It’s time to freak out!
Specifically, over books. But I have been proactive this year and I’ve been freaking out since March, 2020, and I think that’s very sweet of me to have practised with such dedication. But since I just hit 100 books and it’s June, it’s time for the…
Let’s be real in that 2020 has not been….great. From being stressful (and horrifying) regarding worldwide events to everyone’s mental health going through the meat grinder…it’s been a lot. I’m personally not super well as I write this — and I’m trying to balance getting better vs working on self acceptance regarding my mental health.
I feel like I’ve done nothing this year since I didn’t have a book release. BUT I have signed with a new agent (which is HUGE and I am so so happy). I have outlined a new book. I have ferociously and continuously edited another book that 👀 who knows 👀maybe has a chance out there in the world 👀 fingers crossed. I’ve kept my dog alive (he has severe pancreatitis). Anxiety is beating me up, but I’m still HERE. 🥺💛
I’m constantly sorry I’m not more active as a blogger, but I AM on instagram as my main platform now. I’m not quitting the blog, but I do feel I have less to say and contribute.
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1. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU READ?
I laugh because I actually lowered my goal from 200 to 150 this year in an effort not to stress as much. Good news is: I haven’t been stressing as much! Being 20+ books ahead makes me feel relaxed? I no longer feel I have to read EVERY day. I even have read more thicker books. So I’ve successfully self-tricked myself into a better reading year. Althooough, I legitimately am not aiming for 200. I want to write in July and not be anxious about reading less.
Look at me! Being HEALTHY. (Well😂I’m still a raging overachiever.)
2. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN READING?
This is a question I add in each year for an excuse to make pie charts. I do love pie (who doesn’t?!).
As usual, I show gross favouritism by reading mostly contemporary and fantasy. Sci-Fi was so small it didn’t get rated on the left pie (sorry, scifi). My star ratings are also pretty much same-for-same as 2019, which I’m a little sad about because I considered 2019 a crappy reading year and I thought I was doing better this year. 😂
3. Best book you’ve read so far in 2020
I haven’t had a ton of 5-stars, but I have some new soul favourites and this is making me very happy.
4. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020
Unless I count rereads, I haven’t been reading sequels this year?! But this is alright because The Chorus of Dragons has fast become my favourite adult epic fantasy series to exist in this dimension. It is SO GOOD. Clever, witty, diverse, dark. 😚When I settle down with pure joy to a 700 page book, you know it’s good.
5. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to
I have The House In the Cerulean Sea, but The Sound of Stars and Seasons Of the Storm (covers = GOREOUS) are both still on their way. I don’t have Chosen Ones because Australian book prices are absolutely obscene and I can’t bring myself to pay $40 for it 😂 Library maybe? I haven’t read anything from her since Allegiant and…lol. But I’ve heard good things about this!
6. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
I am utterly dying for them. DESPERATE I tell you. Also why is it that books you don’t have are way way more interesting than books you do have.
7. Biggest disappointment
Look is anyone going to be shocked if I say A Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes? 😂I’m not even sure it counts here because I had NO expectations and they still managed to be left on the ground.
I didn’t even hate Corovirus Snow’s teenhood because he was so ridiculously bland. It’s not even an ambitious or cunning rise to power. I don’t know what it is? 500 pages and I’m so tired.
8. Biggest surprise
I definitely am pointing to Hold Back The Tide! I just didn’t expect to be so addicted to it and then left in tattered ruins by the edge of the loch, waiting for monsters to come eat me too. It was just brilliant with a dash of horror and a Stranger Things vibe but set in Scotland. With LOCH(ness?)MONSTERS.
9. New Favourite author (debut or new to you)
Oh I have read so many excellent debuts already! A Song Below Water is this gorgeous magical realism about sirens and gargoyles (and other mythological creatures shapeshifting into human) with Black Girl Magic and such a tight sister bond. SO good. Then Only Mostly Devastated made me laugh AND cry and that’s ridiculously ambitious of it. I approve. (Seriously the cutest though!) I also adored A Dress For The Wicked which is this historical alternate reality where fashion is power, and it was both refreshing and ambitious and clever. And lastly The Fascinators! Magical contemporary where it’s our world but…everyone can do magic. And it had complex messy friendships, queer rep, and this lovely storytelling style that felt like home.
