Only three books this month—but that’s because I’ve been working my way through a very long one. More to come on that!

I’ve been traveling for about a month now—had to attend all those postponed weddings from 2020. As such, my reading has been a bit thinner lately. Plenty of good ones, though.

I read a little less than I wanted to in June because there was a book I ought to have put down, but didn’t for the sake of the author. I was shocked and disappointed. Luckily, I devoured a few other wonderful books during the month.

Now that it’s very nearly July, I suppose I ought to write about the books I read in May. Lots of good ones! They’re worth the wait.

April’s such a strange, transitional month—this year, especially. The weather doesn’t know what it’s doing. Some people are vaccinated, others aren’t. It’s hard to make concrete decisions—and I think my April reading list reflected that. It’s all over the place.

I only read eight books in March. Only eight! A trifling amount! Not really—it just means I had slightly more of a life last month. Probably a good thing, right?

In the dark, chilly days of February, I often like to read science fiction. Looking out my window is like looking out into deep space—especially this year, when I’m still stranded in the little satellite of my apartment, wondering when I can come back to Earth. But sci-fi’s not all I read during my birthday month.

I somehow read eleven books in January? Damn, I’m impressive. The other day I learned that the French phrase for “bookworm” is “buveur d’encre,” which means INK DRINKER. Not only does it perfectly describe the start of 2021 for me, but it’s also now the name of my imaginary goth rock band.

In 2020, I decided to track metrics for the books I read throughout the year. Not only did I want to know how many books I read, but what kind of books. Was I reading too many white authors? How many small press books versus Big 5 publishers did I read? I kept these statistics and more in a gigantic spreadsheet, and here are the results—my first ever Reading in Review.

Whenever winter hits, I get really into sweeping, dramatic period pieces. And/or books that are actually from those historical periods. Either works! Much of my December reading was of that genre—but there was more, of course.

Holy cow I read a lot in November. Let’s get right to it.

Like most people, I try to squeeze in a few horror novels for spooky szn. Read some excellent ones this year.