2025 Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

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

It's that time of year again, folks! Time for the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag! This is such a staple, both on my blog and in the bookish sphere in general. This is the sixth time I've done this tag here, and I plan on doing it every year in the future for as long as I run this little blog.

We have eighteen questions to get through, so let's get into it!

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1. How much have you read this year?

As of this moment in time, I've read 49 books so far this year. It's lower than previous years, but I'm actually not too fussed about it. I haven't had too many poor reads and I've also read a lot of classics, which I'm doubly happy about because that's probably the section of my physical TBR that I have the most to get through.

2. What have you been reading?

Like I said, I've read a lot of classics! But my number one genre is still fantasy. I don't think that's ever going to change. Classics comes in at a very close second (I basically categorize classics as a book of any genre that was published at least 50 years ago). After those two, my most read genres are historical fiction, literary fiction, and sci-fi.

3. Favorite book of the year (so far)?

I know this question comes every year, and yet it always pulls me up short! I've had so many amazing reads so far this year, how can I possibly choose?

I think I'm going to go with The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. It's a darling of the bookish internet, and yet it's taken me this long to read it! It has pretty much everything I look for in a fantasy: political intrigue, a plucky protagonist, strong worldbuilding, and a loveable cast of characters. I loved following Maia as a character. He was the naive prince, reluctant hero, and untrained apprentice all wrapped up into one single cutie-pie of a person.

4. Favorite sequel of the year (so far)?

I've read plenty of sequels, or continuations in series this year, but only one really stands out to me.

It's Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, of course! Although that feels so long ago at this point I feel like I read it in 2024 instead, when really it was the end of January. Since this was the last book in the first arc of the Stormlight Archive, it wrapped up all of the storylines and character arcs, and it was an intense two weeks of reading. It's hard to believe I only just started reading the Stormlight Archive in 2023, and now I have to wait until the 2030s for the next arc to start. At least I have plenty of other cosmere books to read between now and then!

5. What new release have you not yet read, but want to?

There are definitely a few books that I haven't gotten to yet.

The first that comes to mind is Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. I have my copy, and I'm hoping to get to soon (either this month or next month). I've just been distracted by other books, you know how it is. 

The same thing goes for Maggie Stiefvater's new book, The Listeners. I wasn't actually planning on getting it since it's so different from her other books (I'm thinking of The Raven Cycle in particular, since that's what I know and love her for), but I've seen so many glowing reviews that I decided to just go ahead and get it. I didn't want to wait months and months to get my hands on a library copy.

Lastly I need to talk about The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah. I have this out from the library right now, but before I read it I need to reread book one, The Stardust Thief, because it's been a couple of years and I don't remember much. But once I finish my reread, I'll go into the sequel straight away!

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

This has been such a big year for new releases, and the second half of the year is no different!

It's probably Katabasis by R.F. Kuang, as I'm sure it is for a lot of people. A few people I've seen that got ARCs didn't give the best reviews, but I'm holding out hope. Rebecca's never failed me before!

I also have to say Ascension by S.T. Gibson, which is the sequel to Evocation. Since that was one of my favorite books of last year, of course I'm looking forward to book two. 

I don't have much to say about either book, except the fact that I'm excited to read them.

7. Biggest disappointment?

Ahh, time for some tea. I think I have two answers, though their star ratings are vastly different. 

First up is The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. I know that this is such a revered book, it's a classic for a reason, I was just struggling to get through it! This book did not need to be 700 pages. The problem was that there were moments where it was so interesting, but in between those moments were 100 page chapters talking about medical textbooks and astrology and so much philosophy. If this wasn't a book club read, I would have DNF'd it at least three times over.

And second is actually a book I only just finished a few days ago, A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin. I wasn't disappointed by this book so much as bored by it. This is the second book in the series, but it's still setting up a lot to come, so there isn't a lot of excitement. I don't find battle scenes particularly intriguing and, unfortunately for me, the biggest moment of this book is the Battle of Blackwater Bay. I'm sure book three, A Storm of Swords, will be better.

8. Biggest surprise?

Oh man, this is probably the biggest surprise of my life, not just the year.

I was so surprised by East of Eden by John Steinbeck! Since high school I have declared my hatred for Steinbeck's writing. The three books I had read from him before were all horrible experiences for me (Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat, and The Pearl) so I truly was expecting to hate this book as well. Again, it was a book club read, otherwise I never would have picked it up. However, I have never been happier to eat my words! Reading East of Eden was honestly a transcendent experience. I can't call it a perfect book because unfortunately there are some rather outdated notions and just horrible language, product of its time or no. I can't look past these things, but I can appreciate the rest of the story for the masterpiece that it is.

