WOMS Update

I’ve hit a horrible reading slump.

Becoming increasingly busy this month doesn’t help at all, either.

Unfortunately, this means today I don’t have a full book review to share. I’m one of those ridiculous people who whenever I hit said slumps, I start a book, get about 100 pages in, and then pick up another until I’m simultaneously reading 3-4 books.

It’s so annoying, I vex myself.

The other problem I have is I’m still trying to figure out how to equally spend my time either reading or with my husband. I guess I’m still a bit in that honeymoon phase where I think my husband is the most interesting person in the world and want to spend as much time with him as possible. Or I just love him that much? That said, I still find it difficult giving up my limited free time to spend reading when I could be spending it with him, and vice versa. I’ve even asked a friend who reads more than I do how she distributes her time, and she still struggles with it, even after almost ten years of marriage!

It’s a wonderful problem to have, so I’m not too distressed, but it does leave my TBR horribly neglected from time to time.

What I can share today instead of a full review are my initial musings of the three books I am in the “middle” of, which you can always keep up to date with via my Goodreads page.

I actually enjoy Goodreads. As a proud 90s kid who grew up reading to get free pizzas and tickets to Six Flags every summer, it’s my new incentive programme, the perks being my own competitiveness.

I’m probably late to the party, and I’m not sure how many people still use Goodreads. Even if I’m one of five people still using their app, I like being able to track my progress not just with each individual book I’m reading, but also the year. It’s super neat getting to see how many pages I’ve read each year.

Anyway—so what’s on my shelf?

First, there’s Sofiya Pasternack’s Anya and the Nightingale.

This book I originally wanted to read and review during May, which was American Jewish Heritage Month. Alas, that did not happen.

Like The Crow Rider, I read the first book, Anya and the Dragon, back in 2019…2020? But I never reviewed it. Since I’m not finished with Nightingale yet, its review forthcoming, I’ll hint that these books are ones I wish I had to read when I was Anya’s age. Her feistiness and perseverance are examples I needed at that time, and I know young teens need today when the world sometimes feels too dark.

Next, I’m reading the next installment in S. A. Chakraborty’s Daevabad trilogy, The Kingdom of Copper. I’m enchanted once again, lavishly wrapped in the luscious prose with which Chakraborty writes, and I can’t wait to see where this next adventure takes me.

Lastly, but most certainly not the least, I’m reading Deanna Raybourn’s latest installment in her Veronica Speedwell series, An Impossible Imposter. I am in love—L-O-V-E—with Veronica and Stoker. This mystery series is by far an all time favourite of mine, and I am enjoying their newest puzzle and can’t wait to solve it with them!

I know most of that is not much to go off, nor definitive recommendations. Admittedly, despite my obvious bias for them, I cannot fully endorse books I have not finished. However, as these are all installments in a series, and I have completed their predecessors, I think my bias is at least a little more supported. Once I have finished them, though, I will post my full reviews, so you can wait until then if you prefer.

Let me also add that my slump is in no way shape or form a reflection on the quality of these books I’ve mentioned. They are wonderful, and enough to keep me reading. I’m also just that busy (and I really like my husband a lot, too, so…)

All this to say, once I have finished these three books, and despite the other three or four new books I have waiting for me on my TBR—I’m probably going to try something different next.

It’s an idea I’ve been toying with for a while; since I started my WOMS series, really. And with all these slumps I’ve hit, I think it’s just the cure I need to fall in love with reading again.

Stay tuned to see what that might be!

What books have you read lately? Any recommendations? Or are you like me and stuck in a slump? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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