How do you rate your books?

I used to go off gut but now use the CAWPILE system to rate my books. I generally don’t show the rating break-down in my reviews but I’m considering it for the future.

Here is my current star system:
★★★★★ - Incredible book, one of my favorites of the year
★★★★ - Enjoyed but there were minor elements that prevented this book from being a favorite
★★★ - Mediocre; Enjoyed but wasn’t fully drawn in
★★ - Mostly disliked; I had several issues with this book
★- Completely disliked

Why do you rate books you DNFed (did not finish)?

I used to rate DNF books but I no longer do. Instead I compile them in a yearly summary of which books I DNFed, at what point, and why. These books get posted to my book journal and not to the book reviews blog.

How Often do you Post Reviews?

I post on a sort of alternating schedule - Mondays and Fridays one week, followed by a week of just Monday. Since I am not a very fast reader, this schedule allows me to post regularly while still having enough time to read and write up my reviews. Occasionally I take a hiatus from posting reviews in order to catch up. Hiatuses will be clearly posted towards the top part of the home page.

How do you get ARCs (advanced Reader Copies)?

I am a member of both NetGalley and Edelweiss. Through these organizations I request books that I am interested in and occasionally receive a copy for an honest review. Books received from these groups are always mentioned at the beginning of a review post. To see more of my ARC stats, including how many books I’ve been given or denied, click here.

How do you decide which book to read next?

There are a couple factors at play here. First, I am very much a mood reader so very rarely can I plan ahead what I want to read. Second, many of my books are borrowed from the library, so I’m a bit at the mercy of what books become available next to me (however, if I am not in the mood for that library book yet, I extend my hold which allows the next reader to check it out and puts me at the front of the line when it’s checked back in). I have some auto-buy authors that I always keep an eye out for their new works - those usually end up at the top of my reading list whenever they release. Finally, if I receive an ARC for review, I try to prioritize those so I can have my review out approximately one week before the release date.

What is your monthly TBR?

My monthly TBR is made up of books that I would like to get to over the course of a month. This doesn’t always happen though. Sometimes I lose interest in a book before I get to it, sometimes another book comes along that I’d rather read first, and sometimes I start a book only to realize it’s not for me (or not the right time for me to read it). Not all books in my monthly TBR will get a review. Eventually I’d like to do monthly wrap ups but those are pretty time consuming to write so I haven’t started that process yet.

What are your favorite Genres?

I am a huge fan of literary, fantasy, science fiction, children’s and horror, but I’ll dabble in other genres like contemporary, historical fiction and mystery/thriller. Sometimes I read the occasional romance.

What are your favorite and least favorite book tropes, themes, or characteristics?

Favorite: Epic journeys, fun/interesting magic systems, found family/strong friendships, pandemic/end-of-the-world-esque dystopians, first contact (i.e. aliens), slow-burn romance, anything space or astronaut-related, cozy reads. Bonus points if there is mouth-watering descriptions of food involved.

Least favorite: insta-love, love-triangles, blatant miscommunication, awkward/inorganic infodumpy world-building, unlikeable main characters (usually).

Who are your favorite and/or auto-buy authors?

In alphabetical order, these are my top authors as of late: Katherine Arden, Mona Awad, Ernest Cline, Blake Crouch, Kate Hope Day, Grady Hendrix, Alexander Scott Howard, R.F. Kuang, Naomi Novik, Emily St John Mandel, Seanan McGuire, Madeline Miller, Erin Morgenstern, Liz Moore, Sequoia Nagamatsu, Waubgeshig Rice, Brandon Sanderson, Samantha Shannon, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jessica Townsend, Catriona Ward, Andy Weir, Chuck Wendig.

What are your current favorite books?

Series: The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien (including The Hobbit), the Winternight Series by Katherine Arden, The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire, the Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend

Books: Contact by Carl Sagan, The Eight by Katherine Neville, Project Hail Mary and The Martian by Andy Weir, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Station Eleven, Glass Hotel, and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, Into the Quick by Kate Hope Day, Bunny by Mona Awad, How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, Moon of the Crusted Snow/Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice, Sourdough by Robin Sloan, The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Do you use affiliate links?

Currently, I do not use any affiliate links nor am I monetarily compensated for my reviews. I do not feature any ads on this site either. I do utilize Net Galley and Edelweiss for ARCs but will make sure to clearly indicate which books are ARC reviews. All my reviews link to Goodreads (so that you can add the book to your shelf or find where to purchase it) or to The StoryGraph (for valuable information such as specific content warnings). If I do use affiliate links or include sponsorships in the future, it will be clearly indicated on this site.