Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag
Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!
I'll do one of each for this question, I think.
I was originally going to do this tag as a video, but June totally kicked my ass, migraine wise. Over half the days of the month have been migraine days. It's been pretty shitty, not gonna lie. But I've wanted to do this tag ever since I started Booktube, and if I can't do it there, I'll just have to do it here! I haven't done a tag on my blog in ages, so I hope you guys enjoy reading my answers!
The Mid-Year Book Freak Out tag has been around for years, and I have no idea who originally started it. I've seen so many different claims! I always thought it was Ariel Bissett, but some people have said it was Chami, and other have said it was Amanda, so I really have no clue at this point. If y'all know, please enlighten me in the comments and I'll edit accordingly!
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The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag
1. How much have you read this year?
2020 has been kind in only one way, and that is my reading. It's practically skyrocketed. I have read a total of 153 books so far this year. A great number of those books have been manga, so if we're going off of novels, I've read 56. As for DNFs, there have been 8.
2. What have you been reading?
Based on my stats* that I've been keeping meticulously since the year started (and don't worry, at the end of the year I'll post all of my charts and graphs and such), I've read mostly fantasy at 36.4%. The next highest genre is a tie between historical and literary fiction (13.6%). I've also read a fair amount of horror and classics.
The largest age-range I've read is adult, by a landslide at 57.6%. YA comes next at 30.3%, and middle grade is last at 12.1%. Also, and I'm sure this comes to no surprise, 92.4% of the books I've read this year have been fiction.
*The stats are novels-only, as I have to enter all the information by hand and since I've read twice as many manga than novels, I don't enter those into my spreadsheet. However, I do put graphic novels and comics into my spreadsheet, since I read far less of those.
3. Best book you've read in 2020 so far?
Why must we start with the hardest question? I've read so many good books this year! However, looking at my stats I've only had 10 five-star reads, but still that's 18% of the books I've read! And 5 of those were rereads, and based on past love and nostalgia of course they would get five-stars from me, but I won't be counting those here. I promised myself that I would be a lot more selective of my five-star ratings this year, since last year I had way too many. I'm glad that I kept that promise, so far.
I think I will have to go with Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I read it early in the year, way back in February, and it's still stuck with me all these months. I'm really a sucker for purple prose, and Lee has it down to an art. I also told myself I was going to be reading more Asian literature this year, and I'm very proud to say that I have! It's taught me that I really, really love Asian lit.
While I love historical fiction (now, at least, I used to despise it), generational stories haven't ever really been my cup of tea, and neither are stories about WWII; I've talked about that plenty of times both here and on my channel. But I firmly believe there is an exception to every rule, and Pachinko is that exception for me. The utterly raw emotion that exudes from this book had me in tears for most of it. And, it also taught me a lot about Korean culture, as well as the atrocities Koreans faced during the war. Growing up in America, we are unfortunately only taught about the American side of things, and I am ashamed to say I never knew what was going on in the rest of the world, only the Euro-American-centric history.
4. Best sequel you've read so far?
Hands down, absolutely, completely, The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty.
I read it this month and holy COW, was this one whiplash after another. The stakes became so high in this book, I was sweating while reading it (though, that might have been because it's summer in Arizona, and therefore 110 degrees on a good day). I haven't been able to form coherent thoughts about it since finishing. I also read the first book, The City of Brass, earlier this year, but the sequel topped it in every single way. I have no idea how Chakraborty is going to surpass it with the third and final book in the trilogy. (The Empire of Gold comes out later this summer, and you bet I'm going to be getting my hands on it as soon as I possibly can.)
5. New release you haven't read, but want to?
So many. So many. I feel like I'm doing fairly decent as far as reading new-releases goes, but I will always be reading more backlist books. I don't think that's something I can help. But there is one book that I own physically that came out this year, and I still haven't picked it up yet: The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson.
It's shocking to think that this came out this year when it feels like forever ago. 2020 has lasted decades. Anyway, I meant to read it as soon as I bought it, but other books caught my attention and now it's been six months, and I still haven't read it.
The Hand on the Wall is the final book in the Truly Devious series, a YA whodunit mystery set at an elite boarding school. Honestly, what more could you want? But I suppose there's a reason I haven't picked it up yet, that being that I feel as though I'm growing out of YA a bit. Don't get me wrong, I still love it, and there are some fantastic books I've read this year that have been YA, but I feel like I'm really finding my niche in what I like and dislike in reading, and that niche has taken me mainly to adult books. Am I still going to read it? Yes, absolutely. I just don't know when. Hopefully before the year is over.
6. Most anticipated release for the second part of the year?
Oof, another tough one. So many good books are coming out this year! I think I'll go with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.
