Could I spend Friday Book Club talking about more than one book? Yes, absolutely. I may in fact immediately do a February post for a few of the other ones I've finished lately, but today all I really want to talk about is Mikoto and the Reaver Village.

(And I'm switching the stylistic font choices of this series temporarily, because I can't imagine anyone wants to read a billion paragraphs in italics.)

Mikoto and the Reaver Village by Forthright (Fantasy)

My Thoughts: I discovered Forthright what feels like a billion years ago (but was actually July 2018) via a blog post by Ilona Andrews and I've pretty much been obsessed ever since.  It's just something about their books. Maybe it is as Andrews says, that they are low heat and high intimacy, but as the series goes on it is one I consider anchored by romance but romance adjacent. As the cast grows I think the plot moves by the strength of all the characters, not just the main couple and the combination forces me to pay attention, especially in a story like Mikoto's.

Each book builds on information from the previous one, but in particular this book is tied to Kimiko and the Accidental Proposal and heavily features the characters from it. And as many times as I've reread that since it's original publishing in 2018, there were moments where I had to wrack my brain to correctly remember the relationships and for me that meant, when combined with the plot, Mikoto was a slow read. That almost never happens. But I felt immersed and caught by these characters and the unexpected couple at the heart of the story.

The world of the Amaranthine is familiar but different, and the decisions the main types of people (Amaranthine, Humans, and Reavers) make are based on rules that feel foreign but are never arbitrary. Thus when individuals make decisions that my brain might initially take umbrage with, I usually need to step back, reread, and consider how one reacts in this world. From that viewpoint it almost always makes sense, even when it can read a little cold-blooded.

I feel like a lot of that might end up coming across as vague, but I really really enjoyed reading this book. It made me want to own a physical copy, so I can have the feel of it and become familiar with where on an actual page my favorite parts are. The only thing that prevented me from immediately rereading it was that I went back and read Kimiko instead. Forthright is right up there with my other favorite authors, whose books I pine for but then end up despondent because I finish them in a day. I definitely think you should read it, but it does not stand alone so read the other three first. But that's not a bad list to have in front of you lol. 

Megan Batoon says in her most recent video that 2021 just feels like an addendum (if not the unasked for epilogue) of 2020, and honestly? Same.

I don't typically do resolutions, thus the general preponderance of content that specifically pushes improving oneself in various ways doesn't usually get to me. And while I can't say if that specifically is what changed this year, either way, the beginning of January has been ROUGH to say the least. I never like the cold, bleak period after Christmas, but combined with what felt like unending days of allergy terribleness and it was a special hell of Groundhog Day sadness. That to be completely honest is still mostly hanging around, which I think is true for the majority of us who are paying attention to COVID (+ US politics) and trying to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

But I did find a little joy in reporting back my wardrobe additions for 2020, so I'm going to do my best to keep things going in 2021, starting with a word of the year. This year, for good or for ill, I've decided to go with Practice. That perspective, that practice brings progress but not perfection - because perfection isn't possible - really speaks to me at this time in my life where I'm struggling with any sense of normality. But I'm going to keep trying to push that overall purchase number down while also pushing the percentage of secondhand up, and after being inspired by Marielle's round up I'm starting with a concrete goal of:

Reducing the number of new-to-me items this year by 25%.

And 25% brings me down to 60 items, which is approximately (if I decide to think of it that way) 5 items per month. Now objectively this sounds like a totally achievable goal, but it's.... January 14th at the time of writing and I've purchased 6 items. So. We'll see. It's about practice (again) and I've never had a concrete goal of this type so what the hell. It's something different at least. Next goal:

Capture existing wardrobe in a tracking app.
(For fellow Android users, Smart Closet specifically.)

Now I admit this one is totally inspired by Frisky Gatos, but again, I think it's good to know, really know, what I own as I try to bring down even more the number of pieces I add to it. She has an incredible Instagram post about using an app and how she uses it to stay aware of what she actually has. As a goal I would probably say this one is the most intimidating, entirely due to the fact that it is tedious and super time consuming. It took me about 2 hours to do coats/outerwear. JUST COATS AND OTHER OUTWEAR.

(Pushing a boulder uphill, but pushing it nonetheless.)

I figure this means it's a slow goal and it won't have an end date other than 2021. After the slog of outerwear I managed to eventually finish sweaters and then denim, so I do think it's manageable. Just kind of the opposite of fun (for me). I definitely won't be tracking pajamas, and I'm 50/50 on athleisure and active wear. I have enough sports bras that I'm almost 100% positive I don't want to track them, but since I do some sort of physical activity everyday it's also the category I wear the most. I don't know how I'll feel about this later on in the year, so it's going to the bottom of the list with a huge maybe sticker next to the category.

Those are the primary goals, the last one is an open ended, kind of "if it doesn't make me sad" goal, and thus won't go in bold type: track the dollar amount of what I spend on clothing. I tried doing this... maybe 7 or 8 years ago? And got horrified and crapped out early. Which probably means I should have forced myself to do it again the next year, but WHATEVER. Young and less committed me will not be held to these ridiculous standards! We're living and learning here g*dammit! Now even if I successfully do this I'm not promising to share the final number, I feel like that might bring me to the "do or die" ledge of living some portion of my life on the internet, but ultimately I think I want to know. Or that's how I feel today anyway.

But that's it! Two big goals, one baby goal, who the hell knows how it'll all go. Thanks for sticking with me even though the global pandemic has me super disinclined to put on real clothes.