Search This Blog
2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (7)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (2)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (3)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (7)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (2)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (2)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (2)
International:
- Australia (2)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (1)
- England (19)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (1)
- Russia (1)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge
2024 52 Club Reading Challenge
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge
2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge
Mount TBR Reading Challenge
2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge
Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge
Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge
The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge
Tuesday, July 02, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag
7:42 PM
Today's TTT prompt is a nice, easy one: Top Ten Books With My Favorite Color on the Cover. As much as I love green, though, I'm just not feeling this topic today. Since today is the mid-point of the year (2024 is flying by!), I thought I'd hop on the Mid-Year Freak Out tag bandwagon and take a look at how my reading year is shaping up. I'm not entirely sure where this tag originated—someone said it started with Ely over at Earl Grey Books some years ago—but it's been all over the blogosphere lately. I saw it most recently over at Girl Plus Books, so that's where I grabbed the questions from. There are other versions floating around as well.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
.png)
Before we get to the tag questions, let me just summarize where my reading is at for the year.
I'm notorious for my annual taking on of too many reading challenges. This year is no exception. I've got 15 of them going on at the moment. I like to reach the halfway point with all of them by July 2 so that I'm on target to finish them by the end of the year. (Although I do enjoy reading challenges, I never take them too seriously. If I finish them, fabulous! If I don't, no biggie.) I'm rocking them this year, as you can see from my left sidebar. The only one I'm really slacking on is the Mount TBR Reading Challenge and my own Bookish Books Reading Challenge. I'm making progress on both, just not super fast progress. The Pioneer Book Reading Challenge is still on my sidebar, but I've kind of given up on it. It's a local reading challenge based in a city I don't live in, but that I usually visit 1-2 times a year. You have to pick up your prize (a generous gift certificate) in-store and use it that way too and that's unlikely to happen for me this year. Oh well.
Back to the tag...
%20(2).png)
I've read a handful of books this year that I've really enjoyed, but I have to go with Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson for this one. It's a YA fantasy—not my usual thing at all—but I enjoyed it immensely.
%20(1).png)
I'm always going on about the Rip Through Time series by Kelley Armstrong, so this one is no surprise. Disturbing the Dead is the third installment in the series. It's just as enjoyable as its predecessors.
%20(3).png)
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager is probably the new release I've been most looking forward to and haven't read yet, but guess what? I made it to the top of the library's waitlist. Yay! I'm going to pick up the book tomorrow.
%20(4).png)
My last two Top Ten Tuesday lists were on this very subject (check out Part One and Part Two). Of the 20 books on those lists, I'm most excited about Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman. She's an auto-read author for me, so I'm always up for a new one from her.
%20(5).png)
I hate to label a book a "disappointment," but Trouble Island by Sharon Short is a historical mystery that I was really, really looking forward to reading. I enjoyed the atmospheric setting as well as the And Then There Were None plot. The characters were not very likable, though, and in the end, the novel just wasn't nearly as satisfying as I wanted it to be.
%20(6).png)
Not gonna lie, the cover of The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor by Aubrey Hartman does not appeal to me. I'm just not much of a fantasy reader. I was pleasantly surprised, though, by how much I enjoyed this engaging middle-grade novel.
%20(7).png)
Of the 91 books I've read so far this year, almost half of them were written by new-to-me authors. I don't know if an author can become a favorite with just one book, but here are some writers I'm definitely planning to read more from: Kat Ailes, Benjamin Stevenson, Jamie Sumner, Gabrielle Meyer, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Jenny Adams, Annelise Ryan, Kayvion Lewis, Katie Tietjen, Elizabeth Lowham, Kristen Perrin, Aubrey Hartman, and more.
%20(8).png)
I'm not a book boyfriend kind of person, so how about favorite literary couple/duo that I've encountered this year? No surprise here: Mallory Atkinson and Duncan Gray from the Rip Through Time series by Kelley Armstrong. As of yet, they are not officially a romantic couple, but they share a professional partnership and a personal friendship that are mutually supportive, kind, and fun.
%20(9).png)
I love Michael Rosario from The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly. He's a sweet, quiet kid who is wholly devoted to his hardworking single mother. He's also gentle, loyal, thoughtful, and always concerned about becoming a better person.
%20(10).png)
I'm a sap, it's true, but I still don't cry very often over books. I can't think of any tearjerkers I've read so far this year...
