Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag
I’m writing this before it’s technically ‘mid-year’ (because I’m a rebel) although by the time I actually post this it will be after ‘mid-year’ so no one will know. Except you. Because I just told you.
…
But my point is, as of right this very moment, these are the books I’ve read for the year so far and how I feel about them all YAY.
I’m also probably going to give more than one answer for each question for no other reason than I’m indecisive and you can’t make me choose *folds arms defiantly*
So far this year I have:
Read 52 books (my goal for the year is 100 so I’m on track *pats self on back*)
Rated 15 books 5 stars
Rated 16 books 4 stars
Rated 14 books 3 stars
Rated 2 books 2 stars
Rated 3 books 1 star
DNFed (did not finish) 6 books
This to me is a solid start to the year. I feel like I’m generally pretty good at picking books I know I’m going to like. With the exception of 2 of the 1 star books (which I genuinely had expected to like) nothing else is majorly unexpected. So yay!
1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2017.
I have rated fifteen books five stars this year. FIFTEEN. That is HUGE by my standards. To give a more accurate representation though out of those fifteen books, six of them were re-reads where I had previously already rated them five stars. So I’m not going to include them (because five of those six were Harry Potter and otherwise my answer for everything will just be Harry Potter and that’s probably not ideal). So that leaves me with nine new-to-me five star books. The nine I’m left with are pretty varied – we have a mix of young adult, adult and one graphic novel. The one that stands out the most to me would have to be The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. This book was just everything to me. When I finished it I ranted about it to my boyfriend. I Googled stuff about the characters and the planets they come from. I was completely swept up in the journey they (literally) went on throughout the book. Two of my favourite things are character-based books and space. This book is fantastic characters IN space. A winning combination (at least for me… I can see how this book isn’t for everyone. Not a lot happens. But not a lot happens in space! So it’s great!)
2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2017.
A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab OR Our Dark Duet also by V. E. Schwab.
This woman can do no wrong. I am here for anything and everything she writes. I also feel like her pacing is pretty consistent throughout a series/trilogy etc – I haven’t experienced second book syndrome with any of her books so yay!
Also (I did warn you I would pick multiple books), Undivided by Neal Shusterman is one of the BEST conclusions to a series I have read EVER. I have so many feelings about this series as a whole. But that conclusion was epic and even though I finished it at the beginning of the year I still don’t think I’ve fully come to terms with everything in that book. If you’ve never heard of this dystopian series, let me enlighten you. It’s set in a world where abortion is illegal, however parents can choose to essentially retroactively terminate their child by having them ‘unwound’ once they reach a certain age. The government has decided this isn’t actually killing the child, instead the process keeps the child ‘alive’ in a ‘divided state’. Their divided body parts then go to help others who need transplants etc. This series deals with some obviously VERY heavy subject matter and deals with ethics and religion and a multitude of other things in such a thoughtful way. I loved the whole series from start to finish but the way everything is wrapped up is just amazing, in my opinion.
3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to.
A List of Cages by Robin Roe
History is All You Left me by Adam Silvera
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
I only own Strange the Dreamer and The Upside of Unrequited so they are definitely on my radar to read sooner rather than later.
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
The illustrated edition of Prisoner of Azkaban I COULDN’T NOT INCLUDE A HARRY POTTER ANSWER SOMEWHERE I JUST COULDN’T I HAVE NO SHAME.
There are no actual new books releasing in the second half of the year that I’m super pumped for though… that’s weird… I’m obviously forgetting something…
5. Biggest disappointment.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown.
I had such high expectations for this. THE HIGHEST. I was convinced I would enjoy it. I’d heard about so many elements in it that I should have loved but I enjoyed nothing about this book after hyping it up for sooooo long. Even putting off reading it because I knew that when I eventually did read it I would love it and want to immediately buy and read the rest of the series. NOPE.
6. Biggest surprise.
Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley
This graphic novel did things I was NOT expecting. I went into it just expecting a kind-of cute coming of age story but this went soooooo far beyond that and made me think about life and relationships and just everything in a really profound way (I can have deep feelings…sometimes) and I honestly can’t wait to read it again. I don’t actually own a copy of it though I only borrowed it from my library but DAMN I will be buying this. This is such an amazing (and sometimes twisted) story that I honestly can’t believe was told in graphic novel format for how attached I’ve become to it.
7. Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you)
I’m going to go with Patrick Ness (new to me this year) because I have read two VERY different books from him this year and thoroughly enjoyed both and I am intrigued to read more by him because all of his books just sound so interesting and like they don’t all necessarily fit into the same genre. Can’t wait to pick up more from him. Pretty sure I have at least one more of his books sitting on my shelf unread, so I could probably start there. Probably won’t. Because that makes sense…
8. Newest fictional crush.
I don’t have a whole lot of fictional crushes. I don’t swoon over potential love interests in stories and I don’t ship characters or have OTPs. I just don’t. BUT. Rhysand (I know he’s not reeeeeally not new but he was in ACOWAR which is new so that works…right…right…) is still pretty crush-worthy soooo...
