Reading Tracker – Books Dani Likes

2024 Reading Goals Update #1: January

Hello everyone! I wanted to check in with my yearly reading goals progress as we close the first month of the year. I’m off to a promising start, but as with many resolutions, the first month tends to be the easiest.

Read a little every day: 31/31 days
Finish 2 series per month: Themis Files completed (technically completed end of December because I got too excited and started early). Empyrean series completed (at least caught up to current publications). I went above and beyond on this goal this month and also finished the Illuminae Files series by Jay Kristoff and Aimee Kaufman. I also closed the month by reading the newest Crescent City book from Sarah J. Maas, which gets me completely caught up with that series.(4 series completed)
Get NetGalley percentage to 80%: Beginning of month: 56%. End of month: still 56%, but I have 3 reviews to write from NetGalley books I read, so we’ll get some movement on this next month.
Determine an ideal physical TBR and stick to it. TBR beginning of month: 260. TBR end of month: 271 Ideal TBR: 150. This number is somewhat arbitrary, but I think it would leave my bookshelves in a more comfortable place. Books read from physical TBR: 10 (including the Themis files, technically read in December). I am going to be un-hauling Under the Whispering Door, which will take my physical TBR to 270. Significant un-hauling will need to be done to get me down to 150 by the end of the year.
Read at least 100 books. Currently: 18/100. Well on track with this goal.
Read more graphic novels: Read 4 this month.
Read more short stories: Not a focus this month, switching to focus on this in February.
Join a book club that I don’t run: I failed with this one this month. I had intended to catch the CoverswithCassidy live show for The Girl and the Mountain but missed it. I’m going to watch the replay when I have time.
Make a book club kit for 1 book per month: I started work on my first book club kit for the book The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan. It should be published in the next week or so and I can’t wait for people to see it.
Read 15% of physical TBR: 10/271= 3%. Caveat** I added 11 books to my physical TBR this month and am un-hauling 1, which changes the number to: 10/270 but is still 3%.

Week in Reading 1/21-1/27

This was a pleasant week of reading where I got to do a little mood reading. I’ve done so well with my planned TBR this month that I added a few books last week, but got back to the plan this week (those un-planned books were really helpful palette cleansers).

1/21: I finished The Man Who Died Twice. Read to the 43% in Throne of Glass.

1/22: Finished Throne of Glass. Now I have a new theory about this universe based on the other books. I love how reading is so prevalent in each of the books. Started Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune and read to page 38. Too tired to form an accurate opinion right now.

1/23: Read to page 94 in Under the Whispering Door. This book is so boring so far. Nearly a hundred pages in and nothing has happened. There’s no real tension.

1/24: Read to page 306 in Under the Whispering Down. Finally the plot is picking up a little bit.

1/25: Finished Under the Whispering Door. Started reading Husband Auditions. Made it to the 23% mark.

1/26: Finished Husband Auditions. I’m not sure I knew when I requested it that this one was a Christian romance, but it was an enjoyable read.

1/27: Started my re-read of Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, book 2 in the Throne of Glass series. Made it to the 10% mark.

I slowed down a little with my reading this week, but I finished 2 books from my NetGalley Shelf of Shame, so that was a big win. Reviews of those coming soon.

Week in Reading 1/7-1/13

This was another really good week in reading and I made good progress on my January TBR and my yearly goals.

1/7: Read to page 180 in The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.

1/8: Finished reading The Frozen River. I want to buy a copy of this and create a book club kit for it. This is a really strong historical fiction title that I think will have broad appeal.

1/9: Started reading Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. I made it to page 73. I’m not as hooked as I thought I would be and I forgot more details than I thought that I would.

1/10: I started and finished Lore Olympus: Volume Three because it was due back to the library soon. It deals with some pretty heavy themes, but I really like the character work and the play on Greek mythology. Read to page 128 in Iron Flame. Still a little disappointed in the story.

1/11: Started reading Obsidio. Read to page 544. I so badly wanted to finish this one, but I was just too tired.

1/12: Finished Obsidio. I know the series is just the same story over and over, but I still enjoyed it. Read to page 188 in Iron Flame. Started and finished Little Boy Blue by M.J. Arlidge. Read 1% of Throne of Glass. This was my biggest reading day of the year so far because I needed to stay awake for a while and reading helped me do it.

