Monthly Wrap-Up – September 2023

Books Read – October 2023

Books

Rereads are indicated with an asterisk.

This month, I ended up binge-rereading a bunch of Celia Lake’s Albion books… again. They’re my latest obsession. But I also read a few new books.

1. Point by Point (Celia Lake) *
2. Seven Sisters (Celia Lake) *
3. Fool’s Gold (Celia Lake) *
4. The Hare and the Oak (Celia Lake) *
5. Upon a Summer’s Day (Celia Lake) *
6. Bound for Perdition (Celia Lake) *
7. Role Playing (Cathy Yardley)
8. Sailor’s Jewel (Celia Lake) *
9. Forged in Combat (Celia Lake) * – novella
10. Complementary (Celia Lake) * – novella
11. Carry On (Celia Lake) *
12. Four Walls and a Heart (Celia Lake) – novella
13. Pastiche (Celia Lake) *
14. A Little Too Familiar (Lish McBride) *
15. Rough Around the Hedges (Lish McBride)
16. Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff (Matt Paxton)

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 September (all titles above.) 142 books read or reread so far this year, toward my year-end goal of 175 150 books. I am 30 books ahead of schedule. I could increase my goal, but I don’t think I’m going to, at least not yet.

#23in2023: I didn’t read or review any books from this challenge in September, which is just pitiful. For the year, I have read 6 books read and reviewed 1 so far, toward my year-end goal of 23 books.

Audiobook Challenge 2023: I did listen to an audiobook in September, but I haven’t finished it yet. Nor did I review any audiobooks this month. For the year, I’ve listened to 11 books and reviewed 5 so far, toward my goal of 6 books read and reviewed. .

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2023: Yet another challenge that I completely failed in September. And I didn’t post any reviews for books I read earlier in the year, either. For the year, 15 books read and 4 books reviewed so far, toward my year-end goal of reading and reviewing 16 books.

Library Love 2023: I actually managed to read 1 library book this month! (Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff.) I finished it on August 30, so I haven’t had time to review it yet. For the year, I’ve read 3 library books but only reviewed only 1 so far, toward my year-end goal of 12 books.

NetGalley & Edelweiss Challenge 2023: I didn’t read any ARCs in September (oops), but I did review one that I had read earlier in the year (A Fatal Illusion.) For the year, I have read 20 ARCs and reviewed 6 of them so far, toward my year-end goal of reading and reviewing 15 ARCs. Current NetGalley percentage: still 52%.

Read Christie 2023: Maybe I should set this challenge aside this year, since I haven’t managed any books since May. For the year, 5 books read and 0 books reviewed so far, toward my year-end goal of 12 books.

COYER Upside Down Chapter 3: This trimester of COYER Upside-Down began on September 1. The rules are strict; you can see them here. I read 13 qualifying books in September (all the Celia Lake books, plus Role Playing.) I haven’t reviewed any of them yet, though. My 4-month challenge goal is to read and review 8 qualifying books by December 31.

Assessment of other goals

Reviewing more: Blergh. But I do have two reviews scheduled for the first week of October.

Diversity: I did well on that front. Celia Lake’s books often feature diverse main and/or secondary characters, whether they are people of color, practice religions other than Christianity (that’s most of her characters, honestly), are LGBTQIA+, or are neurodiverse, chronically ill, or disabled. Or several of those at once. In Role Playing, one main character is both bi and demi; the other is Asian-American. And the core group of friends at the center of Lish McBride’s Uncanny Romances are somewhat diverse as well, though perhaps not as much as they could be. (All 4 main characters so far have been white and cis-het… though one is a werewolf. But there are important secondary characters who are LGBTQIA+ and/or POC, some of whom will probably get their own story in the future.)

Book-buying: In September, I bought (or downloaded for free) 4 print books (1 new; 3 used), 16 Kindlebooks, and 1 audiobook, and spent a little over $60. That’s about the same as than August. Again, more than I would like to spend, but not too bad.

Reading my own books: I was mostly rereading books I already own.

Related Posts