Lost in a Good Book

I am undertaking a small but big endeavour this year and while I am older and wiser in terms of time and commitment, I am also coming into this year with oh so many years of blogging behind me that I am not ignoring the lessons of the past. I have dug, sculpted, and set fire to my little corner of the internet and I am content where I have ended up. Because of that, I am going to keep as much harmony as I can in what I plan to do.

Therefore, this year my goals are relatively simple: I am going to read and I am going to review. Just how I am going to do that is going to be thrown into the washing machine.

It’s a huge year in terms of books because Jasper Fforde is finally releasing Dark Reading Matter, the final book in the Thursday Next series. I did a reread last year to refresh my memory and I have been incredibly patient (kinda) over the last thirteen years while he published five other books in the meantime. I reviewed this series my first year of blogging. Reading The Eyre Affair was one of the books that prompted me to start this blog. So to be finally able to close the series and still be here to review it is pretty awesome. It was announced in February last year the expected publication date was September 2025 but due to “quality control issues” it’s now 2026. At this stage June. Either way that’s more information than we’ve had the previous twelve years.

In terms of regular goings on, I have my usual posts coming up: Book Bingo, Top Five of 2025, my blogiversary giveaway, as well as another year of my #AussieYAChallenge. I can’t believe this is the third year of my challenge. I was terrified of launching it in 2024 now here I am realising the world didn’t end and I’m loving it.

My reread series of this year is the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger. I adore this series, absolutely adore it and to return to these characters (and maybe finish a half done review for their books) would be divine. I am quite excited to start all the way from the beginning and maybe even venture into the extra series Carriger has which have been on my to read pile for just as long.

The big news is I am going to be opening my review requests again. Granted only briefly, but I have missed being asked to read some amazing books, to have authors trust me with their work and to be able to share some fantastic stories with you all. Details will be coming in their own post so keep an eye on that. If it’s going to be like it was before it’s going to be tough, but again, the book world has changed dramatically since I was last offering this so who knows, I might open the doors to an empty field of nothing and nobody. But I can’t wait to find out.

The other challenge of my year is I am pushing myself to read paperbacks again. The books I want to read are near impossible to find as audio, especially Aussie YA, but even good fiction books I come across at work or are recommended to me I can only get a physical copy. This says a lot about the availability of audiobooks, but personally I need to get back into the habit too and I am hoping this is the year to do better. I have been slowly getting there, but I need to make a conscious effort. It’s hard because audio lets me get through a book faster and more conveniently. Clearly what I need is to have the time to stop and sit and be content with only reading, not reading while also doing x, y, and z.

So I’m still reading, still reviewing. I am throwing in some challenges for myself out there while being manageable and keeping the fun of blogging alive. Aside from that I am heading into this year with a hope to discover some amazing books, share some amazing reviews, and have fun on this wild ride.