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Rearview Mirror // February 2023

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Currently standing at 66 books awaiting review.  Considering I started the year at over 90, I am making progress!

Favorite February Read

I think this slot goes to The Bear and the Nightingale.  I didn’t really know what to expect with that one, and it completely sucked me.  It had been quite some time since a fantasy book hooked me so hard!!

Most Disappointing February Read

I actually had multiple bust reads in February, but probably Anne of Manhattan.  There was so much potential here for a fun, modern update of Anne of the Island, and it just failed miserably on so many levels.

Other February Reads

Total Books Read in February:  21

Total Pages Read in February:  6326

February Challenge Updates:

  • New States Visited: Alaska, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington (YTD: 14)
  • 100 Years of Books: 10 (YTD: 26)
  • Roll 100 List:  2 (YTD: 9)

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of February!!

  • Standalones:  498 (down two)
  • Nonfiction:  132 (holding steady… I just never seem to read these, even though they do sound interesting!)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  595 (holding steady)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  250 (down one)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 114 (up two)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 189 (up ten!! Went to the library booksale LOL)

Current Reads

We just finished The Long Winter yesterday and will be starting Little Town on the Prairie tomorrow, so the Little House series is progressing nicely.  I’m reading Walden, which was my classic earlier this year and I never got through it.  The copy I had had really, really tiny print, so I checked out an edition from the library with big pages and lots of photographs and that’s helping me actually get through it.  I just think Thoreau is sooooo pretentious.  This month’s classic is The Prince and the Pauper and it’s been far more adventurous than I remember!!  My main book that I’m reading is The Comeback by Lily Chu.  The Stand-In was a surprise win for me last year, so I’m interested to see what happens in Chu’s sophomore book.  I’m enjoying it so far, with some reservations, so we’ll see.

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • Auntie Marnie by Patrick Dennis – Yes!  And it was a weird one!
  • Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not-Dating by Christina Lauren – Yes!  Quite bland.
  • The Captain’s Confidant by Ashtyn Newbold – Yes!  Unbelievably, I actually finished this whole series! Go me!
  • The Way of the Wilderness by Martha Reben – Nope!  However, it’s still on the windowsill.  I’ll get to it…sometime lol
  • Spider Woman’s Daughter by Anne Hillerman – Yes!  Just this past week, actually.

Up Next…

My probable next five reads…

  • The Gift by Louise Jensen – a random thriller from my TBR
  • Lakeside Sweethearts by Lisa Jordon – remember a long time ago when I inherited a laundry basket full of “Love Inspired” romances from my great-aunt?  I got rid of most of them, but still have a few lurking around, including this one.
  • Anxious People by Fredrik Backman – I weirdly did like Beartown and loved A Man Called Ove, so I’ve been meaning to read this one for quite some time.
  • Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton – Every year on Litsy a group of ladies host a “summer camp” where everyone votes on and then reads six books throughout the summer.  This is the first one on the docket.  I don’t know if I’ll read all six, and there is a good chance I may start a couple of them and not finish, but sometimes it’s good to test out a few books that I wouldn’t pick up on my own.
  • Miranda the Great by Eleanor Estes – I’ve owned this book forever and actually love Eleanor Estes, yet haven’t read it!

So that’s the February update!!  On to March!! Maybe even before June!!  :-D

Rearview Mirror // January 2023

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Woohoo!! This also makes something like ten days in a row of posting, which may be a new record for me!!

Favorite January Read

I read some great books in January, including a reread of Farmer Boy that was a delight, plus revisiting one of my favorite Heyer novels, but out of my new books, I have to go with Wallace the Brave.  I just love these comics!!

Most Disappointing January Read

Probably Twelve Percent Dread.  I really liked this concept but was so disappointed with the abrupt, inconclusive ending.

Other January Reads

Total Books Read in January:  27

Total Pages Read in January: 6780

January Challenge Updates:

  • New States Visited: Arizona, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
  • 100 Years of Books: 16
  • Roll 100 List:  7

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of January!!

  • Standalones:  500 (up three)
  • Nonfiction:  132 (holding steady… I just never seem to read these, even though they do sound interesting!)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  595 (holding steady)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  251 (holding steady)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 112 (holding steady)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 179 (up one)

Current Reads

I’m still reading all the same buddy reads as I was during my last Rearview (two weeks ago) – Agnes Grey, By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Once and Future King, and Life of Pi.  However, a couple of those are almost finished!! I’m also reading Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis – I seem to have accumulated a lot of her books, so I’m working my way through the Lucky Harbor series.

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • The Honk and Holler Opening Soon – Not yet! But it is high on the priority list as I need to get it in the mail to the next person next week!!
  • The Alpine Path by L.M. Montgomery – Also not yet, but also on the list for this coming week as our group discussion is next Saturday!
  • The Ace of Hearts by Ashtyn Newbold – Yes! I actually did enjoy this one and am planning to read the next book in the series.
  • The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall – Nope! Still hoping to get to this one next month, but it isn’t on the critical list like the first two up there!
  • I Will Repay by Emmuska Orczy – Nope! But this next Scarlet Pimpernel book is staying in the queue until I get to it!!

