Goals Check-In

 This year was a shitshow in terms of my physical and mental health. I read way less than normal. However, I wanted to check in on my goals in order to set realistic goals for next year.

1. Read 12 of my unread books where I own 2 or more books by the same author.

The only author I did this with was Simone St. James. I read both of her books I had on my shelves. 

2. Read 24 books unread on previous TBRs. I've been making TBRs for a little over three years and have plenty of books I haven't gotten to yet.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

No Exit by Taylor Adams

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

3. Read 9 of my purchased Audible books.

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez 

No Exit by Taylor Adams

All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks

4. Read 6 classics.

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Bread Givers by Anzia Yezeirska.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

5. Continue with series I've already started.

I finished The Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert

I finished the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers

I read the next Scholomance book by Naomi Novik.

Lastly my Top 12 books I wanted to read this year:

1. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

2. The Betrayals by Bridget Collins   DNF

3. The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

4. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

5. Abbadon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey

6. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Minstry

7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

8. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

9. Blindness by Jose Saramago

10. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

11. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

12. Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

DNF'd books in the second half of the year

 I'm getting better with stopping a book when I'm not enjoying it. As a result, the majority of my reading were rated 4 and 5 stars. Sometimes I worried I wasn't giving the book enough of a chance, but there are so many books that interest me, so I have to draw the line somewhere. These are the books I decided not to finish in the second half of the year.

All the Names Given by Raymond Antrobus. This is his second poetry collection. I enjoyed his first, but these poems didn't impact me and after reading 60% of it, I decided to stop wasting my time.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. I read 200+ pages when I decided that it wasn't holding my attention. The narrative seemed meandering and more focused on war than I wanted. Definitely a taste thing, nothing wrong with the book itself.

We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida. I only read 4 or 5 chapters but felt bored.

Sabrina by Nick Drnaso. This is a graphic novel that won awards but I have no idea why. The art is plain and so nondescript, I couldn't tell if the characters were male or female or who any of them were. The plot wasn't at all compelling so I put it down.

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins. This is her second book and I decided to pick it up after loving her debut. While her writing was pretty, it felt like nothing was happening. This was quite disappointing.

Only 5 in the last six months. I hope that indicates that I'm getting better at predicting which books I'll enjoy.

December TBR

 I have so many more books I wanted to read this year, but realistically, I'll probably only get to about 6. Wow, I'm in the mood for fantasy. This is what I plan to read:

Storm of Echoes by Christelle Dabos

The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

All the Names Given by Raymond Antrobus

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

November Wrap Up

 I read 8 books in November. This was probably my best reading month this year!

I read Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin. This was a story about a young woman who died on vacation and her sister investigating what really happened several years later. I was enjoying the story but the ending felt unfinished and left me unsatisfied. I gave it 3 stars.

Because of my reading slump, I decided to reread my favorite book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I love this story and the characters so much and feel it helped pique my interest in reading again. I always give it 5 stars.

Comedy Sex God by Pete Holmes was the first nonfiction book I read. This was a comedian telling his life story about growing up in a religious household and how his spiritual journey evolved. I loved this first half, it literally had me laughing out loud. However, the last part wasn't funny and felt more philosophical which wasn't for me. I gave it 4 stars.

After that I was in the mood for American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Essentially, it's a road trip novel with old gods and new gods preparing for war. I didn't like it as much as I hoped but it was still enjoyable. I awarded it 3.5 stars.

My second nonfiction pick was In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Even though it's a classic, I'd never read it nor knew any of its content. I was blown away by the writing and the story. Very compelling narrative nonfiction. I gave it 5 stars.

Then because I was feeling in the mood for a fast paced mystery, I picked up A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. The whole premise is completely unbelievable and I almost DNF'd it but I looked at some reviews that said the ending was worth it. It was fine and I agree the ending was satisfying. I gave it 3 stars.

The last nonfiction book I read this month was All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks. Incredible! This woman is like a modern-day Mother Theresa in the way that she helped several AIDS patients get care, file for government help, and held their hand while they died. It even was left to her to dispose of their bodies as nobody wanted anything to do with AIDS patients. She narrates the audiobook herself and it was phenomenal. 5 stars!

Finally, I read the novella Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. It's a historical fictional novel set in Ireland that focuses on a man. Because it's so short, I don't feel I can say much else. However, the pacing was off, and the main plot was left unfinished. It deserved more pages. I gave it 2.5 stars.

November TBR

 Like every November, I am participating in Nonfiction November. Because of my slump, I'm only choosing to read 3 nonfiction books along with some fiction choices. I'm also ignoring the key word challenges.

1. All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks

2. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

3. Comedy Sex God by Pete Holmes

4. The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden 

5. City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

6. Storm of Echoes by Christelle Dabos

October Wrap Up

 Well, I read 4 out of the 6, and DNF'd 1 so I think I did pretty well. However the last few days I've been starting and stopping loads of books, never fulling invested in any of them. November may be a difficult month for reading.

The first I read was Set Me Free by Ann Clare LeZotte. This was a middle grade novel about a young Deaf girl who tries to teach another child a way to communicate. The historical information about Deaf people near Martha's Vineyard was fascinating and the story was compelling. I gave it 4 stars.

Then I picked up The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik. I liked this sequel, but was disappointed with the cliffhanger at the end. Additionally, the cliffhanger from the first book wasn't answered. Even so, I enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars.

Next was a highly anticipated read called Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. So many people compared it to Becky Chambers' books but it fell flat. I found myself bored and the pacing was quite uneven. I gave it 3 stars because her characters were fantastic but the plot was lacking.

Then I chose Bread Givers by Anzia Yezeriska. This is a classic about a young woman from an immigrant family growing up in the early 1900s. She bucks tradition and society by refusing to support her father who doesn't work and only wants to study the Torah. I felt charmed by this book and by her convictions. I gave it 4 stars.

The last one I finished was Orion Lost by Alastair Chisholm. This is a middle grade science fiction story about a traumatic event on a space ship that forces the children to take control. They have to navigate fixing ship features, running from space pirates, and navigating to a safe place. I felt this story was great up until the ending. I felt it lacked an ending and needed another 100 pages or so. I gave it 3 stars.

I started but ultimately DNF'd We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida. I gave it 20% but I'm in a slump and it wasn't holding my attention.

October TBR

 I did a much better job reading this past month so I will set a TBR. I'm still a bit slumpy so we'll see if it happens.

1. Set me Free by Ann Clare LeZotte

2. The Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

3. The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

4. Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska

5. We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida

6. Storm of Echoes by Christelle Dabos