Reading Wrap Up – October 2022

I read zero books in October! I hesitated to even call this a reading wrap up because of just how little I read but I’m sticking with it. So here’s my sad story about why I didn’t read in October.

On Saturday October 1st, I went to the library as I typically do on Saturdays and I was super excited to read as I had a couple ARCs I was excited about and I was also picking up Defend the Dawn, the sequel to my favorite book of the year so far. As I was driving home, my vision was weird in my left eye and I assumed it was from my contacts. So I get home and take out my contacts…and my vision stays blurry in one eye. I do a teledoc appointment with a doctor who says she can’t help and totally freaks me out saying I need an optometrist immediately. I desperately search for a doctor but on a Saturday, no one is open. I drive to the ER and on the way, my vision starts to clear up. I wait in the parking lot as my vision goes back to normal and decide not to go in. My vision is mostly good for the next few days but occasionally blurs or my eyes sting. I see my eye doctor on Monday and she says nothing is wrong, it seems to be a fluke but don’t read or wear contact for a week. Everything stays fine and a week later I’m back to wearing contacts with no further issues.

So in theory, I could start reading again on the 7th but I just couldn’t do it. I knew the doctor said it was ok but I was freaked out by what had happened and some how convinced myself it would happen again if I read. I kept getting excited to read and then watching TV with a book in my lap. I occasionally read a couple pages and then would convince myself my eye hurt or was going blurry (it was 100% in my head) and stop. In total, I read 87 pages in October.

I finally started reading for real this weekend, reading over 200 pages in two days and finishing a book. It was the first book I had finished since September 23rd. I’m reading again today and have been watching a bunch of BookTube to get myself excited about reading. I think I’m over the worst of it and ready to come back to blogging as well.

Throughout all of this, I missed the publication of 4 ARCs, the first time I’ve ever not read an ARC by the publication date. I started to feel bad but really, things happen and I’m not counting these against myself. Here are the four ARCs which I missed but hope to finish by the end of the year.

• A Turn of the Tide by Kelley Armstrong – published October 4
• The Breakup Agency by Sheila McClure – published October 4
• Catalyst by Brandon Crilly – published October 11
• Magic to Do by Elysa Gardner – published November 1

As I look to November and finishing out 2022, there are several books I want to read and I’d like to finish those 4 ARCs to start 2023 with a clean slate. I’m going to mood read completely in November and may do the same for December although I’d really like to participate in the Reindeer Readathon again if I’m up to it. After spending a month thinking about books but not reading any, here are the ones currently at the top of my ever changing list of book priorities. As you can see, I’m in the mood for a little bit of everything.