HAPPY 5 YEAR BLOGAVERSARY TO ME!

HELLO my lovely friends and followers, welcome to my celebratory post! Celebratory because on this day 5 years ago (2nd May) I shared my first blog post (which you can read here) where I also thought that having 20 books on my TBR was out of control… HOW WRONG I WAS :)))))))))

Anyway, in honour of my 5th blogging birthday (is that a thing? it should be a thing) I wanted to share my favourite ARCs that I’ve been lucky enough to receive over the years of blogging. Shedding some light on some of the best books I’ve had the pleasure of getting to read as a result of this blog.

A lil explainer and disclaimer before we kick off – every one of these books was provided to me, for free, in exchange for an honest review. And, whilst I do try and make sure that my reviews are spoiler free I cannot guarantee this, so please proceed with caution.

HERE WE GOOOOO!

Unethical by Marla L Anderson – a book full of fear, suspense, and excitement that was a real page-turner and made me fearful of the world around me.

The Proctor Hall Horror by Bill Thompson – a ghost story that hooks you in from the opening pages, gives you a twist you weren’t expecting and has an ending that rounds everything off PERFECTLY.

337 by M Jonathan Lee – an easy book to get caught up in, with a high level of attention to detail and left me with goosebumps at the end.

Chopping Spree by Angela Sylvaine – a very Goosebumps style book, but with more of a teenage feel and a short enough book to hold your attention if you’re looking for a good scare.

The Woman in the Water by Kelly Heard – a twisty read that I had no idea how it would finish, full of darkness and super eerie.

The Neighbour by London Clarke – the sense of fear and unease that this book filled me with whilst reading was second to none, it was such a good thriller and I was covered in goosebumps by the end of the story.

She Kills Me by Jennifer Wright – the only non-fic book on this list, but definitely the most worthy! A book about female serial killers, showing that anything men can do, women can do and usually better too.

Silvers Hollow by Patrick Delaney – a book that gave me equal parts existential crisis and fear, this one was so incredibly thought provoking, immersive and atmospheric.

The Intergalactic Interloper by Delas Heras – quite possibly one of the best, light hearted and fun reads I’ve ever had the pleasure of receiving from NetGalley.

And there you have my all time favourite ARCs that I have ever had the pleasure of receiving from NetGalley and various publishers (all publisher details are detailed within each individual post).

I’m really fortunate to be in a position to have access to these books and that’s why I wanted to do this post, to celebrate some of the excellent works that I’ve had the opportunity to access through this blog.

ANYWAY, if you’ve read any of these books or plan on reading them – let me know!!!!! I’d love to discuss them with others.

Until next time, Em xxx

📚Why I’m not seeing a numbered reading goal for 2022…📚

Hey friends! And welcome to my blog, or welcome back if you’re a regular visitor. I posted on my twitter a while ago that I wasn’t going to be setting myself a numbered reading goal for 2022 and asked my followers if I should write a thread on it or a blog post. The overwhelming response was blog post, so here we are!

For 2019, 2020 and 2021 I have set myself a Goodreads goal, and for those three years I completed said goal. This year I actually smashed my goal by nearly 200% – I originally set a goal of 40 books and so far I’m on 74 (as of 23.10.21 when I wrote this post).

Last year, I upped my reading goal 3 times because I kept overtaking myself, which I do believe lockdown had some helping hand in, I will admit… There was nothing to do but read, it was like a bookworms dream.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand (sorry I ramble A LOT!)

My reasons for not setting a numbered reading goal next year are:

1 – I’ve recently been informed I’m being promoted at work, which comes with new responsibilities and a new job role. The new job role also requires that I undertake some training, which is a year long and will have an exam at the end. While I will still be putting aside time to read and undertake my other hobbies, I feel the added pressure of a numbered goal for reading would just be too much, even if I set that goal really low.

2 – I’m trying to get my TBR down… I know that’s what everyone is doing, but during lockdown especially, I was rewarding myself for every book I read by buying another 2 or 3, and that was just increasing my TBR by 2 or 3 times every time I finished something, and when I read 101 books in 2020 it’s getting dangerous😬

3 – I want to focus on my NetGalley ratio. I’m incredibly lucky that I have been approved for many ARCs over the last year or so that I’ve had access to NetGalley and I am so grateful for every single publisher that grants my request and I love reading these new books that are being published. But when I have a reading goal, I seem to forget my ratio even exists.

4 – On the same theme, I want to be able to spend time shouting about these new books that I’m getting to access through NetGalley and really bring some attention to them before I just move onto the next one because I’m trying to achieve a goal.

5 – No one is making me set a goal for myself, I don’t have to do it, and I don’t have to put pressure on myself to achieve a numbered goal, for something that is a hobby. I don’t have to take part in a reading goal, it doesn’t make me any less of a reader or make me feel any less involved… I just want to take a step back from the pressure that seeing the number and percentage on Goodreads or Storygraph would force onto me.

And there you have it, my reasoning for not setting myself a numbered reading goal next year! I will still be tracking my reading, sharing reviews and keeping a total of how many books I’ve read but I won’t be comparing that against some random number that I’ve picked for myself.

Of course though if you’re taking part in a reading goal next year, let me know so I can cheer you on from the sidelines!

Until next time, Em xxx