I've been dying for this book to come out so I could get my hands on it ever since Schwab started talking about it on twitter. I'm definitely aboard the hype train for it. V.E. Schwab is one of my most favorite authors of all time (alongside Rick Riordan and Maggie Stiefvater, in case you were wondering) and I will buy, read, and most likely love anything and everything she publishes. I'm serious. She could publish her grocery lists and I would buy it. I own all of her books and even have multiple collectors editions of my favorite series by her, the Shades of Magic trilogy.
Addie LaRue sounds totally different than anything she's ever written before, and I'm very intrigued by it. A woman who makes a deal with the devil, and is subsequently forgotten by everyone she ever meets? How does she come up with this stuff?! And, icing on the cake, it's a love story between Addie and the devil she made a deal with! Dante Alighieri could never.
It sounds beautiful and heartbreaking, and I'm counting down the days until it's released.
7. Biggest disappointment?
Yikes. Unpopular opinion time: I really didn't like Good Omens.
I'm thinking that I just don't like Neil Gaiman as a writer, because I've read a lot of books by him and have been let down sorely every time. Something about his humor just falls flat for me. But I truly was disappointed in this one, because I love the TV show. I mean, a good deal of that love is directed toward David Tennant...but STILL.
I don't think I have a definitive answer as to why I didn't like this book, I just didn't. I was slagging through it. It took me nearly a month to read, and as someone who finishes a book on average every two days...that's pretty rough. That's the longest amount of time it's taken me to read a book this year (not including History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, which I was reading for school for an entire semester) and I feel like that really says something about my enjoyment of it. I don't even remember the ending. Did I even read the ending? I probably just skimmed because at that point I was just so done, but I refused to DNF a book with only 30 pages left.
So yeah. I don't think I'll be picking up another Gaiman book. He's let me down too many times.
8. Biggest surprise?
I have to give this one to Anna K: A Love Story by Jenny Lee.
I've never read Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, but after reading this book you bet your ass I'm going to read it now. This book started out as a true, genuine satire of the classic, as well as satire of the New York elite. I went into it thinking it was going to be a social commentary on the rich youth of today, all frivolous and shallow, and was sucker-punched about 60% of the way through. It gave me emotional whiplash. By the end I was a sniveling mess and had vowed to read the source material, even if it is an 800 page brick.
I mentioned this in my review, but the only thing I really had a gripe with were the amount of dating in the book. By that, I mean the pop culture references and the language used throughout the story. I tend to dislike pop culture or meme references in books, because after a few years pass, it feels dated and gaudy to me. I mean, since the whole shtick of Anna K was the fact that it was a modern day twist, I understand the choices that Lee made, it just wasn't my personal preference.
9. New favorite author (debut or new to you)?
Okay, never mind, apparently I haven't read any 2020 debut authors yet. Oops. However I do have plenty of new-to-me authors that I can gush about, so let's talk about them.
S.A. Chakraborty. Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before. I feel like I can't reiterate what I've already said about The Kingdom of Copper, so I'm not going to try. But for sure I'm loving this author's work, and I'll continue to read anything she has to write.
Shannon Messenger. I haven't read a middle grade series like this since my childhood. I absolutely adore the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, and I've only read the first two books (I believe there are eight so far? Are there more coming? I don't know but I hope so). Sophie Foster is witty and brave and pretty much exactly how I wish I was at twelve. Of course she gets into a lot of scrapes, and makes a lot of mistakes, but that's what makes her feel so realistic, to me. I'm hoping to collect all the books of this series and binge-read the hell out of it.
Yoko Ogawa. From the first page of The Memory Police I was utterly transfixed. Ogawa's writing style is simple and pure, and felt like a breath of fresh air to me, as someone who enjoys flowery and over-the-top writing. The Memory Police is her latest novel, but she's written plenty of other books and I intend to read them all. As I said earlier, I've been wanting to read more Asian lit and I am more than happy to dive into all her works.
10. Underrated gems you've discovered recently?
This is a bit tough for me since I tend to read more hyped books, just because I hear about them and then become interested, but let's see if I can do this question justice, hm?
The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden was incredible. This year has me branching out into horror, finding what I like and don't like, and I loved this horror novel. I originally picked it up because of the title; I mean, you can't expect a Greek mythology nerd like myself to not pick up a book with "Pandora" in the title. I had absolutely no idea what it was about other than it was horror. I was at my local library (before the pandemic locked everything down) and was browsing that section when it jumped out at me. It turns out that this is actually the second in a series, but they're more like companion novels, where you don't have to read the first to understand the second. This had goosebumps prickling all over and chills racing up and down my spine. A true thriller. Of course, it's also about an airborne illness with dire consequences, so I'm not sure if this would be the best book for you to read right now, unless you're one of those readers leaning fully into pandemic stories.
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. I haven't been seeing enough love for this book and honestly that's a crime. I tell you, this book had me cackling. I rarely laugh out loud when I'm reading--I cry a lot, yes, but it takes more for humor to get to me. The gods' personalities in this book feel so spot-on to how I imagine they would be in the modern day. Apollo as a reality TV host, Athena as an environmentalist dog-walker? Peak hilarity. And the pettiness, it was killing me! If you're a fan of the Greek gods but also kind of want to see them suffer, this is the book for you.
