State of the ARC #43

 

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.

***This is two months' worth of not a lot of activity. You can find out why HERE if you've not read the post yet. Eleanor and I have been losing ourselves in books and that has helped tremendously. I will get back to reviewing eventually.***

Currently Reading

The Transformation of American Sex Education - Jan, 2022

Ancestor Trouble - Mar, 2022

Two Truths and a Lie - May, 2022

Gun Barons - May, 2022

The Women of Rothschild - October, 2022

Finished, Review to Come

Defenders of the Norman Crown - May, 2021

Coffin Ship - June, 2021

Sweating in the Land of Smiles - July 2021 (Author Gift)

Romanovs - Mar, 2022

The Other Dr Gilmer - Mar, 2022

Review or Feedback Sent

When I first started blogging my monthly State of the ARC I felt like I was drowning in ARCs. My main goal was to get my NetGalley feedback ratio above 80% and thanks to this meme, I slowly but surely clawed my way up. At my highest I was at 97%. I am currently at 95%.

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

Happy Reading

Sarah

Stacking the Shelves #182

 

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

NetGalley ARC

Library Treasures

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Hello Again

 Hello, friends. Hopefully this finds you well.

I have been away for almost a month and finally now have a moment to breathe, so I thought I would hop online quick to say hello and let everyone know what's been going on.

In January, we lost Eleanor's Grandma Jackie (her dad's mom) very suddenly right after my birthday on the 17th. This was very sudden and unexpected; it completely altered our world. Eleanor was home from school quite a bit and either I stayed home with her, or my mom was able to be here as we dealt with this heavy grief and sorrow.

Grandma Jackie truly was the epitome of grace and class and love. Though Chase and I have not been together for many years now, Jackie was an absolute blessing to us. She was always willing to come watch Eleanor if she was sick so I could go to work. We traded photos of Eleanor often and texted regularly. Right after Eleanor was born, Chase's parents promised my mom they would always be here to help in the times she couldn't be (Mom lives in Minnesota). Jackie also made a habit of sending photos to my mom and grandparents a few times a year. Photography was her thing, and Jackie's favorite subject was always Eleanor. Our apartment is filled with reminders of Jackie's love for Eleanor - so many pictures/frames she's given me over the years of Eleanor, or Eleanor and I. I am eternally grateful for her love and generousity.

My focus naturally has been on Eleanor. My own coping mechanism for any adverse situation is to read and shut everything else out that does not directly involve Eleanor and a good book. So, while I had a couple posts queued up and ready to post in those first few days, I have nothing else waiting and for once I am okay with that.

This journey has been hard on Eleanor, and will continue to be hard on everyone who knew and loved Grandma Jackie. I have found some wonderful books on grief for my girl that we are working through, but sometimes the only cure for being sad is a good cry. We've also been so lucky that Eleanor has an incredibly supportive dance studio/family. When our emotions threaten to overwhelm us, we take Lady Gaga's advice: just dance

Love and happy reading,
Sarah

Stacking the Shelves #181

  

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.

Library Treasures

Happy Reading!

Sarah