1/13: I read to the 11% mark in Throne of Glass. This is a re-read for me, and it is taking me some time to really get back into the story.

All in all, a really good week in reading with 4 books completed. These numbers will probably drop pretty dramatically when I have to go back to work in February, but I’ve had to spend a lot of time keeping myself awake these past few weeks while I’ve been acting as caregiver for a loved one, and reading has really helped me stay sane when I’m so tired.

Week in Reading 12/31-1/6

This was a remarkably good week of reading for me, helped by a few days off of work and a desperate need to procrastinate from my stresses.

12/31: I finished Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel. Why did I wait so long? That was awesome. You better believe I’m going straight to Only Human next. —Later that same day…Okay, I finished Only Human right before midnight. A great way to end the year and my 10th book this month. Great trilogy. Will definitely be keeping the physical copies to read again in the future, but I highly recommend the audiobooks as well.

1/1: I started and finished the manga for Ascendance of a Bookworm by Miya Kazuki. I wanted a quick win to start off this year after the end of last year was so productive. I want to read the novel versions too, but getting my hands on them may be tough. Read to page 143 in The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. Why does she write Three Pines in such a way that I wouldn’t mind living in a town with so much murder?

1/2: Read to page 241 in The Brutal Telling. Lots going on today and tomorrow. I need reading to be a refuge.

1/3: Listened to 14% of Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanna Fluke. I didn’t realize how short this one was going to be. 14% is chapter 2. I also finished The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. It was an excellent story, but sad.

1/4: Finished Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke. My least favorite entry in that series so far. Really short. Plot felt flimsy. Ending came out of nowhere. I also started and finished Giant Days, Vol. 7. This continues to be a great storyline with great art. I can slip right back into the story without worrying that I’ve forgotten something.

1/5: Started and finished Giant Days, Vol. 8. Busy day, super tired. Hard to motivate myself to read. Began The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Read to page 29.

1/6: Continued reading The Frozen River. Read to page 108. Enjoyed a quote from page 39, “Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality. That, I believe, is why so few women are taught to read and write. God only knows what they would do with the power of pen and ink at their disposal.” I’m really enjoying the writing so far, even though I don’t normally reach for historical fiction as a preferred genre. This is the first book that wasn’t already on my January TBR, but I’m on a time crunch to get this one back to the library because there’s a holds list for it. I read a book by this author many years ago called I Was Anastasia, which I remember enjoying. Nothing groundbreaking, but the subject matter interested me because Anastasia was one of my favorite animated films as a child.

Week in Reading 12/24-12/30

This was a remarkably good week in reading considering the crazy scheduling of the holidays. I finished 3 books this week (thanks in large part to audiobooks and a lot of traveling) and I really enjoyed each of them. *book links go to Goodreads*

12/24: I finished The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton. This was on my NetGalley Shelf of Shame for a while and is a middle grade fantasy featuring POC main characters. I really enjoyed this one and will be posting a full review soon. I also started The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. Poston wrote one of my favorite reads from earlier this year, The Dead Romantics. I made it to the 27% mark in The Seven Year Slip.

12/25: Yes, I read on Christmas. I made it 75% of the way through The Seven Year Slip. This book was an incredibly fast read, because I was REALLY distracted while I was making my way through it. The way it talks about grief is going to stay with me for a long time.

12/26: I finished The Seven Year Slip today. I didn’t end up loving it as much as I did The Dead Romantics, but I will still pick up future titles from this author. I love the way she throws a little magic/sci-fi into her storytelling. She writes emotion really well and if you’re not hungry when you start reading this one, you will be by the time you finish.

12/27: I listened to 49% of Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. I thought I was remembering the majority of the story because this is a re-read for me, but I definitely forgot some of the plot points later in the story and I really can’t remember how it ends anymore.

12/28: I made it to the 72% mark in Sleeping Giants. It’s even better than I remember. It’s also really fast, and not just because I’m listening on 2x speed.

12/29: I finished Sleeping Giants. When I read it for the first time in 2020 I rated it 5 stars, and I would not change that rating now.

12/30: I couldn’t wait until my official January TBR started, I had to start Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel today. I was able to get it on audiobook from my library immediately, so I dove in. I made it to the 50% mark on the first day. It has the same full-cast audio as Sleeping Giants and I really would recommend that as the superior way to consume these books.