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

In all honesty I haven't read many new authors this year, it's mostly been repeat authors for me. 

I suppose I could say Katherine Addison. I've only read one book by her so far, but The Goblin Emperor was so good that I'm excited to read all of her other books now.

And even though I had read from him before, I think I'll also say Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov was my first Dostoevsky and it was great of course, but White Nights and Crime and Punishment really solidified him as a favorite of mine. I am definitely planning on reading more of his work. I don't know if I'll manage to read all of his work, but the major works at least!

10. Underrated gems you've discovered recently?

Ooh, I don't think I've read anything this year that could be considered "underrated." 

Okay apparently I'm super wrong, because Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton only has 677 ratings on Goodreads? I am shocked I never would have thought it would be so low. And Stone Dreams by Akram Aylisli only has 408, but I think that's more of an accessibility issue, since it's banned in it's country of origin.

11. Any rereads this year so far?

I have reread five books so far this year! I'll just list them.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (for a book club)

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (for a book club)

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (in preparation for Sunrise on the Reaping)

12. Newest fictional crush?

I think, once again, I'll be skipping this question. Sorry!

13. Newest favorite character?

I have plenty of answers for this question, however! I'll just rapid fire them because most of the characters are from books that I talk about in this tag already.

Maia from The Goblin Emperor is one of them, naturally. He was an excellent character. Haymitch from Sunrise on the Reaping is a totally different person than he is in The Hunger Games and seeing how he got there was an experience in every sense of the word. And lastly, I have to say Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment. He might have been a murderer, but being inside his head was fascinating, and I have to admit he was funny!

14. A book that made you cry?

Is anyone going to be surprised by my answer?

It's Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. I mean, I was literally sobbing by the epilogue. My mom made fun of me for it, but when she handed it back to me a couple of days later, she was crying too! I don't think I've ever read a book so emotionally traumatizing. And I know that every one who read it in the past few months has felt the same way. Suzanne Collins has single-handedly destroyed my generation with her words, and let's be real, we all thank her for it.

15. A book that made you happy?

I feel like I run into this problem every year, but I don't read a lot of "happy" books!

Probably the most light-hearted book I've read so far this year is A Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, but even that book has sad moments! It's just that the Wayfarers series is known as a hopeful series. And I will say that the majority of the story was...well, not exactly happy, since it takes place in the wake of a tragedy, but...quiet, I guess? Aside from the sad thing that happens (I'm trying so hard to avoid spoilers) it really just follows everyday people in their everyday lives. 

16. Favorite adaptation of the year so far?

I've only watched one adaptation so far this year, if you don't count anime (which I'm not, since every anime I've watched this year has been a rewatch, from manga I've read multiple times). 

A few weeks ago I watched the movie adaptation of The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe, which is of course based on the horror novel of the same name by Susan Hill. The Woman in Black was the first book I read this year, and I knew I wanted to watch the movie too, to see how it was different. It's definitely different from the book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It really showed off Dan Radcliffe's acting chops, that's for sure.

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

I've bought a lot of books this year, which unfortunately means that my new year's goal to cut back on my book buying crashed and burned. However, every book I've bought this year I've either been wanting for ages, or it's something I'm super excited about reading.

I think it's probably the UK edition of The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater. I special ordered it because, frankly, I think the US cover is horrendous. It's not very often that I'm so vehemently against a certain cover design, but the US edition is just bad. Not only is the UK cover prettier, but I think it also conveys the story a lot better (at least what I know of the story so far, through the synopsis). The US edition is just a stairwell, what is that supposed to convey? Sorry, not sorry!

18. What books do you want to read before the year is over?

As I do every year, I'll pick three books from my physical TBR. 

First up, Jaws by Peter Benchley. Specifically, I want to read this next month, since it takes place over the 4th of July, at least partly. It feels like such a quintessential summer read. And even though it's one of my favorite movies, I've never actually read the book, so I'm really looking forward to reading it soon!

I'd love to read The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers, since I read book three earlier in the year. If I do, then I can finally cross this series off of my list! That's always a great feeling.

And lastly, I really want to reread The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, so I can finally continue with the series. I own all four books in the series but I've only ever read the first one, and that was years ago at this point! I need all the encouragement to actually get my butt in gear and reread The Shadow of the Wind!

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And that's it for this year's mid-year tag! I hope you enjoyed reading my answers as much as I enjoyed writing them out! Feel free to say that I tagged you in this, I'd love to know your answers as well!

Until next time, friends!