Update: Goodreads Reading Challenge 2023 (4/4/23)

I missed posting an update for March. Whoops! I have no excuse other than a lot of things have been happening at work and I’ve been scheduling the bare minimum of posts.

Since I last shared anything about my 2023 Reading Challenge, I finished Emilie Autumn’s The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, Danielle Valentine’s How to Survive Your Murder, Riley Sager’s The Last Time I Lied, Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen, Paula Morris’ Ruined, Kim Harrison’s The Drafter, and Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I’ll put my ratings below.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about why I gave these ratings, because many of you likely won’t agree with why I gave lower ratings to a couple of them. Let me just say that the twist in The Last Time I Lied was good, but possible to figure out if you’re really trying. The twist in How to Survive Your Murder was actually really solid, I just wasn’t crazy about the characters. Red Queen was a little too typical for me; it was well-written and is worth reading, but I’m not sure I’ll continue the series. Ruined was readable, just not overly interesting. Same with The Drafter, which is a shame because I typically like Kim Harrison’s books. And American Gods was too long (good story, though).

I have now started Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone, and Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil.

As always, feel free to tell me about any books you’re reading and offer up some recommendations! I have only read 13 of my 35 book goal, so I need some suggestions.

Update: Goodreads Reading Challenge 2023 (2/13/23)

I didn’t intend to do this exactly one month from the last update, but maybe I should actually start scheduling them this way. Haha. Once a month is enough, right? 🙂

I finished A.M. Shine’s The Creeper, and while it was an eerie tale (reminiscent of The Bye Bye Man, in my opinion), I didn’t love it overall. The twist at the end wasn’t terrible, but…the story lost something with the revelation. I enjoyed Shine’s writing style, though, and I still intend to read The Watchers.

Rating: 3.5/5

I also read Poltergeist by Kat Richardson. It has been sitting on my bookshelves since I found it in an apartment my friends and I cleaned out. I’m not sure if I’d have gotten more out of it if I’d read the first book in the series, well, first. However, I didn’t love this book. I think there is potential for Richardson to build an interesting fantasy/supernatural world, so I will certainly try at least one more from the Greywalker series.

Rating: 3/5

The third book I completed since my last post is the final in Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces series, Empty Smiles. This was my least favorite of the four. The build-up was so promising, but the ending was rushed and fell flat. I still say these books are worth the read; I just wish the conclusion had been…more.

Rating: 4/5

I am currently reading two books. (I’m the world’s worst to start a second book before finishing the one I initially started.) I finally decided to check out Emilie Autumn’s The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, and I also dove into my second Riley Sager novel, The Last Time I Lied. I’ll let y’all know my thoughts in about a month!

Any recommendations for me? Please leave them in the comments!

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 30 – A Film With Your Favorite Ending

The Santa Clause (1994)

I love everything about this movie, and the feel-good ending just caps a positive watching experience. I especially love Neil finally getting his Oscar Mayer weenie whistle.

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 27 – A Film That is Visually Striking to You

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 26 – A Film You Like That is Adapted from Somewhere

I’ve already used several movies that came from books, and here’s another one!

Stardust (2007)

Based on Neil Gaiman’s 1999 novel of the same name.

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 24 – A Film You Wish You’d Seen in Theatres

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 21 – A Film That You Dozed Off During

I didn’t fall asleep during the movie, actually; I fell asleep with the menu screen pulled up. The music that plays there relaxes me. Lol.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 19 – A Film Made by Your Favorite Director

I’m not sure Tim Burton is my favorite director anymore, but he held the top slot for a loooooong time.

Beetlejuice (1988)

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 16 – A Film That is Personal to You

I thought this might be difficult, but it really wasn’t. Harvey (1950) is a movie that is very personal to me. Not so much because I relate to any of the characters or the plot; it’s more about the memories I connect to this film.

When I was little, I would always wake my brother up at some ridiculous hour like 3 or 4 a.m. on Christmas morning. My parents had set a rule, though: we couldn’t wake them until 7. So he and I had to do something to kill the time, and it soon became tradition to watch Harvey every year. In fact, my parents and I didn’t watch it this past Christmas because we’re waiting until my brother visits in February. We’ll all watch it then ❤️

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 14 – A Film That Gave You Depression

Okay, when I watched Odd Thomas (2014), I already knew it would rip my heart to shreds because I’d read the book. I have cried during books before, shedding a few tears over fictional deaths or whatever, but I literally sobbed at the end of that one, and that unhappiness lasted days. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the film had a similar effect on me.