I have read fifteen (15) books this year so far. It puts me 63% of the way towards my goal of 24 books read. I’d chosen 24 books because I didn’t want to tempt another reading slump by setting goals too high despite a strong end to my 2022 reading year.

A lesson I learned some time ago, I apply to both writing and reading: Do not move the goal posts. So, I’m hoping I finish well above my goal this year and can make a better goal next year.

My “Moods” can easily be explained by the next few graphs – Fiction/Non-fiction and Genre. In effect, “informative” is because I’ve read a bunch of non-fiction this quarter, especially craft books and some books to learn other new skills. “Adventurous” and “dark” are because I primarily read SFF. The rest happen to be sprinkled in.

I’ve stuck with mostly medium-paced books, but every-so-often, I sneak in a fast or slow paced book.

I’ve got three (3) books that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this year.

I read Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, Narrated by Moira Quirk in January. I adore Quirk’s narration. If I didn’t have a group who chatted about The Locked Tomb series, I would have been a lot more confused and maybe not enjoyed it as much. I can’t wait to re-read Gideon, Harrow, and Nona in preparation for Alecto.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros has been on my physical Mt. TBR for many years. I read the audiobook in March, narrated by the author. I said it before, hearing an author read their own work is powerful, especially in audiobook production. This book I wish I’d read back in the ’80s when it came out. It would have meant so much to me then and would have definitely made a favorites list then.

The craft book I will whole-heartedly recommend is Never Say You Can’t Survive​ by Charlie Jane Anders. She starts out big picture and hones down to sentence-level craft. Excellently explained, written, and read.

I only read one book a week-ish. Despite managing to add a second book to the Trans Rights Readathon, I didn’t complete it within the March 20 – 27th window, so only one book was counted. I would never have been able to complete three books in a week. Even at my most-read year of over 100 books in 2019, I didn’t get through three books in a week.

I’ve read three (3) books by Black Authors in 2023. I do not expect to read 20 books by Black authors in 2023. If I read only 24 books (my goal), I will likely read books by authors that fit my other challenges and may not be black. But this does hold me accountable to keeping my reading of books by Black authors high.

I’ve read books that filled ten (10) prompts out of the thirty-one (31) for the Decolonize Your Bookshelf Reading Challenge 2023. I do not expect to read books that fulfill all 31 prompts. Again, my goal is 24 books. Some books are pulling double or triple-duty. But I don’t count on that. Plus, I’m subject to when books become avaialble for reading. I hope to get at least 2/3 of the prompts completed.

My next reflection should happen in about three (3) more months. By goals, I’ll read six (6) books. But if my current pace keeps up, I’ll have fifteen (15) more to tell you about and six (6) months worth of data to show off from StoryGraph.