9. Newest favourite character.
Alucard from the A Darker Shade of Magic Series (totally counts because I don’t remember him being in the first book, right? (That would be awkward if I'm saying he's a new favourite character and I forgot about him but I swear he's either not in the first one or just barely mentioned. Like they mention him. But we don't meet him. Please let me be right!!) ANYWAY I read books two and three this year which I KNOW he is in. I love him. I love his sass (especially the sassy banter with Delilah). I love him bickering with Kell. I love him being all cocky and confident with Rhy while still being sweet and adorable but also just sass for days. Hands down one of my favourite characters and I loved how much we got to learn about him in A Conjuring of Light, even the parts that broke my heart.
Also, Kate from This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet… and August (let’s be real). But mostly Kate. She was such an AWESOME character to read from. I love that at the very start of the first book when we are introduced to her she is literally in the process of burning down a freaking church… but for her own perfectly justified reasons. She is such a complex and interesting character and in my mind she’s completely real. That’s how well fleshed-out she is. I believed every choice she made and every badass action she took. I love her.
Wow this tag has literally turned into me gushing about V E Schwab. I was so worried I’d be spamming Harry Potter for every answer that I did not see this coming. I ain’t even mad.
10. Book that made you cry.
I don’t really cry when I’m reading BUT I may have had a single tear rolling down the cheek while my heart was completely shattering while I read Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley. When dogs are sick or hurt in books I am 10000% not ok with it and I don’t cope particularly well. I usually put the book down, walk away, close the door and then complain to my boyfriend about the fictional dog and how I don’t want to keep reading because if I just don’t keep reading technically the dog doesn’t get any worse and everything could maybe end up ok and happily ever after?
11. Book that made you happy.
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
This books isn’t a typically happy story – it deals with some very tough content at times. But overall this book just put me in a really good mindset and gave me cliché hopeful feels. I finished the book feeling optimistic for all of the characters and where they were going in life and then also for all the people in my life (awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww). It was just a great time all round.
12. Favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year.
I honestly don’t think I’ve watched any adaptations where I’ve read the book first…
Potentially unpopular opinion here, but I don’t really like watching movies that much (adapted from books or not)… I way prefer TV shows, but I also find it really hard to start new shows and instead I tend to just keep re-watching the same show over and over again like a perfectly normal human being.
I think I’ve only been to the movies once this year (Guardians of the Galaxy 2) and the only movie I remember watching at home so far is when I re-watched John Wick (in preparation for John Wick 2…which I then never even went and saw).
The only adaptation I have watched this year is 13 Reasons Why, however I haven’t read the book yet so I have no thoughts on it compared to the book. I did love the show though and plan to read the book at some point so that I can compare the two. I thought the show was incredibly powerful and while I can definitely see why it has raised concerns with parents and schools etc, I think it is important that these sorts of topics are talked about. Mental illness, bullying, suicide, self-harm and rape should not be taboo. Having a show like this in mainstream media, I think, helps create important awareness and conversations about these topics and might encourage people to come forward who otherwise might not. It also shows a side to bullying that we don’t conventionally see in movies/TV etc – generally the bullies are the ‘popular’ kids, and their bullying of others is a comical aspect and used as an entertaining plot device that the bullied character/s usually have to then overcome. 13 Reasons Why completely flips this around and highlighted how much of a devastating impact these actions can actually have on an individual, which I really appreciated seeing.
Things got a bit deep there. Didn’t mean for that to happen. But I feel pretty passionate about this show and could probably write pages about how much it actually meant to me. I can’t wait to read the book when I finally get a copy.
13. Favourite review you’ve written this year.
I haven’t written a review on any book this year but that is something I’d definitely like to attempt to do in the future. Maybe the second half of the year. Who knows?
But overall I’m just really happy that I at least started my blog this year. I really enjoy having an outlet to talk about one of my favourite things, which is reading. I also forgot how much fun it is to write about something I’m interested in. So that’s fun too. So far my reviews of books are only a summary of my thoughts in monthly wrap ups, but I think I want to start doing more in depth (and spoilery) reviews of some books.
14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)
I’d Die For You and Other Lost Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald (the colour, the foil YASSSSS)
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (again… the colour, the foil…)
Can you tell I tend to really like books that aren’t proper pictures/images… I prefer interesting patterns, use of foil/shiny bits, a good font and simple colour schemes. AND NO ACTUAL FACES OF ACTUAL HUMANS. JUST STAAAAAHHP WITH THE FACES. please.
15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
At the start of the year I wrote a list of books I already owned that I wanted to read by the end of the year. These are the books that are left on that list:
Hades’ Daughter by Sara Douglass
Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
The rest of the ASOIAF series by George R R Martin
The rest of the Death Note series by Tsugumi Ohba
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (Although after recently reading comments made by Mr Sanderson I am much less inclined to read his books. I do however already own this trilogy).
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer
Soooo that’s 16 books. Which is totally achievable. But… I keep getting distracted from this list. Considering I only read 9 books from the list in the first half of the year. But no worries. This is fine. I'm fine.
This tag was created by ReadLikeWildfire and Earl Grey Books on YouTube.
