Monthly Wrap-Up – January 2024

Books Read – MONTH 2024

Books

• Aunt Dimity and the Duke (Nancy Atherton)
• The Night Island (Jayne Ann Krentz) – ARC; reviewed
• The Lily of Ludgate Hill (Mimi Matthews) – ARC; review in progress
• Gabriel’s Angel (Nora Roberts) – reviewed
• The Lantern’s Dance (Laurie R. King) – ARC; reviewed
• The Bright Spot (Jill Shalvis) – ARC; review in progress
• Legends & Lattes (Travis Baldree) – overdue ARC; review scheduled (February)
• Pastiche (Celia Lake) – reread
• The Fossil Door (Celia Lake) – reread
• Four Walls and a Heart (Celia Lake) – reread

Audiobooks

• Phasers On Stun!: How the Making (and Remaking) of Star Trek Changed the World (Ryan Britt) – reviewed
• Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life (Lulu Miller) – reviewed

Challenges

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

Goodreads Challenge 2024: 12 books read or listened to in January. 12 books read this year so far, toward my year-end goal of 125 books. (Titles listed above.) That puts me 2 books ahead of schedule.

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2024: 1 books read and reviewed in January (Gabriel’s Angel), toward my year-end goal of reading and reviewing 16 books. It had been on my physical TBR shelf for at least 5 or 6 years, so I’m glad to have finally read it.

Audiobook Challenge 2024: 1 book listened to reviewed in January (Why Fish Don’t Exist), toward my year-end goal of 10 books. Note that Phasers on Stun! doesn’t count for the challenge because although I finished it on January 2, I listened to most of it in December 2023.

Library Love 2024: 0 books read or reviewed in January, toward my year-end goal of 12 books. I do have several books on hold at the library, waiting to be picked up.

NetGalley & Edelweiss Challenge 2024: 5 books read in January; so far, I have posted reviews for 2 of those (and written one more.) I also posted a review for a book read last year (Always Remember.) For the year so far, 5 books read and 3 books reviewed, toward my year-end goal of reading and reviewing 15 books. Current NetGalley percentage: 52%, which is where I started the year. It’s going to take quite a few reviews to move the needle.

COYER Unwind, Chapter 1 (Winter): 8 qualifying books or audiobooks read in January, 2 reviews posted, and another review already scheduled for February. My 3-month challenge goal is to read and review 10 qualifying books.

To qualify for this challenge, (a) the book must be an ebook or digital audiobook; (b) I must own it; and (c) it must cost less than $5 for an ebook or $7.50 for an audiobook. Library books and books from subscription service don’t count, but e-ARCs do.

Resolutions

Writing: Days I wrote: 1. Number of words written: 550. But I also did some prep work, rereading what I’ve written so far. I promise I’ll do better in February.

Reviews posted this month: 6, so I exceeded my goal of one review per week.

Reviews of ARCs from 2023 or earlier: 1 (Always Remember), so I met my goal of one per month. (I also wrote a review that will go live in February, so I’m technically a month ahead.)

Prioritizing reading time over screen time: This resolution went pretty badly until around the middle of the month, when I seemed to get my yen for reading back… though not my usual reading speed.

Pruning and reorganizing my physical book collection: Books sold or given away this month: 0. Physical books acquired this month: 8. One was a belated Christmas present that went chasing around the country for weeks, so I’m not sure it really counts as a January addition. I bought most of the print books used, including two paperbacks that I plan to read and then donate.

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