Up Next…

My probable next five reads…  (besides the first two books on the list above…)

  • Auntie Marnie by Patrick Dennis – I’m actually involved in two traveling book clubs right now, so The Honk and Holler is my read for one of them, and this is my read for the other.
  • Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not-Dating by Christina Lauren – I’ve had this one on my shelf forever!!
  • The Captain’s Confidant by Ashtyn Newbold – the next book in the Larkhall Letters series
  • The Way of the Wilderness by Martha Reben – the sequel to The Healing Woods, which was a surprise win for me!
  • Spider Woman’s Daughter by Anne Hillerman – the next book in the Leaphorn & Chee series is the debut novel of Tony Hillerman’s daughter.  I’m very interested to see where she takes the series.  I’ve not always had the best of luck with children taking over the writing of their parents, so I’m a smidge apprehensive!!

So that’s the update on January!! At this rate, I’ll be caught up in… well… another month!! LOL

2023 // Challenges & Resolutions

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Okay, so I realize that it’s mid-April, but in fairness I really did set these goals at the beginning of the year haha

This year, my big overall goals are to read books I own but have never read, and to continue reading classics, which has involved the creation of yet another TBR tab (naturally).  Theoretically, my Personal and New Arrivals TBRs should be lower by the end of the year than they were in January… if I can resist buying more books!!

On Litsy, someone is hosting a challenge called #Roll100.  Participants make a list of 100 books, and every month the host rolls three numbers to read.  My goal is to read as many books from my Roll 100 list as I can by the end of the year, whether they are drawn or not, although I am prioritizing the ones that get picked.  My list is comprised entirely of books that (a) I own, (b) I haven’t read yet, and (c) are not part of a series.  What’s sad is that it was incredibly easy to make this list and I could have made it longer!  So we’ll see how many of these I can check off this year.

I am once again unofficially participating the #MtTBR challenge.  Last year I read 107 books, so I am hoping to top that!! For me, Mt TBR books have to have been owned or on my TBR before January 1, and all series only count as one block.

As always, I am trying to #ReadtheUSA.  I’ve never made it to all 50 states in one year, but hope springs eternal!!  And it’s just a fun one to track, since it involves coloring in the states on a map as I “visit” them!  For this challenge, a book can only check off one state, even if it takes place in more than one.

The same person who hosted last year’s 1982-2022 challenge is also hosting a 1920-2025 challenge – to read one book from each of those years by the end of 2025.  This challenge started in the middle of 2022.  For this year, I thought it would be fun to create my own piggyback challenge called 100 Years of Books (even though it’s actually 103 years haha) where I see how many years I can check off from 1920-2023.  On my chart, I’ve indicated which books I still need for the 1920-2025 challenge, so it’s a handy way to track both.  Plus, I think this may be a fun thing to do each year and see how many books I can read out of a century from year to year.

I’m actually participating in several other challenges this year, but not ones that necessarily translate way to tracking here.  Both Litsy and Storygraph are absolute treasure troves of reading challenges.  There are SO many fun ones, and I love setting up my reading bujos every year to keep track of things!!

Next post will start actual 2023 reads, which even though they are still from four months ago, somehow feels like I’m making progress!  Happy New Year! :-D

Rearview Mirror // 2022

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Woohoo!! Well, mid-April may be the latest I’ve ever written a year’s wrap-up post, but we finally made it!  2022 was actually a great year around here, although it was also a big year because my husband and I both had milestone birthdays that kind of made us go Have we really been doing this/living here/working that job THIS LONG???  Like things are definitely quite good, but sometimes it’s just weird how fast time goes!!

So, I’m going to do a little 2022 challenge wrap up, some thoughts on each month’s reading, and then the final TBR stats (I actually did note down where I was on the TBR at the beginning of January so I could get an accurate reading on this one!!).  And so – here we go!

NB: Throughout this post all links lead to other posts on my own blog.

2022 Challenges

I did a post early in the year about my reading goals for 2022.  These included reading more longer books, focusing on checking off some classics, and then several random challenges on Litsy.  Overall, I did okay.

  • Chunksters (800+pgs): 3
  • Almost-a-Chunkster (450-799pgs): 19
  • Classics:  18

I’m mostly pleased with my classics progress!! This was due in large part to several buddy reads on Litsy – I’ve been so surprised at how it helps to have a group that is discussing/griping about a difficult book as we read it!  I also drew one book off my personal classics TBR every month and read a chapter a day of it until I finished it, and that also checked off several!

For my #ReadtheUSA goal, I did manage to visit 42 states for an 82% completion rate, so better than 2021 but I still haven’t hit all 50 in one year yet!!

I unofficially participated in the #MtTBR challenge again and summited Mt. Everest, with over 100 books off my TBR!! I was pretty excited to hit this goal and event to start clawing my way up the almost-unattainable Mt. Olympus.  I hit 107 books this year.  I only count books that were on my TBR before the year began, and any book that is a series only counts when the series finishes (so an entire series is still just one block for me).  So I felt like that was pretty solid progress.

Finally, I did complete the 1982-2022 challenge of reading at least one book published in each of those 40 years.  It was super fun to read a book for every year I’ve been alive – and a little sobering that it took so many books to get there! LOL

January

Highs

I had a weird start to the reading year with a month that contained a lot of “whatever” reads.  Not bad, exactly, just not books I LOVED.  My favorite read of the month was Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts, a solid romantic thriller, but even that one didn’t blow me away – I just happened to enjoy it more than most of the others haha

Lows

On the flip side, I also didn’t have any big busts this month, either.  The Magic of Ordinary Days was my most disappointing read of the month – it’s hard to enjoy historical fiction if you really hate the main character!

