state of the arc #1

State of the ARC is a monthly meme hosted by Avalinah's Books. It's a way to track your reading progress and see how fellow book bloggers are doing as well.

The rules for State of the ARC are quite simple; I couldn't put them any better than Evelina already has:

• Mention that you’re linking up with State of the ARC @ AvalinahsBooks, which is a fun way to share our ARC progress, challenges, wins, woes and mishaps.
• Include the link to this post, or the current State of the ARC post. You can use my State of the ARC image too.
• Don’t forget to visit all the other people in the link-up and comment.
• And most importantly – have fun!

ARC STATS

Compared to some, I know my ARC pile is quite tiny. What you can't tell from the graphs above is that the bulk of my review copies have release dates in March and April, so I don't know how much "personal" reading I'll get done in the next two months. The upside to having a low total ARC count and a large proportion of those titles releasing at the same time of year is that I can get my NetGalley feedback ratio up to a healthy percentage relatively quickly. Always look on the bright side of life, yes?

SYMBOLS DECODED

I have two ARC reviews posting very soon. Later this week I finally get to share my thoughts on A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong. This was one of the very first advance reader copies I got approval for (from Penguin's First to Read program!) and it was equally compelling and harrowing. Early next week I'll review The Storm King by Brendan Duffy, a dark mystery/thriller set in upstate New York.

ON THE HORIZON

Like I said above, March and April are well-booked with ARCs for me to review, which means February and March are well-booked with ARCs for me to read! First up is a final February title, The Bad Daughter by Joy Fielding. I'm a sucker for dark family dramas so this should be right up my alley. Next I'll start to tackle some upcoming March releases including The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen (a dark family period drama), The Balcony by Jane Delury (a Goodreads giveaway), and Tomb Song by Julian Herbert. That last title was the bonus book in my last Powell's Indiespensable box. I cannot recommend that subscription enough; while a little on the pricey side, I adore getting signed first editions in their own slipcases, plus the occasional ARC! It's a real treat all around.

What's the state of your ARC pile at the moment? Are there any spring releases you can't wait to read? And will we be covering any of the same ARCs? Let me know which one you think I should tackle first in the comments below!