Sunday Summary – 1st February 2026

Happy Sunday friends! At the end of a busy weekend trying to get the kitchen DIY finished (spoiler alert, we didn’t!), I’m ready to sit down, set down my reading progress for the week and generally have a catch up with you in this Sunday Summary update. 

In terms of content I’ve already shared this week, I published my blog tour review of Dark Chronicles by Karmen Spiljak on Tuesday. On Friday, my First Lines Friday featured a read I’m planning to pick up in the near future. Then, yesterday I shared my monthly wrap-up for January. Phew… but that’s not all… 

On YouTube, I shared two videos – my Best Books of 2025 and my review of Beyond Redemption by Michael Fletcher. 

 

Books Read

The Great Passage

In last week’s Sunday Summary, I had just an hour left of The Great Passage. 

Being so close to the end of the book, I was motivated to finish the book pretty quickly. Monday was the day. The Great Passage was a fun and insightful listen and I loved the cultural aspects of the narrative. 

Whilst I wanted to read the book for its focus on language and words, I got so much more out of this book than that. Originally written in Japanese and translated, the book takes a very different line of focus. As someone who reads more Westernised novels, it was both a refreshing change and the type of book I need to broaden my horizons. 

 

After the Forest

Whilst I haven’t made an awful lot of progress this week, I have picked up After the Forest some more. 

I’m still enjoying the book, and I’m around 40% as of this Sunday Summary update. I’m heading into February with about 225 pages left in this book. With where the story has taken us so far, I’m, not entirely sure what to expect next. 

Just a quick one from me on this book. Stay tuned for more on this one next week! 

 

Dreams from my Father

With The Great Passage finished off early doors, I started Barack Obama’s Dreams from my Father. After enjoying A Promised Land this time last year, I knew I wanted to try more of his books. Dreams from my Father was written earlier than A Promised Land, but it still reads just as well. 

Given the audio format worked well for me before, I chose to stick to what I know. Like A Promised Land, Dreams from my Father is also narrated by the man himself. It makes it much more a personal experience. Given he’s focussing on his heritage and seeking his identity in these pages, it works really well. 

As of this Sunday Summary, I’m just over 10% in and looking forward to listening more in the next seven days. I’ll share my next update, and hopefully a good chunk of progress, next week. 

 

Books Discovered

I purchased a copy of a book as a gift this week that I’ve decided to read for myself. I have a good deal of overlap with this particular person, so its no surprise that I ended up adding The Traitor’s Circle to my TBR. 

It leans into my enjoyment of WW2 novels, and its a bit of a different style to those I’ve read more recently. 

 

Coming Up… 

Blog

On the blog next week, I’ve got plenty of fun content coming your way! My first post is an announcement for a readalong of a very popular series I’m starting in February. In the spirit of reading a little more mainstream than I ever have before, I’ve got a popular author and series I’m trying for the first time ever. It’s a series and author that puts myself out of my comfort zone. However, I don’t know what I think until I give it a go. I’ve challenged myself and been pleasantly surprised before! 

Then, on Wednesday, I’m publishing my monthly TBR for February. I’ve got a few reading obligations for February, but I’m also not over-subscribing this month. I have another reading challenge in mind that I want to pick up from late February into March. So, I’m deliberately leaving headroom so I can pick books up towards that. 

On Friday, another Shelf Control post goes live. In this week’s instalment, I have a classic historical fiction novel I tried years ago, but didn’t really get into before having to return my library loan. 

Finally, this time next week I’m back with another Sunday Summary update. Fingers crossed I have more of a reading update for you next week. 

 

YouTube

In terms of YouTube content, I’ve got my monthly wrap-up for January coming up, and my February TBR. I hope you can keep an eye out for those coming out. And, if you follow BookTube and BookTubers, please consider subscribing to my new channel 😅 

That’s all from me in this Sunday Summary. What have you read or added to your reading list recently? 

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