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A Very Belated Winter Wrap-Up

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2023 Winter Wrap-Up image shows a cup of tea on the right next to a stack of books.

A Very Belated Winter Wrap-Up

Spring has (maybe?) sprung, and here I am scraping together my winter wrap-up. It’s been a busy season! Read on to see the best books I read this season as well as my most popular posts. Finally, I’ll check in on the goals I set for the year and how I’m doing in meeting them.

Winter Wrap-Up Behind the Scenes News

Last year, I started working directly with several new publishers, which means easier access to more of the books I can’t wait to read. Which is good and bad? Because yeowza, my calendar has never been so packed.

I used to limit myself to three reviews per week, but last September, I increased that to four. In January, I increased to five reviews per week.

Honestly, this only works because I’ve been sitting on a backlog of about 40 reviews for backlist books I read sometime last year. Sometimes, though, I’ve needed to read four or five new books per week. I don’t think that’s a sustainable pace, so I’m trying to refine my process for deciding which books to review.

Changes in My What to Review Decision-Making Process

For a long time, I was really just reviewing whatever books looked interesting. I had few enough requests that this made sense and still left me wiggle room to add in backlist titles I couldn’t get review copies of or discovered after publication and wanted to read.

I’ve tried to have an eye toward reading diversely as I select which books to read, but there are definitely holes I would like to fill. For example, I don’t read very many books by Indigenous authors. Not on purpose. I just don’t often get asked to review them, and I haven’t been purposefully seeking them out. So I’m working on that this year.

Lately, though, that’s not the case, and I’m finding that I have to say no to books that look really great. The good news is that my blog viewership has grown enough (thanks to all of you!) that I have access to a larger selection of books. The bad news is that I can’t review them all!

One of the new things that I’m considering as I encounter books by authors I’ve read before is how those past reviews performed in terms of the number of views they received. This was super helpful last week when I was asked to review the sequel to SKANDAR AND THE UNICORN THIEF. When I checked the post performance for my review, I discovered it was one of my top ten best performing posts last year, and it’s in the top twenty for this year so far.

So I’d say the data indicates my readers would be interested in the sequel, so I eagerly accepted the book for review.

Winter Wrap-Up: Top Posts

Technically these are the top five best performing reviews for the first quarter of this year. What’s funny to me is that none of these were posted this quarter. I’m guessing people searched for reviews of RUIN AND RISING because of the release of the second season of the Shadow and Bone series on Netflix. The others have been high performing posts for a while, so I guess there aren’t really any big surprises here.

What’s interesting to me is that I’ve heard other bloggers talk about how their reviews don’t perform well over time in terms of clicks and views, but four out of my top five posts are reviews. (The other is this list of middle grade books I was eagerly anticipating coming out this past winter.)

One of the things that I do which probably helps my stats is to use a plugin that helps me strengthen my SEO for each post. (I use a free one called Yoast.)

Now that we’ve discussed what most of my viewers were reading this past quarter, let’s look at what I was reading!

Best Books I Read This Winter

Middle Grade Favorites

I read 26 middle grade books during the first quarter of this year, and there were some really great ones in that list. These four are my favorites. They’re the ones I still think about even weeks after I finished reading them. I loved the sense of community and celebration of amigurumi and boba tea in IT’S BOBA TIME FOR PEARL LI.

That Gillian McDunn’s latest book, WHEN SEA BECOMES SKY, moved me probably won’t surprise anyone who has followed this blog the last few years. I love her writing and the explorations of deep feelings she brings to the pages of her books.

MIRROR TO MIRROR surprised me with its beautiful celebration of sisterhood and individuality in its spare verse chapters. I loved getting the points of view of both of the twins and seeing the difference in how they viewed each other and themselves.

THE BOY WHO FOLLOWED HIS FATHER INTO AUSCHWITZ is a haunting, true story about a family fractured by World War II and the Holocaust. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book after I’d finished it. It’s definitely worth a read, and does a great job showing the destruction that happened to Jewish families both within and outside concentration camps during World War II.

Young Adult Favorites

I read 39 young adult books from January to March this year. Lots of them were really well done, so it was hard to narrow down to a handful of favorites.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect picking up MY DEAR HENRY, but wow, was it good. Kalynn Bayron really captured the vibe of the original story and delivered complex, tortured characters in Victorian England. It was so good. Definitely made me want to catch up on the books by this author that I’ve missed.