%20(11).png)
Most of the books I read are of the moody, broody variety. The Jane/Mary series by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows is the opposite. Although they do deal with serious subjects sometimes, the books are upbeat, hilarious, and all kinds of entertaining. They make me happy for sure. I've read four of them this year and, while I enjoyed them all, My Plain Jane is probably my favorite.
%20(12).png)
I'm not usually a big fan of book-to-movie adaptations. However, I really enjoyed A Haunting in Venice, which is based on Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie. I'm normally a staunch book-before-movie person, but my husband was too impatient to see the film, so I watched it first. Gasp!
(This isn't book related, but right after watching this movie, we viewed Belfast, another Kenneth Branagh production. It's excellent. We thought it was going to be heavy and depressing, but it's actually very funny and heartwarming [although there is some heartbreak as well]. I highly recommend it.)
%20(13).png)
Let's see...which of the two reviews I've written this year should I choose? LOL. Back in the day, I reviewed every book I read on my blog. These days, I'm a huge slacker and I mostly just make Top Ten Tuesday lists. I have managed to write two reviews in 2024: one for Artifice by Sharon Cameron and one for Dust by Dusti Bowling.
%20(14).png)
Have you seen a paper copy of Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson? They're GORGEOUS.
%20(15).png)
Since I still need to read 109 books to meet my Goodreads goal, I have quite a few I still want to read. I won't list them all. You're welcome.
%20(18).png)
I'm super chintzy with my star ratings. So far this year, I've only awarded two books with the coveted 5-star rating:
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Dust by Dusti Bowling
%20(17).png)
I'm not a big re-reader, but I do read or listen to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens every December. Last year, I listened to the audio version narrated by Tim Curry. It's fantastic, so I'll probably enjoy that one again this year.
In a few months, my book club will be reading The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose. I can't remember a whole lot about who's who and what's what from the first book in the series, so I'll likely re-read The Maid as well before moving on to its sequel.
%20(19).png)
I expect The Women by Kristin Hannah will be a 5-star read for me.
Phew! That was a long tag/Top Ten Tuesday post. Thanks for hanging in there! What do you think of my answers to all these questions? How would you answer them? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your post. I also reply to the comments you leave here on my TTT posts, although I'm a little behind from last week.
Happy TTT!
54 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens
Listening
The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong
Followin' with Bloglovin'
Followin' with Feedly
-
-
Six Degrees of Separation ~ Long Island8 hours ago
-
Stacking The Shelves8 hours ago
-
The Cloverton Charade by Sarah E. Ladd9 hours ago
-
-
First Line Friday17 hours ago
-
Reading Recap September 202417 hours ago
-
-
-
78. When We Flew Away20 hours ago
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!!23 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What I Ate In One Year3 days ago
-
WIP Wrap-up for September 20243 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
That Summer by Jennifer Weiner3 days ago
-
-
I have been reading...4 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
Review: The Duke and I1 month ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus2 months ago
-
Sunday Post2 months ago
-
-
-
The Music of 2024: Q23 months ago
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?11 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Design by:
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction
2020 - Middle Grade Fiction
I'm always impressed by any reading who manages 90 books in a year so 200 REALLY impresses. ;) I've never really that many books, at least not in my memory. Hoping to read The Mystery Guest soon(ish) as it was on my Summer TBR and I don't want to forget everything in The Maid. I want to read My Plain Jane since I think that one seems like it'd be a good one after (finally) reading My Lady Jane. Thanks a bunch for visiting my website today! :)
ReplyDeleteI STILL haven't quite reached 100 books for the year, so I feel like I'm way behind. Ha ha. I read fast, I don't have a job, I don't have little kids, and I don't have many hobbies besides reading—that's how I read so much :)
DeleteI hope you enjoy MY PLAIN JANE. I liked it better than MY LADY JANE, although I enjoyed them both.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Rissi!
Wow, you read a lot of books! I also thought about doing the mid-year freakout tag (already surpassed my yearly goal). You still have plenty of green covers, I noticed 😉
ReplyDeleteYou know, I didn't even notice all the green until you pointed it out! Ha ha. It IS my favorite color :)
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Miriam!
I enjoyed reading your answers and very impressed with the number of books you've already read this year!
ReplyDeleteNo matter how many books I read each year, I always wish it could have been more! LOL
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Joanne!
Oh wow! You have read a lot! And yes, Kelley is one I will never get caught up on. I feel like I'd have to read only her books for several months in order to be caught up. I still need to read this latest Rip in Time book and about 2 dozen others! Lol. Last I counted, she had 5 books coming out this year, I don't know how she does it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my TTT!
