Q1 [January, February, & March] Recap 2023

OOF. Not only is this late for March, but it’s also a month late for February and TWO months late for January. I mean look at the photo, it’s Barnaby (super shaggy) very confused about why the tree we randomly had in the house has to go away. That’s how late this post is. Barnaby is now almost 70 lbs—so much for being a mini—and is still bringing comedy, joy, and life to us daily 😀 We try to post on Insta for him, but that’s even lagging at the moment.

It’s been busy at school and work and I’ve barely had time to read or knit outside of required school readings. The one time I did, a week in February when I didn’t work but had class, and a week in March when I worked but didn’t have class I blazed through two series of novels and am still trying to get those reviews posted.

Once I got 10 books behind I debated shuttering the blog or immediately switching to the 5 books per review, but I couldn’t quite do either. And now I’ve passed the mythical 1,000 I’m still not sure what to do. Do I just stop, or do I modify? Do I put everything on hold while I finish up class (it ends May 2024)? I really have no clue.

Books and Bookish Things
The list below looks ridiculous, but knowing that it covered the first 1/4 of the year it’s not quite as bad. It is unevenly distributed though.

In January I read THREE books. That’s it.

980. Out of Character – Jenna Miller*
981. Never Been Kissed (Boy Meets Boy #1) – Timothy Janovsky
982. You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince (Boy Meets Boy #2) – Timothy Janovsky

In February I read ELEVEN books, thanks to a vacation in the Dominican:

983. Unexpecting – Jen Bailey*
984. Two for Trust – Elle Brownlee
985. Crooked Tree Ranch (Montana #1) – R.J. Scott
986. The Rancher’s Son (Montana #2) – R.J. Scott
987. A Cowboy’s Home (Montana #3) – R.J. Scott
988. Snow in Montana (Montana #4) – R.J. Scott
989. Second Chance Ranch (Montana #5) – R.J. Scott
990. Montana Sky (Montana #6) – R.J. Scott
991. Nice Catching You (Bethesda Barracudas #1) – Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood
992. The New Next One (Bethesda Barracudas #1.5) – Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood
993. Fire in the Ice (Bethesda Barracudas #2) – Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood

And then in March, I capped off the first quarter with EIGHT books and officially surpassed 1,000 books read since I started this blog in 2010. This was thanks to “spring break” when I still had to work but didn’t have class in the evenings.

994. Ice Angels (Bethesda Barracudas #3) – Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood
995. Ice Devils (Bethesda Barracudas #4) – Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood
996. Hot Lips (The Hot Cannolis #4) – Tara Lain
997. Schooling the Jock (Nerds vs Jocks #1) – Eli Easton & Tara Lain
998. Coaching the Nerd (Nerds vs Jocks #2) – Eli Easton & Tara Lain
999. Head to Head (Nerds vs Jocks #3) – Eli Easton & Tara Lain
1000. Betting on His BF (Nerds vs Jocks #4) – Eli Easton & Tara Lain
1001. Superhero – Eli Easton

During the first quarter of 2023, I picked up three galleys and two books, not including random Kindle Unlimited downloads:

• Two for Trust – Elle Brownlee
• Husband Material (London Calling #2) – Alexis Hall
• Excavations – Hannah Michell*
• The West – Naoíse Mac Sweeney*
• Speak of the Devil – Rose Wilding*

I’m most looking forward to Excavations, but they all sound fascinating. And I only accepted 3 of 68! I also made sure to stay off NetGalley as much as possible so I wouldn’t be tempted.

What’s Next?
I’ve already abandoned my monthly fiber posts because I’ve done even less knitting than I have reading and posting 😀 I’m sure I’ll try again post-degree, but for now, I’m not going to add that unnecessary stress. I’m almost caught up in scheduling posts ahead of time and not backfilling. I’m enjoying reading all the MM Romance because it’s a great contrast to higher education leadership and governance or strategic finance! Hopefully, I’ll get back to a monthly recap for April, but even if I don’t I’ll eventually get another one up to let ya’ll know how things are going.