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What I Read: May 2024

What I Read: May 2024

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I know it’s not technically summer, but it might as well be. It’s hot. It’s humid. And I find myself craving beach reads and summer camp thrillers.

While I got started on that trend later in the month, this month’s reads actually started rather heavy with fascinating (but disturbing and horrifying!) books on climate change and nuclear war.

This month’s reads included:
-You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen
-Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
-The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell
-Choosing Theo by Victoria Aveline
-The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
-Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Now for the reviews!

What I Read: April 2024

What I Read: April 2024

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This was an odd month of reading for me!

My picks were a bit all over the place: Thriller, fantasy, historical fantasy, magical realism, literary fiction and non-fiction:
– Red Island House by Andrea Lee
– The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest
– The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
– Nightmare Fuel by Nina Nesseth
– The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
– Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
– To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang

I enjoy shaking things up from time to time, but I am definitely getting the urge to return to ‘romantasy’ (romantic fantasy) or picking up a beach read from Elin Hilderbrand now that temperatures are really heating up.

But first, let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: March 2024

What I Read: March 2024

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I’m not sure when it happened, but with my reading I’ve seemed to have made the switch from “romantasy” (romance fantasy) back to thrillers again. I’ve always loved a good mystery and appreciate a well-thought out twist, so it’s not the most surprising trend!

March’s reads included four thriller/psychological suspense novels (some of which were SUPER disturbing) and two non-fiction picks:

-The Maid’s Diary by Loreth Anne White
-Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
-The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doidge, MD
-Dear Child by Romy Hausmann
-Raise Your Game by Alan Stein, Jr.
-The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon

Let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: February 2024

What I Read: February 2024

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I can’t believe how quickly February came and went. It’s like I blinked and now we are multiple days into March! I’m definitely in one of those phases were the days seem long, but the weeks go quickly.

Despite a lot going on, I was able to fit in quite a bit of reading, finishing up 8 books in February:
– Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
– Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
– Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
– The Wicked King by Holly Black
– The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
– A Friend in the Dark by Samantha Bailey
– The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
– One Person, Multiple Careers by Marci
Alboher

As you can see the choices are a bit all over the place. Let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: January 2024

What I Read: January 2024

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Are we a full month into 2024? Yes.

Did I still type 2023 when writing this post? Also, yes.

I hope everyone’s 2024 is off to a good start. Mine’s certainly off to a busy start. Between changes at work, changes outside of work, my car needing an oil change, my yearly doctor’s appointment, etc., I’m in a survival state. You know those periods in your life where you’re just hanging on and hoping it’ll pass? That’s where I’m at.

But that didn’t stop me from escaping into books with this month’s read included an interesting mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and non-fiction:
– The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
– Running with Purpose by Jim Weber
– Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling
– The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
– Kill Show: A True Crime Novel by Daniel Sweren-Becker
– All Systems Red by Martha Wells
– Artificial Conditions by Martha Wells
– Fate Calls the Elf Queen by J.M. Kearl

YEAR IN REVIEW: A Breakdown of My 2023 Reads

YEAR IN REVIEW: A Breakdown of My 2023 Reads

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I’ve been looking forward to writing this post!

It’s like a “Spotify Wrapped”, but for the books I read. I’m a bit of a nerd and love diving into all of the numbers. How many books did I read? What genres did I choose? What were my favorites?

According to my book journal, I read 79 books in 2023!! That’s an all-time record for me.

Let’s take a look at the breakdown and my top 10 picks from the year!

What I Read: December 2023

What I Read: December 2023

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And just like that we are tying a bow on 2023.

I really don’t know where the time went. I know you always hear that the years go faster as you get older, but it’s so weird to experience. 2023 really did fly by.

December proved to be a strong month of reading, which included finishing up an 800+ page book that’s been on my list for a while:
– The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
– Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
– A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith
– The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall
– Long Live the Elf Queen by J.M. Kearl
– The Only One Left by Riley Sager
– Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

Time for the reviews!

What I Read: November 2023

What I Read: November 2023

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How are we already in the last few weeks of 2023? It’s like it was January, I blinked, and now, suddenly, I’m thinking about New Year’s resolutions again.

November wasn’t my biggest month of reading in terms of number of books, but several of these books were thick! (I also put a big dent in another 800-page book that will probably be included in my December recap).

Here’s the list:
-The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
-Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
-Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
-Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
-Up To Speed by Christine Yu
-What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction by Alice McDermott

Oddly enough, I am maintaining my near-even split between non-fiction and fiction even though I consider myself largely a fiction reader.

Let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: October 2023

What I Read: October 2023

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I was on a roll with reading this month, finishing 9 books! I really leaned into fiction, reading only two non-fiction books:

-Hollow Heathens by Nicole Fiorina
-Rootbound by Tarah Dewitt
-Cat Tale by Craig Pittman
-A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing
-The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman
-Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent
-Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
-Pumpkin Spice Scare by Molly Maple
-The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

As you can see, the book choices are really all over the place. I had two holiday-esque books, romance, fantasy, and a memoir throw in there as well.

Let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: September 2023

What I Read: September 2023

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Since I’ve been on a big fantasy kick lately, I tried to force myself to read a few other books outside of that genre this month, including a horror novel in the spirit of fall.

I ended up reading six books in total for September:
-The Guest by Emma Cline
-Trail of the Lost by Andrea Lankford
-The Troop by Nick Cutter
-The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
-King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
-Bow Before the Elf Queen by J.M. Kearl

Let’s get into the reviews!