Hi, everyone! I hope you are all doing okay and you are all able to cope up with the events happening worldwide recently. It’s been a tough year, generally speaking, but to get my mind off all the cruel things happening around us, I turned to my books for solace. Just like what I used to do when I was kid and so 2020 instantly became a great reading year for me so far. My Goodreads goal is to read 30 books this year and I’ve already read 22 books (so I will probably adjust my reading challenge to 40 or 50).
This “tag” is an annual bookish thing that has been going on around the bookish community which, to be honest, I haven’t done in a while. Since I did read a lot of books so far this year, I decided to do it again. Wow, I can’t even remember the last time I did this (and I can’t even remember if that particular post still exists in my blog since I migrated to WordPress from Tumblr just last year).
Before I start off answering the questions listed for this tag, I’d like to add in this post the books that I was able to read in the first half of the year, so here they are:
- Why I’m Sending This To You by Iain S. Thomas
- One You Can’t Forget (Hades’ Spawn MC, #1) by Lexy Timms
- One-Punch Man Vol. 3 by ONE
- Batman: Nightwalker (The Graphic Novel) by Stuart Moore (Illustrated by Chris Wildgoose!!)
- The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2) by Dan Brown
- You (You, #1) by Caroline Kepnes
- Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1) by Stephanie Perkins
- City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6) by Cassandra Clare
- The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
- The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, #1) by Rick Riordan
- One-Punch Man Vol. 4 by ONE
- Cardcaptor Sakura, Vol. 5 by CLAMP
- The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
- Cardcaptor Sakura Vol. 4 by CLAMP
- The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
- Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
- The Girl On the Train by Paul Hawkins
- This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
- One-Punch Man Vol. 5 by ONE
- Magyk (Septimus Heap, #1) by Angie Sage
- Kaguya-sama: Love Is War Vol. 1 by Aka Akasaka
- One-Punch Man Vol. 6 by ONE
Yes, I’ve read quite a lot of manga this year and I’m planning to read more. As I’ve mentioned in one of my previous posts, I’ve recently discovered my fondness of manga and have been reading Tokyo Ghoul last year. This year, I started reading other titles as well.
Now, let’s head on to the questions:
A.) The best book you’ve read so far in 2020?
The best book I’ve read so far this year is City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. The Mortal Instruments is a book series that is very close to my heart because I started reading it back when I was in my first few month in college. Those first months in college were sort of a struggle for me as it was too hard for me to cope up with the “culture shock” that I constantly felt at the time. Leaving my high school alma mater also meant my first time transferring schools, but I got through those awkward moments with these books! I loved this series so much so that I put the last book on hold for six whole years just because I felt like I am not yet ready to end Jace and Clary’s story. Read more about that story and my review of the whole series by checking out this link.
B.) The best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020?
Woah! OK, so I’m currently looking into my Goodreads Read shelf, and I am just now realizing that I haven’t read any sequels yet for this year. Though I did read a lot of first-book-in-a-series titles. Ha! So looking at these first-book-in-a-series titles on my Read shelf, I will probably continue on with the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage as I’ve recently finished the first book, Magyk, during the month of June. Also, if you’re a regular reader of my blog, I just read The Hunger Games this year, so I’m also going to read the second book in the trilogy.
C.) A new release you haven’t read yet, but want to?
Of course, my answer for this one is Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare. As I’ve mentioned in question number 1, after six years since the release of City of Heavenly Fire, I finally finished The Mortal Instruments series. So I can’t wait to read all the other series and spin-off novels about the Shadow World that Cassie wrote over the years! Also, Chain of Gold‘s cover is beautiful. I have yet to get a copy of this book once it gets available in my local bookstore’s online shop because it’s always out of stock! *i cry*
D.) Your most anticipated release for the second half of the year?
Oh, I have a couple of books in mind:
- Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover
- Vicious Spirits by Kat Cho
- The Return by Nicholas Sparks
- Wished Upon a Cursed Moon by Jessica Sorensen
E.) Your biggest disappointment?
Timeline by Michael Crichton. I badly wanted to try reading books by this author as I’ve heard so many good things about him from older generations, even my colleagues say that his books are very interesting. I am an avid bookworm who likes venturing out of my comfort zone by trying other genres and authors that are not familiar to me. Michael Crichton is a well-known author, having written the fan-favorite Jurassic Park, but, sadly, Timeline just didn’t work for me as much as I thought it would. I rarely DNF a book, but I just couldn’t finish this one. I’ll probably try it again soon or maybe try reading some of his other books. I heard The Andromeda Strain is also a good read.
