amarisafloria

January was pretty quiet, which I'm completely happy about because it's rare for that to happen! Compared to all the events in November and December, it was nice to just be at home and not worry about much. For the past couple of months, Joe and I have been looking for a new church to attend (the one we were previously part of is too far from us now) and we've finally found a good fit. This one just started a women's bible study on Saturday mornings, so I've been going to that. It's been really good so far, different than what I'm used to but not in a bad way. Around the same time, I started my masters program! I'm studying library and information science so I can be a librarian one day. I'd love to work in teen services!






I was going to participate in the Buzzword Readathon, which I did for the first two days ... and then I realized I just really wanted to finish Siege and Storm and Famous in a Small Town. I kind of knew this would happen, so I just went with it. I'm a big mood reader, and one of the quickest ways for me to get in a reading slump is when I force myself to read something I don't feel like reading right then. And especially with school starting, I want to maximize my reading time.

• Bookish + Blogging Goals for 2019 — I posted this a couple of days before January started, but it's an appropriate start to this year!
• January TBR + New Releases — this was also written in December, but it's related to this month so I thought I'd add it on here anyway :)
• Week Notes #7 — in which I talk about new additions to my Goodreads TBR, Bandersnatch, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
• Most Anticipated Releases of 2019
• Book Reviews: To Read or Not to Read? — this was a discussion post about reading/not reading book reviews and how that impacts the way I write my reviews!
• Reading Statistics of 2018

I was serious about checking in every month! As I mentioned above, I got a good start during the first month of this year reading seven books. I've separated some books (this was before 2019 though) but I haven't brought them to Half Price Books yet ... I think I'll bring one bag every time I visit, so I don't have to carry so much in one go. No series completed yet, but I'm hoping to finish Ruin and Rising this month. I haven't tweeted about a single book I read yet, and I only posted about my first book on Instagram. Might have to change this one ... I'll think about it this month. Posts are looking good, yay! I predict this won't be the case with the rest of this year because of school, but I'm going to try my best. No blog work done yet, in terms of fixing older posts. If you're confused about this paragraph, you can check out my bookish and blogging goals here.

One goal I'm adding = read through my most anticipated releases list! For this month, I finished two: Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren (thank you for the early e-ARC, Amulet Books!) and Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills. Twenty-two to go! Well, it's actually 21 instead because I found out The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord isn't coming out until 2020 😢

Hi friends! Welcome to that time of the month where we chat all about the books I hope to read. It's not so much a "strict reading plan," but more of a ... what would happen in an ~ideal~ world. I'm not as optimistic with this selection as I was with January's, but that is only because I don't have as much time to read. Either way, I will still try and complete all four books. Gotta keep it going strong 👍🏽

It's a miracle, y'all. I read THREE out of the four books from my January TBR, plus one new release!!! I had a lot of time before I started school on the 24th, so that's a huge reason why it worked out. I'm on the fourth book right now (Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, if you're curious) so it'll be 100% completed by the end of this weekend!


I have to be honest, I don't *really* want to read The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness ........... but I bought it a long time ago, along with the rest of the series, and I want to give it a try before the movie comes out next month. I have a really bad track record with book to movie adaptations—if I don't read it before I watch it, I'll never read it. But it helps that Tom Holland is in the film, so maybe I will actually get around to it 😂

I went back and forth on my decision to add Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo to this list because I'm not that desperate to read this book ... but I really gotta get a move on with these series I'm taking forever to finish. I do not want to wait another three years to read the last book!!! This'll be the best time to do it, since all the characters are fresh in my mind. Plus, King of Scars (the first book in the spin-off duology) just came out and all the hype is helping to push and motivate me.

One of my friends wanted to read Pachinko by Min Jin Lee together, so this is my "intimidating book" pick of the month. One of my goals this year, that I never mentioned, was to read more adult fiction, so this one will be good for me. And the accountability helps!

If all goes well, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi will be my first re-read this year! I still haven't read Restore Me yet (I know, I'm slackin') but I can't do that without going back and revisiting this world. I read Shatter Me FIVE YEARS AGO when I was in college (and wrote a review on this blog, which you can read but don't come at me lol) but I don't remember anything. WHAT ELSE IS NEW. Fun fact: it was one of the first books I read after discovering BookTube! Let's see if I still like it the same.



On the Come Up by Angie Thomas // February 5, 2019
"Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri's got massive shoes to fill. But it's hard to get your come up when you're labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral ... for all the wrong reasons. Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn't just want to make it—she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be."

Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West // February 5, 2019
"Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood's hottest actors, she doesn't hesitate to accept the part. But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn't as picture perfect as she imagined. She's having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she's lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn't get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her. As Lacey's world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it's helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn't count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction."

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella // February 5, 2019
"Fixie Farr has always lived by her father's motto: "Family first." And since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn't take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It's simply not in Fixie's nature to say no to people. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, she not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer's owner, Sebastian, an investment manager, scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. Fixie laughs it off—she'd never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she? But then Fixie's childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life, and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie's buttons. As always, she wants nothing for herself—but she'd love Seb to give Ryan a job. No sooner has Seb agreed than the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?"

The Test by Sylvain Neuvel // February 12, 2019
"Britain, the not-too-distant future. Idir is sitting the British Citizenship Test. He wants his family to belong. Twenty-five questions to determine their fate. Twenty-five chances to impress. When the test takes an unexpected and tragic turn, Idir is handed the power of life and death. How do you value a life when all you have is multiple choice?"

Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury // February 26, 2019
"Sixteen years ago, rebellion swept the galaxy known as the Belt of Jewels. Every member of the Leonov royal family was murdered—down to their youngest child, Princess Anya—making way for the Union government to seize power. But Stacia doesn't think much about politics. She spends her days half-wild, rambling her father's vineyard with her friends, Clio and Pol. That all changes when a Union ship appears burning through the sky, bearing the leader of the Union, the Direktor Eminent himself, who declares that Stacia's sleepy village is a den of empire loyalists. Even more shocking, the Direktor claims that Princess Anya Leonova is alive—and Stacia is the lost princess. As their home explodes into chaos, Pol smuggles Stacia to a hidden escape ship, leaving Clio in the hands of the Union. With everything she knows threading away into the stars, Stacia sets her heart on a single mission: She will find and rescue Clio, even with the whole galaxy on her trail."


I didn't add The Art of Losing by Lizzy Mason to this month's new releases (it comes out on February 19th) because I was lucky enough to read an early copy two months ago! But if I didn't, it would 100% be on this list. And it should be on yours too! It was SO GOOD and it definitely made my all-time favorites :)