State Of The ARC #49

By Leah's Books on April 1, 2025 • ( 1 Comment )

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 February with 17 ARCs left to be read.

For such a short month, February felt like it was about eleventy billion days long. March was probably one of my most stressful months in a long time, and I’ve dived back into reading and using it as an escape.

I spent the entire month in a walking cast that feels like my leg got dipped in cement whenever I’m wearing it, which is nearly all of my waking hours. Luckily, my physical therapist sent me an Amazon link for an adaptive item for my other shoe, to correct the three inch difference between the boot and my shoe. That has helped my back and hips immensely, although my Achilles and heels

I’ve had to rely on my mother to drive me to my appointments, which was working out really well until she developed cellulitis and spent a few days in one hospital, and then had to go to a different hospital to get proper care.

I’m a bit of a hermit anyway, so I just holed up with the three dogs and got so much accomplished by the time my mom came back home. Some of that was my NG ARCs, as well as some publisher ARCs. I also spent an hour or two watching foreign language television with my mother on many nights, and I had to find an activity to keep my hands busy without needing me to look at it. So, I worked on a baby blanket I’m making for a shower, and got it just about finished, I just have to weave in and cut off loose ends. Hopefully, my doctor’s appointment tomorrow will give me some good news. 🤞

All signs from my tarot cards, astrology, and events seem to indicate that I need to continue to develop a firm self-care practice. I have been making good headway in that area, and putting my needs first when I have to. My health hasn’t improved yet, but I am going to see if a new doctor can help me manage the condition that is causing the most trouble for me now. I wasn’t happy with how my current doctor brushed off some of my concerns, so I might dive back into looking for a new GI doc.

Aside from my health and Mom’s health, I actually got to hang out with my oldest friend in the world for a few hours the other day. It was really cool since we live only a few miles from each other, but so rarely get a chance to hang out in person, and we had a ton to catch up on.

I have been making good progress on my ARCs. There is one late ARC that I’m in the process of reading, but it is going a little slower than I’d like. Other than that, I’ve gotten nearly caught up and I’m feeling very confident that I will be able to stay on top of things in April. My ratio is still at 97%, and I’m satisfied with it there. Would I like for it to be at 100%? Of course, but let’s be realistic. I’m not perfect and will have to be able to not request anything new to get there, and that’s not going to happen in the near future.

It is such a relief and an exciting moment to see each ARC I read reduce that number to a more manageable number. This month, I have less than 15 to read, and I am so hopeful to get that number to single digits in the next month or two.

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

I got approved for 1 new book in March:

School of Shards by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko

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

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben — see my review here.
Make Yourself at Home by Wendy Clarke — see my review here.
Daily Mindfulness: A 31 Day Guide to Mental Clarity by Alex Smith-Powell — see my review here.
Saltwater by Katy Hays — see my review here.