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January 2026 Reads—Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Han Kang, James Baldwin And More

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Seventy-nine? Looks like this is the number of books I'll read this year. Why? Because I read fifty-nine books in 2024 and sixty-nine in 2025. I can do it. Not fretting, though. The number of books is not important. What's really important, real readers know.

To summarise the books I read in Jan:

1. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

2. Human Acts by Han Kang

3. My Friends by Fredrik Backman

4. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

5. James Baldwin, The Last Interview and Other Conversations

6. Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman

7. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

8. The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. Mackinnon


1. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

About free will, rationalism, ego, and contradiction. This is a reread. This time, I am more empathetic to the underground man compared to last time. I guess I grew a little. I may not get the full depth and meaning of the book. But I got enough to find it interesting.  Also, Fyodor Dostoyevsky is one of my favourites.


2. Human Acts by Han Kang

About the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. This book did something to me. I'll keep the details to myself.
But "when the body dies, what happens to the soul?" 

3. My Friends by Fredrik Backman

About friendship, grief, art and a summer 25 years ago. I am getting the hang of Fredrik Backman's formula (have read two of his books before). Enjoyable, nonetheless. Reminds me to read Mary Oliver's "The Summer Day".
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

4. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

A young woman finds refuge, purpose, and transformation while living above a small Tokyo bookshop. It's okayish.
"No matter where I went, no matter who I was with, if I could be honest with myself, then that was where I belonged."

5. James Baldwin, The Last Interview and Other Conversations

I read his first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and I know when I like an author. Picked this up to get to know him better (though he died before I was born). 

6. Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman

đź‘€Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference. Yeah. You! Don't stop at good intentions. Real-world deeds are more important than intentions.

By the way, got to know Ralph Nader, American lawyer and political activist and his method: "expose an injustice, come up with solutions, and then bring together a coalition of activists, lobbyists, politicians and experts to make those solutions happen."

7. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Gay novel. Something I won't actively seek out to read. But I don't mind reading anything by James Baldwin. He writes beautifully.

8. The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. Mackinnon

What would happen if consumer culture slowed down and how radically different (and possibly better) life could be beyond endless buying.

"The most savage of consumerism's ironies is that those who consume the least often suffer far more of consumption's harms that those who consume the most." 


I also started two other books but didn't finish. It's alright. Happy Reading, Folks!

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