In 2013, I’m going to post a recap each month, talking about all of the books I read in that month. I figured, since I post a TBR list at the beginning of each month, I’d like to follow it up at the end of the month with a review. This way I can see how well I stuck to my TBR list, as well as keep track of how many books I’m actually finishing in a month. And, of course, this will also help me keep track of all my 2013 reading challenges (debut authors, seriously series, and book bingo)!
For starters, my goal is to read 60 books this year, which means five books a month. In January, my plan was to read the following 5 books: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan, Splintered by A. G. Howard, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. In addition, I’ve been listening to The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson on audio, in my car, whenever I have the opportunity.
How well did I stick to the plan?
What I read in January
Okay, so it looks like I read a ton of stuff, but not really. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a short book, and As They Slip Away is a companion novella for the Across the Universe series. I really pushed myself this last week so that I could finish all these! Overall, I’m really happy with my progress for January, but I don’t know if I can keep up this momentum!
Reading Challenge Updates
Here’s the progress I’ve made so far on my reading challenges for 2013.
Book Bingo
BINGO! This month I got a BINGO with the top row. (See all my progress here.)
- 1 book from my tbr pile (The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake)
- 1 book that is part of a series (The Dark and Hollow Places)
- 1 book released in 2013 (Splintered)
- 1 book everyone has read but me (Shiver)
- 1 book as a re-read (We Have Always Lived in the Castle)
And I’ve also gotten a start toward my next square for 2013 books, with Poison. Woot!
Debut Author Challenge
So far I’ve already read 2 debuts this year: Splintered and Poison. I’m off to a great start, because this means I only need to read 10 more complete the challenge, so that’s less than one a month. (See all my progress here.)
Seriously Series
This month I finally finished off the Forest of Hands and Teeth series, by Carrie Ryan (The Dark and Hollow Places). I also started the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, with Shiver, but I don’t know when — or if — I will read the other two books in this series. (See all my progress here.)
Another Novel Read (has moved!) 
Nice job!
Why, thank you!