This week I’m linking up with Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl for Top Ten Tuesday. Check out her blog for a new prompt every week. Today’s topic:

New-to-Me Authors
I Discovered in 2023

Some of these authors have been around a while, but 2023 was the first year I read one of their books, so I’ll call them new to me. In alphabetical order, here they are:

Kristen Bird

May Cobb

Jamie Day

Seraphina Nova Glass

Terah Shelton Harris

Wendy Heard

Sally Hepworth

Bonnie Kistler

Freida McFadden

Liz Nugent

If you click on the author’s name, it will take you to their Goodreads page for more details. Thanks for stopping by! — 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪

This week I’m linking up with Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl for Top Ten Tuesday. Check out her blog for a new prompt every week. Today’s topic:

Bookish Goals for 2024

1. Cut back on reading challenges.
I love the idea of reading challenges, but I’m not very good at following through with them, then I feel bad that I did so terribly! This year I’m only planning on doing three: Goodreads Reading Challenge, 20 Books of Summer, and R.I.P. in the fall. These are my favorites, and the summer one is especially good for me because it includes all genres and I have extra time to read.

2. Improve my NetGalley ratio.
You know the expression, “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach?” That’s how I was with NetGalley requests, especially in my earlier years of book blogging. I downloaded way too many books, without the time to read them all. My current percentage stinks — it’s around *cough, cough* 55%. I would love to raise that up to at least 65% this year.

3. Spend more time with the book blogging community and less time on social media.
As far as “reach” goes, Instagram (Bookstagram) is a bust. I don’t see the point of spending a lot of time on book content posts that don’t reach Bookstagram as a whole via hashtags. I know it’s all about the mysterious algorithm, and even accounts with huge followings are struggling with this, so my little account doesn’t stand a chance. I’ll still post and visit Instagram occasionally, because I do have a small core group I like to interact with. Threads is ok, though I’m not very chatty, so I don’t engage there much.

4. Read more nonfiction.
This one is difficult for me, because unless it’s nonfiction that reads like a novel, like MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, I tend to lose interest after a few chapters. What helps me is listening to nonfiction on audio, so I may try doing that more this year.

5. Buy less paper books.
Hardcovers, especially, are so pretty, and I love seeing them on my bookshelves. However, I’m running out of room! I’m going to *try* to limit physical book purchases to my BOTM and Aardvark subscriptions, as well as favorites I want for my keeper shelf. I also have a thing about books with spooky houses on the cover, or gothic novels, that I can’t help buying.

6. Master “short and sweet” reviews, and write them immediately after finishing a book.
I love to read, but I don’t always love writing reviews. I end up putting it off, then weeks later I struggle to put my thoughts together. If I knew I only had to write a brief yet thoughtful review, I wouldn’t be such a procrastinator. Let’s face it, some books are easier to review than others. Sometimes books I don’t enjoy as much are easier to deal with, more to say about them.

7. Start a couple of series that have been on my TBR pile forever.
Possible contenders: THE CROSSING PLACES (Ruth Galloway, #1); HAUNTED GROUND (Nora Gavin, #1); IRON LAKE (Cork O’Connor, #1); or A IS FOR ALIBI (Kinsey Millhone, #1).

8. Listen to more audiobooks.
Recently Audible had a good deal to rejoin for four months, so I reactivated my account. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it, but it was a bargain to get four cheap credits, plus have access to their “Plus” catalog. I also have a Chirp account where I find a lot of audiobooks under $4. There’s the library too, but I don’t like the pressure of finishing before the due date. I’m a slow listener.

9. Stop aimlessly scrolling/playing on my phone and read instead.
I’m looking at you TikTok. Not much else to add to this one, except put down your phone, Diana. Sheesh!

10. Update my LibraryThing account.
I’ve mentioned this one before, but I’m slowing adding all of my “Read” books with reviews from the last seven years to LibraryThing. Around 2017, I quit posting there, probably due to lack of time. I like their platform, I’ve had an account forever, and it’s a good supplement to Goodreads, so I want to be active there again. Plus, they have an fun annual Christmas card exchange. My profile is HERE if you want to connect.

What are your bookish goals this year? Do we have any in common?

Thanks for stopping by!
— 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪

This week I’m linking up with Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl for Top Ten Tuesday. Check out her blog for a new prompt every week. Today’s topic is:

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2024

There are so many intriguing books being released in the next few months! My list today is heavy on suspense/thriller novels, and it just barely scratches the surface on all of the books I’m looking forward to.

So far, I only have a review copy for one of them (Darling Girls), plus a couple of pre-orders and library holds. My library usually starts listing books about two months ahead of the publication date, so I have to remember to keep checking to get that early hold. :-)

Here’s my list (in order of publication date):

MIDNIGHT by Amy McCulloch
(January 2, 2024)
“In this pulse-pounding thriller, a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Antarctica — to camp beneath the legendary midnight sun — becomes a desperate battle for survival against a killer determined to follow their prey to the ends of the earth.”

ESCAPING MR. ROCHESTER by L.L. McKinney
(January 16, 2024)
“In this fresh reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel by acclaimed author L. L. McKinney, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason must save each other from the horrifying machinations of Mr. Rochester in this intrigue-filled, empowering young adult romance.”

MOON OF THE TURNING LEAVES by Waubgeshig Rice
(February 27, 2024)
“In this gripping stand-alone literary thriller set in the world of the award-winning post-apocalyptic novel Moon of the Crusted Snow, a scouting party led by Evan Whitesky ventures into unknown and dangerous territory to find a new home for their close-knit Northern Ontario Indigenous community more than a decade after a world-ending blackout.”

A HAUNTING IN THE ARCTIC by C.J. Cooke
(February 27, 2024)
“A deserted shipwreck off the coast of Iceland holds terrors and dark secrets in this chilling horror novel from the author of The Lighthouse Witches.”

EVERYONE IS WATCHING by Heather Gudenkauf
(March 26, 2024)
“A mysterious high-stakes game proves life-threatening in this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest.”

THE SLEEPWALKERS by Scarlett Thomas
(April 9, 2024)
“From ‘one of the UK’s most interesting authors’ (Kirkus Reviews), Patricia Highsmith meets White Lotus in this surprising and suspenseful modern gothic story following a couple running from both secretive pasts and very present dangers while honeymooning on a Greek island.”

DARLING GIRLS by Sally Hepworth
(April 23, 2024)
“A thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love, and murder by New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth.”

SAFE AND SOUND by Laura McHugh
(April 23, 2024)
“Six years after their cousin vanished from their home while they were sleeping, two sisters set out to learn the truth behind what happened — even if it puts their own lives in danger — in this haunting thriller from the internationally bestselling author of What’s Done in Darkness.”

ONE PERFECT COUPLE by Ruth Ware
(May 21, 2024)
“Harkening to Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them — from Ruth Ware, the New York Times bestselling author who ‘is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime’ (The Washington Post).”

WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND by Wanda M. Morris
(June 18, 2024)
“Award-winning author Wanda Morris returns with a powerful, haunting thriller following a lawyer who after the mysterious disappearance of a local landowner and the death of his sister just months before, uncovers a conspiracy that dates back to Reconstruction and persists in half the United States today.”

I found MIDNIGHT through Kay’s Reading Life (thanks, Kay!). I hope I was able to put a few new titles on your radar today. Thanks for stopping by! — 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