I WILL FIND YOU AGAIN was another wild card for me. The cover copy made me think a bit of WE WERE LIARS, which is one of my favorite books ever, so that was enough to get me to check it out. And let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed! I’ll definitely keep Sarah Lyu on my radar, because what a compelling, twisty story.

I’ve been a long-time Elizabeth Wein fan, so again, probably not a surprise to see STATELESS on my favorites list if you’ve been reading my reviews for a long time. I was really excited to see a book about a female pilot in the 1930s. Wein does an amazing job showing the tension between nations as Europe nears another World War.

Though it’s got kind of an understated cover, MISSING CLARISSA packed some serious punch. The pacing was perfect, and the characters were compelling enough to propel me through this one all the way to the final page. It’s a definite must-read for fans of ONE OF US IS LYING.

Goals Tracking

At the beginning of the year, I wrote this Top Ten Tuesday post outlining a long list of goals for this year. So how’s that going, you ask? Let’s take a super quick look…

Reading Goals

Goal: Read at least 150 books this year. Update: I’ve read 75 books so far this year, so I’d say I’ve made great progress on this one.

Goal: Say no when my calendar is full. Update: Hahahahahahaha! …. Yeah, this one is a work in progress.

Backlist Reading Goals

Goal: Read and review 3-5 timely classics, preferably by BIPOC. Update: I started both THE FIRE NEXT TIME by James Baldwin and THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET by Sandra Cisneros, so those I expect to finish this year for sure. I also finally read ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell, which only half-counts toward this goal, because it is definitely timely.

Goal: Read 3-5 backlist TBR nonfiction titles. Update: So far I’ve read one– ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE by George M. Johnson, so that’s one.

Goal: Read 10-12 backlist TBR fiction titles. Update: I started CLAP WHEN YOU LAND, but haven’t finished it yet.

Bookish List Post Goals

Goal: Post 3-4 Top Ten Tuesday lists each quarter. Update: I posted six TTT lists this quarter. Win!

Goal: Post seasonal most-anticipated lists. Update: I’m on this. Just posted my lists for middle grade and young adult books coming this spring!

Goal: Post lists for monthly celebrations. Update: I did make a list for Holocaust Remembrance Day, but I totally missed both Women’s History month this month and Black History month in February. I’ve got an Earth Day post coming soon. Still a work in progress.

Writing Goals

I listed two writing goals in my original post (publishing another indie book for authors and finishing a novel of my own), and honestly, I haven’t really worked on either of these. Some family stuff has come up that’s made it necessary for me to table both those projects for now. I’m working on a short story currently, and would like to write some essays to sell as well. That seems more manageable right now.

What Would You Like to See More of?

Now that you know what I’m working on and what’s coming soon… what are the things you wish you could see more of on this site? Do you want more lists? More updates like this one? Are you interested in voting on what backlist books I read and review next? Leave a comment and let me know!

If We Were Having Coffee – Spring 2022 Update

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If We Were Having Coffee – Spring 2022 Update

I first saw Jamie at Perpetual Page Turner do an If We Were Having Coffee post in 2019, which is an idea she got from a life coach. Since then, I’ve been doing them periodically. Lately, it looks like I’m settling into a spring/fall routine. So, here’s my If We Were Having Coffee Spring 2022 update!

If we were having coffee…

I would tell you that I just finished reading THIS REBEL HEART by Katherine Locke. It’s fantastic and also kind of brutal– not the story itself. It’s not particularly violent or anything. Maybe emotionally raw is a better descriptor? Either way, I loved it, but I read it kind of slowly, which is unusual for me. It felt like the right pace for me to read it, though. I posed my review yesterday, so it’s up if you want to find out more.

I’m also currently listening to NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION by Marshall B. Rosenberg, which was recommended to me by more than one friend. Right now, I’m only about 25% of the way through the book, and I feel like it’s one I’ll need to listen to more than once to really absorb the whole message. I’m really intrigued so far, and I want to give myself a trial period and see how practicing nonviolent communication effects relationships for me. I’m not sure that it’s something I’ll adopt as an overall communication strategy, but we’ll see after I’ve read the whole of the book.

If we were having coffee…

I’d want to talk about hard things. I was reading a thread on Twitter in which tons of women shared their experiences with miscarriages, and many commented on how we don’t talk about this experience enough. And that’s so true.

When I’ve talked about my own miscarriages, it seems like often people don’t know what to say, and I want to respect that, but it can be really painful because it feels like this unspoken cue to stop talking about it. It feels like they’re uncomfortable and I can fix that by stopping talking.

