It’s been a while since I wrote a monthly reading summary. In fact, I haven’t written one since wrapping up my January reads a couple of months ago. To be honest, I simply didn’t have the capacity for reading or writing over the past couple of months, but that’s beginning to change and I couldn’t be more grateful about it.

So what was it that took me from averaging 10-12 books a month down to virtually nothing?

Coming October 2024: A New Little Reader

This has been the hardest secret EVER to keep because honestly, my heart is just bursting with love about the new addition we’re expecting. For us though, this was not a simple or linear journey. Back in January, I talked a little about the extensive travel I was doing with some vague mentions of medical procedures. What we weren’t sharing at the time was that we were undergoing a full IVF journey in the hopes of expanding our family. 

We’ve been battling with infertility for several years now, and while the struggle was endlessly exhausting, it still didn’t prepare me for the physical and mental toll that the IVF journey would have. We are incredibly blessed that we were successful, but it was a damn process to get here. January was a write-off from the IVF process itself, February threw me directly into the swing of first-trimester symptoms and struggles, and it wasn’t until the very end of March that I began to feel semi-normal again. Needless to say, reading just wasn’t high on my to-do list as I struggled to recover and keep my eyes open at any given time. That said, it was (quite obviously) well worth it.

My Slow Reading Season

So now that we’re caught up, it’s probably pretty clear why I’ve crowned this season of life “My Slow Reading Season.” Between the billion appointments that come alongside a high-risk pregnancy, a new job at work, AND trying to grow a human, my brain just isn’t always in it. I want to read, and sometimes I even have the time to read, but for the past couple of months, I just haven’t been able to get into a good flow. When I have longer than a half hour available, I typically end up falling asleep with my Kindle propped up on my face.

Initially, this was frustrating, even though it probably shouldn’t be because they’re just books and I should have guessed that I wouldn’t have as much time when I got pregnant, but reading is such a core self-care practice for me that just not having the capacity for it was HARD. It took a good amount of forcing grace onto myself when I had to DNF my third book in a row or return several audiobooks to my library without ever having even touched them. I’m more in a place of peace about the whole thing now and just trying to enjoy the time I do have when I’m not so exhausted that I want to fall over.

So what have I been reading?

Great question, and honestly, it’s a mixed bag. As a reader, I’ll admit that the first thing I did when I got pregnant was read a ton of books. Usually, non-fiction isn’t my cup of tea, but when you’re stressed about what your body is doing and whether or not it’s doing it right, it tends to be a really good motivator. I read about 8 books between January – April about pregnancy, nutrition, and adjusting to parenthood, but since that’s not really my focus here, we’ll leave those off the summary. If you’re curious though, you can catch all of my reviews for everything I read over on Goodreads.

Outside of non-fiction, here’s a quick breakdown of what I managed to cover in February and March:

1. Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood—not my favourite Hazelwood book, but not bad. I rated it 3.5 stars and you can find my full review here.
2. House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas—probably the only book I’ve binged in a couple of months and completely worth it. I rated it 5 stars and you can read my review here.
3. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey—this was so much more fun than I expected! McConaughey has led a crazy life and hearing his story in his voice was the perfect vehicle. I rated this audiobook 4 stars.
4. The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake—a great conclusion to what was, for me, an iconic trilogy. I rated this one 4 stars and you can read my full review here. 
5. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan—I never read Percy Jackson when I was younger, so it was fun to pick up this middle-grade book and see what all the fuss was about. I totally get it, it’s a series I’ll put aside for my kids when they’re old enough. I gave this one 5 stars.
6. The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston—this quickly became my favourite contemporary romance ever. To me, it was perfect from beginning to end. I rated this one 5 stars and you can read my full review here.
7. Little Thieves by Margaret Owen—this one took me by surprise! The concept sounded interesting, but it’s been on my TBR for ages and I never seemed to get to it. I picked it up on audio before a long trip and devoured it, I loved every second. I gave this one 5 stars.
8. Golden Son by Pierce Brown—the second book in the Red Rising trilogy and it was perfection. This series is insanely good sci-fi, I’m obsessed with it. An easy 5 stars. 
9. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black—another YA series I didn’t read when I was younger but absolutely loved now. This was a great YA fantasy, I listened on audio but intend to pick up the full series in paperback because I want to continue that way, it was just so enjoyable. Another 5 star read.
10. Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J Tuli—Nisha never misses for me, her books are a perfect blend of spicy romance and fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will definitely by continuing the series, an easy 4 stars.

My Season of Series

Now that I’m feeling semi-like myself again, I have found that I’ve been able to carve out a little more time for reading. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to read next, so I took a poll on my bookstagram about whether or not I should tackle my physical TBR, or finish the 15+ series that I already have on the go. 

The results were a resounding “Finish the damn series you slacker”, so that’s what I’m focused on now! For the next couple of months, I’m going to work towards finishing the more than 30 books that I have on my TBR that are all series continuations that I never seem to get to. I feel like once I’m through those, I’ll feel better about starting so many new series all the time…. Or maybe I’ll just keep doing that anyway 

The first series I’m tackling: The Zodiac Academy. I have 2 books left in this epically long series and I’m determined to finish them off before the final one releases. 

So that’s pretty much it for over here! Things have been crazy but in the best possible way. Here’s hoping I can read at least a few new books this April!