Tag Archives: reading challenge

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Black Romance Author Feature

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

The post is a friendly reminder for me and anyone else who needs it that Black History Month does not have be focused on Black pain, but can (and should) celebrate Black joy and Black accomplishments!

Last year when the #23for23 challenge began, I learned that while BIPOC authors are underrepresented in publishing generally, the romance genre is especially underrepresented. Across all genres, just 11% of traditionally published books in 2018 were written by BIPOC authors. However, romance novels only had 7.8% written by BIPOC authors (2021). Since 2021, there have been 0 Black romance authors on the NYT print and e-book bestseller lists. 

My goal this year is to read at least 4 romances by BIPOC authors each month, with at least one being a book published this year! I would love to get more recommendations so I can continue to build my tbr!!

Talia Hibbert’s The Brown Sisters are some of my all time favorite romcoms. I would start at the beginning, because I feel like you get to know the whole family unit and that just builds your enjoyment of each book. So, start with Get a Life, Chloe Brown!

Rebel was my first book that I read by Beverly Jenkins, and I can’t wait to read more of her backlist! If you like historical romance, she is an absolute must read.

I usually stick to less emotional romances, but when you want to have your heart cracked wide open in the best of ways, Kennedy Ryan is the writer for you. Before I Let Go might be the most optimistically heartbreaking book I have read. Her backlist is also on my TBR!

I am enough of a sap that The Wedding Date made me cry with joy. Twice. I’ve only read two of the books in this series so far, but I look forward to reading more!

This is my current backlist TBR – I think Pride and Protest will be up first because I just got the sequel sent to me from Berkley Romance.

These are my top 2024 releases. Do you have any recommendations for me to add to my backlist or 2024 release TBRs? I’d love to hear about them!

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January Wrap Up

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❄️January Wrap Up ❄️ 

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Image 1: My physical reads

I started out January feeling a little slumpy after binge reading 9 books in a week, but I ended up having a good reading month! I honestly felt like I was just reading out of habit, but half of my brain was just counting down the days until HOFAS. 

Image 2: Reading Goal Check in

Reading Goals:
❄️ Physical TBR: 6 of 6 
❄️ Total read: 13 / total brought into my house: I don’t want to talk about it, it was my birthday month. More than 13. Thank you all so much for your generosity!!!
❄️ Diverse Authors: 8 of 7 planned
❄️ ARCs: 7 of 8 planned 
❄️ BOTM: 0 of 1 

Image 3: ARCs

Image 4: Diverse Author / Book breakdown (could be diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, physical difference, neurodiversity, or something else!) 

Star Breakdown:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧📓🖋🗣️ Out on a Limb: link to review
😍📖🎧📚🗣️ House of Sky and Breath
📖🎧📓 The Fury: link to review
📖🎧📚🖤 the Marriage Game 
📖🎧📚🗣️ House of Flame and Shadow 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
📖🎧📓🖋🖤 Say You’ll Be Mine – link to review
📖🎧🖋📚 The Bone Season – link to review
📖🎧📓 Bride
📖🎧📚 Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖🎧📓🖋📚🏳️‍🌈 The Curse of Penryth Hall – link to review
📖🎧🖋📚🏳️‍🌈 Electric Idol – link to review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
📖🎧📓🖋📚🖤 Unladylike Lessons in Love 

Key:

😍 Reread
📖 physical/ebook
🎧 Audiobook
📖🎧 = mix of both
📓 ARC / ALC 
🖋 Reviewed 
📚 Series
🖤 BIPOC Author
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ Author
🗣️ Mind, Body, Spirit Diverse Author 

If it doesn’t have a 🖋, the review will be coming next month! 

Image 5: February plans
HOFAS: Fable link
ARC challenge
Diverse Reading Challenge

QotD: What was your favorite read in January? Do we have any books in common? Do you have any goals for February?

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PopSugar 2023 Wrap Up, 2024 Thoughts, and a Review

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What motivates you to read? Are you someone who likes to do challenges with prompts, like the PopSugar Reading Challenge? In previous years, I tried to keep track of my PopSugar Challenge progress on this blog, but always lost steam at some point in the year. I did finish the past 3 years! Each year, I entered December with a daunting list of prompts to fill: always the ones that I hadn’t found books that I was truly excited to read. And every year, it made reading feel like a chore. In 2023, I had just 3 prompts left to fill. But when the 2024 list was posted, I almost quit just because the 2024 is SO HARD for me primarily as a romance and fantasy reader.

Now, I’m not trying to tell y’all that PopSugar is terrible and we should all complain about the prompts. The Facebook group has been full of complaints all year that the prompts have been catering to us romance readers. So this year is just not our year, and I’m ok with that. 2024 will be my break year where I don’t have to worry about challenges with specific prompts! To see what goals I AM setting for 2024, see my post from the beginning of the year!