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield is definitely more for those who like dramatizations of nonfictional events. I mean, it is a dramatization of a nonfictional event, so...yeah. The battle of Thermopylae was one of the greatest battles in Greek history, between the Spartans and the invading Persians. A grand total of 300 Spartan soldiers against the whole of the Persian army. The Greeks eventually lost after a three day fight, but not before killing 20,000 Persian soldiers. Gates of Fire is the story of a Spartan slave accounting the battle to the Persian king, after being taken as a prisoner of war. It's brutal and harsh and very bloody, but still absolutely beautiful.
I technically didn't finish this one, but that's only because my loan from the library expired and then another copy wasn't available for months. In fact, it's still not available. I guess that means this isn't really that underrated, but I haven't heard anything about it on Booktube or surrounding circles, so I figured I might as well pull your attention towards it.
Also, is it a coincidence that all three of my answers for this question have to do with Greek history/mythology in some way? Stop sleeping on the Greeks, folks!
11. Rereads this year?
I've had 7 rereads this year, for the sake of time, I'll just list them.
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Dark Vault by Victoria (V.E.) Schwab
The Revenge of the Shadow King by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis
12. Newest fictional crush?
I don't know if I'm the kind of person that crushes on fictional characters anymore. If anything, I'll want to like, adopt them or something. Most of that stems from being a lot older than nearly all the characters I read about. So...yeah, I don't think I have an answer to this one.
13. Newest favorite character?
Now that one is easy. Sophie Foster from Keeper of the Lost Cities.
Look at her. She's adorable. I've already gushed about her once in this post, so I won't go any further, but she deserves the recognition.
14. Book that made you cry?
Now, as I've said before, I'm an emotional reader. I've probably cried at half the books I've read this year. But no book has made me cry harder than Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys.
Story time: I went to Minnesota early January for my cousin's wedding (it was beautiful and I had so much fun and I missed Minnesota in the winter so much) and I brought two books with me for the plane rides: The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell, and this one. I knew that Salt to the Sea was going to be a tearjerker, everyone I'd talked to that had read it said so. I was ready to be crushed.
I picked it up the night of the wedding, after we had all retired to the hotel and officially called it quits. Well, I called it quits. The rest of the wedding party and family were having an afterparty in the hotel lobby, but I knew that if I stayed up later, continued to drink, and eat pizza, I would have an awful migraine the next day. So the sacrifice was made to stay in the rest of the night. While my sister (and roommate at the hotel) partied with our family, I lied in bed and read this book. I got maybe 30% of the way through? Before any of the super sad and traumatic stuff happened, that's for sure.
Then the next day we were flying back home to Arizona. I had two and a half hours of a plane ride, and I hate flying. I refuse to fly alone, because I can't talk myself down from a panic attack the way my sister or parents or friends can. I just hate airports in general really, but flying really sucks. I needed to distract myself so I decided to pick up where I left off in Salt to the Sea.
Cut to two hours later, it's eleven at night, the flight is almost to it's destination, and I'm sitting there trying my hardest not to wake my sister up with my sobs. Full on crocodile tears. This was one of the most gut-wrenching, heartbreaking books I've ever read. I knew reading a book about one of the worst maritime disasters in history was going to fuck me up, but did this fuck. Me. Up.
Oof.
15. Book that made you happy?
I could always say Red, White & Royal Blue for this one, but since that was a reread I'm going to choose something else.
I absolutely adored I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn.
It was just so pure and fluffy. Plus, I love Japanese culture. Some day I hope to visit Japan and just...be there.
But yeah. This book. Super cute! A fast little love story, not just about people, but about culture and heritage. Plus, this book made me so hungry! The food described! I can't even.
16. Favorite book to film/TV adaptation?
There haven't been a whole lot of adaptations this year, I feel like. There was the second Lara Jean movie, P.S. I Still Love You, but it wasn't even my favorite movie, so I feel like that'd be cheating if I said it was my favorite adaptation.
Other than that, I don't think I've watched a 2020 adaptation...oh well.
17. Most beautiful cover you've bought/received this year?
You know, I haven't bought a lot of books this year. COVID kind of killed that. I suppose The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson.
I bought this in my last online book haul. I have no idea what it's about though. Other than it's fantasy. Honestly, that's good enough for me.
18. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
Again, so many. For the sake of ending this post, I'll just list the ones I own.
The Devil's Thief by Lisa Maxwell
The Ascendent Trilogy by K. Arsenault Rivera
Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
The Dragonslayer series by Duncan M. Hamilton
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Jeez, that took forever. If y'all stuck around this long, let me know your favorite book of 2020 so far in the comments!
Until next time!
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