protean depravity

Before the year ends and you read the last short reviews of 2023, I want to present the results of the many reading challenges I pledged to finish in the past year, as I think I did pretty decent and want you to be proud of me. :) My friends, you have before you a Bingo Queen, a Melomaniac who finished all 30 Songs for the Reading Rhythm Challenge, the person to come first to finish the Shine and Shadow Double Down Challenge, the person to come first to finish the Horror Aficionados A-Z book title challenge, and someone who barely made the Spooky Bingo too - although I cheated a little bit and changed the books I want to read along the way. So I'm very happy about my overall reading, but I have to say that I did struggle this year, as it was a little too much.

Only two weeks are left until the end of the year and it is already hard to escape all book websites and social media channels madly posting hundreds of anticipated-books lists for the upcoming year. Of course, I too have been peeking a little, although my experience has taught me that the best books in life come surprisingly and the most promising ones usually end up disappointing. I still get a special kind of childish joy from making lists of brand new books, so I made a little compilation here too.

So close to the end of the year, I am now trying to quickly complete the last books for the challenges. If you find these aren't my typical books I'd usually read, you're right, I'm hurrying through them to achieve my goals and discovering one or two good titles along the way. Enjoy the short reviews!

  It's truly crazy how fast this year went past. And although we were spared most of the dreaded catastrophes on the bigger scale, on a personal level this year has taken a toll on me - it was a rough year, to say the least. After watching my father, my best friend, and numerous good friends who returned to their own countries after the pandemic disappear from my life and the jarring legalities and heritage ugliness, I was very thankful to be able to at least travel in the summer to think about things, to soothe the hurt and confusion some.