If you enjoy having prompts to help you pick which books you want to read, I applaud you (and may end up back with you by March, we’ll see!), and wish you the best of luck with your Challenge!

This is the second time I’ve used Nora Roberts to fulfill a reading prompt for a specific year/decade, and both were very much products of their time. While this book was kind of fun, there were some problematic elements that kept me from fully enjoying it. 

First – consent. Remember during the MeToo era when we were like “no means no” and that was like…revolutionary? Books like this is why that was revolutionary. If someone says stop and their partner does not IMMEDIATELY stop…ew.

Second – the male lead was Native American, which is cool for diversity and inclusion except when it was stereotypical and borderline racist. Now, maybe I’m stereotyping the 80s, but I was mostly pleasantly surprised by the representation with just a few throwaway lines that raised my eyebrows. I think the current rule of thumb is to include diverse characters but not write about the experience of being marginalized unless you have also experienced it. 

Have you read a Nora Roberts book that you loved? Please tell me so I can give her a fighting chance! So far, I have been suggested The Awakening series and Inheritance.

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2024 Diverse Reading Challenge

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See all of the resources on my Instagram highlights “Read Diverse”.

It’s that time of year where Bookstagram starts thinking of our 2024 reading goals. I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the 23 for ‘23 challenge this year, and wanted to make a similar challenge for myself in 2024! If this sounds like something that you would find helpful, I would love to have you join me!

Four themes:

💖Read Diverse: Set your own goal for what reading diversely will mean for you

💖BIPOC Authors: Books written by authors who identify as Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color

💖LGBTQIA+: Books written by authors who identify as part of the LGBT spectrum. Read about several identities in the spectrum or choose one to focus in on!

💖Diversity of Mind, Body, and Spirit: Books that explore a range of diversities. This can include but is not limited to, neurodivergence, physical disabilities, chronic illness, size diversity, and religious diversity.

✨Own Voices: Books written by members of a community about that community. While not all authors are open about their many identities, I encourage reading own-voice books as much as possible for this challenge!

Pick your challenge size:
✨ 12 books: 1 book per month
✨ 24 books: 2 books per month
✨ 52 books: 1 book per week

See all of the resources on my Instagram highlights “Read Diverse”.

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2024 Reading Goals

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Since I have just now finished the PopSugar 2023 challenge, let’s talk 2023 Reflection & 2024 goals!

2023 Reflection

I had 5 goals for my reading in 2023, and I am really proud of how well I did! Now, let’s make sure we mention the huge caveat that I was home all year with Long Covid so these became kind of my main goals since I wasn’t working and I can’t actually control my health and make goals for that. 

1. Read 100 books – I read 175!

2. ARCs – prioritize reading new ARCs on time. I forgot about this one but I did try. I do have a bit of a backlist for 2023, but percentage wise I did better than in previous years! My big goal was to get to 50% on Netgalley in 2023 which I met in July! My peak was 54%! 

3. Read Physical TBR -my goal was to read as many books this year as I buy and add to my physical shelves – I read almost twice as much as I purchased (physical books). But if the problem is having room for the physical books, I did not take into account this year would be the year that publishers would start sending me physical books…

4. Read diverse authors – focus on Latinx (Goal 6, read 10). This was easier when I started prioritizing reading one BIPOC Romance per week. 

5. Finish PopSugar Challenge – I finished! Something that helped this year was that I did a better job prioritizing the harder prompts!

2024 Goals

1. Read 100 books – I don’t like to focus on the number, since I know I will read less if I finally make it back to work. I also don’t want to feel like I can’t take my time with a longer fantasy book if that’s what I want to read!

2. Physical TBR – I personally get stressed out by the number of unread books on my shelves. 

📕Get new shelves – ordered and my husband is going to help me get them put up as my Christmas + birthday present 💖💖

📕 Books in = books finished. However many books I bring into my house, I want to equal the number that I read!

📕 Read at least 50% of the books I acquire  

3. Diversity – I’m hosting a challenge to help keep me accountable this year, and would love for you to join me! This challenge is extremely open ended, and can be combined with PopSugar, A-Z, or any other challenge that you like to do!

📕 At least 1 BIPOC author each week, at least 1 of those each month should be a new release

📕 At least 2 LGBTQ+ authors each month

📕 At least 1 “Mind, Body, Spirit” diverse author each month 

4. ARCs – end the year at 60% on Netgalley.

5. Challenges – 

📕 My Diversity Challenge on Instagram

📕 Review Challenge on Instagram

📕 Reading Rivalry on Facebook