Remember a few weeks ago, I wrote about how I had these plans to read a literal ton of books in October? I had been coming off my worse reading slump in ages, and dammit, I planned on finally getting some of the books off of my TBR list.

Yeah.

That didn’t happen. Now, to be fair, I did read some. Here’s the list I set out with:

  • Powers and Thrones by Dan Jones
  • Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
  • The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
  • Dynasty by Tom Holland
  • Investigation, Mediation, Vindication by Chris Tullbane
  • Genghis Khan by Jack Weatherford
  • The Will of the Many by James Islington
  • Alexander the Great by Paul Cartledge
  • A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J Penner

I finished the last one, and I’m much further in to Grave Peril. So I did read. But I didn’t really make as much progress as I had hoped to. Now, I knew when I wrote that post that I was never going to get through everything. I had hoped for more progress than I actually made, however.

But, I’m not going to give up, though there are some changes to be made. First off, I’m going to DNF the Genghis Khan book. I’m just not able to get into that author’s writing. I’m going to, probably, DNF Grave Peril. I have this whole rant in progress about how the Dresden Files are utterly disappointing, so I’ll talk more about why I’m not going to keep reading in that post, but suffice it to say, I don’t care for Harry Dresden as a character at all. Finally, I’m going to pause Dynasty and Alexander the Great. I’ll come back to them eventually, but neither have really been started, so putting them back on the “shelf” won’t hurt much.

This month’s Bookie Club book is Ready Player One, which I’ve read twice this year already. I’m going to read it again, mostly because I want to but also because I’m hoping it will spur some momentum to get through some of the other books on my list. I’m also not going to be afraid to start something not on the list if something catches my eye. The third Warlock book came out last month, and I want to read that. I’ve also found some other, cozier, books that I want to read too. I’m beginning to think that the books I have on my list right now are just books I’m not interested in reading.

The Will of the Many was TikTok’s darling for ages, so I thought to read it. But I got about 140 pages in, and I hate the main character, which is why I’ve not gone back to it. But the damn thing was expensive, so I kind of feel like I have to read it. My dumbass should have gotten it through Libby, but nope. Had to buy it. I am going to try again, but if I really can’t stick with it, I’m not going to force myself. I’ll just move on and remember to rent instead of buy.

I’m not far enough into The Priory of the Orange Tree yet to really say if I’ll like it or not. I know it’s a very big book, and so far I’d say I’m leading towards “meh” as my verdict, but I will have to get a bit further into it to make sure.

Investigation, Meditation, Vindication is one that I’ve picked back up after DNF’ing. I’ve read some new reviews of that series, and I think I may be able to overlook how bad the first book started. My biggest complaint is that the MC is a pansy. He lets everyone walk all over him, with no complaint whatsoever, and it bugs me. I sat it aside, but I’m going to try to give it another shot. Supposedly, the romance in this series is pretty good, and I like romance that is written for men.

Anyway, I think I’m going to do better this month. I’m not as ambitious, I’m only aiming for three books total. Trying to do too much meant I really did nothing at all, so fewer is better. I hope.