Everything I'm planning to read in January - including a book chosen by my cat

[@sueloguejohnson8929]

Loved the TBR games. Venus is everything. She's so pretty.

[@maryloy967]

I love that Venus said hello when you told her to do so! She’s so cute!!! I’d love to see more of Venus!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

She’s very chatty

[@PumpkinFinch]

Venus is a star, her little hiss meow if annoyance at being on film, girl same. I loved the games, was fun and Venus deserved all those treats.

[@leandrathetbrzero]

I can’t thank you enough for joining in TBRathon, Olly!! 🎉🙏 And you smashed this TBR for the Booktuber Bingo! I loved the Nascar romance coming in clutch! 🤩 And I recently discovered Nick Cutter is Canadian too (he writes under more than one pseudonym which I also didn’t realize). Next year, I may need to invite Venus to be one of my Booktuber Bingo guests because she is peak entertainment 😂❤ And I would love to see you do more crazy TBR challenges (especially if they involve Venus 🤪) So grateful we’ve got to know each other this year! Cheers and happy new year!

[@MaisieStirfry]

Venus is such a sweetie--and I love that she actually said hello! 😋 Yes, definitely more silly TBR games in the future, and more Venus cameos!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Glad you enjoyed her appearance!

[@kellyhookedonbooks4394]

Not gonna lie....when I saw Venus, I clicked so fast 😂

[@CriminOllyBlog]

😂😂

[@martinelanglois3158]

I think you were 50% into the list when I realized this is just for January!! 😅 To me, that's a lot but I'm a slow reader. I enjoyed the games to pick your TBR. Will probably try these with my cat. Loved seeing Venus. She's so pretty. 😻

[@philnasmith9755]

The Cat Who series is GREAT fun …Most of them are on KZbin as audiobooks and I really enjoy them 🐈🐈‍⬛

[@DDB168]

Happy New Year and thanks for an entertaining 2024.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Happy new year! 2025 is going to be the year of non fiction and sports books (not for me obviously, but for someone)

[@kimblee1972]

Venus is adorable. 😊

[@CriminOllyBlog]

She’s not bad

[@Beckithy]

Queen Venus has returned!! WooHoo! Hope you enjoy reading In the Dream House. I listened to the audio book of that a couple years ago and I still think about it occasionally. Very good read indeed.

[@Mick_Holland]

All of those in one month? Scary! 'The Sisters Brothers' is a great read and much more than just a 'shoot-em-up'. A while ago I got into reading Westerns, having stumbled across 'Lonesome Dove'. I followed that up with 'The Shootist' and 'No Country For Old Men' which I thought was marvellous. I struggled with 'Blood Meridian's' out and out violence and this somewhat put me off the genre. However I intend to reconnect with the wild west and complete the 'Lonesome Dove' series in spring. Having mentioned 'shoot-em-ups' I live close to the homeland of J T Edson, and his books (cowboy-pulp?) were all over the library shelves and market stalls when I was growing up so I plan to try his stuff out. Happy New Year Olly & Venus. Cheers👍🏼

[@lesleyspear7933]

So excited that you are reading The Watchers by A. M Shine. He has become and auto buy for me and I loved this. X

[@loganstorey7257]

Venus is my spirit animal ❤

[@MsCarolM]

I just read "The Watchers" last month, because someone mentioned that it was similar to the series "FROM", which I'm hooked on. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

[@seamusgaelic6447]

Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers is a great read! I think you'll love it!

[@matthewjames3637]

I'm terrible at choosing books in the moment so this is a great idea. I think I'll follow along with you and make my own list.

[@thebookishknitter]

Loved this! I also have one of the Cat Who books on my January TBR (the 1st in the series). Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Janet Evanovich with that delightful Barbie pink cover lol

[@oldsalt4798]

OMG I love Venus!!!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

She’s pretty great

[@krisprepolec5616]

I have read all of the Janet Evanovich romances, and I found them to be fun and fluffy. I particularly liked the books she wrote with Lee Goldberg. They have a good heist feel.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I’ll have to try those, I really like Goldberg

[@steveallen273]

Great fun and very appealing to the inner child in us. Made me remember walking around house as a child- one step after a paragraph read. Underwater mystery-I aam reading ‘They Found Atlantis’. by Dennis Wheatley. Ticks various boxes, plus no mobile phones, only semaphore and message in tobacco tin. Love Venus. Thanks

[@BookwormAdventureGirl]

Glad you found a Canadian writer that you're good with. I know more Canadian myster/thriller writers than crime, unless it's true crime. Maybe Venus should choose all of our books. 😊💙

[@joegonzalez3542]

Venus will not be a pawn in your games again, unless you double the amounts of treats.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

You might be right

[@zapisanekartki3845]

I love Chris Carter books. After reading 13 of them Robert Hunter is like a real person to me. Hope you'll like it too!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Venus has a certain clairmeowance, I presume.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

😂😂

[@eriebeverly]

Interesting selection of books. I think you did great with the games. Even huge budget channels with a team of editors struggle when confronted with a bit of random. And Venus moved so what more could you want?

[@CriminOllyBlog]

She did very well I thought 😊

[@MakeReadingGreatAgain8]

we need more videos with Venus!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

She does seem to have been a hit

[@MakeReadingGreatAgain8]

@@CriminOllyBlog people demand cats. I do not think it's fair to deny them 😅

[@Natali_Talis.Library]

Official Request for Venus to appear once a month please! 😅

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha! Noted

[@robertgallagher5285]

Just read The Lindbergh Nanny really good!!!

