So, I’m joining a weekly feature that is kind of like a Throwback Thursday! Last Year I Was Reading… was created by ReadingMaria!
Take your current read and compare it to what you reading this exact time last year. Which one do you like better? What is different about the books? Any special facts/things you want to make note of or bring attention to? Be sure to link it back to my blog so I can see them!
This Year I Am Reading…
I am struggling a little with this one! I started reading physically but this has that kind of flowery writing style that I’m personally not a fan of. So I ended up swapping to the audiobook but I am struggling keeping occupied with it. I’m getting bored I guess. I will finish it as I have already read 45% and I’m in a ReadAThon and don’t want to have wasted 5 days on a book to not even complete a challenge with it… So I’ll finish it but I’m not loving it.
Last Year I Was Reading…
The End and Other Beginnings is an anthology, so it’s difficult to rate as a whole as it was 6 individual stories. Overall though, I was disappointed as out of the 6 stories there were 2 good ones, 2 average ones & 2 not great ones. So that’s 4 that weren’t amazing & only 2 that were… So overall a disappointment.
This is a hard one as The End and Other Beginnings was disappointing & I’m not loving The Ten Thousand Doors of January. At the moment I think I’m going to choose The End and Other Beginnings purely because of the two stories in the anthology that I really enjoyed!
Let’s Chat!
What are you currently reading? Are you loving it?
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So I will be talking about all the books I received in December. This is a lot but majority of these books were purchased in previous months and just finally came in! I only actually purchased I believe 8 or 10 physical books in December itself and some of them haven’t even arrived yet! Anyway, let’s jump in!
Hardcovers
Even if We Break by Marieke Nijkamp
Cemetry Boys by Aidan Thomas
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Where Dreams Descend by Janelle Angeles
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Paperbacks
Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
Armada by Ernest Cline
The Reckless Afterlife by Harriet Stoker by Lauren James
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
The Book of Hidden Wonders by Polly Crosby
Letters from Berlin by Tania Blanchard
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
The Complete Whisper Series (Bind-Up) by Lynette Noni
Subscription Box Editions
Firstly I got the OwlCrate edition of Among the Beasts and Briars which is stunning! You can actually still purchase this on their website at the time of writing this post anyway. Find it HERE.
Then I got the LitJoy Crate edition of Soulswift which was in the November box. This one is also still available and you can find it HERE!
Audible
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Firstly, this cover is really not great… I grabbed this one on Audible because the audiobook on Scribd had bits missing. This can happen sometimes and it’s easiest to just let Scribd know and then they can rectify the issue. They are simply provided and file by the publisher, so unless you tell them they have no idea.
Scribd Audiobooks Saved
Never World Wake by Marisha Pessl
Scribd eBooks Saved
White Rose by Kip Wilson
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
eBooks Purchased
God Storm by Coco Ma
None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney
Let’s Chat!
What did you pick up in December that you are really keen for? I’m the most keen to pick up The Cousins by Karen M. McManus! Just waiting to land on a Bookopoly ReadAThon prompt it will fit!
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Today I am sharing all the books I read in December! I did read a fair few issues of Graphic Novels in December, which is why I was able to read 30 books in December. 3 of those were audiobooks, 4 were physical books & the rest were Graphic Novels. For Graphic Novels I count them how I read them depending on what’s available to me. So if I read them as individual issues then I count them as individual issues. If I read them as Volumes then that is how I count them. I also DNFd 2 books in December so I will mention those as well. Let’s jump in!
Graphic Novels
The Backstagers: Vol 1
The Backstagers: Vol 2
The Backstagers: Vol 3
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
Something is Killing the Children #1
Something is Killing the Children #2
Something is Killing the Children #3
Something is Killing the Children #4
Something is Killing the Children #5
Something is Killing the Children #6
Something is Killing the Children #7
Something is Killing the Children #8
Something is Killing the Children #9
Something is Killing the Children #10
Something is Killing the Children #11
Something is Killing the Children #12
Folklords #1
Folklords #2
Folklords #3
Folklords #4
Folklords #5
Witches in Training by Sam Davies
The Flying Surgery by Sam Davies
Physical Books
Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker
The Game by Linsey Miller
None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
Audiobooks
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson
DNFd
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu I DNFd because the writing just isn’t for me. This book has a lot more flowery/lyrical style writing than Marie Lu’s other books & I’m personally not a fan of that style. It makes it difficult for me to get into the story & I get impatient with it. So just not my thing. Star Daughter I do plan to give another go. I got a decent way into this one on audiobook but I just wasn’t really in the mood for audiobooks as the time. You can see that I only listened to 3 this month when I usually listen to a lot more! I also haven’t been in a fantasy mood. So I was just struggling with this one at the time.
