2022 Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag!

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!

Today I'm doing the Mid-Year Book Freak Out tag! I've done this tag twice before on my blog, so if you'd like to see my answers from 2020 and 2021, they're right here. This tag was created by Ariel Bissett, an OG BookTuber and one of my favorites. I'm sure you're all familiar with it by now, as it's been around for years and years.

So let's just get into it, shall we?

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1. How much have you read this year?

As of June 11th, I've read 99 books. I've only had three DNFs this year, which is super low, so I'm extra glad about that! Every year I figure out what I like in books a little more. As far as format goes, I've read: 55 novels, 25 manga volumes, 8 novellas, 6 graphic novels, 5 poetry collections, and 3 short stories (and 5 nonfiction works, but those are all kind of spread throughout the others). 

2. What have you been reading?

The majority of the books I've read this year have been fantasy, as always, with horror and historical fiction coming in second and third, respectively. I feel as though that's no surprise. Only 10% of my reading has been translated works (not including manga) so that's a bummer, but I'll try to rectify that in the latter half of the year. Also, I've had mostly 4-star reads, with over 25% of my reading coming out to 4 stars. 

3. Best book you've read so far this year?

I've only had 9 five-star reads this year so far, and one of them was Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie. Who am I, that a YA contemporary romance is my favorite book of the year? Well, it absolutely deserves it and so much more. This book made me cry, and we all know how hard that is to accomplish with me. And this was a debut! Racquel's writing is superb, truly. If you haven't picked up Ophelia After All yet, this is your sign to do it.

4. Best sequel you've read so far this year?

I have two. First, The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart. I read both the first book (The Bone Shard Daughter) and this sequel this year, and it's definitely one of my new favorite fantasy series. I can't wait for the third book to come out next year.

Second is Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor. Again, I read Strange the Dreamer and its sequel this year, last month actually, for the first time, and I now see why everyone is so obsessed with this series. I had been putting this duology off for years, literal years, and now that I've read it I'm mad I waited so long.

5. New release you haven't read, but want to?

I still haven't managed to get my hands on The Red Palace by June Hur, which is her latest Korean historical fiction novel. I've read her previous two books and loved both of them, but I haven't seen The Red Palace at all when I've gone to bookstores, and my library has a several month hold on its copy, so for some reason the universe is conspiring against me to keep this book out of my hands. One day, I'll read it!

6. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

I have an entire blog post for this coming later this week, but my absolute most anticipated release is the third and final book in Maggie Stiefvater's Dreamer Trilogy, Greywaren. Obviously. I'm hoping and praying every day that it's a satisfying ending to Ronan's story. 

7. Biggest disappointment?

Oof, are you ready for this? I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston. I have a spoiler-free review for it here where I go into more depth about why this is such a disappointing read for me, but the overall reason is because it fell very short of my expectations. And I've heard a lot of the same from other reviewers, so it wasn't just me. I would still recommend it to people, but yeah. Not the greatest.

8. Biggest surprise?

You know, this is kind of hard to answer, because I haven't really ventured outside of my comfort zone much this year. I guess I'll say Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi. I never really planned to read this manga (or watch the anime for that matter) but I saw how much Merphy Napier was enjoying it, so I decided to give it a try. So far I've read the first nine volumes, which are the only ones my library has, but I'm hoping to get to the rest of the series in the near future. 

9. New favorite author (debut or new to you)?

Well I have to say Andrea Stewart, don't I? Like I said, her Bone Shard series has become one of my favorite fantasy series ever. And The Bone Shard Daughter was her debut as well, so that's a double whammy! 

10. Underrated gems you've discovered recently?

Another hard question to answer, because the majority of the books I've read so far were published in the last few years, or classics that everyone knows. I don't think anything I've picked up this year has been something I just grabbed on a whim. Every book I've read was recommended to me by a BookTuber or on Goodreads. I suppose I can say Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, which is an Iraqi-translated horror book. I got the rec from Emma, who had it sent to her by a subscriber. 

11. Rereads this year?

I've reread five books so far this year: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; The Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull, which is book three in the Fablehaven series; and Heartstopper vol. 1-3 by Alice Oseman. 

12. Newest fictional crush?

As always, I'm not going to answer this question, because it's just not something I think about (another indicator that I'm ace. Why didn't I notice until two months ago, seriously?!). 

13. Newest favorite character?

There are so many amazing characters to choose from! I think I'll just give a short list, yeah? Murderbot from Martha Wells' All Systems Red, Roger and Dodger from Middlegame by Seanan McGuire, and Angrboda from The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec. All wonderful characters with wonderful stories surrounding them.

14. A book that made you cry?

I've already mentioned Ophelia After All, but the book that made the cry the most this year was Loveless by Alice Oseman. I read it just shortly after I figured out that I'm ace, and since it's centered around an ace main character, I felt really connected to it. 

Know My Name by Chanel Miller also made me cry, but for an entirely different reason. Angry tears are never as satisfying as happy/grateful tears.

15. A book that made you happy?

I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum for the first time this year, which made me extremely happy. If you don't know, the 1939 Wizard of Oz is my all-time favorite movie, I've been obsessed with it since I was a toddler, so I wanted to finally read the book that inspired it.

16. Favorite book to film/TV adaptation of this year?

I have two, and I'm sure y'all know what they are, so let's say them together: Heartstopper and First Kill. 

Heartstopper came out April 22nd of this year, and I watched the entire series in a day, as one does. It perfectly encapsulates the feeling that you get from the graphic novels: that cozy, curled-up-in-a-blanket-with-a-cup-of-hot-chocolate kind of warmth. I was giddy with love and happiness when I watched this show. I can't wait for seasons two and three, which were guaranteed by Netflix.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is First Kill, which came out June 10th and is based on a short story written by the one and only Victoria Schwab. Again, I binge-watched the entire series within a 24 hour period. It's dark and sexy and brutal, and I love it. I have an entire twitter thread under the hashtag #AllyEmWatchesFirstKill, where you can see all of my initial reactions to the first season. I am begging Netflix to renew it and give us more.

17. Most beautiful cover you've bought/received this year?

I've bought 31 books so far this year, and the prettiest one has to be Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton, which is the companion novel to The Queens of Innis Lear. The copy that I have is the paperback, and I love the vibrant colors of it. 

But if we're talking the prettiest book that I've read this year, it's definitely Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. I'm sure most everyone agrees. I mean, how can you look at this cover and not think it's stunning?

18. What books do you need to read before the end of the year?

I'm really prioritizing these four books out of my physical TBR at the moment: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux; Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant; Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean; The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Of course, I always hope to bring my TBR down to zero, but these four are the ones on my shelves that I'm most excited to read.

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Alright, that's it for this year's tag! Be sure to tell me if you do this tag yourselves, I'd love to see your answers. For now, what is your favorite book of 2022 so far? Let me know in the comments, or tweet at me @AllyEmReads.

Until next time!