State of the Stack (July 27, 2015)

This is my monthly State of the Stack post. It is my way to keep track of my review books and to hopefully reduce the stack that I have waiting for me. I take a look at my review commitments on the last Monday of each month. Please feel free to join in and let me know the state of your stack.

Here is my Review Books Spreadsheet. I list them in publication order and sort them by month. I can quickly see how many books I have for each date. Ideally, this keeps me from over-committing to review books.  Check my spreadsheet to find out where I got each book.

I also do this post because sometimes (frequently) review books sit on my stack for a while before I read and review them. I try to read and review books within two weeks of publication date. Sometimes I can't, though, if too many books are releasing on the same date or if the book arrives too near its publication date and my calendar is already full.

I am very grateful to the authors and publishers who support my reading habit.

My Review Pile

September 

This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee (Sept. 22)

October

Spinning Starlight by R. C. Lewis (Oct. 6)

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston (Oct. 6)

Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith (Oct. 6)

 Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix (Oct. 13)

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch (Oct. 13)

A Sliver of Stardust by Marissa Burt (Oct. 20)

 Dead Investigations by Charlie Price (Oct. 20)

Losers Take All by David Klass (Oct. 20)

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly (Oct. 27)

 

Listen to the Moon by Michael Morpurgo (Oct. 27)

Nine Lives by Wendy Corsi Staub (Oct. 27)

November

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett (Nov. 3) The August 5 by Jenna Helland (Nov. 10)

Soundless by Richelle Mead (Nov. 10)

Finding Fortune by Delia Ray (Nov. 10)

Young Widows Club by Alexandra Coutts (Nov. 10)

Dark Turns by Cate Holahan (Nov. 10)

On the Run by Tristan Bancks (Nov. 17)

December

The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith (Dec. 1)

Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood (Dec. 8)

I Read This Month

These are listed in the order I read them. Links go to my reviews for all that have been posted already. Otherwise, the date the review is scheduled for is listed.

1. Public Enemies by Ann Aguirre (Aug. 1) 
2. Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell (Aug. 6)
3. Reawakened by Colleen Houck (Aug. 8) 
4. Hunter by Mercedes Lackey (Aug. 22)
5. Bridget Wilder: Spy-in-Training by Jonathan Bernstein (Aug. 27)  
6. Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers (Aug. 29)
7. Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa (Sept. 3)  
8. Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas (Sept. 5) 
9. Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales (Sept. 9) 
10. Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty (Sept. 10)
11. Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron (August 5)
12. No Virgin Island by C. Michele Dorsey (August 12)
13. Dreamland by Robert L. Anderson (Sept. 12) 
14. The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (Sept. 1) 
15. The Fall by James Preller (Sept. 16)
16. Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko (July 29)
17. Dark Waters by Chris Goff (Sept. 9)
18. Walk the Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson (Sept. 17)
19. The Heat of the Moment by Katie Rose (Sept. 17)
20. Connect the Stars by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague (Sept. 19)
21. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate (Sept. 23)
22. Breaking a Legend by Sarah Robinson (Sept. 24)
23. What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler (Sept. 24)

Read Previously, Reviews Posted This Month

1. Minutes to Kill by Melinda Leigh (July 1)
2. Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker (July 2)
3. Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George (July 2)
4. Gone for You by Jayne Frost (July 4)
5. Paperweight by Meg Haston (July 4)
6. Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls by Elizabeth Varadan (July 8)
7. Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo by Brian Falker (July 9)
8. Your Next Breath by Iris Johansen (July 8)
9. Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson (July 11)
10. Nightborn by Lou Anders (July 18)
11. Lost by S. A. Bodeen (July 23) 
12. Daughter of Dusk by Livia Blackburne (July 25) 

I Added These Books

These are listed in the order I received them. Links go to Amazon. Date published is listed in parentheses.

1. Led Astray: The Best of Kelley Armstrong by Kelley Armstrong (Oct. 1)
2. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate (Sept. 22)
3. No Virgin Island by C. Michele Dorsey (Aug. 11) 
4. Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron (Aug. 11)
5. The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (Sept. 1)
6. Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko (Aug. 4) 
7. Dark Turns by Cate Holahan (Nov. 10)
8. Dark Waters by Chris Goff (Sept. 15)
9. Nine Lives by Wendy Corsi Staub (Oct. 27)

Next Month's Plan

If I can keep reading at my current pace, I should be able to read and schedule reviews for all of the books on my stack before I begin work again on August 31. I can't remember the last time I was totally caught up on review books. I just have to keep from adding any more to the stack.