No pressure but go read them all.
10. underrated gems you’ve discovered recently
Taking Down Evelyn Tait is a #LoveOzYA delight. So much mischief and epic banter (also friends to lovers!). And definitely Let Me Hear A Rhyme. It’s so good and I need the whole world to read it asap. It’s a love letter to Black teens and New York and music and it deals with grief with such raw aching. And laaaast off (I cannot make myself do one book per category apparently) Beneath Cruel Fathoms was just SO good! It’s all Norse mythology and sea aesthetic, with perfect banter between a merman and a lonely lady. I just kind of fell in love?!
11. rereads this year
So I have reread quite a lot this year already and no regrets 😭💛 Rereading is so comforting, plus I hate the feeling that my favourites can only be enjoyed once. And when it’s been 5+ years, it’s practically a new book anyway if you have a brain like swiss cheese. 😌Also I rediscovered Holly Black’s backlist and JUST how much I’ve been influenced by The Darkest Part of the Forest in my own writing ajfdkslad I love it so much I cannot breathe.
Rereading After The Game surprises no one. The only one I wish I hadn’t reread is History Is All You Left Me unfortunately. Did not age well with me and I dropped the star rating. 😭
12. Book that made you cry
So I thoroughly teared up for Felix Ever After, but for good reasons?! Just there were some really affirming lines and raw confessions that really stole my entire soul. 😭 I will stop crying eventually but not today.
And also More Happy Than Not came along to remind me that I picked it up CHOOSING TO SUFFER and suffer I did 😭How dare you. I am NOT happy, sir, change the title. (Also I love it to bits and its truly a work of art.)
13. Book that made you happy
This is kind of cheating but…my Holly Black rereads! I just rediscovered how deeply I love her backlist, from the cons and schemes of the Sharpe brothers in the Curseworker trilogy, to the magic and dark whimsy of The Darkest Part of the Forest.
It was like being enchanted by a fairy wood and remember why I love telling stories. This year has felt thin for inspiration so I really appreciated this re-fuel.
14. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)
I’m obsessed with the cover of What I Carry and also Deeplight! These aren’t 2020 releases but still!! How dare they 😍will stare forever thank you.
Have I read either of them? No. Let’s not get carried away with high expectations for me.
15. goals for the rest of the year
- I really want to draft a new book and conquer my blank-page-new-book fear. I haven’t done anything from scratch in years so it’s getting ridiculously daunting.
- I
WANT A BOOK DEAL— [muffles self] - I refuse to aim for 200 reads but I also want 200 reads for 2020.
- I’d like to keep this rhythm of actually getting some eARCs read on time.
- Keep diversifying my reading lists. More Black authors. More trans authors. More sapphic romances. More #ownvoices.
- I want someone to make me a cheesecake. 🥺
| What about you? |
time to tell me all your half-yearly news!! are you behind or on track with your Goodreads goal? what have been your highlight reads of 2020 so far? have you done much writing?
This is an impressive book list that I just want to read every single one of. I’m getting back to my soul-aching yearning for writing this year though all my long projects are so dusty it is daunting to try and re-fill my brain with their lore and arcs. On my reading goals I’ve actually discovered a love for sci fi (contrary to your pie). Also, audiobooks!! Where have these bad boys been all my life?!
I want to get my physical tbr down to 30!🙌 I started at 98 and am at 67 atm!
My Goodreads goal is at 2700% because I made the excellent decision to make my reading goal one (1) book and that has made my reading so much more relaxing 😂 I have so far read 27 books which is pretty good for someone who’s been in an awful reading slump for like 50% of 2020 😂😂 I also really enjoyed Felix Ever After this year, and Let’s talk about love, Little Black Bird and The Conqueror’s Saga (which I’ve almost finished)!
I laughed out loud at Coronavirus Snow!! I could not keep his name straight even after reading the whole book, which I kinda enjoyed but more as a “oh, this is why he hated Katniss so much” kinda way. The last third was the worst.
