Saturday, January 4, 2025

2024 Reading Goals Revisited


Okay so here we go again. Much like previous years, I am not going to hold myself to these too strictly because if reading/blogging ever becomes a thing I feel like I HAVE to do, then it is not fun anymore.

1. Read 250 Books | I did this quite comfortably in 2022, and less so in 2023. I think it is best to keep the goal there, though I have read far more in previous, and far less as well.

Result | SO CLOSE. I ended the year at 246 because I babysat a good friend's daughter on NYE so she and her husband could attend a wedding. I would have made it otherwise, but I have no regrets because baby girl is the stinkin' cutest and the best New Year's date; we watched Descendants, played Connect 4, and had a shrieking contest (she's 3). Totally worth not making my goal.

2. NetGalley Ratio | I am at a dismal 77% right now. My highest was 96%. The goal is to get back to at least 90% by the end of the year. This is doable, though it will be a bit of a slog if I don't get some shelf-control and stop requesting every history book I come across. It also means having to actually sit myself down and writing some darn reviews again.

Result | lol. I am now at 69%.

3. Read More from TBR | Uuuuuggggghhhhhh. I have had a really terrible habit these last two years of reading books not on my TBR. I have to get back to this more in 2024. There are so many fantastic titles languishing in this purgatory of having gained my attention once, then being completely forgotten once again. It would help if CK didn't bombard me weekly with new treasures :P

Result | Not as much progress as I would have liked, but I did read more from my TBR in 2024, and have started off 2025 strong.

4. Get TBR Below 2,000 | This seems like it should be combined with #3, I know. But goal #3 has to do with reading books directly from the TBR. Goal #4 has to do with that, but also with discarding books I am no longer interested in reading. I used to go through the list regularly and cull it but I have not done so in a few months. That will be a piece of this goal for 2024.

Result | YAY! I am currently at 1,963 books on my TBR. I did purge quite a bit also, which helped. I fully believe some of the titles will end on my TBR again later because I will re-discover them and decide I want to read again.

5. Prep Posts Again | I used to be really good at getting up to two months' worth of memes/features ready at a time - Top Ten Tuesday, Books From The Backlog, and First Line Friday. I am going to work on doing this again, so I am consistent with something in addition to Tackling the TBR and Stacking the Shelves.

Result | Suuuuuuuuper successful. Like, to the point it was TOO successful. I ended up relying almost exclusively on the prepped post for content and wrote very few reviews. I will stick with Tackling the TBR and Stacking the Shelves, but will no longer prep others, and just participate if I feel inclined or I have a great book I have to share.

There you have it. Do you have any goals for yourself this year? I'd love to hear about them!

How did you do with your reading goals this year??

Happy Reading!
Sarah

Stacking the Shelves #316

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected throughout the week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, etc


Prime First Reads

NetGallet ARCs

Library Treasures

Happy Reading
Sarah

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Nora Reads! December Edition


You might notice a little change here, Eleanor has decided to go by Nora now. One of the things I loved about the name from the start - besides the fact that Eleanor of Aquitaine was a badass queen - is that it is versatile; my girl could choose what she wanted to be called, whether it was Eleanor, Elle, Ellie, Nor, or Nora. 

Each month Nora and I share the chapter books we read either together or that she's read on her own. I love that she is exploring new genres and finding new authors to love.

Currently Reading Together


Read Together


Currently Reading Independently


Nora's Independent Reads

Nora's Rereads

Nora's DNFs
None

Do the kiddos in your life have an interest in any of these?

Happy Reading,
Nora and Sarah

State of the ARC #67


State of the ARC is a monthly feature hosted by Evelina at Avalinah's Books - and now me, too! I took over temporary hosting duties back in early 2020. A couple months ago Evelina asked if I would like to co-host and of course I said yes! If you are new to the meme, you can check out the guidelines HERE.

Links go to my review. The majority of the ARCs I receive are through NetGalley. I sometimes find a book or two via Edelweiss or BookSirens. Others have come from authors, publicists, or were offered to me from a publisher who specifically approved me for it on NetGalley; I will always note in the review how I acquired the ARC.

Currently Reading

Gun Barons - May, 2022 (NetGalley)
Urban Nomad - Aug, 2022 (Publicist Gift)
Egypt's Golden Couple - Nov, 2022 (Publicist via NetGalley)
Glow in the Fucking Dark - Feb, 2023 (Publicist via NetGalley)
Let This Radicalize You - May, 2023 (Publisher Gift)
The Summer of 1876 - May, 2023 (Publisher via NetGalley)
The Girls of Summer - June, 2023 (Publicist via NetGalley)
Life in Victorian Era Ireland - Aug, 2023 (NetGalley)
The Kingmaker's Women - Aug, 2023 (NetGalley)
Monumental Lies - Sept, 2023 (NetGalley)
The Clapham Train Incident - Oct, 2023 (NetGalley)
UFO Science - Oct, 2023 (Author Gift)
The Last Outlaws - Nov, 2023 (NetGalley)
Following Caesar - Dec, 2023 (NetGalley)
God Save Benedict Arnold - Dec, 2023 (Gift via NetGalley)
Dark Parts of the Universe - Apr, 2024 (NetGalley)
A History of the World in 12 Shipwrecks - Apr, 2024 (NetGalley)
Women in the Valley of the Kings - Jul, 2024 (Gift via NetGalley)
The Cure for Women - Dec, 2024 (NetGalley)
Reclaiming the Black Body - Jan, 2025 (Gift via NetGalley)

