Mid Year Book Freak-Out Tag

At this point, its kind of an unspoken tradition in the Book Blogging circles to do the Mid Year Book Freak-Out Tag whenever June/July rolls around. Other tags die sad and lonely deaths, forgotten by all, but the Freak-Out Tag pops up every mid year, proving that it will probably never die, and will in fact, be still lurking when the last of the book blogs inevitably gasps its final breath.

Anyway, all that to say I’m here doing this fun little book tag to get you all up to speed on what I’ve been reading this year! There’s a few versions of this tag running around, but I’m doing Paper Fury’s version, because her questions are so much fun. Let’s get into it!

1. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU READ?

Currently I’ve read 52 books out of my goal of 80, which I think is pretty good. I’ve currently got four on the go which I hope to finish soon.

2. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN READING?

I’ve been mainly reading non-fiction this year, actually! I tend to flipflop between non-fiction and fiction years and this year has been a NF year, which has been pretty fun. I love challenging my mind with lots of different topics and I’ve discovered some absolute gems which I hope to put into a blog post very soon.

Other than non-fiction, I’ve been reading a lot of adult! Usually I stick to YA with a sprinkling of MG, but lately I’ve been digging into some adult fiction and really enjoying it. It’s like I’ve discovered a whole new world of different tropes and cliches and genres. It’s been really good. I’ve particularly been enjoying some adult mystery/thrillers, and some adult fantasy.

3. BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2021

This is incredibly difficult because I’ve had a lot of five star reads so far. If I had to choose my top three (new reads, not including rereads) though, I’d say…

All That Remains (Sue Black)

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein (Kiersten White)

The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)

 

4. BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2020

I haven’t read many sequels, but hands down it was The Fires of Vengeance (Evan Winter). It was so good and I’m champing at the bit waiting for the next one to come out.

5. NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET, BUT WANT TO

Six Crimson Cranes (Elizabeth Lim) looks really good! It’s a Chinese retelling of my favourite fairy tale and even though I wasn’t a huge fan of her previous books, I’m hoping that this one will be good.

6. MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

I don’t really know what’s releasing, to be honest.

7. OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

I don’t really have a comfort zone when it comes to reading (I’ll damn well read almost anything), but I was never really a fan of mystery or thriller novels before this year and now I am very much a fan! I’ve loved Jane Harper’s books this year and I’m branching out into a few other authors as well.

8. BIGGEST SURPRISE

There haven’t been many surprises this year, as I usually don’t read books if I don’t think that I’ll like them. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) on my reread though. I’d convinced myself that I wouldn’t like it as much as I did when I read it a few years ago, but surprisingly I think I liked it a little better.

9. NEW FAVOURITE AUTHOR (DEBUT OR NEW TO YOU)

Erin Morgenstern probably! I’m really keen to read her other book, because I loved The Night Circus! I also really loved Sue Black and I have another one of her books bought on Audible, just begging to be listened to!

10. UNDERRATED GEMS YOU’VE DISCOVERED RECENTLY

I love underrated gems, so here’s a few of mine.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein (Kiersten White)… I saw it hyped a bit when it first came out, but now it seems to be largely forgotten, which is a travesty because its so good.

Please Don’t Hug Me (Kay Kerr)… This is a #LoveOzYa book so I’ve seen it talked about more among Aussie bloggers, but its gone largely unnoticed overseas and its really a great book, and according to every Actually Autistic blogger I’ve seen cover it, its a very accurate and realistic portrayal of autism.

11. REREADS THIS YEAR

Ah, quite a few. For starters, I’ve already reread The Eagle of the Ninth (Rosemary Sutcliff) twice. It’s my go to comfort read, like a big fluffy blanket that you pull over your head when you’re sad.

Then I reread the whole Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis), aka, my childhood.

Now I’m rereading The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien), I just finished The Two Towers and I’m just finishing off Wuthering Heights before I start The Return of the King.

I reread Black Beauty (Anna Sewell), and also The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)

I’m also doing a Hunger Games reread, but I keep putting it aside to finish library books, so I’m not very far through that yet.

12. BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

No books have made me cry so far this year, which is a pity. It’s probably because I’ve mostly been reading nonfiction and I don’t feel that deeply about the history of animal domestication. Maybe that’s just me though.

13. BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

Pretty much everything I’ve read has made me happy to some extent, but I think The Hobbit has made me the happiest. Its such a good book and its just, you know, perfect. I love it.

14. MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE BOUGHT SO FAR THIS YEAR (OR RECEIVED)

I literally have bought no books this year at all. This is because of blasted Covid meaning that my Lifeline book fair hasn’t been on for over a year and I have no money to spend on new books. However, The Night Circus has a beautiful cover! I love the simplicity and minimalism of the cover and how it makes the little circus really pop!

15. GOALS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR

• Finish the cadaver dog training book I’ve been reading for ages
• Finish my LOTR reread
• Reread at least three new releases
• Find and read some more YA books with disabled/chronically ill main characters!

What books have you read this year? Did you make a reading goal this year? What’s a book that made you happy? Chat with me!