F.) The biggest surprise?
Magyk (Septimus Heap, #1) by Angie Sage. I’ve heard and read so many good things about this series and I regret not hearing about this when I was in middle-grade because I am so sure that I would have enjoyed it so much more back then. Regardless, I still loved it so much and I never thought I’d be this hooked. I haven’t written a review about this yet as I will probably write a series review, but all I can say is that despite its 500+ pages, this book was such a light read for me and I am looking forward to catching up with the whole series.
Special mention to the boyfriend for buying books one to six for me! You’re the best. I love you.
G.) Your new favorite author (debut or new to you)?
I recently discovered my love for psychological thrillers and I have been drawn to Paula Hawkins’ writing style. I’ve read The Girl On the Train last month and it kept me up at night because I just couldn’t stop turning the pages! I heard that this was also adapted into a movie, so I’ll probably watch the movie some time this year, too. I’m sure the book is way better, though!
Anyway, I cannot wait to read Into the Water! I heard from my favorite booktubers that reading it was another thrilling ride, so I really am excited to get my hands on that one as well.
H.) Your newest fictional crush?
Jeez, I know that I am so late in the game and I’m honestly embarrassed that I have only read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins this year and I absolutely loved it! It’s very light, yet at some parts of the story, I felt a sting in my heart.
So of course, to answer this question, Etienne St. Clair is my newest fictional crush! *heart eyes* My cousin loves him, too. I think she’s read this book three times already! Haha
I also wrote a review on Anna and the French Kiss a few months ago, so if you’re interested in knowing what my complete thoughts about the book was, click here.
I.) Your newest favorite character?
Last year, my boyfriend introduced me to the world of manga. I’ve known a lot of people from high school and college who loves reading manga, but I have never tried it since. Since my boyfriend was such a fan, I decided to try it, too. As I’ve mentioned, I’m an avid bookworm, so I enjoy reading genres or books that are out of my comfort zone.
In June, my brother introduced a new manga to me, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War by Aka Akasaka. There is also an ongoing anime series for this! Anyway, there’s one character in this book that I am really fond of and it’s Chika Fujiwara. She’s not the main protagonist, but I really enjoy her presence because she is so funny and sweet and really cute. Or maybe I’m just biased because she has pink hair and pink is my favorite color? Nah, she really is such a cutie. ❤
J.) A book that made you cry?
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I’m sure that there shouldn’t be any explanations as to why this book made me cry, but I just wanted to say that it was good tears. I didn’t really expect to love this book as much as I did! It’s also such a light read, I think I devoured it in one sitting.
The characters were really easy to love, but what I really liked about this book was that it’s a book about books. It lowkey recommends so many good titles which I wrote down while reading it, so I can check each of them out.
K.) A book that made you happy?
Of course, it’s Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins! This book was such a feel-good book and I cannot wait to read the next books in the series!
L.) The most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)?
It’s probably Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kritoff! I just got a copy of this book and, jeez, I know, I’m so late. I got it in hardcover, and I am so in love with it — from the cover, the dust jacket, to its intriguing pages!
I am really excited to read this book as I’ve been meaning to read it for a very long time. I remember how I swoon over the cover of this book every time I watch booktubers discuss it.
I am so happy that I was finally able to get a copy this year! I have so many time for reading these past couple of months because of the situation we are in, so I hope to squeeze reading Illuminae this year.
M.) What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
I’m not really a fan of monthly or yearly TBRs since I prefer to read at my own pace depending on the mood that I am in, but here are some of the titles that are on my priority list:
- Flyte (Septimus Heap, #2) by Angie Sage (Actually, the rest of the series)
- Catching Fire (Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins
- The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3) by Dan Brown
- The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke, #1) by Tessa Dare (This is already in progress, but I’m reading it via e-book and I’m really a slow e-book reader)
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (Also in progress, but I don’t want to rush it)
N.) Any favorite book community member?
Here are some of my favorites (from Instagram, Booktube, etc):
- Regan (peruseproject) – One of my favorite booktubers! I get a lot of book recommendations by watching her vlogs.
- Cariss (bookishcaz) – Cariss is from U.K. and she’s really friendly, and she hosts challenges and readathons as well.
- Marie & Nyx (drizzleandhurricanebooks) – I followed this blog earlier this year and have really enjoyed reading their posts. You may head on to their website to see how cute their theme is as well!
So there you have it. How about you? Did you do this annual bookish tag, too? Kindly share the links to your blogs in the comments. I’d love to check them out.