January can be a difficult time of the year to feel positive. I should know, my birthday is New Years’ Day, and I know from experience everyone hits a new low in January. Trying to get friends to go out and celebrate anything after New Years’ Eve is like pulling teeth.
I can’t even blame them…
The weather is dreary and dark, pay day is far too many weeks away, and people are exhausted from the emotional highs and lows of Christmas. Not to mention all the dry January, extreme diets and exercise resolutions which quickly put a dampener on social occasions!
I can understand the need to set goals or mitigate previous poor choices. Many people, quite rightly, look to the new year as an opportunity to create positive changes in their lives – see my article on setting realistic and achievable goals like a true Viking Queen.
However, many people take this need for reinvention too far and have already given up before the 12th night. This is because extreme lifestyle changes… and I’m going to hold your hand when I say this… do not happen overnight. So, give yourself a break.
With the icy fingers of winter tightening its grip on your mittens and wallet, the unwise resolutions you made a couple of weeks ago are beginning to bite you in the bum. Instead of beating yourself up about this, I’m going to give you some advice on how to get through the misery of this flu-filled season.
The simple solution is books!
For less than a coffee and a snack, you can buy hours of entertainment that not only helps you escape the cold but also enriches your life. Time away from suffocating social media, escapism into another world, and some peaceful rest in front of the fire is just what you need to get you through January.
Reading isn’t even a hard new habit to start. Just one chapter a day and you’ve read a book in a month, that’s 12 books in a year. Considering most adults only read 0-3 books per year, you might as well call yourself a professor reading that many, and it won’t even feel like a chore…
As a romance author and reader, I have some wonderfully positive book recommendations that will have you putting down the green juice and feeling more energetic and uplifted in no time.
Here’s some typical January blues and the books to beat them!
Existential Crisis?
Well, it could be worse. You could be lost at sea with your one-night stand! Sail away with ‘Swept Away’ by Beth O’Leary.
Weather getting you down?
Escape to the Bahamas for tropical drinks, celebrity family drama, in this sexy fake dating romcom. ‘The Dating Pact’ by Lulu Morris will warm you up.
Back to work getting you down?
‘The Truth According to Ember’ by Danica Nava is an office romance filled with a comedy of errors that will have you spinning in your office chair with cringing-glee at lunch.
Diet cleanse leaving you empty and drained?
Pick up ‘Zom Romcom’ by Olivia Dade, a body positive romcom where the biggest fear isn’t the bathroom scales, but the zombies trying to kill your cute neighbour!
Dry January boring you to tears?
‘All’s Fair in Love and War’ by Virginia Heath is a hilarious romcom inspired by The Sound of Music that will be sure to lift your spirits…
Signed up to do a marathon?
‘The Knight & The Moth’ by Rachel Gillig is an epic romantasy guaranteed to whisk you away from the treadmill, and the audio book is beautifully narrated so you can listen while training…or back in the car if you change your mind about that marathon.
I hope one of these books will give you comfort during the January blues.
After all, winter is a natural time for sleep and renewal… allow yourself some peace and kindness instead. Remember, you don’t need a dramatic change to feel better about yourself.
Sometimes, all you need is a good book.
