Monthly Wrap-Up – October 2023

Books Read – October 2023

Books

Sorry I am so late in getting this post up! The November wrap-up will be along in a few days.

I read more new-to-me books in October (6) than in the previous month, but still ended the month on a rereading binge (that lasted well into November.)

Title links lead to my reviews. Rereads are indicated with an asterisk.

1. Mistress of Birds (Celia Lake) *
2. Ancient Trust (Celia Lake) * – novella
3. Mistletoe and Murder (Connie Berry) – ARC; reviewed 10/13/2023
4. KnitOvation Stitch Dictionary (Andrea Rangel) – ARC, reviewed 10/09/2023
5. A Discovery of Witches (Deborah Harkness) * – reviewed 4/15/2011
6. Shadow of Night (Deborah Harkness) * – reviewed 7/21/2012
7. The Book of Life (Deborah Harkness) * – reviewed 7/14/2014
8. Witcha Gonna Do? (Avery Flynn) – ARC
9. Always Remember (Mary Balogh) – ARC
10. Anything With Nothing (ed. by Mercedes Lackey) – ARC
11. Sleep No More (Jayne Ann Krentz) * – ARC (reread); reviewed 1/11/2023
12. The Night Island (Jayne Ann Krentz) – ARC
13. The Vanishing (Jayne Ann Krentz) * – reviewed 1/06/2020
14. All The Colors of Night (Jayne Ann Krentz) *
15. Lightning in a Mirror (Jayne Ann Krentz) *
16. Second Sight (Amanda Quick) *

Challenges

These are the books I read for various challenges, but I have not written or posted all the reviews yet, so some will not show up on my 2023 Challenges tracking page. All title links go to my reviews.

Goodreads Challenge 2023: 16 books read in October (all titles above.) 158 books read so far this year, surpassing my year-end goal of 150 books. (Titles listed above.) Note: I misrembered my Goodreads goal in several of my wrap-up posts this year. It’s 150, not 175.

#23in2023: Zero books read or reviewed in October. (titles.) For the year, 6 books read and 1 books reviewed so far, toward my year-end goal of 23 books. I’m completely failing this challenge, and I don’t think I’ll do it next year.

Audiobook Challenge 2023: I didn’t finish any audiobooks in October. Nor did I review any. For the year, I’ve listed to 11 books and reviewed 5 so far, toward my goal of 6 books for the year. If I can just get another review written, I will have completed the challenge.

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2023: Nothing I read this month counted toward the challenge. However, I did write one review for a book I read earlier in the year, Lost Heart. For the year, I have 15 books read and 5 books reviewed so far, toward my year-end goal of reading and reviewing 16 books. Yikes, I’d better get some more reviews written!

Library Love 2023: I didn’t finish any library books in October. For the year, I have read 3 books and reviewed 2 books so far, toward my year-end goal of 12 books.

NetGalley & Edelweiss Challenge 2023: I read 6 review copies (ARCs) in October, and reviewed 2 of them. (Mistletoe and Murder, KnitOvation Stitch Dictionary; Witcha Gonna Do?; Always Remember; Anything with Nothing; The Night Island.) I didn’t review any ARCs that I read in previous months, though. For the year, I have 26 ARCs read and 8 ARCs reviewed so far, toward my year-end goal of reading and reviewing 15 ARCs. Sadly, my current NetGalley percentage is still 52%.

Read Christie 2023: I haven’t been focused on this challenge at all since May. I don’t think I’ll do it next year. It’s not like I have many Christie books left to read, anyway; I have read almost all of them at one point or another. Certainly all the Miss Marples, Poirots, and Beresfords, and most of the standalones.

COYER Upside Down Chapter 3: This challenge runs Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. To qualify, the book has to be an ebook that you paid less than $5 for, or an audiobook under $7.50. (ARCs count; library books and subscription services don’t.) I read 14 books qualifying books in October (everything except Knitovation, which was a hardcover review copy, and A Discovery of Witches, which I paid around $8 for.) I reviewed one of those books this month (Mistletoe and Murder.) I didn’t post any reviews for books I read in September. My 4-month challenge goal is to read and review 8 books by Dec. 31. As of Oct. 31, I had read 27 qualifying books, and reviewed one. Clearly, I need to step up my reviewing game!

Assessment of other goals

Overall, my reading is still dominated by rereads, but I did read and enjoy more new-to-me books in October. My percentage of reviewed books is still dismal, in part because I was working a lot this month. (I can read in the middle of the night and it helps me get back to sleep eventually. But if I get on the computer to write a review, that’s it; I’m awake for the rest of the night, and sleep-deprived all the next day. So I don’t do that.)

I didn’t read as diversely as I would like, but the two Celia Lake titles have main characters who are disabled (shellshock, essentially) or bi. There are POC or LGBTQ secondary characters in some of the other books, particularly the All Souls Trilogy novels by Deborah Harkness.

My book-buying was down a bit for October.

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