THE GLITTER CULT
✨ Welcome back, cult members.
This week’s fixation: cozy novels. January on the prairie really sucks. It’s grey, cold, and windy. I needed a book with a little escapism, and I was also looking for an easy read to motivate me to kickstart my “52 books in 2026” goal. Hence, this embarassingly titled triology.
🔖 Inside the Jan 25, 2026 issue:
Review Roundup
📚 What I Read
There are three books in the "Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries" series.
"Emily Wilde" Series Review
I would call the "Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries" series by Heather Fawcett cozy fantasy. There are three books in the series:
A brief summary: The titular character, Emily Wilde, is a crabby, antisocial professor in early 20th-century London. In her world, fairies (or faes) are real creatures that inhabit a parallel world to ours. She studies them as part of the fictional field of “dryadology.” A fellow faculty member, Wendell Bambleby, is her chief rival. She is suspicious that he may be a magical fairy himself. Adventure and romance ensue.
✅ Why It Works: The world-building is unique and leans into the academic nature of the protagonist.
Each chapter is accompanied by “academic” footnotes that define various fairies and their attributes.
Outside of the (major!) plot involving the fairy worlds, the rest of the novel reads like historical fiction set in various European locations.
I thought this made it more immersive than traditional fantasy, as it’s somewhat grounded in reality.
❌ Why It Doesn’t: I disliked the cliché character tropes.
The author leans hard into the black cat girlfriend / golden retriever boyfriend trope. The characters don’t feel fully fleshed out because they’re trapped in their assigned roles.
To make it even more cliché, she has a dog and he has a cat — the opposite of their personalities!1!!!1
🤓 Read It? Sure! It’s not life-changing, but it is a fun, easy read. The cozy world is especially enjoyable on a cold day.
Rating: ✨✨✨.5/5
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News & Links
📰 What’s Happening
💰 Americans are paying 96% of tariff costs, according to a new study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Well, no shit.
🎥 Zoe Saldaña is the world's highest-grossing actor of all time after "Avatar: Fire and Ash." Space Smurfs are lucrative.
💄 Sephora is partnering with K-beauty store Olive Young to bring Korean products to consumers in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, and SE Asia. I expect a huge markup.
🐮 Are cows smarter than we thought? Veronika, a 13-year-old Austrian cow, can select tools to scratch herself — choosing the rough or soft end of a broom depending on the itch. Check out the video here; it's worth it.
Veronika scratching her back with a stick. | Photograph: Antonio J Osuna Mascaró
From the Internet
📱Found While Scrolling
I was fascinated by a Reddit post about Chinese bookstores built more for selfies than shopping. At first glance, it feels dystopian. On second thought, it’s no different from any other “Instagrammable” space. Plus, the pics are pretty cool.
A woman visits a bookstore in Chengdu, in southwestern China's Sichuan province. (STR)
Tianjin's Zhongshuge, which opened in September 2024, on social media draws comparisons to Harry Potter's gothic Hogwarts (ADEK BERRY)
Visitors at Zhongshuge Bookstore (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
Before You Go
✨ Worth a Click
According to Google Trends, “2016 vibes” hit an all-time high this month. The New York Times tries to explain why we’re all so obsessed with this particular year.
