January Colored CoverKIT - orange and/or something found in the garden

This challenge is an either/or choice. You can choose to read a book with an orange cover or a book with an item found in the garden. You can combine these by finding an orange cover with a garden item on it or an orange item in the garden.
You can even challenge yourself by reading 2 books, one with a garden item and one with an orange cover.

Please share your choices here and on the WIKI

I am hoping to read 2 books this month. Tangerines by Tsvi Jolles and if I have time Southern Spirits by Angie Fox

If I can to it, I want to begin The First Man in Rome series by Colleen McCullough. I would like to read the complete series in 2026. It has orange on the cover.

I have lots of books with orange on the cover, but I'm particularly looking at The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo.



At the moment, I can't think of anything with a garden object on the cover but inspiration may strike later.

Someone Else's Life - orange flowers found in a garden.

I'm going to read To the Land of Long Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith which has orange and flowers on the cover:

I hope to read Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy, which has orange trees on the cover, as well as a bench and a small fence, all of which might be found in a garden.

I am planning to read one or both of these:


Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi


Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Currently I am planning on reading When the Apricot Blooms by Gina Wilkinson. The cover is orange and the tree is bearing fruit which could be found in a garden.



BTW - that's a gorgeous opening picture!

>2 lowelibrary: I hope you enjoy the Southern Ghost Hunter mystery. I read Murder on the Sugarland Express which is part of this series and I thought it was a fun read.

I'll be starting January with Murder in the Secret Garden, the 3rd book in Ellery Adams's Book Retreat mystery series. It has a garden on the cover.

I'm planning to read this satire, Devenir fasciste (Becoming Fascist) which is both orange and has a garden-size weather vane.

I'm going to be reading Pierced Peony which has peonies on the cover.

As luck would have it, I just finished reading Exiles by Mason Coile, and it would be perfect for an orange cover. If anyone is in the mood for a fast-ish space-horror to start out the year, I highly recommend it! As for me, I think I'll be reading Ursula K. Le Guin's The Other Wind, which has a cover made in various shades of orange.

I just read Anna Harrington's If the Duke Demands, which has a variety of flowers and trees on the cover that might be found in a garden. No orange, though -- I'll have to find another book for that part of the KIT!

Starting The Orange Lilies by Nathan Dylan Goodwin for the title and the lettering for the author's name.

I just finished God and the Gay Christian, whose cover is mostly in shades of orange:

I read The Flower Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta. It has beautiful orange flowers on the cover. It’s a signed and inscribed copy from a Young Author’s Conference at which he was the guest author and I got to meet him. Strangely enough, he seemed annoyed when I asked him to inscribe each of the three books of his that I bought at the time.

The flowers at the top of the cover are orange on my copy. They look more like yellow here though.

Perfect! I received a copy of I am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki that has an orange cover. It is a reprint of a book I once started but got lost in a move. And once I add it to my library I will make sure that I add a picture of it to this post.

COMPLETED The Orange Lilies by Nathan Dylan Goodwin (see >16 Robertgreaves:)

I finished my first book of the year, The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen. It was a very complicated mystery and I certainly didn't solve it when Ellery said I had all the information necessary. Not only was 'orange' in the title, but the colour was on the book as well.

After a recommendation from a Welsh friend this weekend, I've finally worked out my orange book for the month; Humble Pi by Matt Parker (I think it's more red than orange, but they said it was orange)

I have completed my read of When the Apricot Blooms, although the cover is beautiful and peaceful, this was a suspence filled read with the pages turning quickly.

I have finished Die Prinzessin von Banalien by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, a literary fairy tale in a pretty little hardcover edition whose cover is mostly orange. (Sorry, no picture).

>22 Gnomeball: Plus, the Penguin colophon has an orange background, so I think that counts! :)

I read Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone, which has two trees and some leaves/foliage and flowers on the cover, which could be found in a garden.
Despite the beautiful cover, I do not recommend it and did not really enjoy reading it, although the last pages were quite gripping.

I've just finished My Grandfather The Master Detective, which includes orange on the cover.

