Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well. It's been a while since my last post. There have been a lot of life changes going on. I've still been reading, just not posting reviews and such. I'll give a quick update on the life changes and then get into what I've read recently. I'll try to get some thoughts in on the books as well. If my grammar is crappier than normal, just go with it. I deactivated Grammarly Premium for now.

First, life changes. I'll keep it short so it's easier to skip to why you're here - the books!

Life Changes:

I've recently moved back to Indiana from Minnesota. I decided to split from my husband of fourteen years. We had been together since we were teenagers, 19 years in total. It's a sad thing, but people, feelings, and relationships change. We're working through the separation as amicably as we can. In the past month, I've been working on figuring out who I want to be, where I want my life to go, and how I want to grow as an individual. The picture of the flowers above is a bouquet of my favorites (roses and sunflowers) that I bought myself to celebrate 1 month in my apartment. In the past month, I've gained a lot of confidence in myself and a greater appreciation for those in my life who have really shown up during this difficult time. I'll post some additional photos of this past month after the reading update, that way if you want to skip all this life stuff you're able to easily.

Reading Update:

I'm way over my reading goal for 2023, which is nice. I'm out of 39/30 books. So far, only one book I've read hasn't fit into the challenge since I burned through my free spaces ages ago. That was Soul of Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout, the fifth book in the Blood and Ash series. If you love Paranormal/Fantasy/Romance, I highly recommend that series. It's become my favorite.

I also have gotten really heavily interested in audiobooks lately. I was initially using it to reread favorites, but I also found a really fun Paranormal Urban Fantasy series on there by David R. Slayton. The first book is White Trash Warlock. It's amazing and hilarious. I highly recommend it. If you are into Audiobooks, the narrator is fantastic. Books one and two were able to fill a couple of slots on the reading challenge for me. I also read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with Audible. I'm really glad I got talked into doing audiobooks as well. I'm not going to debate whether audiobooks count as reading. I count it, if you don't then don't.

Currently Reading:

Physical Book: The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst - Planned for #53 - Read a book that has a letter Q in the title
Kindle Book: Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan - Not sure where I'm going to slot this one on the challenge. Open to suggestions.
Audible: Hounded by Kevin Hearne - Planned for #56 - Read a book about an entrepreneur (real or fictional)

Tress and I will likely start working on the 2024 Reading Challenge in the coming months. We usually collect ideas throughout the year and then put it all together around Christmas.

Entire challenge: 2023 Reading Challenge

April-July Update: April-July 10 Update

March Update: March Update

January Update: January Update

Level 1: Book of the Month Club

1 Read a book recommended to you on social media or by a friend - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

2 Read a book under 300 pages - The Convent's Secret by C.J. Archer

3 Read a book with a female main character - Serpent's Kiss by Melissa De La Cruz

4 Read a book by an author whose name is Samantha, Sam, or a variant - The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

5 Read a book that was written by an author from your home state.

6 Read a book you meant to read for last year's challenge.

7 Read a book with a basic shape on the cover (examples: Circle, Square, Heart, star, Diamond) - The Cheater's Game by C.J. Archer

8 Read a book you got from Project Gutenberg, a library, or another nonprofit source.

9 Read a book about a hobby you enjoy or want to pick up (fiction or nonfiction)

10 Read a book that starts with the first letter of your name - The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

11 Read the next book in a series you haven't read in a while - The Hunted by Jeff Wheeler

12 Free Space! Pick any book - The Ink Master's Silence by C.J. Archer

Level 2: Casual Reader Club

13 Read a book by Mary Faulkner (or one of her aliases - https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/mary-faulkner/) or https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Most-Explosively-Prolific-Writers-of-All-Time?fbclid=IwAR3TElJGQtHUw3tTCQsi0qJ2aXfk1k2udEn0Y9BPY_ebippZusMujse3p2M

14 Read a book of short stories or a novella - Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

15 Read a book that involves a lot of traveling - The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout

16 Read a book published in 1998 (25 years ago)

17 Read a book with a yellow cover.

18 Reread a book you have recommended to someone else. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

19 Read a book by Dean Koontz

20 Read a book with a one-word title – Alice by Christina Henry

21 Read book 1 in a trilogy - Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

22 Read book 2 in a trilogy - Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin

23 Read book 3 in a trilogy - Gods & Monsters by Shelby Mahurin

24 Free Space! Pick any book - Savage Lands by Stacey Marie Brown

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club

25 Read a book that takes place somewhere you'd like to live- Changeless by Gail Carriger

26 Read a book recommended by https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/- From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

27 Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with one of your friends - The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

28 Read a book with a neon-colored cover- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

29 Read a book that has under 1,000 reviews or ratings on a website or app - The Camden Spiritualist by Emily Organ

30 Read a middle-grade book (8-12 age range) Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

31 Read a book with the word "Time" in the title - Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness

32 Read a book about a famous criminal(s) - Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

33 Read a movie novelization book (movie to book, instead of book to movie)

34 Read a fiction or nonfiction book that motivates you to be a better version of yourself- The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout

35 Read a self-published book - Wild Lands by Stacey Marie Brown

36 Free Space! Pick any book - Bad Lands by Stacey Marie Brown

Level 4: Speed Reader Club

37 Read a book that is over 600 pages- Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

38 Read a book from ListChallenge's Rory Gilmore Challenge https://www.listchallenges.com/rory-gilmore-reading-challenge

39 A book by an author named David/Dave - Trailer Park Trickster by David R. Slayton

40 Read a "Dark Academia" novel - A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

41 Read a book with a title that starts with the letter V

42 A book set in Asia or an Asian-inspired culture

43 Read a book with a cat on the cover. - The House Witch by Delemhach

44 Read a Folklore book or book based on Folklore- Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout

45 Read a book where the main character is a dancer.

46 Read a book by a new author.

47 Read a book that involves a conspiracy - The First Prophet by Kay Hooper

48 Free Space! Pick any book - Blood Lands by Stacey Marie Brown

Level 5: Overachiever Club

49 Read one of the New York Public Library's Best Books of 2022 (any category) https://www.nypl.org/spotlight/best-books-2022

50 Read a book where the main character is a Villain or Anti-hero

51 Read a book that has a title that is punny and/or alliterative. White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton

52 Read a "Found Family" story - Dead Lands by Stacey Marie Brown

53 Read a book that has the letter Q in the title.

54 Read a book that has an illustrated cover. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

55 Read a book that takes place in at least two different decades.

56 Read a book about an entrepreneur (real or fictional)

57 Read a book that takes place in Alaska.

58 Read a book with the word "Justice" in the title.

59 Read a book involving Dinosaurs.

60 Free Space! Pick any book - Shadow Lands by Stacey Marie Brown

Random Photos for Life Changes:

As promised, here are some of the photos from the past month.

Current bookshelf setup

The first week I was back in the area, I went up to Michigan to visit with family. My cousin, her daughter, and I ended up doing a photoshoot with me as the model for fun. Here are two of my favorites from it.