Sunday 13 September 2015

Tag | Mid-Year Book Freakout & Challenge Update

It may not be the middle of the year anymore but I wanted to have a bit of a look back on the year so far and see how I am getting on with my reading and with my challenges. I wasn't tagged to do the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag but I really like the idea of it so decided to give it a go for myself.


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Best Book You've Read So Far In 2015

This is really tough! I would probably have to go with either The Selection by Kiera Cass or How To Fall In Love by Cecelia Ahern. I wasn't expecting great things from The Selection and was very pleasantly surprised when I ended up loving it. On the other hand, I was really expecting great things from How To Fall In Love and was so relieved when it lived up to those expectations.

Best Sequel You've Read So Far In 2015

This has definitely got to be Allegiant by Veronica Roth. This seems to be one that people either love or hate due to the controversial ending. Personally, I absolutely loved it and thought the ending suited the book series perfectly. This is one of my favourite books I have read this year and completely redeemed the Divergent trilogy after Insurgent disappointed me a little.

New Release You Haven't Read Yet But Want To

There are a few for this but I'm going to go for Volition by Lily Paradis. I read Ignite, Lily's debut novel, early in the year and really enjoyed it so I am desperate to read more of her work. I don't even know why I haven't picked this book up yet, I really need to get to it soon.

Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half Of The Year

I don't really have any very highly anticipated books for the second half of the year. I am trying to cut back on my book buying so I am trying not to look at what books are releasing in the second half of the year, I don't want to be tempted to buy them.

Biggest Disappointment

This has probably got to be Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I read and loved My Sister's Keeper and really wanted to read more from her. Nineteen Minutes seemed very interesting to me and I haven't read anything about a school shooting before so I was looking forward to something different. I ended up really not liking this book and found it quite boring.

Biggest Surprise

I'm going to go with This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales. I picked this up on a whim and when I eventually got around to reading it I wasn't really expecting great things. I ended up really enjoying it! It was an enjoyable story with a very relatable main character whom I really enjoyed reading about.

Favourite New Author

Since I read and really enjoyed her Selection series, it has to be Kiera Cass. She did a great job of writing a really fun series and I can't wait to read more from her.

Newest Fictional Crush

This is another really hard one! I think I'm going to have to say Maxon from The Selection series. I loved him straight away in The Selection and my crush just grew throughout the three original books. I can't say I feel the same way about him in The Heir, though, considering he is a fair bit older in that book.

Newest Favourite Character

This is also a tough one but I think I'll have to say Caymen from The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. I seriously want Caymen to be my best friend. She is sarcastic and witty and she just seems like so much fun.

Book That Made You Cry

There have been a few so far this year but I'm trying not to repeat myself so I'll go with I Was Here by Gayle Forman. This was a very well written take on teenage suicide in which our main character's best friend commits suicide and she wants to work out why. This was a very touching story and did a great job of emphasising the stigma around mental health.

Book That Made You Happy

As strange as this sounds, considering the topic of the book, How To Fall In Love by Cecelia Ahern made me happy. Despite being about suicide, this book was adorable and actually quite funny. It is the kind of thing only Cecelia Ahern can achieve as she somehow manages to find some comic relief in even the saddest of situations.

Favourite Book To Movie Adaptation You Saw This Year

This is easily Love, Rosie. This is based on one of my favourite books, Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern, and they managed to do such a great job with the movie. I absolutely love Lily Collins and Sam Claflin as Rosie and Alex, they are perfect for the roles. It is such a fun movie and though it doesn't follow the book completely, it is a great adaptation.

Favourite Review/Post You've Done This Year

This is a tough one because I don't think I have done anything particularly great this year. I think my review of This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales may be one of the best reviews I have written since I wrote it straight after finishing the book so I'll go with that.

Most Beautiful Book You've Bought So Far This Year

I have bought quite a lot of beautiful books this year so that's a hard question. Since I have it sat next to me, I'll go with the copy of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by JK Rowling that I bought recently.

Books You NEED To Read By The End Of 2015

Basically every book I own! I don't have a specific set list of books I want to read by the end of the year, I would just like to get through a good chunk of my TBR.

That was the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag! I thought it might also be helpful for me to see how I'm getting on with my 2015 reading challenges.

Goodreads Reading Challenge

Goal: 50
Progress: 44
I would say I'm doing pretty well with this challenge! If I manage to get out of the horrendous reading slump soon I should definitely get to 50 books by the end of the year.

Ebook Reading Challenge

Goal: 10
Progress: 8
I'm also doing quite well with this challenge as well. If I read my 10 books soon I may consider attempting 15/20. The next level up in the challenge is 25 but I don't think I'll manage that by the end of the year.

TBR Pile Challenge

Goal: 11-20
Progress: 2
I'm definitely not doing well with this one so far. I am only counting books that have been on my shelf for over a year. I definitely need to get a move on and read some of my older books.

Prequel & Sequel Challenge

Goal: 25-50 Points
Progress: 42 Points
I have already had to move up a level for this challenge and it looks like I could have to move up another one if I continue reading so many books in series. I'm actually quite surprised how many books within a series I have read so far, especially considering I decided not to count any of the Georgia Nicholson books.

Debut Author Challenge

Goal: 12
Progress: 2
This is another challenge I am falling behind on. I am trying not to buy a lot of new books at the moment, which is affecting this challenge a bit. I am going to try and use up my Audible credits on some debut novels to get caught up on this challenge.

So that is my slightly late mid-year update. What's your favourite book you've read so far this year?

Sophie :)

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