HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm so excited to see the back of this year. I hope the new one brings amazing things for all of us.

What I Just Finished Reading: A mad dash to reach my goal, but I did it. Five book this week: We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer, Book Lovers by Emily Henry, Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister, Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz. Reviews below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I won't be reading anything else today. I haven't slept yet, so I plan on a nap, catching up on some reality TV (I still have two episodes of Traitors Ireland to watch, and the next episode of Fallout is out today.)

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I have two library books out of the eight that I got out for the holidays still to read, so I want to tackle those first. I will probably start with the other Emily Henry book, Funny Story. I'd like to start my New Year off with something light-hearted and with fun banter.

( 146. We Used To Live Here by Marcus KliewerCollapse )

( 147. Book Lovers by Emily HenryCollapse )

( 148. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllisterCollapse )

( 149. Service Model by Adrian TchaikovskyCollapse )

( 150. Automatic Noodle by Annalee NewitzCollapse )

My Reading Year in Review

Total Books Read: 150

My goal for the year was 150, and I got there today. That included reading 350 out of 365 days this year. The first day that I missed reading was the days right around my operation in July. I ended up missing 5 days then. The rest were scattered through August, September, and November, with another block of 4 missed days in December during a crazy work period.

Of the books that I read, 78 were library books. Assuming that I would have bought those books on Amazon at the kindle price, getting them from the library saved me $1,183.36 this year! Of the remaining books, 19 of them were books that I purchased (Amazon sales, library book sales or thrift stores) for a total of $57.04, or about $3 per book!

32 of the books I read this year were also holdovers from those library book sales and such that I purchased in 2024. I really wanted to make a concerted effort to get through all of those this year, and I made great progress. I only have 1 physical book and 1 ebook left over from 2024.

My page count is 44,906 pages, and the books were split almost evenly between ebook (78) and physical (72).

My average rating is 3.8 stars
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What I Just Finished Reading: Busy week. The last mad rush of files before everything dries up at Christmas, lunch and shopping with my sis and brother-in-law, and a trip to the library to ensure that I'm well stocked up over the holidays. Only managed to read two short books this week: What We Love Die Hard by Kim Taylor-Foster and Frankie by JM Gutsch and Leo Maxim. Reviews below.

I also had two DNFs. The first was from last week but I forgot to mention it: Once Upon A Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino. Loved the movie, but it doesn't translate well to book form (at least not with Tarantino writing it.)

This week I DNF'ed Flash Fire, the second book in the Extraordinaries series by TJ Klune. I really enjoyed the first book, but the second one was bringing in a lot of heavy themes like defund the police and racial profiling, which just really didn't fit into a generally lighthearted story about a gay teen and his superhero boyfriend.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm about halfway through We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer, and it is very odd and creepy and addictive. I'm still not entirely sure what the hell is going on.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I took a couple of Emily Henry books out of the library because I'd read another of her books last year or the year before, and it was fun and frothy and I'm in the mood for that. So I think my next read will probably be Book Lovers.

( 144. Why We Love Die Hard by Kim Taylor-FosterCollapse )

( 145. Frankie by JM Gutsch and Leo MaximCollapse )

I have to read five more books before the end of the year to make my goal. I HAVE FAITH.
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Another busy week. Lunch and shopping with my sis and brother-in-law, and boy does that tire me out. Not much work Monday and Tuesday though, so I got in some reading time.

What I Just Finished Reading: Three books and a short story this week: You Better Watch Out by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth, Dog Logic by Tom Strelich, Oh. What. Fun. by Chandler Baker, and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. Reviews below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm a few chapters into the second book in the Extraordinaries trilogy, Flash Fire by TJ Klune.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I've still got 3 library books here and I'm picking up anywhere for 3 to 7 tomorrow, so I have a plethora of options. I know the library is closed a lot over the holidays and I know my work dries up next week, so I want to have LOTS of books on hand. If it's in, I'm leaning towards Frankie by J Gutsch.

( 140. You Better Watch Out by James S. Murray and Darren WearmouthCollapse )

( 141. Dog Logic by Tom StrelichCollapse )

( 142. Oh. What. Fun. by Chandler BakerCollapse )

( 143. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow RowellCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: I had a busy Thursday/Friday last week with work, and this Monday/Tuesday has been equally busy. I'm grateful and hope it continues for as long as possible, because after December 23rd there will basically be no more work for me until mid-January. But my reading is suffering!

Finished two books this week, Boardwalk Empire by Nelson Johnson, and The Hike by Drew Magary. Neither were blockbusters, alas. Reviews below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm a couple paragraphs in to the second book in the Extraordinaries trilogy, Flash Fire by TJ Klune.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: Hopefully somebody at Give Me Five will pick a book for me. If not, I'll probably go with Dog Logic, the last Dusty Bookshelf pick for December.