February

Highs

February was a little stronger.  I reread two old favorites and loved them both – David Copperfield and An Old-Fashioned Girl.  My favorite new read of the month was Family for Beginners.  I’ve really enjoyed reading Morgan’s Christmas books, but she also writes a lot of summer books as well.  Morgan just writes family SO well, with believable and likable characters, and I love how she explores not just romantic relationships, but various family connections as well, especially between mothers and daughters, and between sisters.

Lows

My official most-disappointing read this month was Star Sand, another historical fiction that started strongly and then fizzled out – I was honestly SO annoyed by how this book just… faded away, as though the author got bored halfway through.  I also plowed my way through From Blood and Ash, which so many people love and I just… didn’t.  I found the main character to be SO annoying and self-absorbed, and the world-building was weak and uneven.  Plus, the “twist” at the end made me feel like I had just read a 600pg+ introduction instead of a fulfilling novel so.  This is one of those books that “everyone” seems to love, but I just felt like was overrated.

March

Highs

Several fabulous books in March – I absolutely LOVED Scythe, which took the top slot for the month.  So creative, incredibly compelling characters, fantastic storytelling – I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series!  But there was some stiff competition for top book of March – Of Mice and Men was my classic for the month and I hated it and also was completely gut-punched by it.  I just can’t understand how Steinbeck can put SO much emotion and storytelling into just a handful of pages.  I also read an extremely engaging nonfiction, Into the Forest, about Jews in Poland who escaped into the forest – absolutely compelling reading.

Lows

While I had some great reads in March, I also had several busts.  I waded through The Priory of the Orange Tree, but, like From Blood and Ash, I found this fantasy chunkster to be incredibly overrated. I didn’t like any of the characters, the world-building was surprisingly poor considering the length of the book, and in the end, even though it’s billed as brilliant feminist writing, the message I took away was definitely more anti-motherhood than it was pro-woman; I absolutely hated the way it was emphasized over and over that the quickest way to ruin your life was to have a baby.  I honestly found it so degrading.  But, once again, this book is almost universally feted, so there’s that.

April

Highs

My favorite book of the month was a little bittersweet – I finally read Great Northern?, the conclusion to the absolutely delightful Swallows & Amazons series.  I loved these books so much that I’ve decided to reread them already!  I also finished the Arc of the Scythe trilogy, which I thoroughly enjoyed, even though the story didn’t end exactly the way I wanted it to haha

Lows

I forced myself through North and South, a classic I’ll definitely never read again.  Such unrelenting depression!  Such a passive, whiny main character!  And it felt like every time Gaskell wasn’t sure what should happen next, she just chose some other character to kill off for no reason.  This book didn’t seem remotely romantic to me, although I do suppose that Margaret and Thornton will probably get along just fine since they are two of the most BORING characters I have EVER read about.  So many people seem to love this story, and I just did NOT get it.

May

Highs

May was fabulous reading month!  Out of 17 books read, 12 of them rated 4* or higher.  This was partially due to reading the entire Lunar Chronicles series, including the four main books, the side book about the villain, and the two follow-up graphic novels, plus a collection of short stories.  I really loved this series a lot; an unexpected win since I had kind of low expectations.  But the characters were just so delightful, the romance done well, the retelling aspects great fun, the world-building intriguing, and the story compelling.  I blazed through these books and enjoyed every page.  I also reread one of my very favorite books, Jane of Lantern Hill, and read Cary Elwes’s As You Wish, which was utterly charming.

Lows

Not many, really.  For my most disappointing book I chose a Nora Roberts romance – The Heart’s Victory.  It was just very… 80s haha

June

Highs

Another solid reading month.  I didn’t have any books that really grabbed me, but I had a huge pile of 4* reads.  I gave Book Lovers the edge as my favorite read of the month – I loved the way various romance tropes got turned upside-down, and I really enjoyed the banter between the two main characters.  I also FINALLY finished Gone With the Wind – I started this one in April and read a chapter a day until I finished!  I wanted to hate this book (and I DID hate Scarlett!) but in the end… I just couldn’t.  It’s actually an amazing story and a weirdly engaging look at a specific time and specific people.  What I really took away from this one was – never trust the government.  Ever.  About anything.

Lows

No total busts this month, but a handful of 3* books – By Your Side took the official “most disappointing” spot, mainly because I have enjoyed so many of West’s other books, so I was expecting more from this one.  The premise sounds so fun!  But honestly, I should have DNFd at the beginning when the main character was afraid she was going to be bored when she got locked in the library.  ?!?!?!  National Velvet was also weirdly disappointing, mostly because I’m a lover of horse books.  This one is billed as one of THE horse books, but… it wasn’t very horsey???  It was an odd little book.  I wanted more horses.

July

Highs

Nightwork was my favorite new book of the month – Nora Roberts does the multi-year-romance-family-drama thing very well, and I really liked these characters.  My favorite read overall, though, was my reread of Wodehouse’s The Girl on the Boat, which is just too funny for words.  I also really enjoyed my reread of A Tangled Web, which was never my favorite Montgomery, but has grown on me over the years as I have gotten older and relate more to more of the characters.  The ending still kind of annoys me, though.

