State of the ARC #59

By Leah's Books on February 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 December with 20 ARCs left to be read.

January was a doozy here in New York. The weather was colder than I remember it being in a long time, and we got more snow than I’ve seen in years. Mom and I were prepared for the storm, and we made sure to stock up on essentials and take care of everything so we could just relax during the storm. And that’s exactly what we did. We spent some time watching The Rookie, a show that I love and have only recently gotten my mother into. We also finished the second season of Red Lines, a really great Israeli show we are hooked on.

My birthday was at the end of January, and while I usually celebrate with my brother and his wife, who have birthdays close to mine, this year they had the flu and didn’t come out. My sister came from North Carolina to be with us for Dad/s birthday, and we all visited the cemetery and had a meal together. I went to an asian fusion taco place with my college roommate, and we had a blast. But overall, it was a pretty laid back birthday, just the way I like it.

The remains of Ran Gvili were located and brought home, and that was the very last hostage being held in Gaza. It’s a big sense of relief and feels like it’s closing a chapter that was weighing heavy on Israeli and Jewish people around the world. I’m hoping that it will lead to a new, lasting peace and removing Hamas as a threat.

I had a lot going on in January, but I still made time to get some reading done. I got approved for some more ARCs and read and reviewed some others, and I’m super excited about these reads. I’ve discovered some really good ones so far, and hope the rest are just as good.

February is a tough month, with the anniversary of my father’s passing, followed by my niece’s heavenly birthday two weeks later. I am aiming to get more reading done, but realistically that may not be possible. With taking care of my own health needs and that of my mother’s, I find myself getting stressed easily, and I’m still working towards finding balance. Since I can easily dissociate while reading, it’s a good way to relieve the stress. My current ratio is at 96%, and I’ve been really good about not requesting more than one or two books.