I am quite behind on my Goodreads reading goal so far, so maybe I’ll take a page out of your book and lower my challenge for now 😅 Holly Black’s Curse Workers series is SO GOOD. I read it for the first time this year and they were just so good I don’t know why I had never heard of them before!
A CHORUS OF DRAGONS! Ugh I loved The Ruin of Kings, but I’m still waiting for The Name of All Things to drop in price so I can buy it 😭 The paperback version is being released in like a week, so *soon* it will be mine. Oooh, I would literally sell my soul to read Loveless right now. I can’t wait for it to come out! I hope the second half of your year goes well!! 💕💕
Omg yes to my Kihriiiiiin!!! Would 10/10 trade a cheesecake to read more about him 🥺🙌 I need to read so many from your list, top one would be Felix Ever After, sounds WONDERFUL. Also love that you loved Beneath Cruel Fathoms, such a hidden gem!!! ❤️❤️❤️
I am ahead of my Goodreads goal, I just upped it to 40 which would put me almost equal at last year, though of course I am secretly hoping to read more, I like beating myself, what can I say? Highlight reads of 2020 have been: The City of Brass, The Gilded Wolves, The King of Crows, Night Spinner, Circe and Lady’s Guide To Petticoats and Piracy. No 5 star reads yet though, which I’m a little disappointed by but also expecting because I’m really picky with 5 stars these days! As for writing…..ha ha no. This year has not been a year of fiction for me, I’ve basically not written anything fiction related since before the pandemic which sucks, but I have been able to do more blogging since this whole thing and I did a lot of journalism related stuff at the beginning of the year, so it’s not all bad news!
I have a mid-year freakout post in draft right now – everyone else seems to be posting them pre-July, so I guess I’m late? 😂 I’m editing still. Might see if some of my friends are open to beta-reading soon. I was super behind on my Goodreads’ goal, but then I fell into a new manga series. I am now significantly ahead.
Sending you all the good vibes for life and writing.
I just got so many recs from this and I’m very excited about it. Ruin of Kong’s looks amazing, and so does Hold Back the Tide! I’ve read Tiffany D Jackson’s first two books and really liked her writing style (each one seems to get progressively better, hallelujah), so I definitely need to pick up Let Me Hear a Rhyme! Good luck with the rest of your reading year!
Congrats on reading 100 books! That’s my reading goal for the entire year. More Happy Than Not is one of my all-time favorite books, so I’m glad you enjoyed it. Good luck with the rest of the year!
I recently finished The House in the Cerulean Sea and loved it! It was just such a sweet book. SO excited for Loveless, too!
I keep my goodreads goal “realistic” and increase the goal as I get closer, but I feel like last year’s 180 books just set me up for a disappointing number for 2020, especially considering the slump that has been most of this year. I just keep telling myself that it’s not quantity it’s quality…but still.
So I guess I should be picking up The Ruin of Kings then?
i love your goal to keep diversifying your reading so much!! and aah i’m so happy you loved felix and the starless sea so much — those are both books i’m dying to read and i have a feeling they’re going to be new favorites for me too! i also really need to read the house on the cerulean sea and the sound of stars 💓 i’ve been ahead of my goodreads challenge ever since march, which is a first! i guess that’s the only good thing to come out of lockdown 😭 hope you have a great last half of 2020!!
Love this tag, and the graphics you used, and I’m super impressed with how much you’ve read! Lots of them are on my TBR. Because yeah, this year has been A Lot for a bajillion different reasons. Rereads help 🙂
Okay do first things first, I ABSOLUTELY LOOVEEEE YOUR BLOG! It’s been a while since I last visited it and have been meaning to catch up on your posts now that I am back from my unintended 4 month hiatus! 🤷🏻♀️🤣 I LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE IT!!
And HEYY! Soo happy that you’ve signed with a new agent! I know the first half of this year wasn’t that good but I am pretty sure the next half is going to ROCKKK – especially for you! 😉❤️
And damn THOSE PICS! They are soo fucking gorgeous! Is there anything about this post that’s less than art? Don’t think so! 😍😍❤️
I hope your dog is doing better after all that he went through. Severe Pancreatitis sounds very well, severe, but it sounds like you’re doing a great job taking care of him and keeping him healthy. You both deserve celebratory cupcakes!
