#reading tags

[jylek001]

This will be my saving grace

This is very motivational so thank you very much 😭 @olisa-iwannasleep it makes me very happy to know I'm good, thank you

[em0tionl0rd]

What could possibly go wrong? @mantisfriendd

[ireadiguess]

End of The Year Reading Tag

Thank you so much for tagging @ram-reads !

1) Did you reach your reading goal for this year (if you had one)?

My reading goal, at the beginning of the year, was to read 100 books, because I was able to read 100 in 2020 and I thought maybe I could achieve it again, but then I had a pretty big reading slump from around Februrary till May. I adjusted my reading goal a few times over the year until I settled on 70 books, which I was able to reach. So, The answer is kind of no but also kind of yes!

2) What are your Top 3 books this year?

I made a whole post with my Top 15 here!

3) What's a book that you didn't expect to enjoy quite as much going in?

For most books I go into, I expect to enjoy them but sometimes they suprise me as to how much I love them. One of them was Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills. I just was so suprised how wholesome and sweet this book was and how much I ended up caring for the characters and their relationship. And this book is also worth noting, because it inspired me to pick up more wholesome and cute YA contemporary when I needed something easy that would cheer me up.

Other one's that I loved more than expected were Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher and Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim. Because of which I will probably pick up more Fantasy Romances and Middle Grades this year.

4) Were there any books that didn't live up to you expectations?

Probably, Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. There was so much hype around this book, that I expected to really enjoy them. While I can see why others love it, I was sadly disappointed with this one.

I could see that Ifueko is a talented writer and put a lot of thought into the plot, nontheless I could simply never get attached to the characters. And as a mostly character driven reader, I am always looking forward to stories with great characterization which wasn't the case for me here. But again, I would still recommend giving it a try at least :)

5) Did you reread any old faves? If so, which one was you favorite?

I reread a few, mostly before continuing with series. My favorite was Conveniece Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. I loved this one a few years back and I loved this one again. It's a wonderful character study and a great exploration of what it means to be 'normal' and the problem that comes with our need to put people and their lives into 'normal' and 'unnormal'.

6) Did you DNF (=did not finish) any books?

I often put books aside, if I'm not in the mood anymore but will pick them up later. I don't fully DNF books often and I also I don't keep track of books I DNF.

The first one that comes to mind is, Mr Dickens and his Carol by Samantha Silva. At the beginning I enjoyed it but the more I got into this one, it started to feel repetitve and I began to get bored and I decided to DNF it.

7) Did you read any books outside of your usual preffered genre(s)?

I pretty much read any genre, but I do read less in the Mystery/Thriller/Horror category. And I'm still trying to figure out if Mystery and Thriller novels are for me. If you have any Thriller/Mystery novels that have great character studies, please let me know.

The horror genre is one that I branched out to this year and I feel like I could really enjoy this one. I read 'Horrid' by Kartina Leno and 'Sorrowland' by Rivers Solomon and they showed me that I like the atmosphere in Horror novels.

Another thing I read more of, was Middle Grade, which is an age category I guess, but still. Most books in that category are just so hopeful and fun and I hope to get to more in this year.

8) What was your predominant format this year?

Audiobooks! I have a hard time concentrating while reading sometimes and audiobooks may help me with that. Which mean around 68% of my reading were audio books.

9) What's the longest book you read this year?

Goodreads is telling me it is Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. But I'm pretty sure my copy of The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb was longer than Legendborn.

But in general, I kept to the shorter side of books in 2021 and I hope to get into some longer this year.

10) What are your top 3 antipicated 2022 releases?

In general, I only really pay attention towards new releases when they are coming out, because I have to see which books my library/Scribd gets. But some I could think of are the following:

1. Echo Brown- The Chosen One, releasing on the 18th of January (I'm so hyped for this one, please read Black Girl Unlimited)

2. Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf, releasing on the 19th of April

3. Love From Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali, realising in the Fall

11) What books from your TBR did you not get to this year, but are excited to read in 2022?

There are so many, but to name a few:

-Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

-Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

-Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

-Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

-Sassasfrass, Cypress & Indio by Ntozake Shange

-Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer

-The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was such a fun way to reflect on last year, even though it was hard to remember that 2022 has already started. And I would appreciate, if someone knows who created this one and could tell me so I could credit them!

I truly tag anyone that is interested in doing this. It's a lot of fun and please tag me if you do!

And I also like to tag some people who I follow and who's blog I enjoy and therefor would like to hear what they have to say. I'm not sure who already has done this and who would like to do it, so if any of the following people is not interested, please fell free to ignore!

@therefugeofbooks @brightbeautifulthings @bookcub @bookaddict24-7 @lizziethereader

[thescholarlystrumpet]

I know some people don’t like this update but I LOVE being able to read tags from my Activity tab. I want to read ALL your random thoughts and ramblings and professions of thirst. Because if I posted or reblogged a thing, I probably feel that way too! And that’s one of the things that I do still love about this awkwardly dysfunctional website.

[mystery-vixen]

Not to get all sappy or anything— but I read all the tags you guys put in my art/writing and it makes me so happy... Just.... thank you 🥺

[coffee-study-coffee]

Reading

Thanks so much for the tag @caffeinatedstudies !

Hardcover or paberback / rent or buy / read in silence or read with music / standalone or series / annotations or pristine pages / e book or physical copy / dogearred or bookmarks / mismatched series or complete set / cover matters or you don’t judge / lend books or keep them to yourself / enjoys lit classes or despises them / browses shops or orders online /reads reviews or goes in blind /unreturned books or clean library record / rereads or once is enough / fanfic enthusiast or stickler for canon / deep reader or easily distracted / must read book before the movie or order doesn’t matter / has neat bookshelves or messy bookshelves / skips ahead or resists temptation / read aloud or in your head / guesses plot twists or never sees them coming

I love this so much! I tag @phdead @wedarkacademia and @literaturencoffee !

[pxppinmolly-archived]

...Oh

I guess the blacklist ISN’T working for not just a few of you, huh-