1. Meg Murray from Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and subsequent related novels
2. Thursday Next from Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair and subsequent books
3. Elizabeth Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. Petrova Fossil from Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
5. Jo March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
6. Xan from The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
7. Charlotte Holmes from A Scarlet Woman and the other Lady Sherlock novels by Sherry Thomas
8. Phryne Fisher from Cocaine Blues and the rest of the series by Kerry Greenwood
9. Anne Shirley from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and the other books in the series
10. Felicity Pickle from A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

How about you? Who are some of your favorite literary heroines, those characters you’d love to have as IRL friends?

1. If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude (romance)
2. Always the Almost by Edward Underhill (romance)
3. Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz (graphic novel)
4. The Davenports by Krystal Marquis (historical fiction)
5. This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs (romance)
6. The Possibility of Life by Jaime Green (nonfiction)
7. Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (memoir)
8. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (fantasy)
9. Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee (romance)
10. Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (mystery)

How about you? Are there any debut authors you’re hoping to support this year?

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl is a freebie, and while I ought to deal with the top ten list from 2022, it’s been a long day and that will take more energy than I have. There’s another freebie week in mid-February, so maybe I’ll aim for then.

Anyway, I figured I could give you ten of the books I currently have checked out from the library that I’m likely to read in the next little while:

1. Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
2. Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
3. The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
4. Gene Luen Yang’s The Search
5. Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
6. Emily Brightwell’s Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders
7. The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
8. Rachel Hartman’s Tess of the Road
9. My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman
10. Amor Towles’ Lincoln Highway

What do you currently have checked out from your library?

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to share our list of authors we discovered last year. Here are ten of mine that I’d gladly read more from (I’ve included the genre of their book I read to make it easier for you):

1. Freya Marske, A Marvellous Light: Historical fantasy
2. Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These: Historical fiction
3. Amber McBride, Me: Moth: Contemporary fiction/verse
4. Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars: Science fiction
5. Malinda Lo, Last Night at the Telegraph Club: Historical fiction
6. Jane Pek, The Verifiers: Mystery/Light suspense
7. Rachel Smythe, Lore Olympus: Mythology/graphic novel
8. Claudia Gray, The Murder of Mr. Wickham: Historical fiction/mystery
9. Stephen Spotswood, Fortune Favors the Dead: Mystery
10. Laura Taylor Namey, A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow: Romance

How about you? Did you encounter any new-to-you authors in 2022 you’d recommend?

Yes, I know this would be better with photos, but it’s late, I want to go to bed, and I haven’t charged the iPhone that doubles as my camera these days.

I’ve been reading up a storm and finished books both yesterday and today. Which means I need to start something new and I’m feeling ambivalent about what that should be. What would make the most sense is to read some more of Sloane Crosby’s Cult Classic and decide whether I should keep it past its due date (tomorrow) and finish it this weekend or give it back as it continues to annoy me. Also, to download whichever audiobook is due back first (I may have five currently checked out) and get listening. But none of that appeals. Maybe tomorrow I’ll pick up one of the books I own that I started last year and give that a whirl. Or read the first ten pages of every book within reach of where I’m sitting and see if that solves the problem.

On the knitting front, I’m working on a Rilke hat, which is knit in garter stitch, and I’m not sure if I’m liking it with this yarn. I’ll probably keep going until after the brim, at which point it will switch over to a larger circular needle and I’ll be able to try it on. I have one sock of a pair done and just stumbled across a gorgeous pair of socks that’s several years old and just needs me to knit a toe. That would make the most sense to pick up, particularly because I also stumbled across a hat I’d knit a friend twelve years ago that I hadn’t ever given her, and I appropriated it, so it’s not like I need another one right this second.

I hope you’re having a more certain week than I am.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to share our reading goals for the new year. I don’t know that I have ten, but here are some of what I’d like to do:

1. Read 52 books. This has been my Goodreads goal number for years, but I haven’t hit it since 2019.
2. Read more of my own collection. We did some rearranging this fall and there’s now a bookshelf that’s entirely comprised of books I own, but haven’t read right in the middle of our living room.
3. Listen to more audiobooks. I start a lot. And then I get distracted or I don’t finish them before they expire or … whatever. Anyway. I finished ten last year, and I think upping that number to a round dozen doesn’t seem unreasonable.
4. Read more diversely. Last year, about a quarter of the books I read were by authors of color, and I’d like to think I could get that number up to at least a third without even trying very hard.
5. Read more nonfiction. Last year, I finished three books, so let’s aim for five minimum.
6. Read more internationally. Sure, British and Canadian count, but let’s try for a book in translation.
7. Read more poetry. I love poems. And if you hurry me into a bookstore and give me only five minutes to buy one book, I’m walking out of there with a poetry collection, because I can definitely find at least one book with one poem in it that resonates in that time and if I can find one, I’ll find more than one. And that just means I own a bunch of poetry books that I haven’t read.
8. Read at least two classics. Last year it was one. One of my 50 by 50 goals is to read a Russian author and The Master and Margarita was recommended to me, so I have to at least give that a shot.
9. Put a book in every bag I own and read them instead of playing on my phone while I’m out. Also, consider finding a couple more pairs of the headphones that are floating around and throw them in, too.
10. Actually review everything I finish. I peter out every year.

Okay, that actually wasn’t very hard at all, and nothing I’ve written here, other than the writing bit seems especially hard, so I’m declaring that a good set of reading goals for 2023. How about you? Do you have any reading goals?