in release date order or narrative chronological order. I pushed for the release date order becuase I felt it would give a more true experience (I won the debate incase you are wondering.)

Book the 2nd: Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Technically the second in the series but the one that most people are familiar with (and for good reason). It holds up as a wonderful stand alone story... and I don't have much else to say about it. The characters behave the way you expect them to and the story is pretty much the same as what you've seen in the movie. The main difference being the book fleshes out Edmond's behaviors and the reasons behind them and the movie builds up the "epic" battles. 

Book the 3rd: Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. If you think the walking found in the Hobbit is annoying you are gonna just luve this book. Haha. Mostly the characters are confused and walk around... a lot, sometimes they even walk around confused. Then there's a single sorta fight and ta-da book over, the end. Favorite part? The absolute drama of Reepicheep loosing his tail and the reaction of all his little mouse buddies. The movie does a good job telling the story (legit tears everytime the Minature character holds open the gate to allow the Narnia's to escape- obvi not in the book) and giving us something to watch other than children walking. 

Book the 4th: Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eustace sucks, but also the argument could be made that he was definitely kidnapped so maybe he's allowed to suck. This story is enjoyable for a few reason: first Reepicheep reappears and continues to be the most extra. Second the tiny island mini quests where we discover new creates and have new teeny tiny adventures (with invisible mini mushroom people and even a dragon showing up). Is there a third reason? Maybe but aside from those mini quests they really spend the remainder of the time on a boat (not walking though so that's a plus I guess). 

Now, my reviews probably have encouraged no one to read any of these books. That wasn't the goal tho (except for the first one- go forth and read that smut, ladies, gents and anyone else interested in such things.) However, for a more accurate review that might actually lead to reading the books mentioned I'd 100% reccomending my sister's Substack about her January reads.  

Perfecting the Croissant

Happy 2026! A goal for this year is that I bake for myself (i.e. not to fill an order) every month. I decided to add a little spice to this goal by coming up with some recipes that I want to *perfect* the first being Croissants! Fun fact several years ago now I used to work in a french bakery/coffee shop and made Croissants every single day! Truthfully when I left that job I think my Croissants were practically perfect but it's been years haha so we'll see. 

Attempt #1 

Alright so I figure there are 4 areas that mater when perfecting Croissants. Recipe, lamination, proving and baking. 

Recipe: Thankfully I still have a tried and true recipe to work with. I know it's a good recipe!! I also have a pretty good hand on kneading and what the dough should be like. 

Next time gonna use the same recipe. No notes. 

Lamination: around the same time I was working in the bakery my brother got me a French baking Bible (no joke you should see how large this book is haha). It goes through the techniques of Lamination as well as giving some tips so we went with that. The biggest change was after the initail prove you roll the dough to the size needed to fully encase the butter and then you pop that dough into the freezer (I know unexpected but logically makes sense.) Then the folding for lamination happens as you'd expect. With a final fridge rest before rolling for cutting. 

Cutting went well and and rolling was honestly a dream. *See photo 1*

Next time I plan to do things pretty much the same. Maybe make the rolls a little wider for rolling. 

Proving:

Okay intial proving went well, dough doubled and rolled well. I think that one was a 10/10. The 2nd prove not so much. Per the baking Bible I was told to prove with warm water in the oven for 2 hours. I proved... not that long and definitely at to high a heat. 

Next time I will heat my oven for proving while rolling THEN turn it off prior to putting in the dough. I will still use the water at the base to maintain moisture. And I'll probably egg wash prior as per instructions. 

Baking: 

Once fully rolled and improperly proved I had 2 pans on rolls. I (in my rush) baked them together at 350°f it took over 20 minutes and they still didn't have even coloring. The butter leakage was... a lot haha but thats alright lol

Next time I will bake both pans separately. I will start at a higher temperature maybe 375-400°f for the initial few minutes before lowering for the remainder. 

Final thoughts: 

Per the photos attached *photo 2 & 3* I  think overall the recipe and lamination were practically perfect. I'll work on the proving and baking and next time we'll knock this right out of the park!