Lows

I had several meh reads, but I feel like Summer Days and Summer Nights got on my nerves the most – a collection of YA short stories, and literally they all were terrible.  Very disappointing.

August

Highs

Life started to get busy in August, so my reading slowed down a bit.  I really enjoyed reading the latest installment of the Kate Burkholder series, The Hidden One.  While it wasn’t my favorite in the series, it was still a solid installment.  I really like Kate a lot and am always excited to see what she gets into next.  My overall favorite read was another Wodehouse reread – The Small Bachelor.  Why is he so consistently funny??  I also really enjoyed revisiting The Railway Children – Nesbit is always a win – and the dramatic but great fun The Hidden Hand.  I also had a surprise win in the YA fantasy realm with Jade Fire Gold.  However, it’s definitely a book that feels like it is supposed to have a sequel… and there is no sign of that sequel yet.  :-(

Lows

I had never read Montgomery’s Pat of Silver Bush because Mom always told me it was really depressing.  Well, add this to the neverending list of things Mom was right about – this book was just… ugh.  I also had another romcom disappointing – The Worst Best Man just hit every note wrong for me.  The female MC was obnoxious and the male MC felt like the male version of a manic-pixie-dreamgirl, one where little perfect feminist bylines come out every time you pull the string.  So boring and overall too polemic for me, as the whole thing just felt like a man-bashing session.

September

Highs

As usual, September was the month I read the least.  That’s always my busiest month at the orchard, and it was times ten this year as we had a terrible time finding employees for the season, so I was doing a lot of fill-in-the-gaps shifts.  Still, I’ve never had a time in my life where I wasn’t reading AT ALL, so I still managed to get through 13 books!  Thankfully, most of my reads were solidly 4*.  My favorite was Nora Roberts again – The Reef – I love her ability to find the most random careers to be the background for her stories!  I also reread several old favorites:  The Flatshare, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Venetia were all total wins.  I was also rather delighted with The Stand-In, which had its weaknesses but was overall a very cute romcom.

Lows

The biggest one was a Kindle book I’ve owned forever – Everywhere It’s You.  Not only was the story riddled with typos and things that didn’t really make sense, it literally just stopped in the middle of the book and informed me that I had to now buy book 2 to find out what happens!  Not a cliffhanger – literally just stopping the middle!  I was so mad.  And no, I didn’t buy book 2!

October

//published 2022//

Highs

YA fantasy does not always work for me, so I was honestly somewhat surprised at how much I enjoyed Only a Monster.  The sequel comes out this year, and I am genuinely intrigued to find out where the story goes next!  I also really enjoyed rereading Meet Mr. Mulliner and A Fine and Pleasant Misery – you know, it occurs to me, not for the first time, that I really like my books to be funny!

Lows

Dangerous Beauty was one of those books that had the potential but went no where.  I was really disappointed by this one.

November

//published 2022//

Highs

Just Another Love Song was a surprise win – such a fun and happy romcom, and so nice to see some positive Ohio rep for once!!  I also reread two old favorites – Borgel is still just so perfect even though it seems like it should be too weird.  And I love Blandings Castle, so Full Moon was also a delight.  I had 13 other books that were all 4* reads, so all in all November was a great reading month.

//published 2014//

Lows

It’s always sad when a sequel doesn’t live up to the first book, and that’s how I felt about The Rules for Breaking.  I thought that The Rules for Disappearing was really intriguing and well done, but Breaking was just… choppy and overly complicated.

December

Highs

December was mostly Christmas fluff, which was quite hit or miss.  I really enjoyed reading A Christmas Carol, as well as two of Sarah Morgan’s Christmas stories, Snowed In for Christmas and A Wedding in December.  Of course my reread of The Hundred and One Dalmatians was a win, as was a reread of Little House in the Big Woods.

Lows

I had a traveling book club book that I genuinely couldn’t stand, Raising the Horseman – just no.  The next Chesapeake Shores book, The Summer Garden, was also a bust.  The worst Christmas book I read all month was A Cross-Country Christmas.  I’m so sorry, Will – you really deserve so much better!!

TBR Update

Okay, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, including myself!  Did my net TBR go up or down in 2022??  Unlike my usual TBR updates, these numbers are as of January 1, not today.

  • Standalones:  470 – BIG WIN!  Down 24!!!
  • Nonfiction:  130 – LOSS! Up 2!!!
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  602 – BIG WIN! Down 37!!!
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  249 – WIN!  Down 1!!!
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 110 – NEITHER! Holding steady!!!
  • New Arrivals (I just started tracking this in December, so this doesn’t have a comparison for last year – it’s so I can compare it when I wrap up 2021…): 169 – BIG LOSS!!! Up 21!!!

HOWEVER!  That still gives me a net -39 on overall TBR action this year, so I’ll take that as a win!  It’s hard to believe that that’s my result from reading 247 books in a year, but here we are! LOL

Thanks so much for journeying with me through my reading adventures.  It’s fun to share this with all of you.  Next up – a post on 2023 goals, which should be interesting since we’re already 1/3 through the year! :-D

Rearview Mirror // December 2022

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Woohoo!! Wrapping up December!!

Favorite December Read

Out of my new reads for the month, I think Snowed In for Christmas by Sarah Morgan.  I just really enjoy her books a lot.  However, for rereads, it’s definitely The Hundred and One Dalmatians!!

