It’s been a busy start to the new year. At work, I was in an acting role originally until Jan 19, but it’s been extended to Feb 9. It’s alway a little stressful finding yourself in a new position with greater responsbilities, but this role is accompanied by a pay increase, so I won’t complain much, lol. Reading and blogging has been carrying along at a nice steady pace. Although, now that it’s February, I’ve run out of posts which I scheduled during my end of December vacation, so we’ll see how I manage from here on out…
Books Finished
- Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
- The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
- The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo
- Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
- Mislaid in Parts Half-Unkown (Wayward Children #9) by Seanan McGuire
- Tolkien and Alterity edited by Christopher Vaccaro and Yvette Kisor
- Skating on Mars by Caroline Huntoon
- The Stone Child (The Misewa Saga #3) by David A. Robertson
- Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
- When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle #2) by Nghi Vo
Books Reviewed
- The Bellwoods Game by Celia Krampien (MG contemporary horror)
- After the Forest by Kell Woods (adult fantasy)
- The Beautiful Something Else by Ash Van Otterloo (MG contemporary fiction)
- Jude Saves the World by Ronnie Riley (MG contemporary fiction)
- Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino (MG contemporary fiction)
Posts Written
- Reviewed my achievements in 2023 and set goals for 2024 in Wrapping Up 2023, Looking Forward 2024
- Listed my most anticipated books releasing in the first half of 2023 for Top Ten Tuesday
- Shared thoughts on The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and asked for votes on highly rated middle grade titles for “I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read That Yet” #25
- Rated 28 books I read but didn’t review in 2023
- Discussed Notes on an Execution for Family Reads with my sister
Challenges Check-In
This section tallies up my annual goals. (Posts and views are the only two mterics which are per month.)
- 2/30 middle grade fiction novels
- 1/9 Family Reads
- 1/6 “I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read that Yet”
- 10/81 books read
- Reviewed 20%/40% of what I read
- This goal will lag behind for a bit, as I review books at least several weeks after I’ve read them
- Reread The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings – have not started
- 10/8 posts in January
- 3,054/2,200 views in January
- I will be pleased as punch if any other month this year surpasses 3,000 😙
On My Radar in February
Representation indicated below AFAIK (I haven’t read these books). Please notify me of any errors or places where I can be more specific.
- 6 Feb – Release date of Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine (adult horror, lesbian rep)
- 13 Feb – Release date of The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden (adult historical paranormal)
- 27 Feb – Release date of Fathomfolk (Drowned World #1) by Eliza Chan (adult fantasy “inspired by mythology, folklore, East and South-East Asian cities and diaspora feels”) and Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (adult dark fantasy, author is Indo-Caribbean)
How was your January? What new books, or bookish events, are you looking forward to this month?
You read a lot! Looks like a good month. I have all four of your February books on my plate and have already read Your Shadow Half Remains. Happy February😁
Thanks Tammy! So far so good on the reading front for 2024 😊
Yay for pay raises!! Looks like you were able to read quite a bit…I hope February is just as good to you!
Thank-you! February is carrying on nicely so far 😁
Looks like January was a pretty good month for you, at least in terms of books. Too bad about the extra stress at work, though at least a little paycheck boost has made it a bit more worthwhile!
Thanks Louise! Yes, on the whole, it was a good start to 2024 🙂
What an eventful January! It looks like you got a lot done! I haven’t read any of the books you mentioned but Durian Sukegawa’s name stood out to me because I love durians! Wishing you an amazing month in February!
Haze @ The Book Haze
https://thebookhaze.com/
Thanks Haze! I do feel like January saw me off to a good start this year in terms of reading and blogging. I have never eaten a durian :O (I also never saw Durian as a name until I picked up that book, haha.)
Running out of pre-written posts always induces a mild panic in me. I think I only made it to Wayward Children #2, but would really like to revisit it and continue. Nice to see you are still enjoying the series. I hope you have a good February!
Thank-you! I can definitely encourage revisiting Wayward Children. I think when I started the series, only the first two books were out, haha. I’ve found the last few books not quite up to my preferences, but I really loved the first five.
I hadn’t heard of any of those February releases before your post and they all look incredible
Right? 2024 looks like it’ll be a stellr year for new releases (…or maybe that’s just beause I didn’t closely follow new releases last year lol).
Congrats on the acting gig extension, I’m sure it’s well-deserved!
Thank-you! 😊