I for one, am so thrilled that 2023 is over. I have a lot of plans for the new year and can’t wait to put everything from last year behind me.
Here are some of my reading related goals for 2024!
Read 100 Books
This is my goal every year. I usually start off strong but get really burnt out when life gets in the way.
A good goal if you are just starting off would be a book a month. If you are more of an active reader you can probably double that. I have some books that I can easily get through in an afternoon so while 100 is a bit of a stretch, it is not crazy to strive for.
Sell Some Books
I have way too many books and very limited space. I’m planning on making some big changes in my life over the next year and need to make space physically and mentally.
My problem is I don’t know where to sell books. Every time I try to look it up online, sites say they take books but none of the ones that I have. I am probably going to try selling them directly to other readers but again, there are very few easy ways to do so.
It does kill me that you pay $25 for a book at the store and when you go to sell it, it’s worth almost nothing.
Limiting Buying Physical Books
This goes with the previous goal. Physical books are great and I definitely prefer them but they are impractical if you are not planning on staying in one residence long.
E-Books are easily available and more often than not significantly cheaper than the physical title. I use Kindle Unlimited and I am charged $12.74 a month. I used the free version for sometime but switched over. Honestly, I mostly switched to the paid version because of the catalog of comic books and graphic novels that are available.
I also always take advantage of Amazon’s First Read program. Each month Prime users get to pick a free book from about five different titles. I’m not going to say that all of these are fantastic but most are entertaining none the less. Also, it is part of the Prime service that I pay for so I’m going to get what I can.
This month you can get two books and I chose Almost Surely Dead By: Amina Akhtar and We Ate the Dark By: Mallory Pearson
From goodreads.com:
A psychological thriller with a twist, Almost Surely Dead is a chilling account of how one woman’s life spins out of control after a terrifying—and seemingly random—attempt on her life.
Dunia Ahmed lives an ordinary life—or she definitely used to. Now she’s the subject of a true crime podcast. She’s been missing for over a year, and no one knows if she’s dead or alive. But her story has listeners obsessed, and people everywhere are sporting merch that demands “Find Dunia!” In the days before her disappearance, Dunia is a successful pharmacist living in New York. The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she’s coping with a broken engagement and the death of her mother. But then something happens that really shakes up her someone tries to murder her. When her would-be killer winds up dead, Dunia figures the worst is over. But then there’s another attempt on her life…and another. And police suspect someone close to her may be the culprit. Dunia struggles to make sense of what’s happening. And as childhood superstitions seep into her reality, she becomes convinced that someone—or some thing —is truly after her.
From goodreads.com:
Five years after Sofia Lyon disappeared, her remains are found stuffed into the hollow of a tree bursting through the floorboards of an abandoned house in the woods. The women who loved her flock home to the North Carolina hills to face their grief.
Frankie, Sofia’s twin, is in furious mourning. Poppy is heartbroken. Cass has never felt more homesick. And Marya knows something the rest of them don’t. Determined to find Sofia’s murderer, they share more than a need to see justice done for their friend. Each woman is haunted, bound to the next by something both cruel and kind, and now stalked by a shadowy presence they’ve yet to understand. Only to question, and to fear.
As Sofia’s secrets unravel, so do those of the woods, and the women soon realize that Sofia might not be who they thought she was at all. And that whoever—or whatever—killed her is coming after them.
Finally, I am lucky that where I live has just built a beautiful new library within walking distance of my house. Not only is it free but it is important to support the programs in your community or you may find them no longer there.
Only Read Books that I What to Read
If you are in the book social media community, it can be very overwhelming. You are constantly bombarded with aesthetics and everyone reading the same ten books. There can be a lot of pressure to read these books to get more followers and likes. I believe that if you read and write about things you like, similar people will find you.
What I am Looking Forward To
There are a couple of books coming out or ones that I just discovered that I am excited to read.
Don’t Let the Forrest In
By: C.G. Drews
Release Date October 29th 2024
From goodreads.com:
Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him. Kill for him.
High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality—Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more.
But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won’t say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork—whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew’s wicked stories.
Desperate to figure out what’s wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster—Thomas’s drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him. To make sure no one else dies, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew begins to fear that the only way to stop the creatures might be to destroy their creator…
The Fury
By: Alex Michaelides
Released Date January 16th 2024
From goodreads.com:
This is a tale of murder.
Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?
Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.
I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.
We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.
But who am I?
My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.
You Like it Darker
By: Stephen King
Release Date May 21st 2024
From goodreads.com:
“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,” and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.
“Two Talented Bastids” explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man” asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.
King’s ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.
The Ritual
By: Adam Nevill
Available now on Kindle Unlimited
From goodreads.com:
Four old university friends reunite for a hiking trip in the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle. No longer young men, they have little left in common, and tensions rise as they struggle to connect. Frustrated and tired, they take a shortcut that turns their hike into a nightmare that could cost them their lives.
Lost, hungry and surrounded by forest untouched for millennia, they stumble across an isolated old house. Inside, they find the macabre remains of old rites and pagan sacrifices; ancient artefacts and unidentifiable bones. This place of dark ritual is home to a bestial predator that is still alive in the ancient forest. And now they’re the prey.
As the four friends struggle for salvation, they discover that death doesn’t come easy among these ancient trees…
Good riddance 2023! Looking forward to all the new year has to offer.
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