It’s June… June 2020! I think we can all agree this year has just gone to the dogs and we’re all going to get to 2021 and hope to forget everything that’s happened in 2020. Well for me this month marks a big change in my life. I have finally finished my PGCE and am now a qualified secondary school English teacher. I may not have a graduation (*cough* ugh Covid *cough*) but I can’t believe how far I’ve come in the last year. I start my job in September (hopefully in a slightly more normal world than we’re existing in now), and I can’t wait… Anyways… despite all of the ‘free time’ a lot of us have had during this Covid-crisis, I’ve actually hardly read anything! Despite this, here is my mid-year book freak out tag (where I’m really freaking out)!…
How Much Have You Read?
8 Books!
Yep you read that right. I have read eight books so far this year. I set myself a goal of 30 on Goodreads, thinking that would be realistic but, apparently not. Hopefully I’ll reach it by the end of the year.
What Have You Been Reading?
I’ve actually read a huge variety of books (within my eight reads so far). Picture books and plays, but most of my reading has still be fantasy. I can’t get enough of it!
Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2020
Weirdly it’s a picture book called ‘The Girl and the Cathedral’, which is the story of Notre Dame right up until the fire of last year. The illustrations are beautiful and the story amazingly sweet and well done. I loved it so much!
Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2020
Smoke in the Sun by Renée Ahdieh
I mean… this is the only sequel I’ve read, but I put it off for so long and now I’m just really glad I read it. I loved Flame in the Mist and Smoke in the Sun is the perfect ending to this duology!
New Release You Haven’t Read Yet but Want To
Too Many!
I have to say that Chain of Gold is one I want to get to ASAP (I mean I need to finish QOAAD first, but we can ignore that for now). I got to meet Cassandra Clare at an afternoon tea in London in January and it was such a great experience, now I just need to read the book!
Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year
There’s too many for me to pick one to be honest. There’s a reason I have a whole section on this blog dedicated to my most anticipated releases of the year!
Biggest Disappointment
I wouldn’t really call it a disappointment as such, but We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal wasn’t everything it had been hyped up to be for me.
I don’t really know what I was expecting from this book, but for me it just didn’t deliver on the sweeping fantasy epic that everyone who had read it made it out to be. It was still a fun read though.
Biggest Surprise
The Empress by Tanika Gupta
I read this play as part of my prep for starting my teaching job in September. It surprised me so much! Telling the story of an ayah who travels to London from India, it revealed a part of British history I hadn’t thought much about before
New Favourite Author (Debut or New to You)
T.J. Klune
I read Wolfsong this year and absolutely fell in love with it. It’s such an amazing werewolf story, unlike any I’ve read before!
Underrated Gems You’ve Discovered Recently
The Empress by Tanika Gupta
Like I said before I hadn’t heard of this play before I began prepping to teach it, and I think it’s one that should be more widely known.
Re-Reads This Year
I don’t really re-read books all that much, and if I do I don’t count them as part of my Goodreads challenge. So the answer to this is… none.
Although I guess you could say The Foxhole Court series. I keep on going back to those and re-reading my favourite bits because they’re all cinnamon rolls and I love them!
Book That Made You Cry
Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller
I loved this book! It was such an interesting read with a really interesting magic system. The characters were amazing and, yes, the story made me cry at a few points.
Book That Made You Happy
Also Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller
This book gave me all the feels!
Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought (or Received) This Year
Any of the Fairyloot or Illumicrate books released this year! These two book boxes always have the most beautiful exclusive editions. My favourite from both of them is probably the exclusive editions of Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare!
Goals for the Rest of the Year
Okay here we go:
- Complete my Goodreads goal and read 30 books
- Read more widely and diversely. I want to make reading books by own voices authors a norm for me, rather than something I have to think about and implement in my reading
- Finish War and Peace (I’ve started it and it’s slow going but I’m getting there… I think)
- Read books for fun again
So those are my answers for the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag 2020. What would your answers be? Until next time… Keep Reading!