My sincere apologies; I’ve been having trouble with the auto-posts and accessing the site. I think most of these issues have worked themselves out, but some of my planned posts may no longer be relevant. I’ll post the new one I’d intended to post at the start of this month, adjusted for the now.

With so much going on in the world at large, I’ve been pushing myself to get back into reading. It’s largely to keep my mind limber for the expectations of how to write my own book, but I’m happy to re-connect with an old, beloved hobby. I used to spend hours late at night with a night light reading books like The Hobbit, Wishbone Mysteries, and even some Star Wars books that my brother had highly recommended. He was the bigger Star Wars fan. I enjoyed the movies, and I didn’t mind re-watching them, but my beloved franchise was the Back to the Future films. I loved the idea of being whisked away to a distant land or time for a new adventure. I guess it kind of makes sense that my buddy Tori dragged me into the Dr Who franchise; it was right up my alley! There’s a mildly funny story about the first episode I watched with her, but I’ll save that for another time.

Regarding the reading goal, I promised myself I’d read a minimum of 12 books this year; one for each month. I usually try not to count audio books, but that’s how I prefer to read when I feel too busy to sit down and read. I’m a slow reader, so one long book can take me months to finish. I’ve had so many books on my shelf that have gone unread that I’m trying to prioritize those first, but I have been picking out library books from time to time, as well as buying a few.

I’ve done pretty well this year. Here are the books I’ve read or listened to so far this year:

A Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (audiobook; I couldn’t focus enough to sit and read)

State of Fear by Michael Crichton (audiobook; I still couldn’t focus enough to sit and read)

Pendergast: The Beginning by Preston & Child (audiobook; wasn’t ready to read again yet)

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Artemis by Andy Weir

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Cabinet of Curiosities by Preston & Child (finished the whole 600+ page book in roughly a week; a personal best)

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

The books I’m planning to hit up this fall are:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I’ve got one remaining book to choose to meet my year’s 12-book goal. Part of me wants to continue reading the Harry Dresden series, and another part of me wants to start knocking out the collection of Tess Gerritsen books I’ve compiled from a book fair a few years back. I also bought an indie author’s audiobook and a different e-book that are a bit spicier than my usual reads: the books I read are rarely sexually explicit. However, I’m broadening my horizons, and I like the author’s video reels analyzing storytelling tropes, so I want to support her work and see if her writing style matches my reading preferences. We’ll see if I go with any of those, or pick up one of the X-Files books I’ve collected.