Most Disappointing December Read

Oh for sure Raising the Horseman.  I wasn’t expecting to love this one, but I couldn’t get over how bad it actually was.

Other December Reads

December Stats

  • Total Number of Books Read:  27
  • Total Pages Read:  7064
  • Average Star Rating for December:  3.57
  • Longest Book: Hidden Riches (453 pages)
  • Shortest Book:  A Christmas Carol (74 pages)
  • Oldest Book:  A Christmas Carol (published 1843)
  • Newest Book: Snowed In for Christmas and Raising the Horseman were both published in 2022.  Also, funny enough, they were my favorite and least favorite books of the month!
  • Top Genre: Romance (18 books)
  • Top Format: Paperback (12 books)
  • Top Source: Kindle Unlimited (9 books)

December Challenge Updates

  • New states visited: Montana and Oklahoma
  • Chunksters read (800+pgs): 0
  • Almost-a-chunksters read (450-799pgs): 1
  • Classics read: 1
  • Nonfiction read: 0

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of December!!

  • Standalones:  497 (down one)
  • Nonfiction:  132 (holding steady)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  595 (down two!!)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  251 (up one)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 112 (holding steady)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 178 (up seven… definitely didn’t place a Book Outlet order LOL)

Current Reads

My buddy reads include Agnes Gray by Anne Bronte (boring so far), The Once and Future King by T.H. White (intriguing – we’re on book two, which is honestly kind of dark), Life of Pi by Yann Martel (quite good, although a bit rambly in part one), and On the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (almost done with this one).  I’m also reading Hotel Magnifique by Emily Taylor – about halfway and I do like it so far, but I don’t love it.

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • The first three are my buddy reads, so the answer is – in progress!!
  • The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware – yes! This was a solid read, but not one I would ever reread.
  • Mr. Ape by Dick King-Smith – yes! This one wasn’t one of my favorites – it felt a little directionless.

Up Next…

My probable next five reads…

  • The Honk and Holler Opening Soon by Billie Letts – my next book for traveling book club
  • The Alpine Path by L.M. Montgomery – this month’s Kindred Spirit Buddy Read is Alcott’s “autobiography” although it’s very short and only covers a little bit of her life.  Still, I’m interested to see what she has to say, especially since I read a biography of her last month.
  • The Ace of Hearts by Ashtyn Newbold – still need to get to this regency series that my sister loaned me!
  • The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall – I got this one on the cheap from Book Outlet quite some time ago.  It’s one of my random draws for this month!!
  • I Will Repay by Emmuska Orczy – the next book in the Scarlet Pimpernel series – I’ve never read this one before!!

So that’s the story for December – up next, a 2022 review, then a 2023 preview, and then I’ll actually start reviewing books from THIS YEAR!!!  Woohoo!!

Rearview Mirror // November 2022

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Only a week since October’s Rearview, so I feel like I’m making progress LOL

Favorite November Read

I actually had a lot of great reads in November, and my favorite was probably my reread of Borgel.  But out of new books read, the surprise winner is Just Another Love Song – it was so nice to read a warm, happy contemporary romance whose characters actually felt like they could be real people.

Most Disappointing November Read

This slot is The Rules for Breaking, mainly because I really liked The Rules for Disappearing, which made this mediocre sequel extra disappointing.

Other November Reads

November Stats

  • Total Number of Books Read:  25
  • Total Pages Read:  7430
  • Average Star Rating for November:  3.84
  • Longest Book: The Blythes are Quoted (518 pages)
  • Shortest Book:  Emma the Matchmaker (148 pages)
  • Oldest Book:  Dracula (published 1897)
  • Newest Book: Just Another Love Song (published 2022)
  • Top Genre: Romance (12 books)
  • Top Format: Paperback (15 books)
  • Top Source: Owned (15 books)

November Challenge Updates

  • New states visited: Arkansas
  • Chunksters read (800+pgs): 0
  • Almost-a-chunksters read (450-799pgs): 1
  • Classics read: 1
  • Nonfiction read: 0

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of November!!

  • Standalones:  498 (up three)
  • Nonfiction:  132 (holding steady)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  597 (holding steady)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  250 (holding steady)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 112 (up two)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 171 (holding steady)

Current Reads

Only two books right now!! The current Little House book is On the Shores of Silver Lake, which I remember pretty much 0% of so that’s been interesting so far.  I’m also almost done with Flamebringer, the final book in the Heartstone trilogy – I have REALLY enjoyed these!!

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • Dragonshadow and Flamebringer by Elle Katharine White – I have finished Dragonshadow and will probably finish Flamebringer today.  These have been so good!!
  • The Girl and the Stolen Fiddle by Stephanie Julia Gibson – yes!  Interesting but a little too short, so some things felt rushed.
  • The Ace of Hearts by Ashtyn Newbold – not yet!! And now this series will probably get pushed to the end of April.
  • Witch’s Business by Diana Wynne Jones – not yet, but I’ll probably read it when I finish Flamebringer, before I start all my April “assignments.”

Up Next…

My probable next five reads…

Buddy reads start April 1!!