Let’s Chat!
What did you read in December?!
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Today I am going to share my 2020 reading stats! For those curious, I use both Goodreads & an Google Sheet to track my reading all year! Let’s jump straight in!
Total books read in 2020?
152. 36 of those were rereads
Total books DNFd in 2020?
11. I will be doing a post talking about all the books I DNFd in 2020. So keep an eye out for that.
How many new authors did I read from in 2020?
39.
Total pages read in 2020?
45,464. Which is actually less than last year but 5,000ish.
Average pages read per month?
3789.
Total 5 star reads?
25 & this does not include rereads.
How many 2020 releases read?
47
Now let’s jump into the pie charts!
Books Read by Month
Pages Read by Month
Books Read by Genre
Books Read by Age Group
Books Read by Format
Books Read by Page Length
Books Read by Publication Year
Books Read by Star Rating (not including rereads)
And no, I don’t have any books rated under a 2 stars because if I’m. not liking a book I DNF it.
LGBT+ Representation
This list only includes the MAIN LGBT as I chose one identity for each book. This also may not be accurate because I only decided to add this to my tracking sheet in about September or something, so I had to go back and try and remember or look at what other people had marked it as on Goodreads.
Goodreads Stats
Now I’m going to share a few of the things that Goodreads tracks that I don’t.
Shortest & Longest books I read
Most & Least popular Read according to Goodreads
Book I read that has the highest Goodreads rating
My first Goodreads review of the year, which I just thought was funny!
Let’s Chat!
Well those are my 2020 reading stats! I will be doing a seperate post in the future talking about how my 2020 reading goals went, so keep an eye out for that one! Let me know in the comments what your most read genre was in 2020!?
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
So, I’m joining a weekly feature that is kind of like a Throwback Thursday! Last Year I Was Reading… was created by ReadingMaria!
Take your current read and compare it to what you reading this exact time last year. Which one do you like better? What is different about the books? Any special facts/things you want to make note of or bring attention to? Be sure to link it back to my blog so I can see them!
This Year I Am Reading…
Belle Révolte YA LGBT Fantasy Standalone and I’m currently 23% into it. This one is very intriguing so far but at the moment we are just kind of building the scene, so while it is enjoyable I’m not 100% into it right now. I do think it’s going to be good though, but we will see.
Last Year I Was Reading…
The Darkdeep by Ally Condie & Brendan Reichs
The Darkdeep is book 1 in a MG Fantasy Horror series that was super fun! It was very atmospheric & creepy book and I loved it! I rated this one 5 stars and also loved the sequel! I really need to get to book 3, The Torchbearers now that it is out!
Overall I am enjoying Belle Révolte but I’m going to have to give this round to The Darkdeep as it was so fun & creepy!
Let’s Chat!
What are you currently reading? Are you loving it?
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Today I am talking about the ten best books I read in 2020! This list will not be including rereads as of course I love them, as I reread them! These are not in order, simply a top 10. Let’s jump in!
The Hand on the Wall is book 3 in the Truly Devious series which is one of my Top 5 all time favourite series! This series is beautifully written, has amazing characters, is completely unpredictable & very gripping! I can’t wait to get my hands on book 4 in this series! Spoiler Free Review
I read the entire The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series in 2020 but the last book was the best out of the three. I did love all of them but this one really topped it! This series is very mysterious, has an amazing group of badass characters & very unique.
Fawkes is a YA Historical Fantasy Standalone. This one is such an interesting concept. A plague that slowly turns people to stone. This world is very well developed and atmospheric. I loved the characters and I also enjoyed the discussion of racism in this one as it was both historical accurate as well as being questioned. Amazing!
Aurora Burning is the second book in the The Aurora Cycle series which is a YA Sci-fi trilogy. Aurora Burning is action packed, funny, thrilling & just drags you in and won’t let go! Aurora Burning also ended on a HUGE cliffhanger so I am very impatiently awaiting the release of book 3.
Fable is book 1 in a YA Fantasy duology that I read as an eARC. The characters in Fable were amazing and we also had some diversity thrown in there as well! The magic system was pretty unique in this one as well and I’m really keen to learn more about it in book 2. Fable was also very atmospheric & the world building was amazing!
