State of the ARC is a monthly meme temporarily hosted by Sarah at All The Book Blog Names Are Taken meant to motivate you to finish up your long overdue ARCs (Advanced or Early Reader Copies). This is its original intention, while some bloggers have tweaked it a bit for their own purposes, such as just keeping ARCs in order by due dates. Or you can just be a hot mess like me who sometimes misses publishing dates (or ignores them altogether) and needs a way to stay organized on what has been read, reviewed, or is still begging for attention. Thank you to Evelina @ Avalinah’s Books for coming up with this super helpful monthly meme.

I finished December with 18 ARCs left to be read. 

January was a great month. There are multiple birthdays amongst my extended family, and within my immediate family, my brother, sister-in-law, and I all have birthday in January. We also remember my father on his birthday, which was also in January.

It was nice to have more of a laid back month, even if there were a bunch of celebrations to be had. My two closest friends and I had a video chat on my birthday, since we all live in different areas of the country now. I’m still working on my intentions, but it kind of feels like whack-a-mole. When I’m doing well in one area, but another falls behind, it’s a bit frustrating, but I’m persevering.

I read some more good ARCs this month, really focusing a lot of my attention on my NetGalley list. I got caught up (FINALLY!) even though it took so long I was starting to think it wouldn’t ever happen. In addition, although I did get approved for 6 new ARCs, some of them were audiobooks, which I love that they offer. And, I managed to read and review more than I added to the list, starting the month with 18 and ending it with 15. My feedback ratio crept up to 97%, which I’m thrilled about, and I’m really hoping to end February with single digits remaining on my list.

Here’s how this month went for my NG ARCs:

I got approved for 6 new books in January:

1. Babylonia by Costanza Casati
2. Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman
3. Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi
4. The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman
5. My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende
6. Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano

These are the ARCs that I read and reviewed, with links to my reviews:

1. The Vanishing Bookstore by Helen Phifer — see my review here.
2. The Empress by Kristin Cast — see my review here.
3. Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney — see my review here.
4. The Lost House by Melissa Larsen — see my review here.
5. A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall — see my review here.
6. Babylonia by Costanza Casati — see my review here.
7. Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson — see my review here.
8. The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman — see my review here.
9. Those Fatal Flowers by Shannon Ives — see my review here.

Here are the ARCs I still have to read:

1. A Long Time Gone by Joshua Moehling | Amazon
2. Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine | Amazon
3. I Am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant | Amazon
4. Swordheart by T. Kingfisher | Amazon
5. Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano | Amazon
6. Saltwater by Katy Hays | Amazon
7. Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen | Amazon
8. The Sirens by Emilia Hart | Amazon
9. Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi | Amazon
10. My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende | Amazon
11. A Charming Touch of Tarot by Melissa Holtz | Amazon
12. Come As You Are by Dahlia Adler | Amazon
13. Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman | Amazon
14. The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Amazon
15. High Season by Katie Bishop | Amazon

Which ARCs are you excited about this month? Do we have any in common? Have you already read any of the ones on my list?