Look at this, I’m back up to a level of reading and posting where I have enough content for a month in review! I haven’t yet figured out how I’m going to hit 3 posts/week when I spend all day sitting at a computer for work. (New job is going well, I enjoy the work, but my eyes and back feel it.) As well, now that I’m back in my hometown, I’m spending lots of time enjoying winter and playing with my parents’ dog… but overall I’m pleased with 10 posts in January and, as well, with 10 books read. That’s likely 10 more posts written and 10 more books read than I would have managed had I not switched things up.
I would also like to note that I turn 30 this month. *cue Bo Burnham* That may be cause for some sort of celebration, or reflection. Most likely in the form of a three day reading and snowshoeing retreat…
Books Finished
- Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente
- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barbara Higuera
- The Great Northern Canada Bucket List: One-of-a-Kind Travel Experiences by Robin Esrock
- The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
- Where the Drowned Girls by Seanan McGuire
- Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna
- The Undercover Book List by Colleen Nelson
- Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
- Cece Rios and The Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera
- Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland
Books Reviewed
- Unsettling Fiction:
- The Warlow Experiment by Alix Nathan (historical fiction)
- Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (speculative thriller)
- Pepper’s Rules for Secret Sleuthing by Briana McDonald (middle grade mystery)
- Across the North:
- Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition by Paul Watson (non-fiction exploration)
- The Great Northern Canda Bucket List: One-of-a-Kind Travel Experiences by Robin Esrock (non-fiction travel)
- The Undercover Book List by Colleen Neslon (middle grade contemporary)
Posts Written
- Highlighted announcement of the Cybils finalists and explained my role
- Wrapped up 2021 and looked forward to 2022
- Signed up for Pondathon II
- Shared my picks for the Desert Island Reads Challenge
- Kicked off a bookshelf tour with my Tolkien collection
- Revived “I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read That Yet” for its 16th installmenet
Challenges Check-in
- 2022 Support Book Bloggers Challenge
- I followed a lot of new blogs (both new-to-me and under one year old) in January, so watch for an upcoming post that will highlight those.
- 1/12 Challenge
- I read The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu, which was both a Cybils middle grade speculative fiction finalist, and a recommendation from Briana @ Pages Unbound.
- Let Us Read Middle Grade
- I read lots of MG this month for the Cybils, but forgot about this challenge 😅 I will keep in mind to share more on Twitter using the hashtag about the middle grade I’m reading.
- Pondathon II
- I missed completing the first friend quest because I forgot about time zones, so I don’t have an updated character card to share. Also, I haven’t put together my garden yet… But I have been diligently logging books read and being delighted each time I receive a new piece for my garden in my inbox. In January I read three of the seven titles I included in my sign up TBR.
- 7/52 middle grade fiction novels
- 10/100 books read
- 977/971 TBR (No new TBR til April)
- The specific ‘no new TBR’ part went out the window almost immediately. …I’ve added 29 so far… but I have been putting in some effort to keep my TBR at 971 (the number it was at on Jan 1). Right now, it’s at 977. Not toooo bad.
Shared on Twitter
On My Radar in February
(I don’t usually make the covers so big but The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea deserves this at least.)
- 8 Feb – A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow (MG fantasy)
- 15 Feb – Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi (YA speculative)
- 22 Feb – The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh (YA fantasy)
- 24 Feb – #MGLitBC chats with Lee Edward Fodi about his middle grade fantasy Spell Sweeper
- Monthlong – Februreads Colour-by-Number Challenge hosted by Kathie @ Bit About Books
How was your January? What new books, or bookish events, are you looking forward to this month?
It looks like you had a fantastic month! And I’m so happy you shared Lavendar House, I added it to my TBR immediately 😁
Isn’t it stunning?? Glad to hear that – I’m sure we’ll both enjoy it!
Wow what a productive month! Loving all the Cybils reads and eager to hear what you all have selected. Wishing you an early happy birthday, hope you have nice weather for your snowshoeing.
I have been making lots of notes on my Cybils reads, so I’ll have plenty to share after the winners are announced. Thanks for the early birthday wishes 🙂
Early good wishes for your birthday! Akwaeke Emezi is another author I’d like to start reading from, they just put out so much so quickly!
Great month for reading! Happy birthday for when it comes. GAWD I wish I was 30 again!!
Thank-you!! 🙂
Looks like you had a great reading month!
It’s hard to get a TBR down, I honestly prefer not to count the number of books on my TBR. It helps that I read most books digitally and it’s easier to hide the number of books I have on my ereader LOL
I hope you have a fantastic February! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! It’s true that a TBR is essentially an evergrowing beast… but I’m gonna try my darndest to keep mine ‘realistic’ haha. I primarily borrow books from the library so I also don’t really have a visualization of how big my TBR truly is.
I forget about my own created reading challenges all the time haha. But yeay for reading a lot of mg this month 😀