State Of The ARC #58

By Leah's Books on January 1, 2026 • ( Leave a 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 November with 18 ARCs left to be read.

Wow. 2025 was a year that was both difficult and wonderful for me and my family. Although my father passed away years ago, our family celebrations never feel quite complete without him and all of his endearing quirks. Chanukah especially reminds me of my father—he loved to joyfully sing Ma’oz Tzur immediately after lighting candles and saying the prayers, and I suspect the holiday is always going to feel a little bittersweet for me.

Jewish holidays and traditions tend to incorporate a little sadness or pain with the celebrations, reflecting our long history of experiences, and this year is no different. The violence at Bondi Beach cast a shadow over Chanukah celebrations around the world. Around the same time, a video was approved for release by hostage families showing six hostages celebrating Chanukah together, lighting a makeshift menorah and singing the same prayers as we say all around the world. Those six hostages were later murdered in captivity, but are now known as ‘The Beautiful Six’ for their actions of spreading light and maintaining faith even in a hell on earth. Normally, my family only lights one menorah per household, but this year we each lit our own to spread a little more light for those we have lost.

Obviously, this month my focus was not exactly on books. It was more on spending time with the family and working on some projects at home. I tried my best to stay on top of my ARCs, and I did a really good job, although I did get approved for a bunch of new books this month. Fortunately, several of them were audiobooks which were easier for me to focus on during the month. My ratio is still holding steady at 96%, which I’m really happy about, and I have some great books coming up on my TBR.

January is going to be a very busy month with my reading, but I am hoping to stay on top of my NetGalley ARCs and get a little less bogged down with how many I have. Currently, they’re all up to date, but I want to get focused and be a little ahead of the curve in the new year.