Posted in Ramblings

January 2026 Media Log

I decided to try and keep track of more than just books this year. Not so much for keeping track of what I watched or played because that’s easy for me to remember (at the moment) but rather when of the thing.

Keeping track of books is easy. I look at my StoryGraph stats. Keeping track of the games (video games or board games) is a little trickier as I have to have written it down in my Hobonichi (planner/journal) or made a note of it somewhere if it isn’t logged on Steam. The same goes for television and movies. I’m sure that there is an app that I am not aware of that would love to help me keep track of all of these things in one place. But I’m not going to put much effort into finding one when I already have the data available. I just have to make/take the time to parse it.

I’m actually surprised that I read 9 books this month. I put a sizable dent into one of my StoryGraph challenges – A TBR Shelf Challenge. For me specifically, it means reading books from my physical bookshelf or books that have been on my TBR list for over a year. When I set the challenge up the goal was to read 1 book from this category per month for a total of 12 books. I didn’t think I’d read 9 of them in one month.

Season 2 of The Apothecary Diaries has been on my “list” to watch for a little while now. Especially after I was the one that suggested the anime to my niece. I watched all 22 (or was it 23?) episodes in one day. In no small part because my niece didn’t think it was possible and me being the adult set out to do just that. There was a lot of intro and outro skipping to accomplish this after watching each version at the beginning and mid-season change.

January’s video games were mostly recently acquired games. Over the last few months of 2025, I picked up Void Train, Tiny Bookshop, and Blue Prince. I haven’t put much time into Tiny Bookshop yet. I’ve made it through the initial goal of Blue Prince and I’m not sure how far I am into Void Train. Dreamlight Valley is a game that will likely show up almost every month as it one of the games I continuously go back to as a casual “turn my brain off” game. I have a few of those that I cycle through. I did start playing a game that I can’t actually talk about due to an agreement. I still put it on this list for the month though. I didn’t realize that Steam also keeps track of the demos that you play. Makes sense of course. I did play one demo during one of their “festivals” in January. The game made it on to my wish list for the future.

And that pretty much covers my media log for January. It will be interesting to see what February will be like as well as the rest of 2026.

-C

Addendum:

I forgot to include a few other things – music, podcast, and BKS (Best Kept Secret – Audio Erotica). I didn’t really keep track of the music I listened to during January. That will change for February, now that it’s added to my media list. The same goes for podcasts.

I can tell you about BKS though. That’s easy for me to look up and reference. (Also, I’ll have a whole post about BKS at some point to share.) I listened to 9 of the 15 audios released in January.

Ok, now that’s all. Promise.

Posted in Books

Echoes of the EtherStone

Book cover for Echoes of the EtherStone by Lucy A, McLaren
Description:

Someone is murdering people in Alpinside. It began with young women, then couples and families, all from the Workers’ District. Dubbed the “Scrubbers’ Stalker” by the press, this killer has created an environment of fear among the poor, and gossip among the wealthy.

When Ellana is attacked, her younger brother stabs the man in the back, allowing for their escape. While deciding on what to do next, they are confronted by the wealthy Lord Estamore and forced into his employ. Elizabetha, the daughter of Lord Estamore, is focused on her upcoming wedding and has little time for teaching Ellana the intricacies of being a Companion, but when she learns of her encounter with the Stalker, Elizabetha promises to use her time and resources to solve this mystery.

Click to see where to Purchase.

Physical book from Bookshop.org (affiliate link*)

Ebook from Bookshop.org (affiliate link*)

Storygraph Review:

  • Plot or Character Driven: A mix
  • Strong character development: Complicated
  • Loveable characters: Complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters: Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A
  • Star Rating: 4.0
Thoughts

(Note: I received an eARC of this book from the author. I agreed to write a review before the set release date of October 7th. My initial review on Storygraph was posted on August 29, 2025.)

I think Echoes of the EtherStone is a fun read. I was pleasantly surprised by being thrown into the viewpoint of the killer from the start. Though the story unfolds through the viewpoints of Beth and El as they come together to investigate; having the killer’s viewpoint show up at various times gave me as a reader the opportunity to come to my own conclusions about who the Killer is before the main characters. What kept me reading was my wanting to know if my conclusion was correct and if so, what happens when the girls come to the same conclusion.

I enjoyed getting to know the girls. Themes of patriarchy, classism, and belief are woven throughout the story and, as you would expect, influence the girls’ views. I liked being able to see how their friendship changes each of them and if those changes influence their view of the world at large and how they move through it.

*note – I will always tell you what I am linking to and if it is an affiliate link or not. You choose to follow these links or Ignore them. Currently I am only participating in one affiliate program and that is from bookshop.org – if you decide to purchase a book through the affiliate link, I will receive a small commission.