We’ve all been in conversations that have a weight to them that we don’t understand, where we feel like we need to say something but have zero idea what the right thing might be. I hate those, too. It can feel like waking up in a minefield and having no idea how to get to safe space again.

If we were having coffee…

If we talked about miscarriages, I’d want to tell you what it was like for me.

I was talking about my miscarriage experiences to a friend last week and this was the explanation that clicked with him. I told him it’s like being betrayed by your body in a deeply painful way. Pregnancy is this process your body is supposed to be able to do all on its own. It’s supposed to protect, nurture, and care for the budding person inside you the way you will care for and protect the baby once they’re born. And instead, it kills your baby. Without your permission or consent. You can literally do nothing to stop this thing from happening. And it’s happening inside your body, so there’s no place to retreat from it.

Also, our healthcare system? Really freaking terrible at handling miscarriages. I couldn’t get one of the medications my doctor wanted to prescribe me. Another wasn’t covered by my insurance at all. At one point I was in the ER, and let me simply say that is NOT a place anyone should experience a miscarriage. Someone in the thread I was reading used the term “undignified,” and yeah. I can honestly say that I’ve NEVER felt more like an object in a petri dish and less like a human being in my life than I did that night.

Everyone’s experience is different. I really, really wanted a baby. So, for me, the grief was very focused on the loss of that person who I was already imagining to be a part of my life and the failure of my body to protect that person.

If we were having coffee…

I’d want to tell you I’m grateful that you’re listening. Grateful that you’re here. The last few years have been really isolating for a lot of us. I’m proud of the ways we’ve found to stay connected. For me, some of this has been through online contact. I have a friend who lives far away, but checks in with me every day or so on my phone to talk about family stuff and bookish or writing stuff. She’s amazing. I’d be lost without her.

Some of it has been outdoor get-togethers, and some indoor get-togethers. I have a friend who meets me for coffee outside (and now sometimes inside!) almost every week since the early COVID days. She’s also a mom, so we talk a lot about the challenges of raising kids. We compare notes on the sometimes impossibility of remembering who you are outside of being that caretaker/chief cook/cruise director. I’d be lost without her, too. She’s awesome.

There are new friends, too. New jokes. New experiences. Lots to look forward to. I’m grateful for all those relationships and moments, too, in life and on here!

If we were having coffee, what would you want to tell me?

What’s on your mind today that you want to share with me? Have you recently read anything you love? Have you had experiences with grief that you wish other people better understood?

Thanks for catching up with me. I appreciate you. <3

Summertime Update

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Summertime Frenzy

My summer started in a frenzy. My youngest daughter has been battling eczema caused by allergies, so we’ve been scrambling to figure out what causes flare-ups (so far culprits include milk, nuts, wool, and polyester) and then structuring life around avoiding those no-nos. My older daughter is officially a teenager now, which has been awesome in terms of being able to pass some more YA books her way, and because we get to spend a lot of time this summer talking about big life things. A few favorite topics around our house: social justice, what it means to really love others, and best Downton Abbey or Jane Austen characters.

I’m falling a bit behind on reviews and have completely lost track of my social media presence. Normally that would be enough to keep me up at night, heart pounding with anxiety, but these days, I’m trying to enjoy each day as it comes and be flexible. I’m prioritizing my relationships with people, especially my family, first. I think I will always have too much to do, because no matter how diligently I try to downsize my commitments list, somehow it ends up overflowing with things again. I like to do a lot of different things. So I’m kind of making peace with that and learning to be more flexible about my schedule.

Priorities Make All the Difference

I have to credit happiness expert and author Ingrid Kelada with at least some of this transformation. (See my review of her book, 21 Days to Happiness here.) I’ve been helping her with some administrative tasks since last fall, and decided to read her book, too. Not only has the book been practical and helpful, Ingrid is an amazing person to work with. She’s super organized and productive. High energy but not high pressure. I think working with her and watching how she operates has helped me give myself permission to and encouraged me to do the same.

Right now I’ve got several reviews scheduled for books I’m really excited to share, and Gabrielle has a top ten list coming up that you won’t want to miss. I’ve got some more projects happening behind the scenes that I’m looking forward to sharing soon, too.

Tell me about your summer!

Hope you are having an amazing summer so far, too!

Drop me a comment and let me know what you’re most looking forward to reading this summer or one thing you’ve learned this year that has changed your life.