Hello Rad Readers!
Though it is very much no longer the middle of the year, I am still freaking out. I must read all the books!! My GoodReads goal this year is to read 80 books, and because of quarantine I am well ahead of my schedule. All my wishes have come true as my available time for reading has multiplied by ten fold! I have read 70 books since the start of 2020, but there is still sooooo much to read! I might change my goal if I reach it too soon, but that is my current plan! Nonetheless, I am still freaking out. So many books, so little time!
If we are being honest, 2020 has been a pretty trash year, and that needs no elaboration. There has been no better time in the history of all time to leave reality behind and get lost in the worlds of Terrasen, Hogwarts, Camp Half-Blood, and Ketterdam. Literature solves all problems!
1. How Much Have You Read?
Ohhh boyyy... I have read a TON! In March, the first month of quarantine, I read 15 books! That is when I realized that quarantine just might be the move. I read a lot of huge books these last two months so I felt like that was kind of a slower time for me, but I have not had a single reading slump at all this year. Also, I have actually been finishing the series that I start. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself! Something I have also taken up (to the extreme), is reading multiple books at once. Regularly I have been reading three books at once, a contemporary, a fantasy (or sci-fi, or paranormal), and a reread. I like this a lot because if I ever hit a slow part on a book then I can just switch books for a bit! Surprisingly I have also accepted audiobooks into my Rad Reader lifestyle and that certainly helps!
2. What Have You Been Reading?
I have some what refined my Rad Reader Taste, if you will. Where I once found Contemporary reads to be boring, I actually love them now. Fantasy is --certainly-- still a favorite genre, but Contemporary is an EXTREMELY close second. I think Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell really changed that for me. Then I started reading more of John Green, and the popular coming of age novels (The ones along the lines of Perks of Being a Wallflower). I realized that there is actually a lot to see in your own life from those types of stories. A lot to strive for as well.
Science Fiction of course will always have my heart, but I have not been reading much of it. Paranormals haven't been hitting as good as they did in the past...
As I said previously, I have been rereading a lot lately in tandem with my other reads just for some happy vibes during quarantine. Harry Potter rereads have been really hitting different this time around as I'm sure you can tell from my most recent post on The Order of the Phoenix. I'm not sure why, but they have just been even more fantastic than usual this time around. I read a couple classics but only for school. Also, while we are on the topic of school, I feel like it is worth mentioning on my blog that I am starting college now! Unfortunately however even though I'm an English major I'm not taking any English classes this semester because of my AP credits... UGH! My favorite part of school is absent for a semester. What ever shall I do!
3. Best Book You've Read So Far in 2020?
This is so tough because I have read so much this year, I have so many new favorites! So so so many five star reviews, but here are a few of them!!
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
4. Best Sequel You've Read So Far?
I would say either Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard or Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. They were both fantastic in very different lights. Both fantasy reads by authors that I love, so it was no surprise that they were so good. I reviewed them both separately so go check out my in depth book talks!!
5. Best Series You've Read So Far?
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Does a duology count? Whatevs...)
I have also have either reviews or book talks on each book in these series, so check those out too if you want to know why they were so great!
6. Most Anticipated Release?
I HAVE to read The Last Confessions of Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw as soon as it touches the shelves! I would sell my soul to read it right now because I just need to find out what happens to Mara and Noah. It has just been wayyyyy too long and I was surely disappointed by the most recent addition to The Shaw Confessions. It requires so much redemption. Michelle Hodkin needs to hurry up and give us that book!!
7. Biggest Disappointment?
I didn't necessarily think that the Grisha trilogy was poor, I just thought that it wasn't as good as everyone hyped it up to be. I also read the Six of Crows duology prior to reading the Grisha trilogy and Six of Crows is one of my favorite books of all time, so I ended up comparing them a lot as I was reading it, (because they are written by the same author and in the same world) and it really just couldn't compare.
A huge disappointment was The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I heard SO many great things about this book and this series as a whole and I gave it 2 stars because I just was not interested in it at all. I found the writing to be too focused on having artistry and being overwhelmingly and unnecessarily descriptive. Perhaps I am not wise enough (or pretentious enough) to enjoy that type of book. Ultimately it was just too boring and confusing for my liking.
8. Biggest Surprise?
I was absolutely shocked at how much I loved Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I found it, not only to be incredibly written, but to be entertaining, relatable, and inspiring. It genuinely changed my feelings on an entire genre! Ever since I read it I have been trying to get my hands on every contemporary that I see!
I also was EXTREMELY surprised by how much I enjoyed Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. I was entirely convinced after reading two of the Shadowhunter novellas (The Bane Chronicles, Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy) that I had grown tired of the Shadowhunter world. I was convinced that all of her works were becoming the same thing with a search and replace for Clary and Jace's names, but I actually found Lady Midnight to be fantastic. Though there were certainly many similarities to The Mortal Instruments, I can't lie and say that I don't intend on finishing The Dark Artifices.
9. Rereads this year?
I fear I have talked too much on my new experiences with rereads in this blog post, so I think I will save you from more of my rambling and just give you the list.
The Selection by Kiera Cass
The Crown by Kiera Cass
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
(HP) The Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
(HP) The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
(HP) The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
(HP) The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
(HP) The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
(HP) The Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
10. Book That Made You Cry?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
These need no explanation. Read them with a box of tissues next to you. That is all you need to know.
11. Book That Made You Happy
Mosquitoland by David Arnold, Paper Towns by John Green, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews are the funniest books on the planet and this is not even a debatable matter. Each of these books had me genuinely laughing out loud and smiling at my book. I was fully cracking up during the entire road trip part of Paper Towns. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has genuinely the most elite wit I have ever come across, and the coarse, boyish humor from the two main characters is to die for. I aspire to be as clever and quick as Mim from Mosquitoland! Never a dull moment in these books!
12. Most Beautiful Book You've Bought?
Every single book from the Red Queen series is so aesthetically pleasing. I think it perfectly captures the content of the book as well. The blood dripping from the crown is so symbolic.
I believe my pick for this question last year was Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff, and I must say, the sequel Gemina is just as --if not more-- beautiful than the last. I love taking off the dust cover and seeing the insane detail in it. That is another one where the cover does the content of the book justice as well. The cover looks like a file or a secured document, and the entire story is told in hacked documents, medical records, surveillance footage. I have yet to read the sequel, but Illuminae made it onto the Rad Reads Certified Bangers list!
Okay, Rad Readers! Let's hope that the rest of the year gets better. Even if it doesn't, at least we have books!!
- C8 ;)