What I read in January 2026
1. The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle #4) by Ursula K. Le Guin, 364p: This is a classic sci-fi book that doesn't hold your hand at the beginning, with lots of world building terms being mentioned without too much explanation. But the world is rich, and eventually we understand pieces of it by reading further and making our own connections. This was not a plot heavy book for me, it shines on character building. It explores the clash between two different societies, one which is traditional gender binary and another (the Gethenians) which is essentially genderless and sexless, except during a mating season. It was a slow read for me, but it pays off when the two main characters have to team up and go on a long journey, trekking a cold and snowed-in landscape together. It is a great though-experiment on gender, cultural oppression and colonization. Having been written in the 60s, this book paved the way for future sci-fi gender conversations by daring to imagine a world where gender isn’t a constant and can be fluid, contextual, and socially constructed.
2. Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow [audio] 10h17min: This book lays down all the foundation and reasoning behind the phenomenon that is the systematic decay of services everywhere. The author coined the term “Enshittification”, and he presents various examples of the mechanism happening in services like Meta, Amazon, Uber, etc. I enjoyed the audio version, narrated by the author himself. Cory Doctorow uses sarcasm and he is often funny. But at the same time, the sad reality of capitalism exploitation is distilled in great detail. There is also a final section where he offers solutions. Very informative and timely read in our current moment (I read it in early 2026). After finishing it, it’s hard not to notice enshittification everywhere.
3. Winterfair Gifts (Vorkosigan Saga #13.5) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 90p: A nice novella where we can see Miles and Ekaterin's wedding! But we actually see it through the eyes of Roic, a Vorkosigan House guardsman who we met in the previous book, A Civil Campaign. We also get a chance to see Sergeant Taura again, which was great in this story. There's a bit of a mystery, but nothing complex.
4. A Week to Be Wicked (Spindle Cove #2) by Tessa Dare, 384p: The first time I tried this book, I didn’t like either of the characters from the first scene. I gave this book a second chance, and it was okay. The trope is the smart, bookish girl (Minerva) who really doesn't want to get married because she wants to be a geologist and the unrepentant rake (Colin). It's a road trip novel, with the two faking an elopement so that Minerva can travel to Scotland and present her findings in a Royal Geological Society Symposium. It's a light, funny read.
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By Noisy Deadlines
Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.