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 June with 37 ARCs left to be read. 

July has been somehow both hectic and relaxing, if that makes any sense. We had a heatwave, just like most people in the Northern Hemisphere apparently. There were a few days where we couldn’t go anywhere because smoke from Canadian wildfires impacted the air quality, just to be on the safe side. Luckily, we had some really nice days, and both Mom and I did our share of relaxing. I got Mom into Homeland, and we’ve watched six seasons just this month. I’ve seen the show before, but long enough has passed that there wasn’t much I remembered after season 1.

I’ve spent the month getting more familiar with the car, although there are some things that I still have to figure out about it. I’ve also started to schedule appointments back-to-back if we see the same doctor, which is most of the specialists. It has made things much easier, since instead of having to go two separate times, we can just attend what basically turns out to be one longer appointment. It has made life easier, although doctor visits and therapy appointments take up a lot of time. 

It is starting to feel like Mom needs more help each month, and while I love her, being a caretaker for her while managing my own health issues is exhausting. A lot of the things she needs help with involve more physical assistance than I am capable of providing, so we make do as best we can. It kind of feels like I have no life outside of caretaking, so I’ve been also trying to set a little time aside for myself. Some days are better than others, but in our family we focus on progress, not perfection so it works out pretty well.

I am proud of myself for the progress I’ve made with my ARCs. Most of my reading for the month was NG ARCs, and I’m glad that I got through more ARCs than I was approved for this month. My list is still a length that is out of control, so I have been focusing a lot of my energy on NetGalley reads. I should be able to get it to a manageable length if I stop requesting any more, which is about as feasible as when I tell myself that I’ll stop reading after I finish the chapter. Luckily, all this work is paying off because my ratio went up to 95% in July! 

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

I got approved for 9 new books in July:

1. The Mortal Enemy Murder Club by Gloria Chao
2. The Mortal Enemy Murder Club by Gloria Chao (audiobook)
3. Another Name for Red by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala
4. Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris
5. The City of Slaughter by Aden Polydoros
6. The God of Nazi-Land Part I: The Führer’s Master by Elyse Hoffman
7. The Vampire’s Cult by Chet Hardin
8. The Whisper by Chelsea Iversen
9. Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LaCour

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

1. The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen — see my review here.
2. The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen (audiobook)
3. The Mortal Enemy Murder Club by Gloria Chao — see my review here.
4. The Mortal Enemy Murder Club by Gloria Chao (audiobook)
5. Murder at the Campfire Cookout by Darci Hannah — see my review here.
6. Honey by Imani Thompson — see my review here.
7. The Way It Haunted Him by Laura R. Samotin — see my review here.
8. The Tuxedo Society by Paul Rudnick — see my review here.
9. Sisters of a Halved Heart by Nayantara Roy — see my review here.
10. The Whisper by Chelsea Iversen — see my review here.
11. Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw — see my review here.
12. The Vampire’s Cult by Chet Hardin — see my review here.

Here are the ARCs I still have to read:

1. Left Anti-Semitism by Gary Gindler | Amazon
2. Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliarini | Amazon
3. Soon by You by Dahlia Adler | Amazon
4. I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel | Amazon
5. The Laboratory Assistant by Natalia Loya | Amazon
6. The Gathering by Rachel Lynch | Amazon
7. The Mudpuddle Manual of Natural Magic by Ciara Blume | Amazon
8. The East Wing by Danielle M. Wong | Amazon
9. Dearest Beast by Felicia Grossman | Amazon
10. The Man by Laura Sims | Amazon
11. The Welcome Party by Samantha Verant | Amazon
12. The Devoted by Catherine Cho | Amazon
13. Under the Crescent by Bat Ye’Or | Amazon
14. A Murder at the Mansion by Ellie Alexander | Amazon
15. The Winds of Maracaibo by Maria Elena Morán | Amazon
16. Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LaCour | Amazon
17. Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan | Amazon
18. A Jew in the Woods by Berl Kagan | Amazon
19. The Introvert’s Guide to Kissing in Europe by Brenda Janowicz | Amazon
20. Natural Selection by Clare Edge | Amazon
21. The Whitechapel Full Moon Society by Elizabeth DeLozier | Amazon
22. Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher | Amazon
23. The City of Slaughter by Aden Polydoros | Amazon
24. Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig | Amazon
25. Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris | Amazon
26. The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki Vansickle | Amazon
27. The Chinese Lady by Bo Wang | Amazon
28. I Choose My Beginning by Nadia Murad | Amazon
29. Strange Bedfellows by Amanda Mortlock | Amazon
30. The Strangers by Naomi Alderman | Amazon
31. Love You to Death by Jenna Levine | Amazon
32. Another Name for Red by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala | Amazon
33. Now That We Don’t Talk by Rachel Pologe | Amazon
34. The God of Nazi-Land Part I: The Führer’s Master by Elyse Hoffman | Amazon

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How did July go for you? Did you do anything interesting or read any good books? Feel free to share.