January 2023 was off to a good start. It happens to be one of my favorite months of the year, with things slowing down after the hectic end of the year and holiday rush. My family also has a lot of birthdays in January, including mine, so that’s always something to look forward to. We got together a few times, and not only did we have a lot of fun, but I had a great birthday.

This year, I wanted to set some new goals for myself. Last year, I made reading diverse books more of a priority, and tried to incorporate more nonfiction books into my reading, and I enjoyed those. This year, I’m planning to continue reading more diverse books and nonfiction on a regular basis, as well as trying to grow my blog. Here’s what happened in January reading-wise:

• My blog grew from 704 to 720 followers, so that was a nice jump.
• I’m working on staying on top of ARCs (it’s always a struggle), and making some good progress.
• The Harper Collins Union strike is still ongoing, so I’m holding off on posting any reviews for Harper Collins books and all of their imprints, and hoping that the strike gets resolved soon.
• Of the 38 books I read, 5 were nonfiction, including 2 true crime, 1 about dating, 1 memoir, and 1 New Age book.
• As far as diverse voices, I read books written by Latinx, Asian, Black, LGBTQIA+, Jewish, Yazidi, and Persian people.
• I also wanted to read out of my usual genres, so I read 1 classic and 2 horror novels.
• I read the first 1 of my 12 in 12 challenge books for the year.

Here’s my breakdown of monthly/cumulative totals for January:

January Totals:

• Books read: 38
• Books DNF’d: 1
• Pages read: 5,529
• Hours listened: 10 days, 11 hours, 54 minutes
• Average pages: 345.6
• Average hours listened: 11 hours, 27 minutes

Cumulative Averages:

• Days per book: 2.87
• Pages read per day: 172.78
• Books read per month: 38
• DNF’d books per month: 1

Genres Read in January:

• Biography/Memoir: 1
• Classic: 1
• Fantasy: 16
• General Fiction: 3
• General Nonfiction: 1
• Historical Fiction: 1
• Horror: 2
• Mystery/Suspense: 7
• Paranormal/New Age: 1
• Romance/Erotica: 3
• True Crime: 2

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 16
• 2023 releases: 22

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 33
• Nonfiction: 5

Format Read:

• Print: 6
• Digital: 10
• Audio: 22

Age Range:

• Adult: 31
• YA: 7

My favorite books of the month were Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez and The Faithless by C.L. Clark.

Here’s what I read in January:

• Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams (Secret, Book, & Scone Society #4)
• The Sapphire Altar by David Dalglish (The Vagrant Gods #2) (Publisher/NG ARC)
• This Is Supposed to Be Fun: How to Find Joy in Hooking Up, Settling Down, and Everything In Between by Myisha Battle (ALC)
• Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
• A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (NG ARC)
• Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee (NG ARC)
• The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia Murad
• Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (NG ARC)
• The Faithless by C.L. Clark (Magic of the Lost #2) (Publisher ARC)
• Guided Tarot for Teens: A Beginner’s Guide to Card Meanings, Spreads, and Trust in Your Intuition by Stefanie Caponi (NG ARC)
• Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin 

• Conquer the Kingdom by Jennifer Estep (Gargoyle Queen #3) (NG ARC)

• The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry (Publisher ARC)
• The Good Nurse: The True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber
• Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor (ALC)
• The Dream Builders by Oindrila Mukherjee (ALC)
• The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth (NG ARC)
• I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu (YABC ARC)
• Weyward by Emilia Hart (ALC)
• Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp (Pies Before Guys Mystery #1)
• The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
• The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores (Publisher ARC)
• His Thousand Romances by Jasmine Lawi 

• Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker (YABC/NG ARC)

• The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes (ALC)
• The Levee by William Kent Krueger (ALC)
• Priest by Sierra Simone (Priest #1)
• Damsel by Evelyn Skye (NG ARC)
• Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest by Gregg Olsen (NG ARC)
• Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken (Silver in the Bone #1) (NG ARC)
• Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler (ALC)
• Death by Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow (LA Night Market Mysteries #1)

• Moon in Bastet by E.S. Danon (NG ARC)

• The Ultimate Guide to the Tarot: A Beginner’s Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Revealing the Mystery of the Tarot by Liz Dean

• The Unbroken by C.L. Clark (Magic of the Lost #1) — Reread
• Capture the Crown by Jennifer Estep (Gargoyle Queen #1) — Reread
• Tear Down the Throne by Jennifer Estep (Gargoyle Queen #2) — Reread
• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern #1) — Reread
• Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko (Vita Nostra #1) — Reread

How did your January go? Anything new and exciting? Any awesome books or ones that you’re looking forward to?