THIS IS THE MID YEAR BOOK FREAKOUT TAG 1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2024
I have read seven books that I have absolutely loved this year. The oTHIS IS THE MID YEAR BOOK FREAKOUT TAG 1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2024
I have read seven books that I have absolutely loved this year. The one that blew me away and I find new things to appreciate about it the more I think about it is Family Meal. The book covers family, love, loss, purpose. But the more I ruminate, I realise that it also delves into love, avoidance selflessness. It's a book I find it difficult to stop talking about. Another standout is my reread of Less and that is a book that deserves a lot more respect.
2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2024
This is a two (three?)-fer. I loved The World We Make for its existentialism and begrudging optimism. For a sci-fi book about destruction, I appreciate that it didn't end with a big bad battle. Like Dr Strange (2016), it requires a much more practical and intelligent way to avoid the apocalypse and erasure of all existence. I also absolutely loved Newcomer. I'm gaining an appreciation for Japanese mysteries and the next book A Death in Tokyo was also a favourite. It does bother me that we only have four books translated to English in a 12-book series. Minotaur Books need to hire some translators because a girl can't learn Japanese fast enough to read the rest of the series.
3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to? The Tainted Cup I'm currently reading Bennett's first book and I am loving it so much I want to read the rest of his bibliography.
Questions changed for Goodreads. I've been on here for ten years and I thought it would be interesting to reflect.
1. when did you start your account? June 2014
2. what were your staple reviews when you first started your account vs now? I read a lot of erotica. Like, a lot. I also predominantly read airport paperbacks like Sidney Sheldon and John Grisham. Now I read a mix of genres—fantasy, sci-fi, literary fiction. I'd go as far as calling myself eclectic.
4. how has your reading and the reading trends of the community changed since you started your account? My GR friends have evolved from back then. In 2014, the most common books I'd see were like The Black Dagger Brotherhood or Darkfever. There was a lot more paranormal romance. Nowadays it's a heady mix ranging from very niche nonfiction about sharks to Tad Williams' series. I love how much my circles have grown. The greater community is on the same shit in a different year.
5. anything you want to share about your life that has changed since you started your account? Lord, I got a cat, my ten year relationship ended, I've had like nine jobs, I have way more friends, I'm a lot more open. My reading has also slowed down significantly. I know this isn't the same brain that could finish 200 books in a year.
6. why do you keep writing reviews? I love the interactivity that comes with some of them. It's always interesting to experience how others have experienced the book. I also love having reviews so that I can have keynotes to look back on when I want to revisit a book. It's a kind of measure of posterity and a record of how a book changed my life for better or worse. It also visibly shows a trajectory of growth (or regression depending on who you ask.)
7. what you are excited about/hoping for in the future of GR? I'm not excited for anything but I stay hoping for a better user interface. I also hope that one day the larger GR community will learn that someone's negative review of a personally beloved book isn't a targeted attack and the difference between a well-written book and a well-loved book. Also x3, I hope GR finally allows us to block books because I know I'm sick of seeing some titles on my feed.
Here's to the next ten years of reading great books. PS. I don't see this hell site surviving another ten years so I hope you are all still archiving your reviews.
(view spoiler)[End of Year Tag 1) Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish? Yes.
Grimm's Fairy Tales. The Arabian Nights. The 100(view spoiler)[End of Year Tag 1) Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish? Yes.
Grimm's Fairy Tales. The Arabian Nights. The 100 Years of Solitude. A Terry Pratchett Book. Black Leopard Red Wolf has to be started this year. The finale of the Inheritance Trilogy. The sequels of Mistborn, Gentlemen Bastards, and Murderbot. Start some scifi, gothic horror and classics books.
2) Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year? What I'm currently reading I guess.
3) Is there a new release you're still waiting for? The World We Make
4) What are three books you want to read before the end of the year? See no. 2) above.
5) Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favourite book of the year? Of course.
6) Have you already started making reading plans for next year? Lol. (hide spoiler)]
I failed all my goals for 2021. (view spoiler)[Also had a killer slump around July. I have barely read 50 books this year but out of them, so far, I hI failed all my goals for 2021. (view spoiler)[Also had a killer slump around July. I have barely read 50 books this year but out of them, so far, I have 15 favourites and 11 became hall of famers. So while the quality of my reading has been high, the quantity is abysmal.
There's an End of Year Book Tag. Decided to answer the questions here.
1. Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?
Yes. I had started [image], the first book in Malazan: Book of the Fallen but I kept getting lost and decided I shall return to it later. Not this year though.
2. Do you have a book to transition into the end of the year?
This was a classic misogynist falls in love with stubborn love interest with little agency that was so popular decades ago. Perhaps I'd have tolerated it better a few years back but I'm too grown for it now.
KJ. Charles has ruined me for all other historical romance fiction. She's my benchmark. Any book that doesn't measure up will suffer. Additionally, the story was just cliche and boring.
I'm still not over the fact that this story read like something some of my classmates in primary school would concoct. And for it to have a narrator who is a magazine writer and still read so amateurish and bland is unacceptable.
Where do I even begin with this one? I have never been more disappointed in Ms Christie. And I nearly came off the hype train with Crooked House. This book was a collection of occult inspired short "mysteries?" because it seemed more like a collection of anecdotes Ms Christie was told by her imaginary friends when she went a little too hard on expired hallucinogenics. Actually, it was worse than that.
Chabon's writing is without a doubt: brilliant. But I have never read a more despicable main character. I usually love messy MCs. Usually, they're good people who do bad things or bad people who can be surprisingly thoughtful or just an honest examination of the human condition. However, Grady was absolute garbage. I don't mind cheating. Especially cheating brought on by passion or if it's the OTP cheating on whoever they're dating at the time. It just creates room for great drama. Or even cheaters who are just serially promiscuous. However, when you have a character who cheats because he thinks he's got a chronic condition? The fuck? Infidelity isn't genetic jackass. Being in Grady's head made me want to shower multiple times especially when he was riding around with his mistress' dead dog (which he is responsible for its death) to ambush his ex wife at a family function to avoid the fact that he wants to dump his pregnant (with his baby) mistress (and avoid telling her the truth about her dog) so he can possibly bang the 20yo student who is renting his basement. I can read many a shitty main character but I draw the line at Grady.
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For the "Oscars" I held for the best books I read from Nov 2019-Nov 2020, see the spoiler link below.
(view spoiler)[I have decided to award my favourite books that I've enjoyed in the past year. 2020 has actually been a great year in terms of books I've read. The year itself is hot garbage but the books have been an amazing and welcome respite from everything else.
After scouring Pinterest for hours, I stumbled on a Tumblr post that mentioned award season for books. "Best Protagonist", "Best Character" etc. And today I have created a list of nominees from my reading year November 2019-November 2020.
[image]
Without further ado, here are my nominees and champions for the reading year 2020ish.
And the winner is: GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER by Bernadine Evaristo
BEST PLOT
The nominees are: THE NIGHT CIRCUS THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA VICIOUS by VE Schwab THE SWORD OF SUMMER (Magnus Chase and the gods of Asgard #1) MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithewaite
And the winner is: THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA by Scott Lynch
BEST CHARACTERISATION
The nominees are: LITERALLY EVERY BOOK BY JOSH LANYON BLUE ON BLUE VICIOUS THE NIGHT CIRCUS THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by Samantha Shannon GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER
And the winner is: BLUE ON BLUE by Dal Maclean
BEST WORLD BUILDING
The nominees are: THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA THE NIGHT CIRCUS THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE
And the winner is: THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA by Scott Lynch
BEST PROTAGONIST
The nominees are: Arthur from LESS Ilya from HEATED RIVALRY Celia from THE NIGHT CIRCUS Locke from THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA Monty from THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE Alex from RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE Lucien from BOYFRIEND MATERIAL Felix from FELIX EVER AFTER Amma from GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER Kaz from SIX OF CROWS Magnus from THE SWORD OF SUMMER (Magnus Chase and the gods of Asgard #1) Ellery from MURDER AT PIRATES COVE Renee from THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG
And the winner is: Arthur Less from LESS
BEST ANTAGONIST
The nominees are: Everyone in THE LOTTERY Eli Ever in VICIOUS The Gray King in THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA Surt in THE SWORD OF SUMMER (Magnus Chase and the gods of Asgard #1) Ayoola in MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER The Nameless One in THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE
And the winner is: Eli Ever in VICIOUS
BEST SUPPORTING CHARACTER
The nominees are: Hearthstone from THE SWORD OF SUMMER Jean from THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA James Royce Royces; Priya; Bridget; Rhys Jones Bowen from BOYFRIEND MATERIAL Sydney Clarke from VICIOUS Felicity from THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE Donmata from THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE Telemachus from CIRCE
And the winner is: Hearthstone from The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
BEST ROMANTIC LEADS, OTPS & LOVE INTERESTS
The nominees are: Ilya from HEATED RIVALRY Henry and Alex from RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE Lucien from BOYFRIEND MATERIAL Oliver James from THIS IS KIND OF AN EPIC LOVE STORY by Kacen Callender Cooper and Park from WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING (Big Bad Wolf #4) by Charlie Adhara Nick and Charlie from HEARTSTOPPER by Alice Oseman Eadaz; Jannart and Niclays from THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE Monty and Percy from THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE Marco and Celia from THE NIGHT CIRCUS Red from Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert Portia from A DUKE BY DEFAULT (Reluctant Royals #2) by Alyssa Cole Felix from FELIX EVER AFTER
And the winner is: Ilya from HEATED RIVALRY
MOST MEMORABLE ENDING
The nominees are: THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG THE NIGHT CIRCUS THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson VICIOUS MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER CIRCE
And the winner is: jointly CIRCE by Madeline Miller, THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson
And the winner is: CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi
ULTIMATE OVERALL BEST BOOK OF MY READING YEAR 2020 as of November
The nominees are: THE NIGHT CIRCUS LESS GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG*
And the winner is: THE NIGHT CIRCUS
*it's essentially a perfect book for me. Poetic prose, a countless number of words I had to look up in the dictionary, a book that challenges the way I think, niche interests but that stupid fucking ending ruined everything. If it hadn't been for that ending, it would have easily become my favourite book. (hide spoiler)]...more
I won't lie. 2019 was the dumps. From my grandmother's death to losing two jobs to a friend dumping me. I've never been this broke. Actually, I think I won't lie. 2019 was the dumps. From my grandmother's death to losing two jobs to a friend dumping me. I've never been this broke. Actually, I think this was one of my lowest years.
Reading this year wasn't as good as 2018. I didn't meet my reading goals. I also read some of the worst books I've ever read. I am trying this positivity thing so for my low rated books, just look at my shelves.
I will however discuss some amazing characters I've met along the way. The last book I just finished, The Elegance of the Hedgehog is actually one of the most beautiful well written books I've ever read. While I am angrier than a hornet that Renee was taken away from me so suddenly (hence the 1star) I'm still glad I met her.
One of my highlights was the The Wolf at the Door series which introduced me to Cooper and Park. It is a mystery set in a paranormal werewolf USA and it's so damn well written. I also loved loved loved the new Josh Lanyon series, Mainly by Moonlight which follows Cosmo and John. A mismatched couple who stay together despite everyone else rooting for their separation. I am so curious to see where Cos' craft takes him.
Another favourite read was Heated Rivalry because Ilya. Fucking duh.
I have plenty of other books I adored to pieces but these are the ones that come to mind.
At the moment I am reading The Night Circus which I discovered because of Booktube. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know about it before because it's right up my alley. I am loving it so far. I want to chuck Prospero into a woodchipper though. I'm currently on pg. 73. I'm unwell so my family has left me alone to rest so yay reading time? I wish I could get it without the pain though.
2019 has been a year of more lows than highs but with the night circus, I'm thinking 2020 is about to start with some great magic- if I forget the pain thing at least.
Here's to a great 2020 reading year to all!...more
This year was a mixed bag for me- especially after I lost my job in June. So, I am going to do something completely out of my norm. I am going to do aThis year was a mixed bag for me- especially after I lost my job in June. So, I am going to do something completely out of my norm. I am going to do a list. And I am going to be brief.
Favourite books of 2018 (May or may not have been published in 2018)
2017 has been a very hectic year for me. I left a job I hated for an internship. And that went to hell. Then I got another internship, where I am curr2017 has been a very hectic year for me. I left a job I hated for an internship. And that went to hell. Then I got another internship, where I am currently overworked like a donkey with six legs- and hooked on steroids. Due to this, I haven't had much time to read this year and I am very sad because of that. Christmas break isn't bringing any reprieves.
I am glad I got to read a bunch of new authors this year, I am also happy that I have rediscovered my love for classics and the books that got me hooked on novels in the first place.
This year has been one full of downs, downs, more downs and the occasional up because fate- I guess.
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