I also read A Dress For The Wicked this year and really enjoyed it. Solid four stars. I’m hoping that there will be a sequel coming one day. This year I set my challenge low (for me) at 64 books, last year’s was 120 and the year before was 52. I’m 88 percent finished with my challenge, but I might end up expanding it soon.
My highlight reads of this year, even though they both came out last year, are Pet by Awaeke Emezi, a utopian style fantasy, Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young, a feminist dystopian, and The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen, a queer superpowered romance.
I’m planning on starting Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now by Dana L. Davis next as soon I’m done with Meet Cute, A ya anthology.
Well now I want someone to make me a cheesecake too! And also for you to get a book deal, if we’re being honest. As for my Goodreads goal, I now let random.org choose it for me, but like you, I still have goals in my head so what does it matter? I am doing okay I guess. We have very few books in common so far this year, sadly! I do recommend The Sound of Stars though! And I didn’t hate Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as much as you did (also what a clunky title!) but yeah I mean, it certainly wasn’t everything I hoped for.
I am happy to make you a cheesecake. I just don’t know how to get it to Queensland… But if we do go up there to visit in-laws, I will deliver it to you.
😂💛💛 aw you are so kind
Congratulations on your new agent, that’s definitely a huge accomplishment 🙂 !!
Alas, I’m always perpetually behind on my reading goal. And my goal isn’t even high!!
But I did read some great books this year. Notably, I really enjoyed The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang !! I also really liked The Queen of Nothing, mostly because I love Jude so much. *[mild QON spoiler ahead]* Also I’m such a sucker for redemption arcs and it was full of them. I know one of the redemptions didn’t seem convincing to many people but I lOVe sibling bonds so I was satisfied with it, lo).
First of all I LOVE LOVE LOVE those graphics!! They so pretty uwu *insert heart eyes*
But also, I’m freaking glad I’m not the only one not having a great 2020 in terms of reading, disregarding the terrible state of the world.
FELIX!! THE STARLESS SEA!! I’m scared to read them and have my heart broken but also SO excited to read aghhh. Also counting down the days till I can read Loveless and the Cardan book, which I still can’t remember the freaking name. Tis a disaster.
We be twinning on that RW&RB reread though… bad life choices tbh but I’m not mad about it.
But also oh no so sad you didn’t like Ballad, I’m avoiding reviews because I want to go in blind, but that sucks. I’ve heard such mixed things
Good luck with the goals! I would make you cake but ya know, we live on different continents, so it might be hard… welp. I too want to diversify my reading as much as possible 🙂
I want someone to make me a cheesecake too😂😂
Also thanks for all the book titles and reviews! I’ve been needing books to read. Also I LOVE your book The Boy Who Steals Houses. I haven’t read A Thousand Notes yet, but I want to SO bad.
I’ve been in a huge reading slump most of quarantine, so I am SOOOOOOO behind on my reading challenge! Luckily I’ve gotten out of it (mostly), but now I have a super intimidating stack of books to read! Love that for me! Anyways, I’m getting ready to dive into a bunch of books I’ve been saying I want to read all year (and for a while now beyond that lol): To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the Cruel Prince by Holly Black, and A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. They’ve been on my pile forEVER now and I’m excited to read them!
On the plus side though, I’ve read several new favorites this year (before The Slump): Aristotle and Dante, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R King, Seeing Voices by Olivia Smit, and The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by Daven McQueen (that last one in particular DESTROYED me).
Good luck on your next half of 2020!
I WILL MAKE YOU A CHEESECAKE, CAIT YOU DESERVE IT🥺🥰
I’m so happy to see you managed to read so much this year and this blog post makes me want to add sooooooo many books to my TBR. I’ve heard amazing things about Felix Ever After and can’t wait to read it, and you really make me want to get a copy of A Dress for the Wicked as well!
Wishing you all the best for all of your goals, YOU CAN DO IT ALL. 🥰