January was a really awesome month for me. My New Year’s Resolution was to take my reading hobby to the next level. I have really gotten back into reading in the last 5 years or so, but it started to feel isolating and stale. I felt like I would finish a book and then just think, “Guess I’ll start the next one”. I had lost the joy of finding and experiencing a new book.
So, I told myself that 2023 would be the year that I started sharing my love of books with others. I would make a concerted effort to review books, and hype my favorites.
I started blogging on my own before The Fantasy Review allowed me to start posting my review here! I also opened social media accounts (Twitter @nathan_reviews, Instagram and Tiktok both @nathans_fantasy_reviews), and started posting my reviews online.
The response has been wonderful. I love connecting with other readers, but just being able to review and share books with others has been the real joy here. I didn’t do this for clout nor money, but to make connections with people!
Monthly Reading Stats:
I read 15 books this month. Here are some stats and numbers (provided by Storygraph):
These 15 books equated 5,392 pages.
33% of the books were less than 300 pages, 47% were 300-499, and 20% were 500+ page chonkers.
73% of the books were digital and 27% were in print.
My average score was 3.88 stars.
My Favorite Books of the Month:
First Place: No Heart for a Thief by James Lloyd Dulin (Full Review)
Second Place: Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons (Full Review)
Third Place: The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi (Full Review Coming Soon!)
Other Books I Loved From This Month:
Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans (Full Review)
Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire (Full Review)
Vevin Song by Jonathan Neves Meyers (Review Coming Soon!)
Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis (Full Review)
And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Review Coming Soon!)
My Planned February TBR
I am under no delusions that I will actually stick with this, but some of the books that I am hoping to get to in February include:
Sequels and Series
Stormsong by CL Polk
The Liar’s Knot by M.A. Carrick
The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan
Series Starters and Standalones
Emily’s Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
Conqueror’s City by Graham G. Porter
The Umbral Storm by Alec Hutson
ARCs
The Eleventh Cycle by Kian N. Ardalan
The Blood Gift by NE Davenport
The Faithless by CL Clark
The Tax of Teeth by Nikolai Bryant