The Bone Thief is book 2 in The Bone Charmer duology which is a YA Fantasy duology. This one has such a unique snd well developed magic system and I loved it! This is written so amazingly, the world building is incredible and I love the characters so much! This one does not get the hype it deserves.
The Tea Dragon Society is book 1 in a MG Fantasy Graphic Novel trilogy and I read all the books in 2020 but book 1 was definitely the best. The Tea Dragon Festival & The Tea Dragon Tapestry were both amazing as well but The Tea Dragon Society is the best of the lot. This is an extremely diverse book and it is so freaking cute and wholesome.
The Inheritance Games is book 1 in The Inheritance Games series which is a YA mystery duology. This one is so atmospheric & I loved learning the background about this family! It was fascinating and very mysterious. I can’t wait for book 2 to release.
This graphic novel has gorgeous illustrations but it is also beautifully written. It is a very impactful story and also a unique one to me as I have never read a WWII book based around what a Japanese person dealt with, or what it was like in America during WWII. Highly recommend!
A Heart so Fierce and Broken is book 2 in the A Curse so Dark and Lonely series and book 3, A Vow so Bold and Deadly is coming out in early 2021 and I’m so keen! This series is amazing and I love the world and characters. It is very atmospheric & also has some amazing diversity rep.
Let’s Chat!
What was your favourite read of 2020?
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Salt to the Sea is a YA Historical Fiction that follows 4 POV, a pregnant Polish girl, a Lithuanian Nurse, a Prussian solider who are fleeing the advancing Red Army onto the Wilhelm Gustloff as well as a Nazi Peon who is working on the Gustloff. The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff in the Baltic Sea on January 30th 1945 is the single most tragic maritime disaster resulting in 9,000 people dying, of which 5000 were children. Salt to the Sea is an absolutely beautifully written story. It is the most heartbreaking and impactful story I have read making it my all time favourite Historical Fiction. I highly recommend and the audiobook is also amazingly done and features a cast of 4 narrators, one for each POV.
A Tale of Two Murders is the first book in an Adult Historical Mystery series following a young Charles Dickens as he works as a journalist. I love when basically any genre is combined with mystery, so they one was amazing! I also loved that it featured an interpretation of a well known person as the MC. This one was really well written, gripping & completely unpredictable. I really need to continue this trilogy!
The Montague Siblings is a YA Historical Diverse Fantasy series. It was originally a duology but now there is a third book coming out, so I am super keen for that to release in 2021! Book 1 in the series follows Monty, who is a ‘gentleman’ that has no interest in going away to a fancy boarding school & then return to take over the family estate and also has a huge crush on his best friend Percy. Book 2 follows Monty’s sister, Felicity, who is trying to avoid an unwanted marriage and go to medical school instead. However only men can be trusted with the secrets of science. Book 3 will follow Percy and I’m so keen. This trilogy so far is super fun, full of adventures and things going wrong. Book 1 features alchemy & book 2 has pirates and I’m keen to see what craziness will be thrown into book 3! Highly recommend if you’re looking for a fun diverse historical fiction.
Of course this one made it to this list. The Book Thief is a YA Historical Fiction that is narrated by death. This one shows each of the times death comes close to our main character, Liesel. This is beautifully and also very interesting written. The story is heartbreaking and emotional and I just love this book so much!
They Called Us Enemy is my most recent read on this list as I read it earlier in December. This one is a Historical Non-Fiction Graphic Novel which follows George telling his childhood experiences of being in American Concentration Camps during WWII. Even though George was American born, his parents were Japanese and he of Japanese descent. In 1942 President Roosevelt ordered that anyone of Japanese descent be rounded up & put in ‘relocation centres’. This graphic novel has gorgeous illustrations but it is also beautifully written. It is a very impactful story and also a unique one to me as I have never read a WWII book based around what a Japanese person dealt with, or what it was like in America during WWII. Highly recommend!
Sherwood is a YA Historical Fantasy Retelling of Robin Hood. Sherwood follows Maid Marian as she finds out that Robin of Locksley is dead leaving the town without a protector. The sheriff’s right hand intends to take his place as both Lord of Locksley & Marians fiancé. Marian finds herself stepping into Robin shoes and becoming the symbol of Robin Hood the mysterious protector of Locksley. This is such an interesting concept & it was very well written. I loved Marian as a character and this world and time period was so vivid! Definitely worth the read.
