Challenges: ARC August Reading

Only 2 posts this week because I’ve been working on some job apps (yay, job postings are coming up again! boo, cover letters!), but I’m back with some reading updates and another readathon today. This readathon is actually almost done but I’ve only talked about it over on Instagram so I wanted to provide some updates here too.

4 days left of the month but there’s still time to read! Graphic from Read.Sleep.Repeat

#ARCAugust is hosted by Octavia and Shelly and at Read.Sleep.Repeat, a month-long readathon focused on all those advance review copies you may have piling up, especially for backlist titles. This is the first month I’ve participated and while I’ve still been reading some published books this month, it’s nice to have the extra motivation to get to some of my ARCs.

Also it’s very lowkey, set-your-own-pace style with optional challenges so you do you! Just what I like to see in readathons!

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Here are all of the ARCs I currently own and have yet to read (definitely won’t finish them all this month):

Surviving Tomorrow edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
A Perfect Explanation by Eleanor Anstruther | Spark by Naoki Matayoshi
The Inland Sea by Madeleine Watts

This Is Not the End of Me by Dakshana Bascaramurty
Antique Blues by Jane K. Cleland | The Saddle Hurts, Too by Breezy
knot body by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch

Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai | The Nerves by Lena Suksi
No Problematics by Viola Chen | Under Shifting Stars by Alexandra Latos

Oh boy I have a lot to read but I’m so excited for these releases! Bonus part of this post is that it’ll be a way for me to stay accountable and keep track of all these ARCs I still need to get to. Thanks to the publishers: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Pushkin Press, Minotaur Books, Penguin Random House Canada, Metatron Press, and Raincoast Books!

I have finished one: Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon (thanks Simon and Schuster Canada!), a new YA contemporary that looks at immigration, racism, and segregation in schools (with lots of very topical references to current US administration), and I’ll be sharing my review of that one soon! But you can check out these amazing bloggers for their reviews: Rendz @ Reading With Rendz ; Carol @ Santana Reads ; and Lili @ Utopia State of Mind!

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Octavia and Shelly also noted the privilege of receiving ARCs (international restrictions, often going to white bloggers/influencers) and are encouraging participants to donate their ARCs to own voices reviewers if possible and to share own voices reviews, as well as to consider turning down review requests by publishers and suggesting an own voices blogger in your place.

As I’ve received digital ARCs this time, I won’t be able to donate my current selection but it’s definitely something I’ve been keeping more in mind when requesting review copies or when publishers reach out (super easy to request that pubs prioritize own voices instead of me!). I have been trying to share own voices reviews and highlight BIPOC and LGBTQ+ bloggers whenever I share a review or feature on books by and about BIPOC and LGBTQ+ peoples and that’s something I’ll continue to do! So I just wanted to pass on the reminder here too!

Are you reading any ARCs right now?
What upcoming releases are you most excited about?

Cover images from Goodreads or supplied by publisher.