  • Agnes Gray by Anne Bronte – who would have thought I’d actually read all these Bronte books?? But here I am!
  • The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White – I’ve been meaning to read this classic Arthurian series for quite some time, so I jumped on it when a Litsy group decided to read the entire Once and Future King series.
  • Life of Pi by Yann Mantel – my April classic
  • The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware – Ware is our Author a Month on Litsy, so I’m hoping to get a few of her books off my TBR
  • Mr. Ape by Dick King-Smith – I have a list of 100 books that I own but have never read/read so long ago I don’t remember that I’m trying to read this year, and this is the next one up.

That’s the update for November!! We’re closing in on the end of 2022!!!

Rearview Mirror // October 2022

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Well, still running less than six months behind, so that seems pretty good.

Favorite October Read

While my favorite reread was obviously Wodehouse’s Meet Mr. Mulliner, I think my favorite of the new books I read was Only a Monster, a surprise win as I’m not always particularly fond of YA fantasy.

Most Disappointing October Read

I think I’m going with a book I actually reviewed in October as well as read, Dangerous Beauty.  I really wanted to like this book, but I could never get behind the main characters as a couple, which meant the whole story didn’t really hang together for me.

Other October Reads

October Stats

  • Total Number of Books Read:  24
  • Total Pages Read:  7275
  • Average Star Rating for October:  3.67
  • Longest Book: Jane Eyre (652 pages)
  • Shortest Book:  Mystery of the Jittery Dog-Walker (126 pages)
  • Oldest Book:  Jane Eyre (published 1847)
  • Newest Book: Killers of a Certain Age, Dangerous Beauty, The Cartographers and Only a Monster were all published in 2022
  • Top Genre: Thriller/Suspense (7 books)
  • Top Format: Paperback (13 books)
  • Top Source: Owned (14 books)

October Challenge Updates

  • New states visited: Idaho and Wisconsin
  • Chunksters read (800+pgs): 0
  • Almost-a-chunksters read (450-799pgs): 1
  • Classics read: 2
  • Nonfiction read: 0

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of October!!

  • Standalones:  495 (up two)
  • Nonfiction:  132 (holding steady)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  597 (down two)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  250 (down one)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 110 (holding steady)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 171 (holding steady)

Current Reads

Getting towards the end of the month, so not quite as many buddy reads going on.

  • Almost done with Middlemarch – fewer than 50 pages to go!!
  • Walden… kind of… I’m struggling with this one so I haven’t read it in a few days lol
  • By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder – we finished Plum Creek and just started this one yesterday.  It’s probably the book I remember the least about so I’m interested to read it again.
  • The Healing Woods by Martha Reben – my grandparents loaned me this one, a memoir written in the 50s – Martha suffered from tuberculosis and spent a spring-fall living in a tent in the Adirondacks.

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I actually read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • The Girl in the Tower and The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden – yes!! I really enjoyed this trilogy (I was in the midst of reading the first book, The Bear and the Nightingale, when I wrote my last Rearview Mirror post)
  • The Magnolia Palace – yes!  I enjoyed but didn’t adore this historical fiction.
  • The Black Stallion – yes!  This was a childhood favorite and I loved rereading it for the millionth time.
  • The Last Garden in England – nope!  Still on the shelf and I may not get to this one this month after all

Up Next…

My probable next five reads…

  • Dragonshadow and Flamebringer by Elle Katharine White – I just finished the first book in this trilogy, Heartstone, and quite enjoyed it.  It’s Pride and Prejudice set in a fantasy world with dragons and other magical creatures.  I’m really looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here, since we’ve covered the main P&P events in book one.
  • The Girl and the Stolen Fiddle by Stephanie Julia Gibson – a friend of a friend actually wrote this, so my friend loaned it to me. I don’t really have any idea what it’s about, but it’s short, so we’ll see what happens haha
  • The Ace of Hearts by Ashtyn Newbold – my sister got this historical romance series, so I’m going to give it a whirl
  • Witch’s Business by Diana Wynne Jones – my next random TBR pick

And that’s a wrap for October!!  Maybe one of these days I’ll even write reviews for books I read THIS year!  :-D

Rearview Mirror // September 2022

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I’m still here, friends!!! Chaos seems to come in waves around here, so I’ll have a few days of being good about posting and then a few days of… well, not haha  But for now, let’s see a September summary!!

Favorite September Read

I had a lot of books I enjoyed in September, and several rereads.  But I think my favorite new read was probably The Reef by Nora Roberts – it was a fun blend of suspense and romance.

Most Disappointing September Read

Definitely Everywhere It’s You, a book that’s been on my Kindle forever.  Except it was actually just half a book!  Half a poorly-written, full-of-typos book!  Gah!

Other September Reads

September Stats

  • Total Number of Books Read:  13
  • Total Pages Read:  3503
  • Average Star Rating for September:  3.54
  • Longest Book: Moonlight Cove (378 pages)
  • Shortest Book:  Outside the Gates (97 pages)
  • Oldest Book:  The Scarlet Pimpernel (published 1905)
  • Newest Book: The Stand-In (2021)
  • Top Genre: Romance (7 books)
  • Top Format: Paperback (10 books)
  • Top Source: Library (6 books)

September Challenge Updates

  • New states visited: Illinois
  • Chunksters read (800+pgs): 0
  • Almost-a-chunksters read (450-799pgs): 0
  • Classics read: 1
  • Nonfiction read: 0

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of September!!

  • Standalones:  493 (up three)
  • Nonfiction:  132 (holding steady)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  599 (down two)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  251 (up one)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 110 (holding steady)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 171 (down three)

Current Reads

Oh, so many! I am buddy reading way too many books this month!!