[@francesmeyer8478]

I just finished "He Who Whispers" A Gideon Fell mystery by John Dickson Carr. Very entertaining! Starting on a Sir Henry Merrivale "The Plague Court Murders". My New Year's Eve.🇺🇸☕❄❄❄❄❄

[@sherrirabinowitz4618]

I love your cat, so pretty.

[@lindseyreads5450]

The Sweet Valley series is such a fun series!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

They are!

[@2025Mindfulness]

I have The Sisters book. Will have to read it now. I started reading The Cat Who series because of you. Love them. I have some left I have to read.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ah fantastic!

[@paulduncan9161]

The Sister Brothers is a brilliant novel. Good movie too.

[@brucegrossman3531]

Gil Brewer is one of my favorites. And the TNT series doesn't get any better.

[@Unpotted]

My cat ❤ your cat. TBR games are only fun when they go awry. 😺✌️

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha ha true

[@statusboom-x6348]

Keep giving people this work.

[@DuncanMcCurdie]

There are some banned books in the UK, they’re usually kept on the quiet though. The most famous one I can think of is The Anarchist Cookbook. Possessing a copy of it is illegal. The last prosecution was in 2021 when 2 people were both sentenced to 3 years in prison.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I probably won't read that one then

[@davebrzeski]

While I obviously should be biased towards Mischief Hall, since I published it, but I really, really recommend Sorrowmouth. It's brilliant. I'm a bit sad that neither won the TBR game.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I'll definitely get to them soon

[@jjcrazi]

Daniel Kraus’s The Teddy Saga books would be good for middle grade books - they’re an enjoyable read!

[@jjcrazi]

Love adding the cat to pick the book 😂

[@GaryMartinDobbs]

Feel for you having to read the pink book

[@christinebainbridge2354]

More Venus picks!

[@brittlizzzzzz]

My cat loved seeing Venus😂

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha ha good

[@Seriousreyn]

More games!!! Especially if they Involve kitty

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha ha ok noted

[@krzysamm7095]

More games that was fun.

[@heidifogelberg3544]

Venus is a star whose agent is insisting on her doing a role she's doubting hard. It's almost Jan 1 - have you read all these titles yet? Oh - I amuse myself .... 😅

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha ha she needed the money to pay her alimony

[@heidifogelberg3544]

@CriminOllyBlog At least it wasn't plastic surgery!

[@erinthechronicler]

You're inspiring me to give ed mcbain another chance. I read Long Time, No See a while ago and didn't care for it, but thinking that I may just have gotten a dud.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Try at least one more

[@leonoldfield9765]

I’m really interested to hear your reaction to Terrifier 2. I viscerally disliked the movie, which is very unlike me. Usually I enjoy any and all horror movies.

[@erinthechronicler]

Hello, kitty!

[@upswingvintage2657]

Ridiculous TBR games like that make me absurdly happy. And we definitely need more of Venus in 2025

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha! Glad you enjoyed it

[@loristevens280]

And “yes” to more ridiculous TBR games…especially if it involves Venus!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha! Thank you

[@LeandraGraves]

The Deep is WILD

[@patlockwood6207]

That was fun! Not that your not fun every time. But the games were cute. After reading Pretty Girls, (you were right) I stood in front of my haven't read bookshelf, closed my eyes and picked one, Shiver. I didn't shiver, that's the title. The first "Trash" book I every read was when I was 12 and my mother forbid me to read it. She should have never left the house. lol "Foever Amber". Not trashy? it was to me then.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah Pretty Girls was really disappointing

[@DuncanMcCurdie]

Peter Robinson is considered Canadian. Surely you have one of his books lying around…

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I actually don't!

[@zacktraum4625]

I am all for more ridiculous games.

[@loristevens280]

I really don’t like the term “banned.” No books are banned in the US. There are books that aren’t in public school libraries because they are deemed to be inappropriate for certain ages. Parents are always free to purchase those books from a bookstore or look for them at the public library. Just as I wouldn’t want schools to allow erotica or porn in schools I think it’s perfectly fine to make decisions about allowing or not allowing some books to be in the school library. If parents have problems with it they are also able to take it up with the school board or to run for school board themselves.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I agree that it’s a kind of lazy shorthand. I did do a video a while back where I talked about books that had been banned in entire countries. I agree as well that a degree of classification is probably appropriate in school libraries. The problem I have is that the books that get challenged so frequently seem to be ones with queer or non-white characters/authors

[@nancyholter5646]

but the sentiment by those banning certain books IS to keep them from everyone. They petition bookstores to not sell them, they act to keep libraries from, not only "adulting" them, but getting rid of them entirely. And, often, the books they want removed are those that dela with sensitive subject which are exactly the books kids need to be able to access. If you don't want your kids to read them, fine - you are the parent. But don't take them away from other kids - especially those whose parents might not be able to afford to "simply go buy" them.

[@robertrobinson6541]

Exactly, Lori. "Banned books" is one of the most disingenuous terms being thrown around today. It makes me seriously question the motives of the ones using it, especially when you consider the subject matter of some of those books.

[@rickd6880]

Spit it out goddamn it

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Huh?

[@worldobserver3515]

You don't have to do those games to pick a book to read, imo. Too gimmicky.