Me, after reading all January:

Reading and I are starting off on a great foot this year.

I think a lot of that credit is owed to The 52 Book Club, whose 2022 Challenge I took on this year with the hopes of increasing my numbers over last year. So far, so good: as I’m writing this, I’m already nine books into my year and only twenty-five days into it. The trouble is on the horizon, though, because I completely planned out all my reading only for it to be derailed by even more books I bought, and all the incredible new releases coming out this year… *cringe* Even now I’m starting to fill things into my challenge willy-nilly, mostly because I’ve already read them so it should count for something!!!

Further, I have in fact decided to start a “Come Book Shopping with Me” segment, but I’m going to be a bit more loose in interpretation with it. Instead, I’d like to have a “Book Hunting” segment: in which I either book shop, peruse online down an endless black hole of recs, go to the library, or even peruse a friend’s collection for some hidden gems. My wallet can’t afford all this book shopping, y’all. In addition, monthly updates will now come on the first Friday of the month, and this new Book Hunting segment on the second Friday. I hope you’ll join me next week for my first book hunting trip!

Not only did I read more than I have in months in the last few weeks, but I’ve read a lot of different content that I don’t usually pick up…and I’ve loved it. Primarily, fantasy! If you ask me on any given day “what I like to read”, I will tell you “absolutely anything except fantasy”. I like a good magical realism book, which is the mark I suppose some of these hit on, but full fantasy? Not often. And while nothing I picked up in the last month was too hardcore, it did remind me that I like my books to have some magic and whimsy to them. Hopefully I can keep that going through this month.

I also had more five star reads than I have in a very long time, too. A whole streak of them, right at the start. I’m sure a lot of people feel that I’m too liberal with my five stars, but sometimes a book just hits the right chord at the right time, and who am I to deny it the fifth star?! I thoroughly enjoyed Payback’s a Witch and The House in the Cerulean Sea over the last few weeks, and I’m confident they’re good books at any time of year. They both took me by surprise in how much I enjoyed them, and how light and happy they made me feel. What a good month I had!

I have tons of ARCs still to sift through in addition to all the book shopping I did this month, adding to my horde like a bibliophilic dragon. I’ve been back in a romance mood currently, but I think it’s about time to hit a mystery. I’m also highly anticipating Gwendy’s Final Task later this month! Hopefully I can keep up this inhuman motivation to consume books, so I can get through all of these awesome books on my docket.

Happy Friday, and happy February friends! Spring is coming soon, I can practically taste it.