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.

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 March with 14 ARCs left to be read. 

I can only speak for myself, but April was a hot mess of a month over here. For the first half of the month, my mother was dealing with medical issues which are thankfully being addressed and treated. The Achilles injury is healing nicely, while my other physical issues were increasingly flaring in the second half of the month, and I was having a really hard time functioning at all. Luckily, I was able to see my doctor who took me seriously this time, ordered some testing, my mom has been an absolute rockstar (we kind of take care of each other), and I found a marijuana strain that stopped the constant nausea and lack of appetite (I live in a state where marijuana is legal for medical and recreational use). Normally I post this on the first day of the month, but I was down for the count and have had to take a few days to get back on track.

Passover occurred in April of this year, and while we had gotten all stocked up on the foods we needed for the 8 days of holiday, including 2 seders and a festive meal afterwards on the first two nights. My mom wasn’t out of the hospital yet, and it was her first year in her life that she didn’t have a seder. The hospital was so good about it, though. They had a rabbi meet with her, the kitchen provided food that is kosher for Passover to her, and she got a laminated copy of the seder with all the foods she needed to have it right in her room. My siblings and I were raised in the expectation that we would keep up with tradition as adults, and even without my mom present, one brother hosted me for Seder, and the one who lives further had one of his own at home. We made Mom really happy to hear that.

I did get some reading done in April, and I was really trying my best to stay on top of my NG ARCs, but towards the end of the month, I wasn’t even feeling well enough to read. My friends have been keeping me in good spirits, and it does feel good to be able to drive again. Even with all the challenges, I was able to whittle down a little more of my NetGalley TBR by reading one more book than I was approved for. I’m still behind on these ARCs, unfortunately, although my ratio has stayed at 97% again. I’m happy with that number, which is a good thing because it seems like that’s where my ratio is holding at. I’m still aiming for single digits on this list in the near future, so wish me luck!

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

I got approved for 2 new books in April:

1. Next to Heaven by James Frey
2. Five Oaks by Julie Hensley

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

1. Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen — see my review here.
2. Five Oaks by Julie Hensley — see my review here.
3. Next to Heaven by James Frey — see my review here.

Here are the ARCs I still have to read:

1. Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi | Amazon
2. My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende | Amazon
3. A Charming Touch of Tarot by Melissa Holtz | Amazon
4. Come As You Are by Dahlia Adler | Amazon
5. Roommating by Meredith Schorr | Amazon
6. School of Shards by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko | Amazon
7. The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Chao | Amazon
8. Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman | Amazon
9. The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Amazon
10. High Season by Katie Bishop | Amazon
11. The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan | Amazon
12. Joy Moody is Out of Time by Kerryn Mayne | Amazon
13. Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher | Amazon

Which ARCs are you excited about this month? Do we have any in common? Have you already read any of these?