  • Still plugging away on Middlemarch, which should actually wrap up in, well, the middle of March!
  • Walden is this month’s classic. I’m on about 30 pages in, and it’s honestly a bit of a struggle so far.
  • Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck – I have several of Steinbeck’s books on my TBR and he’s Litsy’s author of the month, so I decided to give this one a whirl. So far, I love it.
  • House of Dreams by Liz Rosenberg – a biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery aimed at middle grade readers. I’m only a few chapters in, but so far it’s engaging.
  • On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder – still working my way through the Little House books.  I didn’t really remember much about this one (except grasshoppers, which haven’t happened yet), so it’s been a fun read.
  • Heartstone by Elle Katharine White – I’ve had this P&P/dragons mash-up on my shelf for quite some time, so even though I already had a bunch of buddy read commitments, I couldn’t resist joining in with this one as well!
  • Under Currents by Nora Roberts – the other day I accidentally left the house without a book, so that seemed like a good reason to pick up a new book off the discount rack at Meijer.  This one is a little long, but I am really invested in the characters.

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I actually read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • Songs of Willow Frost – this ended up being a DNF for me.  Too depressing.
  • Twelve Percent Dread, The Roundhill, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and Ben and Me – all yes!! Those were all pretty short, easy reads, so I was excited to bang them all out, even if none of them were particularly stellar reads.

Up Next

My probable next five reads…

  • The Girl in the Tower and The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden – I read The Bear and the Nightingale at the beginning of the week, and definitely want to finish the trilogy. The Girl in the Tower is actually the book I forgot at home, which is why I started reading the Nora Roberts book first… and here we are haha  But these are next in the queue as I do want to find out what happens with Vasilisa!!
  • The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis – This is one of those authors I keep seeing around and meaning to read, so we will see how I feel about this one.
  • The Black Stallion by Walter Farley – a reread for this month’s Children’s Classic Read – this is actually one of my very favorite books, and one that I read over and over growing up, so I’m always happy to revisit it.
  • The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly – this historical fiction was gifted to me a while back.  I am rather hit or miss with this genre, but I’m hoping for a win here!!

Well, there are all the updates from, you know, six months ago LOL  Up next, books I read in October!!  :-D

Rearview Mirror // July 2022

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Only six months behind, not too bad!  LOL

Favorite July Read

My favorite book of the month was my reread of Wodehouse’s The Girl on the Boat, but out of the new books I read, I think Nightwork by Nora Roberts takes the slot.

Most Disappointing July Read

I read a lot of 3* meh kind of reads in July, but I think the one I disliked the most was probably the short story collection Summer Days and Summer Nights.  It was really disappointing that there wasn’t a single story in the entire book that I would have given more than 3* to.  They were uniformly pretty poor.

Other July Reads

July Stats

  • Total Number of Books Read:  21
  • Total Pages Read:  6821
  • Average Star Rating for June:  3.71
  • Longest Book: Black Hills (439 pages)
  • Shortest Book:  Her Mother’s Keeper (169 pages)
  • Oldest Book:  The Picture of Dorian Gray (published 1891)
  • Newest Book: Nightwork (published 2022)
  • Top Genre: Romance (14 books)
  • Top Format: Hardcover (10 books)
  • Top Source: Library (10 books)

July Challenge Updates

  • New states visited: Hawaii, Oregon, South Dakota, and Virginia
  • Chunksters read (800+pgs): 0
  • Almost-a-chunksters read (450-799pgs): 0
  • Classics read: 2
  • Nonfiction read: 0

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of July!!  However, I did note down my stats at the end of 2022, so if I ever get to the point where I can review the year as a whole, I’ll be able to compare it to the end of 2021 and see if I made any progress!!

  • Standalones:  490 (up a tragic 20 because I actually moved over books from various “wishlists” onto my TBR where they belong haha)
  • Nonfiction:  132 (up one)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  601 (down three)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  250 (holding steady)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 110 (down one)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 167 (down one)

Current Reads

  • Middlemarch by George Eliot – Still try to work my way through some classics, so when a group on Litsy decided to buddy read this on start January 1, I went ahead and jumped in.  So far, it’s astoundingly boring.  Just.  So.  Boring.  Only 711 pages left to go!!
  • Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder – Another Litsy buddy read, this one through the Little House books.  I’ve been meaning to reread these for eons, so it’s been quite enjoyable to get back into these.
  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – As I did last year, I’m utilizing my BookSpin challenge to start a classic every month and read at least a chapter a day until I’m through it.  I got through several books I never would have read otherwise this way last year, and I’m excited about my fresh new list!!  Frankenstein was first up on the random draw.  Interesting-ish so far, but really different from what I was expecting.
  • The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman – I’m still working through the Leaphorn and Chee series – this is book 18!!  It’s also the last one that Hillerman wrote before he died.  The series has been taken over by his daughter, so I’m interested to see where she goes with the characters.  Sometimes having the next generation works, and sometimes it doesn’t.
  • Cold War by Jeremy Isaacs and Taylor Downing  – you may or may not have noticed that my nonfiction list never seems to get any shorter!!  Another thing to work on this year!!!