My January orange book is America, América: A New History of the New World by Greg Grandin. I will not finish it in January, but that's OK.

The bilingual paperbacks of Reclam publishers all have bright orange covers, and I just finished Un día después del sábado by Gabriel García Márquez.

I read The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna for this

>30 bookworm3091: That's a beautiful cover.

I finished Ford County by John Grisham with a beautiful orange Southern sky.

I finished The Great Alone.

I just finished Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders by Tessa Arlen, which has a fair bit of orange on the cover:

I've finished To the Land of Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith which had both orange and flowers on the cover.

I'm halfway through Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris, which has both the color orange and an actual orange from the garden on the cover. Plus a bonus orange in the title. :)

Last night I finished If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins, which has flowers that could be found in a garden on the cover.

Southern Spirits by Angie Fox ★★★½ - Orange cover


When out of work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she’s saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick—she gains the ability see spirits. It leads to an offer she can’t refuse from the town’s bad boy, who also happens to be the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with. Ellis Wydell is in possession of a stunning historic property haunted by some of Sugarland, Tennessee’s finest former citizens. Only some of them are growing restless—and destructive. He hires Verity to put an end to the disturbances. But soon, Verity learns there’s more to the mysterious estate than floating specters, secret passageways, and hidden rooms. There’s a modern-day mystery afoot, one that hinges on a decades-old murder. Verity isn't above questioning the living or the dead. But can she discover the truth before the killer finds her?

I enjoyed this cozy, although the ending seemed rushed. I am not a large fan of the culprit being someone who is just introduced shortly before the reveal. Since I have the second book, I will read it before deciding whether to continue the series.

And I forgot to post my something found in the garden read.
Tangerines by Tsvi Jolles ★★½


Gilly keeps her secrets close—hidden in whispers, dreams, and the quiet spaces where the forest meets her imagination. Somewhere on the other side of the trees, her dad is waiting. Maybe. With Oggy, her best friend and keeper of a thousand made-up words, Gilly searches for answers: Can a prayer—or a spell—bring back someone who’s been gone too long? And if she finds him, will he still be the dad she remembers? Written in the voice of a 10-year-old girl with a heart full of questions, Tangerines is a lyrical, tender story about family, friendship, and about the quiet magic of believing in what matters most.

This book may fare better with the targeted pre-teen audience. I found it to be confusing, with jumping from thought to thought. Several points made no sence to this adult mind. I could imagine the jumbleness of a child's mind would handle the content better.

The cover of Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie shows a tennis racquet and ball, two objects which might be found lying about in a back garden.

I read The Orange Tree by Carlos Fuentes, a collection of five somewhat connected stories related to Spanish/Mexican history. There is something about Fuentes' writing that really works for me.

COMPLETED Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie. One might find a tennis racquet and ball lying about in a garden and there are touches of orange in the picture.

>42 Robertgreaves: That’s one of my favorites by Dame Agatha. It somewhat reminds me of Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey.

>43 LadyoftheLodge: Usually I'm not so keen on her spy thrillers so my heart sank a little at the beginning but once we got to the murder mystery proper it was all good.

Entangled Life features mushrooms and lichens you might find in a garden, and some of them are orange.

I’m reading THE WOODS
by Harlan Coben
The book cover is orange.

More plants and flowers on the cover of In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams:

I read The Duke and I by Julia Quinn It has beautiful flowers that could be found in the garden.

COMPLETED The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (see >4 Robertgreaves: )

I recently read Joanna Shupe's A Daring Arrangement, which has orange elements on the cover (her dress, the firelight), and Molly Clavering's Dear Hugo, which depicts many things that can be found in a garden (tree, grass, flowers, a woman in a lounge chair).

I finished three books with orange featured on the cover:
Justine by Lawrence Durrell
Fire Falling by Elise Kova
Defekt by Nino Cipri

Thank you to everyone who participated this month. A lot of variety in the choices, that is what makes this a great category.

I read Family Secrets, Beth Farrar, which has a tree on the cover.