Most Anticipated March 2023 Book Releases

March is absolutely STACKED when it comes to exciting new book releases. This is nowhere near an exhaustive list of everything I hope to eventually read, but I felt the list was already getting a bit too long. So, I arbitrarily capped it at 11 books this month for absolutely no reason at all. 🤣 Here are (some of) the books I’m anticipating the most in March 2023:

Read More »
Advertisement

New Year’s Book Tag

Hello, everyone! Today I’m doing the New Year’s Book Tag! Thank you to Dini @ dinipandareads for the tag. This tag was originally created by booktuber Heather @Bookables.

How many books are you planning to read in 2023?

I’ve decided to keep my 2023 Goodreads goal the same as the last couple of years at 100 books. I’ll likely end up reading more than this again, but we’ll see how the year goes.

Name 5 books you didn’t get to this year but want to make a priority in 2023.

Hah! There are way more than five, but here are the ones I’m hoping to read within the next few months. So, they have the highest priority.

  • Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
  • The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
  • These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
  • King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
  • The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

What genre do you want to read more of?

Last year I set the goal of reading more non-fiction, and I achieved it. There’s not really a genre that stands out this year to me. Maybe science fiction? Fantasy dominated my reading last year, but I do love sci fi too. Maybe I’ll try to squeeze some more in around all the excellent fantasy coming out this year.

Name 3 non-book-related goals for 2023

  • Get in better shape. In 2021, I was quite active and watched what I was eating and drinking. I lost 30 pounds and improved my endurance and lung capacity quite a bit, which was incredibly helpful since I’ve only got one lung left. Unfortunately, 2022 was a year of backsliding, and I lost all my gains. I’m back to being 30 pounds too heavy again and can barely walk to the mailbox without being out of breath. So, I’m hoping to get back on track this year.
  • Keep my house cleaner. I’m horrible at keeping up with my chores. My home isn’t disgusting, but it could definitely be neater. I’m going to try to keep up with clutter a bit better this year.
  • Take at least one trip. I love traveling, but I’ve mostly avoided doing so since COVID started. I realize that the pandemic still isn’t over, but I’m getting very antsy. I really want to go somewhere new. Maybe a road trip?

What’s a book you’ve had forever that you still need to read?

This definitely has to be The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ve had this book for as long as I can remember, and I’ve still never read it. I’d definitely like to give it a try after watching Rings of Power last year. Maybe 2023 will be the year I’m finally brave enough to pick it up. lol.

One word that you’re hoping 2023 will be

I hope 2023 will be HEALTHY. This ties into my goals, but my family and/or I have also had bad luck with our health almost every year since 2019. So, I’m hoping everyone stays healthy this year!

I’m tagging…

Celeste @ A Literary Escape
Sahi @ My World of Books
Anyone else who wants to participate!

My Ranking of the 2022 Star Wars Books

This has been a fantastic year for Star Wars content! There have been so many great books, comics, and TV shows. I try my best to keep up with all the content, and I’ve enjoyed most of it this year. Of course, I’ve enjoyed some things more than others. The end of the year presents the perfect opportunity to reflect on what worked for me and what didn’t. So, here is my annual ranking of the Star Wars novels released this year.

Read More »

Bookish Smash or Pass Book Tag

I was so excited to get tagged in this fantastic book tag TWICE. So, thank you to Jordyn @ Birdie’s Book Nook and Julie @ One Book More for the tags. Be sure to check out their answers as well! This tag was created by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog and was so much fun to do.

Bookish Tropes

SMASH. I love so many tropes, especially enemies to lovers, forced proximity, reluctant hero, chosen one, and found family. There are also a few that need to be done really well for me to enjoy them, such as love triangle, quest, and miscommunication, but I don’t outright hate any tropes.

Alternating POV

SMASH. I enjoy both single and alternating POV stories. Often, alternating POV creates a more interesting dynamic because it allows the reader to see the central conflict from multiple angles. The only time I don’t like it is when the story rehashes the same scenes over and over from different POVs. That gets repetitive and annoying pretty fast.

Ambiguous Endings

sort of SMASH. It really depends on if an ambiguous ending adds anything of value to the story. I can love a good ambiguous ending as long as the major story arcs get wrapped up in some way. I don’t need everything to be resolved perfectly to enjoy an ending. It allows me to use my imagination to fill in what might happen next.

Nonfiction

sort of SMASH. I read mostly fiction, but I also do enjoy the occasional nonfiction book. I love learning new things, and this is a great way to do it. I mostly read history, psychology, LGBT, or politics when picking up a nonfiction book.

Historical Setting

SMASH. Books with a historical setting, whether fantasy or historical fiction, are some of my favorite things to read. I just find being in the head of someone who lived in the past a fascinating endeavor, even if it was written in the present.

Morally Grey Characters

SMASH. I love them. Give me ALL the chaos gremlins please. LOL.

First Person POV

mostly PASS. I was beginning to think I’d be smashing everything… I don’t hate first person, but it is definitely not my favorite. It can be done well, but I’ve found that it often is not.

Audiobooks

SMASH. I listen to audiobooks all the time, often at 2X speed. It allows me to read while doing chores or driving, which has greatly increased my capacity for getting through books. There’s also something about a really great narrator that adds another dimension to a story.

Re-reading

SMASH. I don’t re-read books nearly as often as I’d like, but I do enjoy it. I think it might be one of my priorities for the coming year because I have a pretty large stack now that I’d love to get back to.

Classic Novels

PASS. I’ll read classic novels occasionally, but I often find them tedious. I’d much rather read something contemporary most of the time.

Annotating

mostly PASS. I don’t usually take notes while reading. I consider marking up physical books an unforgivable SIN (jk… sort of), but I do occasionally highlight passages when I’m reading on my Kindle. I’d actually like to get in the habit of annotating a bit more (in a notebook obviously), but it just seems like a lot of work.

Cracking Book Spines

HARD PASS. Nope. Nope. Nope. I do everything I can to avoid this because I hate the way a cracked spine looks on my bookshelf.

Smut

SMASH. I love having erotic content included when it serves a purpose to further relationship-building and growth of intimacy between the characters. Although, I usually also enjoy it even if it’s gratuitous and there for no other reason than to be hot. lol.

Character Driven Books

SMASH. If I love the characters, I can sit and read about them doing nothing forever. I enjoy plot-based books too, but I enjoy reading about relationship dynamics and internal growth. So, I’m down for those types of stories as well.

Past/Present Split Timeline

SMASH. I almost always enjoy a good split timeline. It just adds an extra layer to the story, and I love when the split allows for extra mysteries, exciting reveals, or greater insights into the characters.

Heavy World-building

SMASH. This is one of the reasons that I love reading SFF. I enjoy being transported to new worlds/societies and getting to explore them through the eyes of the characters. I’m not a huge fan of info-dumps, but I really love organic world-building, even when the learning curve is pretty steep.

Tags

I tag the following bloggers to participate:

Celeste
Caitlin
Sahi
Anyone else who’d like to do it!

Most Anticipated December 2022 Book Releases

This is a pretty dull month… I was only able to find three books I’m adding to my TBR from December’s anticipated releases. So, they are all listed here. I had to dig deep to even come up with three. One book is being re-published with a new edition in December, and the other two are sequels (and series conclusions) to books I haven’t even read yet. I’m sure my wallet and my stuffed bookshelves will appreciate the brief reprieve. lol.

Read More »