( 138. Boardwalk Empire by Nelson JohnsonCollapse )

( 139. The Hike by Drew MagaryCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: Read four books this week and I'm caught up to where I should be to make my goal. Fingers crossed. I read Bits & Pieces by Joe Maberry, Partials by Dan Wells, Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher, and Tuckers vs. the Apocalypse by Jay Allan Storey. Reviews below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I've just started Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson. It's the non-fiction book that inspired the TV show, and so far it's very interesting.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I'm going to pick up some library books tomorrow, so I may go with Flash Fire by TJ Klune, the next book in the Extraordinaries series and both a Gridlock and Finish What You Started pick.

( 134. Bits & Pieces by Joe MaberryCollapse )

( 135. Partials by Dan WellsCollapse )

( 136. Snake-Eater by T. KingfisherCollapse )

( 137. Tucker vs. the Apocalypse by Jay Allan StoreyCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: I'm getting back on track. 3 novels and one short story this week. I finished the mammoth King Sorrow by Joe Hill, plus The K Team by David Rosenfelt, The Kill Clause by Lisa Unger, and Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. Reviews below.

I also had one more DNF, Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift. When a plague wipes out everyone, this self-absorbed woman, the only survivor, is wandering around London and goes to her friend's house. She hears a noise next door and remembers that the neighbour had an Pomeranian. She realizes that the sound is the dog dying alone in the house and then just... goes on her merry way. Yeah, I was done.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I've just started Bits & Pieces by Joe Maberry, a series of short stories that take place in his zombie Rot & Ruin series. It's another doorstopper at 577 pages.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I hope to get to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood next, and then it'll be back to switching between Dusty Bookshelf, Gridlock, and Finish What You Started. I've also got some books up at Give Me Five to be picked from.

I'm currently working on Book 134 and my goal is 150. EEEK.

( 130. King Sorrow by Joe HillCollapse )

( 131. The K Team by David RosenfeltCollapse )

( 132. The Kill Clause by Lisa UngerCollapse )

( 133. Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle KennedyCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: I had a lazy weekend, took my time finishing up the one book I read for the week, The Accident by Linwood Barclay. Review below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm 154 pages into Joe Hill's mammoth 900-page King Sorrow. Monday and Tuesday were very busy work-wise. I'm hoping I can finish it by the end of the weekend. *fingers crossed*

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I have so many books on my reading list for the month, between Gridlock, Dusty Bookshelf, and Finish What You Started, and they were thrown into disarray because a few library holds came in (including the Joe Hill.) I'll probably try to tackle on book from each segment by month end. Maybe The K-Team next because it also has to go back to the library.

( 129. The Accident by Linwood BarclayCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: I was able to get 3 books finished this week -- Muzzled and Lessons from Tara by David Rosenfelt, and The Measure by Nikki Erlick. Reviews below.

I also had one DNF, The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis. I didn't get very far into it because I hated the way it was written. Each "scene" was given anywhere from one paragraph to one page to play out. That's it. I felt like I was ping-pong-ing through moments instead of reading a cohesive story.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm reading The Accident by Linwood Barclay. I've yet to find a Barclay book I don't enjoy, and this one has started off great.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: My hold on Joe Hill's King Sorrow came through at the library, and it is sitting on my desk eagerly asking me to open it. I'm hoping I'll be able to dedicate a lot of time to it this weekend, because it's 881 pages of what is sure to be delicious Hill greatness.

( 126. Muzzled by David RosenfeltCollapse )

( 127. Lessons from Tara by David RosenfeltCollapse )

( 128. The Measure by Nikki ErlickCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: Kind of a rough week, so I only finished one book: Uncharted by SD Perry. Review below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: Still struggling a bit and trying to get out of this slump, so I'm making my way through the next Andy Carpenter mystery, Muzzled by David Rosenfelt.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: Hopefully one of my two final 2024/2025 Gridlock books, either Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino or The Measure by Nikki Erlick The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis. Of course, 2025/2026 Gridlock starts this Saturday sooooo...

( 125. Uncharted by SD PerryCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: I was pretty lazy this weekend and did a lot of napping. Only finished two books: Flashforward by Robert Sawyer and What A Dog Knows by Susan Wilson. Reviews below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: About halfway through Uncharted, a novelization of the movie by SD Perry. I only remember enjoying the movie but not much of the plot, so as I'm reading each section it's like, "Oh YEAH, I remember that." From what I remember it's a faithful adaptation but it also holds up as a standalone novel, which is nice.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I've got two more Gridlock books to go, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino and whatever the final pick is on Friday. So it'll be one of those. :)

( 123. Flashforward by Robert J. SawyerCollapse )

( 124. What A Dog Knows by Susan WilsonCollapse )
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