Not sure what it means when the first book you read in the new year is Jaws.

Here’s a look a January’s tasty morsels:

Book 1: Jaws by Peter Benchley

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the library … it was a pun-filled Jaws Christmas.

Me: Can’t wait to sink my teeth into this book.

Farmer Gary: Wow. You’re really chewing through that one.

Although the “thrillers” genre is never my first pick (or second, for that matter), I’m glad Gary and I watched the movie with son James last fall.

I well remember the summer the movie was released. I was visiting “back home” in Connecticut and quickly learned that none of my friends had gone to the beach – or at least not in the water. The movie was quite effective.

The book came first, of course, and some of the original plot twists are unexpected, to say the least.

Book 2: An Unquiet Mind: A memoir of moods and madness

This narrative, by Kay Redfield Jamison, takes the reader bravely through her self-discovery and eventual treatment of manic depression.

One of the book’s standout moments was Jamison’s efforts as a clinical psychologist and college professor to raise money to aid in public awareness of bipolar disorder (although she preferred the original name of manic-depressive illness). One Christmas season, she helped pull together a concert made up solely of classical music pieces created by composers now believed to have had bipolar disorder.

Book 3: Leave it to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse

At last! A silly book – a farce, really.

Published exactly 100 years ago, the book’s title refers to a gentleman who feels the surname Smith is too common and boring, so he adds a P. The P is silent, of course, like psalm and pterodactyl. (In spite of that knowledge, my brain frustratingly quietly pronounced it p-smith every time.)

The romp involves people with too much money and too much time (along with too little common sense) trying to pull a ruse to steal, recover, and replace a nearly priceless necklace.

Book 4: Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie

A dozen winter-themed murder mysteries from Dame Agatha Christie.

They are, of course, chilling …

Book 5: Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

Good for you, Harry!

Once you dig in and realize how rotten things are in the state of the royal family and their relationship with the so-called press, it’s hard not to cheer on the “Spare’s” determination to tell his side of … well, everything.

As Harry finally breaks through in his efforts to recover memories of his mum, it’s a relief. The paparazzi, though, continue to pull stunt after stunt, often while Harry’s family looks the other way.

This is an exceptionally well-written memoir. Lots and lots of stories, crafted together into a page-turner. Early tabloid articles condemning the memoir twist his words cruelly out of context.

Book 6: Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Sixty-odd years ago, my brothers and I listened at naptime to a record album with numerous Just So Stories.

We learned how the Elephant Child got his trunk and why the rhino’s skin is so wrinkly.

The Just So Stories started out as bedtime stories for Rudyard Kipling’s daughter Effie. She insisted that he repeat them word for word (or “just so”) each time. They’re charmingly written and include his own illustrations as well as a clever verse to complete each tale.

That’s it as we close the book on January. (Gary, by the way, reads like a demon: he polished off nearly a book each day this month – amazing!)

Please drop in your email address below (I promise not to share – ever!) and we’ll send you a notice with each new story: