Howdy! How’s your year been so far in terms of reading? Have you read a ton of books, or just managed to get through a couple? For me, I haven’t read anywhere near as many books as I would have liked to.
However, I went on holiday recently and spent a week reading and writing a few blog posts, and as usual, it’s made me feel motivated and inspired to get back into reading and blogging again. I also got a couple of lovely messages and comments that made me realise how much I’ve missed being in my little bookish world, so I’m dying to throw myself right back into it.
The past couple of months – or this whole year in general, really – have been manic, and my calendar has been chockablock. I thought I’d make a quick list, mainly so I can see how much I’ve actually done this year…
-
- January: My sister and I surprised our mum and stepdad with a four-day trip to Valencia for all of us
- February: Got a new tattoo (I got Thing 1 from The Cat In the Hat, and my sister got Thing 2)
- February: Joined my local theatre group, New Venture Players, and jumped straight into weekly (and then twice a week later on) rehearsals
- March: Saw Professor Brian Cox give a talk in Cardiff
- March: Went to V. E. Schwab’s talk and signing in Cardiff Waterstones
- March: Travelled to Manchester to spend a few days with my friends, and went to NYA Lit Fest in Preston
- April: Saw Hair the Musical in Cardiff
- May: Spent a couple of days in London with my friend Rachel, and we went to see Waitress, Come From Away, and Emilia the Play
- May: Got the keys to our new house
- June: Started moving into our new house
- June: Saw Shrek the Musical in Cardiff
- June: Show week! Somehow managed tech week while working full time, and then performed in 3 shows of Made in Dagenham at the Dolman Theatre, Newport
- July: Went on holiday to Falmouth, Cornwall for a week
Also, next week, I’m taking the keys for my old flat back to the estate agent on Monday, going to Cardiff to see Kinky Boots on Tuesday, having an engineer come to my house to fit gas and electric metres on Wednesday (woohoo, #adulting), getting the train to London on Thursday and attending a YA panel in Foyles bookshop, then it’s YALC on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and I travel home on Sunday night.
And, breathe. Can you see why I haven’t read or blogged very much?
Although I haven’t read a lot, I thought it would be fun to reflect on the books I have read and do the Mid-Year Book Freak Out tag. I’m not sure who created this originally, but I’ve been seeing it everywhere and it looks fun!
The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag 2019
Best book you’ve read so far in 2019
This one is almost impossible to answer. I had a look through my Goodreads list this morning and I realised that I’ve marked almost every book I read this year as 5 stars, because they’re all just incredible and I couldn’t find any flaws. So these are all the books I gave 5 stars:
- Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Pages & Co #1) by Anna James
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James
- Proud anthology by multiple authors, compiled by Juno Dawson
- On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
- Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman
- Meat Market by Juno Dawson
- Heartstopper (Volume 1 and 2) by Alice Oseman
If I have to pick the best one I’ve read, I think I’d have to go for Meat Market, because it’s the one that was most eye-opening and made me think about it for a long time. I only finished it a few days ago, but I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2019
All of the books I’ve read have been standalones or the first in an upcoming series, so I guess the answer to this one is Heartstopper volume 2!
New release you haven’t read yet, but want to
Gah, so many, but the main two at the moment that I have copies of and will definitely be reading before I see the authors at YALC are Heartstream by Tom Pollock, and I Am Not a Number by Lisa Heathfield.
Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
The book that I’m most looking forward to, by far, is The Toll by Neal Shusterman. It’s the final book in the Scythe trilogy, and I’m SO GOD DAMN EXCITED to see how it all ends. If you don’t know by now, Neal Shusterman is one of my favourite authors ever, so I’m always jumping for joy when I know he has a new book coming out! Plus, Thunderhead ended on such a massive cliffhanger that I’ve been dying to see how it continues.
Biggest disappointment
As I said in my first answer, I haven’t read a single book this year that I rated under 4 stars. I think, though, the biggest disappointment for me was when I found out the cultural controversy behind The Hand, the Eye & the Heart by Zoe Marriott. I’ve already discussed this before and don’t want to go into it again here, so if you have no idea what I’m talking about or you want to hear my thoughts about this, you can watch my video review here.
Biggest surprise
I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory. It started out as being a bit of a flop at the beginning because I didn’t like the instalove trope and I worried that I wouldn’t like the rest of the book. However, I flew through the rest of it and absolutely loved it. You can read my full review here.
Favourite new author (debut or new to you)
I’ve only read one debut author this year and that was Anna James, the author of Pages & Co. I loved the book and I can’t wait to read more. However, my favourite author that was new to me was Alice Oseman! I’m so surprised I haven’t read any of her books before, but recently I read both volumes of Heartstopper, her comic about two boys who fall in love, and I instantly want to pick up the rest of her books and read them ALL.
Newest fictional crush
Considering all of the books I’ve read are YA, that means pretty much all the characters have been teenagers. As a 24-year-old, it’d be a bit weird to have a crush on a teenager, so I think I’ll have to leave this one without an answer.
Newest favourite character
I absolutely love Charlie and Nick from Heartstopper. They’re both so realistic and I love them both and I only want good things to happen to them please and thank you.
A book that made you cry
I don’t cry at books or films very often at all, but there were a few moments in Summer Bird Blue that made me well up. Gah, that book. Akemi is so good at writing real, raw emotion that makes you feel so much for the characters!
A book that made you happy
I think every single book has made me happy in some way, whether it’s just generally a feel-good book, or if the story gives bad characters the justice they deserved. I think, though, the book that made me smile the most was a Heartstopper. It’s just so adorable and I love it.
Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)
They’ve all been so pretty! I’m a sucker for a beautiful cover, and I’ve definitely had a good batch this year. From Pages & Co, The Quiet and the End of the World, the Proud anthology, The Hand, the Eye & the Heart, Summer Bird Blue, and Heartstopper (I mean, Alice Oseman wrote the story AND did all the artwork – what an incredible human), let’s have a massive round of applause to all the cover designers who are doing such a good job!
What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
MANY. I’d love to clear some of my NetGalley shelf and get my ratio up a bit, but right now I’m more into physical books than eBooks. I’ll have to see what I end up reading, because I don’t tend to stick to TBR lists – I’m definitely a mood reader!
Favourite book community member
My best bookish pals, Sarah and Sophie of The Little Contemporary Corner. I’m always ridiculously inspired by how hard they work and how often they manage to get blog posts published, and I don’t think they’ve had a single hiatus where they haven’t posted for a while (not like me, ahem). On top of that, they also run their LGBT+ book club in Manchester, and they were recently nominated for a UKYABA award. They’re just so wonderful and I can’t wait to spend some time with them in London next week!
Over to you
If you want to do this tag, feel free! I hope you’ve had a great year so far, and that the second half of the year is just as great. I have plans to make plenty of videos, podcast episodes, and hopefully read a lot more books than I have so far this year. After July is done the rest of the year is a heck of a lot less manic, and I’m so excited about that.
Have fun, stay inspired, and I’ll see you soon!