Finished, Review to Come
American Demon - Sept, 2022 (NetGalley)
Nothing but the Night - Sept, 2022 (NetGalley)
The Night in Question - May, 2023 (NetGalley)
Expletives Not Deleted - May, 2023 (Author Gift)
The Women of Rothschild - Oct, 2022 (NetGalley)
Dead of Winter - July, 2023 (NetGalley)
Thin Air - Oct, 2023 (NetGalley)
Let Him In - Oct, 2023 (NetGalley)
Suddenly a Murder - Sept, 2023 (NetGalley)
After You Vanished - Aug, 2023 (NetGalley)
Tangled Vines - Aug, 2023 (Publicist via NetGalley)
The Clinic - Jan, 2024 (NetGalley)
Last Girl Breathing - Nov, 2023 (NetGalley)
No One Can Know - Jan, 2024 (NetGalley)
Who Haunts You - Sept, 2023 (NetGalley)
That's Not My Name - Jan, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Merciless King of Moore High - Apr, 2024 (NetGalley)
The One that Got Away with Murder - Apr, 2024 (NetGalley)
Win Lose Kill Die - Nov, 2023 (NetGalley)
The Heiress - Jan, 2024 (Publicist via NetGalley)
A Place for Vanishing - Jan, 2024 (NetGalley)
Perfect Little Monsters - May, 2024 (NetGalley)
If Something Happens to Me - May, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Nature of Disappearing - Jun, 2024 (NetGalley)
They Were Here Before Us - Mar, 2024 (NetGalley)
Two Sides to Every Murder - Jun, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Lake of Lost Girls - Nov, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Midnight Feast - Jun, 2024 (NetGalley)
Seasick - Jun, 2024 (NetGalley)
Malicia - Jun, 2024 (NetGalley)
Death at Morning House - Aug, 2024 (NetGalley)
Murder in the Scottish Highlands - Sept, 2024 (Gift via NetGalley) 
One House Left - Aug, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Debutantes - Oct, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Blackhouse - Jan, 2023 (NetGalley)
A Few Days Full of Trouble - Jan, 2023 (Publicist via NetGalley)
Broadmoor Inmates - Aug, 2023 (NetGalley)
Worst Medieval Monarchs - Sept, 2023 (NetGalley)
The Society for Soulless Girls - Sept, 2023 (NetGalley)
West Heart Kill - Oct, 2023 (NetGalley)
The Rosewood Hunt - Oct, 2023 (NetGalley)
Through the Morgue Door - Feb, 2024 (NetGalley)
A Midnight Puzzle - Mar, 2024 (NetGalley)
Tudor Executions - Jul, 2024 (NetGalley)
Vantage Point - Jan, 2025 (NetGalley)
Arthur, Prince of Wales - May, 2023 (NetGalley)
Crime and Punishment in Tudor England - Aug, 2023 (NetGalley)
This Book Kills - Sept, 2024 (NetGalley)
Killer House Party - Oct, 2024 (NetGalley)
Great Scandals of the Victorians - May, 2024 (NetGalley)
Under This Red Rock - Mar, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Blonde Dies First - Jul, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Bitter End - Oct, 2024 (NetGalley)
What the Woods Took - Dec, 2024 (NetGalley)
Thieves' Gambit - Apr, 2024 (NetGalley - first published in 2023, received  as 'read now' ahead of book two's {Heist Royale} publication in November)
The Blonde Dies First - Jul, 2024 (NetGalley)
Heist Royale - Nov, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Busines Trip - Jan, 2025 (NetGalley)
Killer Her Twice - Apr, 2024 (NetGalley)
Saltwater - Mar, 2025 (Gift via NetGalley)
Lies on the Serpent's Tongue - Jan, 2025 (NetGalley)
The Meadowbrook Murders - Feb, 2025 (NetGalley)
When the Bones Sing - Mar, 2025 (NetGalley)
You Belong to Me - Apr, 2025 (NetGalley)
The Perfect Girl - Nov, 2024 (NetGalley)
Deadstream - Apr, 2025 (NetGalley)
Death by the Book - Nov, 2024 (Pub gift via NetGalley)
White Line Fever - Mar, 2025 (NetGalley)
Manor of Dreams - May, 2025 (NetGalley)
The Secret Year - Jan, 2025 (NetGalley)
Friends - Aug, 2024 (NetGalley)
Women Who Kill - Aug, 2024 (NetGalley)
Lady jane Grey - Aug, 2024 (NetGalley)
The Moat Farm Murder - Aug, 2024 (NetGalley)
Tell Them You Lied - May, 2025 (NetGalley)
The Lost House - Jan, 2025 (NetGalley)
Something in the Walls - Feb, 2025 (NetGalley)
Clan Battles - June, 2023 (NetGalley)
You Are Fatally Invited - Feb, 2025 (NetGalley)

DNF

Review or Feedback Completed
 

At my best, my NetGalley ratio was 97%. Then I proceeded to go on several binges because I have no shelf control. I am currently sitting at 69%.

How are you doing with your ARC goals? Let's talk ARCs!

Happy Reading
Sarah