Over the last few days, I've done some thinking. Especially when it comes to this blog, as it's been around for almost a year. The thinking has revolved around what I plan on doing with this blog, reading goals I want to set, etc.
In regards to the blog, the goal is post more consistently than I have been. For reasons that boil down to predominantly laziness, I plan on attempting to post at least once a week. Even if it just means check ins with where I am with my reading. Posts will range from those check ins to reviews of books, possibly unboxings since I do subscribe to both OwlCrate and FairyLoot, possible book hauls of either books I buy (granted I get my TBR pile down to a point where I feel alright buying a stack of books) or books from the library (which requires me getting my first library card here in New York). If there are any specific posts you would like to see, feel free to leave it in the comments or send us a message on Twitter at @kindredbookmate. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
In terms of other general goals, I do have a GoodReads goal set for myself set at 40 books this year. Over the course of the 2017 year, I had it set to 30 books and ended up reading a total of 85! I was reading like a mad person from January until about mid-May or beginning of June or so. My reading has always slowed way, way down during the warmer months due to there being stuff outside to do, shows I want to catch up on, and other stuff where I just can't sit and focus. It's not that my reading stops in the summer, although I have had summers like that prior to actually liking audiobooks, but I started the swing of reading again in August of 2016. I just have always found it harder to read and have the focus to do so when it's warmer outside. But towards the end or so of September 2017, I did start getting into audiobooks, which helped me get to that 85 books read mark. Which was nice. And I hope that audiobooks will continue in my life, especially when it's warmer out and all I will need are my phone and headphones to listen to a good book. Like I said, I have my goal set at 40 for the year of 2018. Since I tend to read 2-3 books at the same time, I hopefully won't have any issues hitting this goal. I do believe I hit last year's goal of 30 books by the end of April 2016. I don't think I'll hit the 40 book mark that quickly this year since, for the next three months at least, I won't really be reading anything less than roughly 300 pages. Audiobooks I tend to fly through since I listen to them at 2X speed. So that may help me reach my goal faster.
I've been getting bookish subscription boxes for over a year now and have yet to read at least 12 of the books that I have received through them. So my immediate goal is to get those read. One of them is an ARC that was included in a Fairyloot box for a book that comes out in May. I thought originally that it came out in March but the ARC says otherwise. I'm planning on reading them in three four book batches, so to speak. Those books are:
The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis. I received this one towards the end of BooklyBox when they were still BooklyBox before they merged with another company (Quarterly Co, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, to form PageHabit). This books seems to be built around war and a military of some kind. We follow Auxiliary Lieutenant Josette Dupre and what happens as she is offered the position of captain of a ship.Women aren't allowed to fill positions outside of auxiliary positions. She wants the job, just not the politics that go with it. We follow what happens with her as she navigates the waters. This is the first book of a series and book two, By Fire Above, is due to come out in April or May of this year, according to the author. So I definitely want to get this read before the next book comes out. Just in case I like this one enough to pick it up.
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C Dao is the start to what I believe may be just a duology. This one is an Asian retelling of the Evil Queen and her beginnings, as far as I've heard it described so far. Her name is Xifeng and it goes through her story as a peasant, I believe, and she is destined to become Empress of Feng Lu. I'm very interested to see how this plays out. Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is expected to come out in October of this year. So I definitely want to get this read before that comes out so I can pick it up if I enjoy it.
I'm starting to think they have a thing for sending out books that start off at least a duology because Even the Darkest Stars is the first book of a duology as well. This book follows Kamzin, whose dream it has been to go with the Emperor's royal explorers on an expedition. They are elite climbers tasked with mapping out the Empire and spying on their enemies. She gets her chance to prove herself when River Shara, the greatest of the team, shows up and demands to hire Kamzin as opposed to her older sister, Lusha. She goes with him and Lusha goes with a rival group. The story follows from there. All the Wandering Light, which is book two, appears to come out somewhere within 2018.
And last but not least for this round of four is Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore. Which may be the only standalone book in this grouping! When I first started hearing about this book, I was a bit intrigued by what I heard. The Nomeolvides women, who this story follows, have tended this lush, beautiful garden of an estate that enchant guests from the world. However, they have a secret: They cannot love too deeply and if they do, the person they love disappears.One day, a strange boy appears on the grounds and he knows nothing more than his first name. Estrella, one of the Nomeolvides women, attempts to help him remember who he is and as she does, they are lead to secrets about the estate itself. I am super excited about this one.
I would love to hear in the comments section what your goals are for the 2018 year, any books you're excited about reading that you have currently that you want to get to, or any anticipated releases for the year that you're excited for!
Kindread bookmate,
Cassie
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