Happy New Year Everyone! 2023 is underway and so are the books for this month. WOW! So many excellent titles are coming out this month!
Anyone who follows me on Goodreads will notice 2 things about my Reading Challenge. First, in 2022, I fell short by 5 books. I still read 70 books, but I wonder whether or not I set my goal too high knowing my work/life schedule could change at any moment; which, it did. Second, for 2023, I set my Reading Goal/Challenge for 50 books. There are 2 reasons why I’m doing this: One, I want to focus more on what I’m reading instead of how many books I’m reading. This should clear up some time to write the reviews I still need to write as well. Two, I want to dedicate at least half of my 2023 reading to my backlog/TBR stack. Similar to everyone else, I have books from recent years I still want to read and I need to make time to read them. In addition, some of those books are 600+ pages long (i.e. The First Binding, A Day of Fallen Night). I’m a detailed reader and I know it’ll take me more than a couple of weeks to read books of that length. So, if I can read at least 20 books from my backlog (which include genres besides speculative fiction) and read between 20-25 books released in 2023 (for my end of the year ranking), then I’ll be pleased with my reading for the year.
What have I finished reading recently?
This was the last novel I finished reading in 2022. This was a selection for the YA Book Club, and the book discussion went very well. Fans of the author should read this book.
What am I reading right now?
I’m working my way through these books for a work event. If you haven’t read any or all of these books, then I recommend that you do so. It doesn’t matter that they’re Young Adult books, they’re THAT GOOD!
I’m about 2/3 done with this book, which is the selection for the January 2023 YA Book Club. I just read the chapter where the twist was revealed; and no, I did NOT see THAT coming. I should be done with this book by the end of next week.
What will I read next?
At this point, this selection shouldn’t surprise.
This is the 3rd book written and published by this author in 12 months. This one is a novella that retells a familiar folktale.
I read the 1st chapter and I already want more.
That first sentence will capture your attention.
This huge tome is going to take me a long while to read, but I plan on finishing this book (and writing a review of it).
What am I watching?
I was going to wait until after I started reading the manga before watching this show, but the 1st Volume is waitlisted so I decided to watch the show anyway. So far, it’s good. It’s similar to Battle Royale and The Hunger Games with a tone similar to Squid Game.
What am I playing?
Finally, I’ll be attending this concert! For those of you who don’t know, the orchestra will be playing songs and scores from the Final Fantasy franchise. In the past, I’ve attended both Video Games Live and Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses. I believe all gamers should attend at least 1 of these concerts.
Library Reads
I’ll be leading the discussion of this memoir for the Umoja Book Club; it’s the selection for February 2023.
SCKA 2023
It’s only the first week of the new year; but so far, there hasn’t been any news and/or announcements for this awards yet. I hope it happens again this year, and I hope I’m asked to participate as a judge again.
Here’s to 2023 and to the start of what I hope will be a productive year in reading.
What have you been reading/watching/playing at the beginning of 2023?
It makes sense to set your goal a bit lower, I did that too.
Thanks for that. I want to read more of the longer books; but, if I read more than my Reading Challenge, then it means I’ll bypass it.
I really want to get to Hell Followed with Us soon. It’s been on my shelf since it came out, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I used it for First Lines Fridays a while back and loved the first lines.
What’s interesting about “Hello Followed With Us” so far is that it’s very believable, which makes it more terrifying.
I set my Goodreads goal lower this year too. I’ve heard such good things about Spice Road!
The books are getting longer, so we need more time to read them, which means fewer books read overall.
I didn’t read all the books I wanted last year. Family matters took over and my reading and blogging just spiralled. I’m hopeful for a calmer year but you just never know. I always set my target for 100 because I usually manage two books a week – last year that dipped. I’ll still go for 100 but who knows.
Happy New Year and Happy Reading in 2023
Lynn đŸ˜€
I’m really looking forward to The Crane Husband and Lost in the Moment and Found. I don’t increase my Goodreads goal any more, I always set it a bit below what I expect to read. I like having it there as a pace-setter but there’s no point being stressed about trying to read more.
I noticed I’m not reading close to 100 books/year anymore. This way, I can see how many more books I read each year.
I have heard a lot of good things about ALICE IN BORDERLAND but I think it might be too intense for me. My sister has picked up my copy of LSOT IN THE MOMENT AND FOUND – hopefully she is able to get it to me soon!!
On a scale with “Lord of the Flies” at one end, and “Squid Game” at the other end (with both “The Hunger Games” and “Battle Royale” splitting the middle), it’s closer to “Squid Game.”