Monthly Wrap-Up – October 2024

Books Read – October 2024

Books

Title links (if there are any) go to my reviews.

1. Fortune’s Fool (Mercedes Lackey) – reread (reviewed 10/10/2024)
2. The Sleeping Beauty (Mercedes Lackey) – reread
3. Shattering Dawn (Jayne Ann Krentz) – ARC
4. Remember When (Mary Balogh) – ARC
5. Garment of Shadows (Laurie R. King) – reread
6. Four Weddings and a Sixpence (Julia Quinn, et al.)
7. Dreaming Spies (Laurie R. King) – reread (reviewed 2015)
8. The Arrangement (Mary Balogh) – reread (reviewed 2013)
9. The Escape (Mary Balogh) – reread (reviewed 2014)
10. Only Enchanting (Mary Balogh) – reread (reviewed 2013)
11. Dead Beside the Thames (Stephanie Laurens)
12. The Wedding Witch (Erin Sterling) – ARC (reviewed 10/25/2024)
13. Chalice (Robin McKinley) – reread (but counts under Backlist Reader rules)
14. Only a Promise (Mary Balogh) – reread (reviewed 2016)

Challenges

These are the books I read for various challenges. Since I have not written or posted all the reviews yet, some may not show up on my 2024 Challenges tracking page (which isn’t working yet anyway.) All links go to my reviews.

Goodreads Challenge 2024: 14 books read or listened to in October (plus one DNF, which I’m not counting.) 138 books read this year so far, toward my year-end goal of 125 books. (Titles listed above.) NOTE: Goodreads isn’t counting quite right. It duplicated a couple of the books I read this year, and won’t let me edit out the extra “date read.” My count for the year so far is 138; Goodreads thinks it’s 141.

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2024: 2 books read in October (Four Weddings and a Sixpence; Chalice), but I haven’t reviewed either yet. For the year so far, 7 books read and 3 reviewed, toward my year-end goal of reading and reviewing 16 books. I don’t think I’m going to make it this year.

Audiobook Challenge 2024: I didn’t finish any audiobooks this month, but I did make good progress on one that I expect to finish in a week or so. For the year, I have listened to 6 books and reviewed 3, toward my year-end goal of 10 books.

Library Love 2024: I didn’t read any library books in October. So far this year, I have read 3 books and reviewed 2, toward my year-end goal of 12 books, so this challenge isn’t going very well.

NetGalley & Edelweiss Challenge 2024: I read 3 ARCs read in October (Remember When; Shattering Dawn; and The Wedding Witch.) Of the three, I have only posted 1 review so far. The other two books don’t come out until January, so I won’t post the reviews until December. For the year so far, I have read 21 ARCs and reviewed 8 of them (I know, I know; that’s dismal follow-through!) toward my year-end goal of reading and reviewing 15 books. Current NetGalley percentage: 51%; I started the year at 52%.

COYER Unwind, Chapter 4 (Fall): In October, I read 10 qualifying* books (Fortune’s Fool; Shattering Dawn; Remember When; Garment of Shadows; Four Weddings and a Funeral; Dreaming Spies; The Arrangement; The Escape; The Wedding Witch; Chalice) and reviewed 2 (Fortune’s Fool; The Wedding Witch.) I posted XX reviews for books I read since Oct 1 for Chapter 4, and XX reviews for books I read between Jan and September for Coyer Unwind Chapters 1–3 (titles.) NOTE: Although I am counting the latter for the season in which I read the book, the COYER Challenge actually counts them in whichever season I post the review. For the Chapter 4 challenge so far, I have read or listened to 9 qualifying* books, updated X older reviews, and written X new reviews. My 3-month challenge goal is to read and review 5 qualifying books between October 1 and December 31. NOTE: 24 books read or reread, 4 older reviews updated, and 1 books reviewed for the first time, through September 2024. IN OCTOBER: Read Fortune’s Fool; Shattering Dawn; Remember When; Garment of Shadows; Four Weddings and a Funeral; Dreaming Spies; The Arrangement; The Escape; The Wedding Witch. Reviewed Fortune’s Fool; The Wedding Witch

*The rules are a little tighter for the Chapter 4 (Fall) COYER challenge, compared to Chapter 3 (Summer). To qualify: (A) the book can be in any format, including both digital and print. (B) I can get it from any source, including ARCs, gifts, books I buy or own, and books I borrow, including through Amazon Prime. (C) The price must be under $4.99 for ebooks and print books, and under $7.49 for audiobooks. Chapter 4 of the COYER Unwind Challenge began on October 1 and ends on December 31.

Resolutions (this month)

Writing: I need to get back to writing. I’m not doing NaNoWriMo this month; there’s been major drama over their AI stance, and I’m disappointed in both their position and how they handled it. But I hope to get back to writing regularly anyway.

Reviews posted this month: Only 2, so I did not meet my goal of one review per week.

Reviews of ARCs from 2023 or earlier: None, so I failed to meet my goal of one overdue ARC per month. So far this year, I’ve written only 1 review for overdue ARCs.

Prioritizing reading time over screen time: I mean, I haven’t watched much TV, but I’ve spent a lot more time doomscrolling than reading lately, and it’s not healthy for me. I’m going to try to cut back in November.

Pruning and reorganizing my book collection: I haven’t been able to work on this, since my books are still all in boxes in the basement (except the ones that live on the shelves down there, but those have boxes piled in front of them so I can’t get to them.) Books sold or given away: None. Physical books bought/received this month: 5 (two of those are for research for a writing project.) Net gain/loss: +5 books.

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