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I actually read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • Full Moon by P.G. Wodehouse – Yes!  As always, a very fun romp.  I absolutely love his Blandings Castle books, and this one did not disappoint.
  • A Treason of Thorns by Laura Weymouth – Yes!  This was definitely a case of I wanted to like it more than I did.
  • The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman – Yes!  A solid Leaphorn and Chee installment.
  • Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik – Nope!  Still hoping to make some progress on this series, though.  Someday.
  • Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater – Nope!  Definitely planning to read this concluding book one of these days, but it just hasn’t happened yet.

Up Next

The probable next five(ish) reads –

  • Spider Woman’s Daughter by Anne Hillerman – the next Leaphorn and Chee book, and the first written by Tony Hillerman’s daughter.
  • Frederica by Georgette Heyer – this month’s traveling book club book is a reread for me, but one I love and am looking forward to revisiting.
  • Not That Kind of Guy by Andie Christopher – I absolutely LOATHED Not the Girl You Marry by this author.  However, I already had this one on my shelf.  On of my random StoryGraph challenges I am doing this year is “Read Your TBR by Color” – with one color for each month; find a book on your shelf that color and read it haha  Since January is pink, I picked this one. Time to either DNF or read it!
  • Murder at the Piccadilly Playhouse by C.J. Archer – my sister started reading this historical mystery series, and decided that I should read it with her, so this is the second Cleopatra Fox book.
  • Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford – a random TBR book that has been on my list forever.  Not sure if it’s going to end up being “my” kind of book or not.

Alright!! July is checked off the list!  On to August… hopefully before February!!

Rearview Mirror // June 2022

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Hey friends!  It’s November, so that seems like a great time to talk about June!  :-D

Favorite June Read

I actually read a lot of books I really enjoyed in June, so it’s a toss-up.  I think the leading edge probably goes to Book Lovers, though.  It was fun and the banter was fantastic.

Most Disappointing June Read

Probably By Your Side.  I’ve enjoyed several of West’s other books but this one just got on my nerves for some reason.

Other June Reads

June Stats

  • Total Number of Books Read:  25
  • Total Pages Read:  8945
  • Average Star Rating for June:  3.71
  • Longest Book: Gone With the Wind (959 pages)
  • Shortest Book:  The Randolphs (149 pages)
  • Oldest Book:  The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (published 1848)
  • Newest Book: Book Lovers, Something Wilder, The Sweet Life, and The League of Gentlewomen Witches (all published 2022)
  • Top Genre: Romance (8 books)
  • Top Format: Paperback (14 books)
  • Top Source: Library (8 books)

June Challenge Updates

  • New states visited: Georgia, North Carolina, and Utah!
  • Chunksters read (800+pgs): 1
  • Almost-a-chunksters read (450-799pgs): 1
  • Classics read: 4
  • Nonfiction read: 3

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of June!!

  • Standalones:  470 (down ten!)
  • Nonfiction:  131 (up one)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  604 (down seventeen!!! AND I have past the halfway mark – I have more in the “read” column than in the “unread” column!  Because yes, I do own over 1200 books LOL)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  250 (holding steady)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 111 (holding steady)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 168 (holding steady)

Current Reads

Right now I am reading –

  • Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon – an interesting read, definitely more biographical and less story than I was expecting, but still engaging.  This is a chapter-a-day read for me.
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker – I started this one with the #DraculaDaily craziness and even though I’m a bit behind, I am swiftly closing in on the conclusion of this classic.
  • The Blythes are Quoted by L.M. Montgomery – This is our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead for November and one that I have somehow never read.  It was published posthumously in the early 2000s and is a collection of poetry and short stories.
  • Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts – My current “main” read.

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I actually read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • The Hidden One by Linda Castillo – Yes! Another solid entry for the Kate Burkholder series, which I love.
  • The It Girl by Ruth Ware -Yes!  Enjoyable but forgettable.
  • His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik – Yes!  This one was rather slow in spots but still interesting enough that I’m planning to read the next in the series.
  • Moonlight Cove by Sherryl Woods – Yes! But overall this series just isn’t doing much for me.  I’m undecided whether or not I’m going to continue on.
  • Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron – Nope – but I tried.  As I suspected, a fictional story wherein a real-life person is the main character just didn’t click for me.

Up Next

The probable next five(ish) reads –

So for November I’m trying to finish/progress a few series that I’m in the middle of, plus I have a couple of traveling book club books to get through.  I’m mostly busy planning my December TBR of absolute Christmas FLUFF.  SO EXCITED.  But before then I’m hoping to read –

  • Full Moon by P.G. Wodehouse – The four of us who created a “happy books” traveling book club group enjoyed it so much that we’re doing another round.  I contributed a Wodehouse last time as well, because I believe he is the ultimate in happy stories!! This one is a Blandings Castle tale – love it!!
  • Treason of Thorns by Laura Weymouth – At the last minute I spontaneously joined a second traveling book club group, this one focused on fantasy.  Probably going to be a mixed bag.  I have this one unread on my shelf, so I decided to give it a go.
  • The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman – If I’m really lucky, I’ll even read more than one Leaphorn and Chee book!!
  • Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik – I’d really love to read the next book or two in this series as well.
  • Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater – Although I have a lot of mixed feelings about the Dreamer Trilogy I’m still intrigued to find out how everything comes together in the end.

So that’s (finally) a wrap for JUNE!  Will I finish reviewing July books before the end of November??  Only time will tell!! Thanks for sticking with me!!