Tag: reading blogger

End of Year Reading Tag

A little update on my reading as we head into the end of the year/ beginning of a new year.

The original tag and questions are from Ariel Bissett, and can be found here: https://youtu.be/UddPv6ROQXk?si=F2bVWB2F8FdskBmG
1. Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Answer: Only one comes to mind, and I actually just restarted it because I couldn’t remember where I left off. The book is: The Light of All That Falls by James Islington. This is the last book in the Licanius trilogy and I want to complete it by the end of the year so that I can move on to Islington’s newer works (I just bought The Will of the Many).


2. Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

Answer: I don’t have one specifically, but I definitely find myself reading more magic/witchy books starting in September and continuing until December. I transition to snowy thrillers around that time.


3. Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

Answer: I am still waiting for my Library hold for Dan Brown’s new Robert Langdon novel: The Secret of Secrets. It’s been 8 years since we got the last one, and while I have read all of the others, I don’t own any of them, so I’m playing the library waiting game. At last check, I’m currently 36th in line, so I’ll see it soon.


4. What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

Answer: Before the end of the year I would like to read: The Night Ends With Fire by K. X. Song, The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem, and A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir. The first two titles I learned about recently from Booktubers whose taste I share, and the last one is the continuation of a series that I was really enjoying earlier in the year.


5. What trends have you noticed in your reading this year?

Answer: I am finishing more series this year, which has been a goal for a long time. I also have been successfully participating in some online readathons (I completed Magical Readathon from G at Book Roast in September). I always say that I want to do those, but I struggle to follow through. I’m also continuing to make progress with HRCYED 2.0. I’ve completed a few sections and make steady progress each month. I think the variety of prompts has kept me from stalling out.


6. How do you feel about your reading goals? Anything you want to change, adjust, or abandon?

Answer: For once, no. I’m going to achieve a lot of what I hoped to this year.


7. Have you already started making reading plans for next year?

Answer: Not yet. I tend to wait until right around Christmas for that kind of planning. I enjoy the planning sometimes as much as the execution.

Week in Reading 12/24-12/30

This was a remarkably good week in reading considering the crazy scheduling of the holidays. I finished 3 books this week (thanks in large part to audiobooks and a lot of traveling) and I really enjoyed each of them. *book links go to Goodreads*

12/24: I finished The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton. This was on my NetGalley Shelf of Shame for a while and is a middle grade fantasy featuring POC main characters. I really enjoyed this one and will be posting a full review soon. I also started The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. Poston wrote one of my favorite reads from earlier this year, The Dead Romantics. I made it to the 27% mark in The Seven Year Slip.

12/25: Yes, I read on Christmas. I made it 75% of the way through The Seven Year Slip. This book was an incredibly fast read, because I was REALLY distracted while I was making my way through it. The way it talks about grief is going to stay with me for a long time.

12/26: I finished The Seven Year Slip today. I didn’t end up loving it as much as I did The Dead Romantics, but I will still pick up future titles from this author. I love the way she throws a little magic/sci-fi into her storytelling. She writes emotion really well and if you’re not hungry when you start reading this one, you will be by the time you finish.

12/27: I listened to 49% of Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. I thought I was remembering the majority of the story because this is a re-read for me, but I definitely forgot some of the plot points later in the story and I really can’t remember how it ends anymore.

12/28: I made it to the 72% mark in Sleeping Giants. It’s even better than I remember. It’s also really fast, and not just because I’m listening on 2x speed.

12/29: I finished Sleeping Giants. When I read it for the first time in 2020 I rated it 5 stars, and I would not change that rating now.

12/30: I couldn’t wait until my official January TBR started, I had to start Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel today. I was able to get it on audiobook from my library immediately, so I dove in. I made it to the 50% mark on the first day. It has the same full-cast audio as Sleeping Giants and I really would recommend that as the superior way to consume these books.