Right? She's a machine! I'm not complaining :)
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Jessica!
Great progress on your year so far!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely getting closer to my goal :)
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Laurie!
I really enjoyed this. I'm going to have to do this tag too.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy a fun tag now and then. It helps me look at my reading in different ways, you know? I'm glad you enjoyed it. Let me know if you do the tag.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Bonnie!
Your post looks pretty green, even though you didn't want to go that way. LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my TTT:
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2024/07/top-ten-tuesday-least-favourite-colours.html
And here is my mid-year freakout tag:
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2024/06/mid-year-book-freakout-tag-2024.html
Ha ha. I honestly didn't even notice that until commenters started pointing it out. I guess I love green so much that I use it without even realizing it! LOL
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Marianne!
But of course. I think that is the case if you like a certain colour. And green is around us a lot anyway.
DeleteI just reread My Lady Jane for the new series coming out, and it was really nice to dip into something so fun. I don't think I ever picked up the rest of the Jane/Mary series, but I'm going to keep an eye open for them now.
ReplyDeleteI have REALLY enjoyed the series. I started watching the t.v. series, but it was way more "saucy" than the books so I turned it off. (I am, admittedly, a bit of a prude, especially when it comes to tv/movies.) Bummer. One of the things I liked most about the series is that it's clean and I could listen to it with my teenaged daughter. Not so with the show, unfortunately. I hope you enjoy it, though.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Louise!
You're having a great reading year so far. All of your books look good. I have The Maid and The Women on Mt. TBR and I'm expecting them both to be good. I converted to audiobooks this year and have been getting alot of good listens in. Happy reading! I love the cover on Middle of the Night, looks good.
ReplyDeleteNice! I always have an audiobook going along with a physical book/ebook. Listening makes tedious chores like exercising and housework a *little* bit more bearable :) What audiobooks have you enjoyed lately? I'm always looking for new ones.
DeleteThanks for popping in!
The Women was a definite five-star read for me. I loved The Maid too. This is a great prompt, Susan! I may have to try it sometime. Many of my library patrons love Gabrielle Meyer. Happy Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteIf you do the tag, let me know. I'd love to see your answers!
DeleteI've heard nothing but good things about THE WOMEN. I'm sure it will be a 5-star read for me as well. THE MAID is such a fun read. I can't wait to enjoy the sequels as well. Gabrielle Meyer's books are a little outside my norm, but I appreciate that they're clean and uplifting without being overly preachy or cheesy. I can see why they're popular with your library patrons.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Stephanie!
I've heard so many good things about The Women! My one Hannah read was excellent (Four Winds).
ReplyDeleteI loved FOUR WINDS and THE GREAT ALONE, so I'm sure THE WOMEN is going to be another winner for me. Like you, I've heard nothing but good things about it. I hope we both love it.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Stephen!
I love doing this tag! I did mine last week, but yours has more questions than mine so I will be making note of that to add some of these to next year's post.
ReplyDeleteI really need to read Tress of the Emerald Sea! And I'm so curious about A Haunting in Venice. I love Agatha Christie, but I was worried about it being too spooky XD
I've seen a bunch of different versions of this tag. I'm not sure which is the original! I've seen some fun extra questions, so maybe I'll add those on next time.
DeleteA HAUNTING IN VENICE is spooky, but not TOO scary. I'm a bit of a wimp and I loved it (and didn't have nightmares afterward)!
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Jaime!
Oooh, I also really enjoyed Tress of the Emerald Sea when I read it earlier this year! It was such a fun and thoughtful book. Thanks for visiting my TTT earlier, and happy fourth!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. It's a gem!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Nicole!
I think you’re doing a great job with your reading goal so far! I set mine for 52 books, 1 book a week. I always overshoot it by quite a lot, but that way I don’t feel like I’m falling behind when I read something that’s really long.
ReplyDeleteTo each their own, though. :)
That's a smart way to do it! I'm an overachiever (at least when it comes to reading), so I always set my GR goal at 200. Most of the time I reach it, plus a few. If I don't, it's not a big deal. I mean, the whole thing is just for fun, but I do take the goal seriously and at least TRY to reach it.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lydia!
I would love to get to 100 books this year but don't think that I will make that so set a target of 85 😂 I would love to do more reading challenges, but I know that I just don't have the time. I am doing Library Love and 20 Books of Summer and I'm already a bit behind on the second one 😂 I will read a couple of books for Paris in July and hopefully get a Christmas book read fir Christmas in July but we shall see!