Fawkes is a YA Historical Fantasy that I also mentioned in a previous top 8 post! Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague & Igniters believe that Keepers caused the plague. Our main character Thomas has caught the plague and his eye has turned to stone & it will soon spread. His Keeper father tries to recruit him for a mission that will hopefully end the plague and save him. However, doing so will destroy the family of the girl he loves. This one is such an interesting concept. A plague that slowly turns people to stone. This world is very well developed and atmospheric. I loved the characters and I also enjoyed the discussion of racism in this one as it was both historical accurate as well as being questioned. Highly recommend.
I’ve also talked about MAUS in a previous Top 8 recommendations post but it is definitely worth the love! Another Historical book set in WWII but this one is not just based on a true person. It is the true story in graphic novel form. MAUS follows Art Spiegelman as his grandfather and him discusses what his grandfather, Vladek, and his wife endured during WWII as a Jewish family. This is harrowing, heartbreaking and just amazingly done. I also loved that Art used different animals to represent the different groups in the graphic novel. I Highly recommend reading this one but just know that it is a hard book to read.
Let’s Chat!
What Historical Fiction or Non-Fiction book do you recommend to people the most!?
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Today I will be sharing all the books that I really wish I had gotten to in 2020. Like yesterday’s post I am not going to go into detail about why each of these individual books are on this list because I will just be repeating myself over and over again. These are all on here because I really wanted to read them but I either ran out of time, hit a reading slump or wasn’t being drawn to that particular genre at the time. There will be a decent amount on Fantasy on here for this reason as I wasn’t in a fantasy mood towards the end of the year, so a lot of the fantasy books I was super keen for didn’t get read. Let’s jump in!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Today I am going to talk about 21 books I really want to read in 2021. All of these are books I already own and have had them for a while & really need to read them! I won’t go into why these books are on this list as I will be just constantly repeating that I hadn’t gotten to them yet or that they are sequels I still need to get to. So here is simply a list. Let’s jump in!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Today I will be talking about the January releases I’m keen for! Of course I already mentioned a couple in my 21 Most Anticipated Releases of 2021 but I will be talking about more that I’m keen for in this post! Ones that didn’t quite make it to my 21 overall. Let’s jump in!
5th January
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
Lore is a YA fantasy retelling of Greek Mythology. I love The Darkest Minds so much so I can’t wait to get to Lore! Lore is about the Agon. 9 Greek Gods are forced to walk the earth as punishment for their pasts. These gods are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines so they can kill and capture their divine talents.
7th January
Last One to Die by Cynthia Murphy
Last One to Die is described as One of Us is Lying meets This Lie Will Kill You with paranormal aspects! An I’m sold! I’m not going to describe this one any further as I don’t want to know anymore myself! I love One of us is Lying & This Lie Will Kill You has been on my radar. Also the combination of Fantasy & Mystery is my favourite so I am totally down!
12th January
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
Across the Green Grass Fields is the last book in the Wayward Children series and is set to release January 12th 2021! I love this series so much, so I’m keen to see what’s next but I’m also sad that this will be the last book in this series. I feel like this series could go on forever and I would read every one! I haven’t read what Across the Green Grass Fields is about but Every Heart a Doorway, book 1 is set in at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children which is a home for those that have returned from portal fantasy worlds and can’t fit into the real world. Each book since has been focused on a particular character & the portal world they belong to!
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
Concrete Rose is a prequel to The Hate U Give which is amazing! . I can’t wait for this as I loved Maverick in The Hate U Give & Concrete Rose follow Maverick! I am so freaking keen!!! I haven’t read what this is about as I want to go in knowing nothing!
21st January
The Island by C.L. Taylor
The Island is a YA Thriller that sounds really good! It’s described as Lost meets The Hunger Games which sounds amazing! Lost was such a good TV show & I love The Hunger Games so this sounds amazing! I don’t like know anything going into Thriller so I can’t tell you more than that! But I’m so keen.
26th January
A Vow so Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer
A Vow so Bold and Deadly is the last book in the A Curse so Dark and Lonely series. I loved A Curse so Dark and Lonely & A Heart so Fierce and Broken so I am very keen for this one! A Curse so Dark and Lonely is a Beauty in the Beast retelling. Rhen is cursed to relive the same season over and over again until he finds his true love. Harper attempts to save a stranger being attacked & ends up being dragged into a magical world where she meets Rhen.
Let’s Chat!
What are you most anticipating in January 2021?!
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
