Hi May and bye May! For what usually feels like one of the longest months of the year, this time it seemed to go by in a flash. I didn’t have as much time to blog hop as usual (see my non-bookish section). But I somehow found the time to pull together some Wyrd and Wonder posts. And thank goodness I squirrel away reviews for busy times like these.
Book Reviews
I posted four reviews in May. From earliest to latest they are:
- Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee
- Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
- Witch King by Martha Wells
I also participated in Wyrd and Wonder and some book memes, which you can find in my May 2023 archive.
Blog Statistics
Every month I share some statistics from Google Analytics because I think it helps put expectations into perspective for other micro-bloggers like me who are out there.
My top five posts for unique (not total) page views as of May 29 are:
- Arthurian Retellings Reading List: 110 views
- Book Review: To Snap A Silver Stem by Sarah A. Parker: 54 views
- ARC Review: Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher: 43 views
- Wyrd and Wonder: Best Laid Plans: 41 views
- Book Review: To Bleed A Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker: 36 views
It seems as those SEO for Sarah A. Parker’s books in this list is working well. I didn’t share those reviews at all on social media in May.
I also gained two followers in May, which is awesome. However, after the first quarter of this year it seems as though growth has become stagnate with respect to follower count. Thankfully, stats say otherwise, so I can’t be too down about it.
#BeatTheBacklog
I’m still not doing as well as I want to for this challenge. But I did read one book from my physical book collection: THE DEEPEST BLUE by Sarah Beth Durst.
NetGalley
My feedback ratio is at 80% for the end of May. I submitted three reviews this month: PERILOUS TIMES by Thomas D. Lee, THORNHEDGE by T. Kingfisher, and WITCH KING by Martha Wells.
Other Bookish Items
I finished 7.5 books this month:
- PERILOUS TIMES by Thomas D. Lee
- THORNHEDGE by T. Kingfisher
- BEYOND THE WAND: THE MAGIC AND MAYHEM OF GROWING UP A WIZARD by Tom Felton (audiobook)
- THE DEEPEST BLUE by Sarah Beth Durst
- FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros
- THE DAUGHTER OF AUSCHWITZ: MY STORY OF RESILIENCE, SURVIVAL AND HOPE by Tova Friedman (audiobook)
- WITCH KING by Martha Wells
- A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by Sarah J. Maas (GraphicAudio, part 2)
I rounded up another On My Radar post for May.
Wyrd and Wonder, which celebrates all things fantasy, occurred during May. You can find all of my related posts in the archive.
I failed at starting my last ACOTAR buddy read with Chris this month. So we pushed it to June. I’ve just been too busy the last 2 weeks of the month between ARCs and non-bookish stuff to start that chonker.
Non-Bookish Items
I feel I did better with my workout-related non-bookish goal this month. I checked my Peloton app and I ran over 26 miles in May. Marathons are far from my thing, but I can pack on the miles in shorter spurts (even though I’m not a fan of running).
Another non-bookish goal is to make progress with painting inside our house. I finished painting one side of the kitchen. We’ve decided on a grey for the other side of the kitchen that has the cabinets and countertops. Typically we’d stick to one color, but one end of the room is semi-open concept with another room. And the cabinets are cream, which is a difficult color to pair with, so we had to pick something other than white.
We’re preparing our house to host a casual event, so that has taken up some free time. Do we have to make our house in tip top shape? No. Do we want to try to improve things beforehand? Yes.
I spent an extended Memorial Day Weekend bopping around New England for various reasons. I spent the actual holiday in Maine with family. It was astonishing how warm it got on Sunday–a whopping 90 degrees! It made for a great beach day. Yes, I acquired a sunburn in a funny pattern because I don’t know how to apply sunscreen correctly.
How was your May?
My most viewed post in May was my review of Fourth Wing, and I posted it two weeks into the month. It’s definitely going to be a review with legs, lol. Wow, 90 degrees, crazy! I expect weather like that in Southern California, but I always think of Maine as a colder state. What do I know?😉
Ooo that’s awesome…I hope I get some decent views once I write & post my own review of FOURTH WING.
Yes, the 90 degrees was definitely not the norm for Maine at this time of year. Last Memorial Day it was rainy and chilly in the 50s, which is more the norm.
Sounds like you had a busy month! My May has been a bit mixed, with some busy weeks and some slow ones. Curious to hear your thoughts on Beyond the Wand. I read it earlier this year and it was a bit disappointing for me.
I still need to write my review, but I enjoyed BEYOND THE WAND. It wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be. I seemed to be under the impression that Tom had a lot to “reveal” about some hardships. But instead it was mostly about his experience on set with the rehab bit at the end. It’s not like I was expecting something sensational, but I thought it would be more sensational, if that makes sense?
It sounds like it was a pretty good month for you, which I’m so glad to hear! May brought the Taylor Swift concert, which was everything I hoped it would be and more! I can’t say the rest of my month was particularly great lol but at least I got to go to that concert!
It was a pretty decent month despite feeling a little stressed trying to get some reading done while doing life stuff. I saw that you went to the TSwift concert…it looked like you had a blast! I’m sorry the rest of your month wasn’t so great, but I hope you find your groove again soon. <3
Fourth Wing! I just finished it yesterday. Hoping to have my review up on Friday but I’m so glad it lived up to the hype for me. lol It sounds like you had a great weekend though!! I hope that June is a great month for you. 🙂
Oh good, I’m glad it lived up to the hype for you! I enjoyed it, too. It wasn’t a 5-star read for me, but it definitely fell within my comfort read zone with all the tropes. I hope you have a great June as well!
How is the graphic audio for ACOTAR? I’m curious because I want to reread them but I don’t feel like I’ll have the time to actually sit and read. I’m debating between the graphicaudio or just the regular audio.
I absolutely LOVE the GraphicAudio production of the ACOTAR books. I’ve listened to the first two and plan to listen to the third one hopefully later this year. There’s a different voice actor for each character. And there are sound effects and background music. It’s like an audio movie. I don’t know that I’d recommend it to someone who’s easily overstimulated by this type of audiobook; but if you’re not, it’s fantastic.
Hope the sun burn’s better!
All my top posts were in the high 30s, so doing nice there.
Also I ain’t finding a soul who likes Witch King.
Thanks! It is…now I have a funny tan on my arms lol.
I’ve only seen one review higher than 3 stars and it’s someone I follow on bookstagram who gave it a 5…so it has a home with some people, just not me!