ReplyDeleteA fun tag!
Have a great rest of the week!
I'm keeping up with the 20 Books of Summer one, but that's only because the rules allow you to change the books on your list as many times as you want to! I can't even count the number of times I've done that so far. Ha ha.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Emily!
Fifteen is a lot of reading challenges, but if they allow you read great books, I think it's a fun way to do it. The Jane books are so much fun. I saw that they were being adapted. Should be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI actually added a couple more challenges the other day just because they sounded fun! I enjoy them and they help expose me to books I might not have read otherwise. Of course, sometimes I read terrible books just to cross off a prompt, so there are definitely pros and cons to doing reading challenges.
DeleteI actually started watching the My Lady Jane tv show and I turned it off after about five minutes. One of my favorite thing about the books are that they're clean and I can recommend them to anyone without hesitation. Apparently, they decided to make the tv adaptation R-rated with strong language and innuendo. I hate that!
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam!
You've got me interested in Tress of the Emerald Sea! It has a green cover, too, so you sort of fulfilled the Top Ten Tuesday topic!
ReplyDeleteI guess I did! Ha ha. The book cover is stunning. I love it.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Kris!
Tress of the Emerald Sea is amazing, one of my favorites last year and yeah, that shade of green is stunning
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to love Tress! And, yes, the book really is beautiful in every way :)
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Vero!
Wow, you are impressive! I wish I had the time and ability to read 200 books a year! I made my goal for 50 books this year, and I'm actually ahead this specific year, I have now read 34 books this year, which is a lot for me, especially at this time of the year. It's funny that you're behind 9 books, because I am ahead that many.
ReplyDeleteMy post for this week was books with black covers, as that is my favorite color. Here's my post: https://nyxiasnightlynovels.site/books-with-my-favorite-color/
I have a lot of time to read because I don't have a job, I don't have little kids, I don't have many hobbies, and I don't watch tv. I also read fast. I wasn't able to read this many a year when I was younger, so that's one of the benefits of being old, I guess :)
DeleteThanks for popping in, Nyxia!
I enjoy doing this tag each year (thanks for the mention!) and it's just as fun to see everyone's answers. I call 91 books in six months pretty amazing! I've seen such great reviews for the My Jane books. I hope The Women will be a 5-star read for you!
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun way to evaluate how my reading year is going. I need to remember to do it every year.
DeleteThe Jane/Mary books are super fun. They make me laugh because they're humorous and they never take themselves too seriously.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Tanya!
Sounds like you've had a good reading year so far! :D I hope the second half is just as good.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a good reading year so far. I've kept up with my challenges and goals and I've read some good books. I hope the second half goes as well.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Jennie Elyse!
I love that you highlighted all the authors you want to pick up more from. That was a tough question for me. Hope the second half of the years brings you lots of good reads!
ReplyDeleteSame. I don't know that an author can become a favorite with just one book. It usually takes at least two winners from an author to become a favorite for me.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Alicia!
That is a long TTT post for this week, but wow! I recently found Tress of the Emerald Seas at a thrift store and couldn't pass it up, even though I haven't read anything by Sanderson, so it's great to know that it's highly recommended. I love that you have a list of new to you authors to check out more books from, because I do the same thing. Happy reading for the rest of the year, and with all those challenges, I don't doubt that you'll hit that 200 mark!
ReplyDeleteHa ha. Yes, this one did get long! LOL.
DeleteI hope you enjoy TRESS OF THE EMERALD SEA. It's a good introduction to Sanderson because it's a light, easy read and you don't have to be familiar with his other books to understand what's going on or to enjoy the story.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Leah!
Some great responses to these questions. You are doing so well on all your challenges.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing better on them than I do most years, so I'm proud of myself! LOL
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Annemieke!
Looks like you're doing great at your reading challenges so far. Tress of the Emerald Sea does look so pretty, I need to read it soon. And I've been meaning to read the Jane/Mary series too, they do sound like fun.
ReplyDeleteThe jacket for Tress is really pretty. I love it! The Jane/Mary books are tons of fun. I especially liked listening to them on audio since the narrators were so good.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lindsey!
The Women is one I'm also hoping to read. Happy reading!
ReplyDeletehttps://readwithstefani.com/
I still haven't read it yet, but it's one I'm really looking forward to. I hope we both love it!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Stefani!
My Plain Jane is still my favorite of the Jane series, too. I still need to pick up the Mary series. Happy reading!
ReplyDelete