The Twenty Book Challenge:

If you could only keep 20 books (physical/ebook/audio), which would be the ones you would keep?

Rules are simple:

1 book per author. 1 book per series. Tag #twenty books challenge

Tagged by @theinquisitxor

Tagging @lizziethereader @therefugeofbooks @ofliterarynature @franticvampirereads @midnightlibrarymouse @thequeerlibrarian and @magnetarmadda because I'm evil

List of books (and reasoning) under the cut!

If I’ve read a book and you want to know about content warnings, representation, particular tropes, etc. drop me a line too!

I’ve done this before but @aliteraryprincess​ tagged me so here we go…

Rules: Using only books you have read this year (2022), answer these prompts. Try not to repeat a book title.  

In high school I was Epically Earnest (Molly Horan)

People might be surprised by A Memory Called Empire (Arkady Martine)

I will never be Spelunking Through Hell (Seanan McGuire)

My fantasy job is ExtraOrdinary (V.E. Schwab)

At the end of a long day I need Mint Chocolate Murder (Meri Allen)

I hate being I Don’t Have a Cat (Contessa Hileman)

Wish I had The View From the Cheap Seats (Neil Gaiman)

My family reunions are Can’t Escape Love (Alyssa Cole)

At a party you’d find me with The Great Believers (Rebecca Makkai)

I’ve never been to Monkey Beach (Eden Robinson)

A happy day includes Legends and Lattes (Travis Baldree)

Motto I live by: A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (Foz Meadows)

On my bucket list is All Cats Welcome (Susin Nielsen)

In my next life, I want to have Servant Mage (Kate Elliott)

Booklr Wrapped!

As in Spotify Wrapped, but it’s books! It feels kind of weird to be doing this while I still have a month of reading left, but I guess it’s no weirder than Goodreads choosing the best books of the year in November, and it’s a tag meme so whatever. Long-time followers will notice I slipped an unfinished book into the mix. Sometimes you can just tell.

Tagged by @petrareads. Template by @_readbyrach on Instagram. (You do need a Canva account though.)

Tagged by @franticvampirereads, @books-are-portals and @stefito0o. Thank you!

🥞 favourite book:

Oof. Um. Good Omens is my usual default for this, because I have a favourite for every genre and that’s the book I’ve read most often.

🌾 tropes that make you go “asfgrthgj”:

found family, one shared brain cell, soft/complicated mlm romance, metafictional fantasies, con artists with a heart of gold

🌻 comfort book:

the Harper Hall trilogy by Anne McCaffrey or Miles in Love by Lois McMaster Bujold

🌙 death in a book you would take back:

Matthew in the Anne of Green Gables series.

💡 book you wish you could read again for the first time:

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Shamelessly stolen off @yourneighborhoodbibliophile​. And I’m equally shamelessly copying answers from the Mid-Year Reading Update that went up earlier today. 😜

1. How many books have you read so far?

…75

2. What genres have you read?

Fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, romance, biography, sociology, true crime, poetry, picture books, history, young adult, horror, science, comic books, manga, and essays.

3. Best book you’ve read so far in 2022

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. There’ve been others I rated higher and books that have tied it in ratings, but this is the one that hit solid for everything I look for in a book.

4. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2022

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire, if “sequel” means “part of a series”. Shades of Magic, Vol. 2 by V.E. Schwab if it means “actual second book.” I … have not read many sequels this year.

5. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGurie is pretty high up my TBR. So is Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison. I’m waiting for my library on both counts.

6. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Babel! Babel Babel Babel! But also The Worlds We Make by N.K. Jemisin and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske.

7. Biggest disappointment

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham. I was expecting something with the vigor and breadth of the Expanse novels and this was … not that.

8. Biggest surprise

The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr. Didn’t sound like much, certainly didn’t look like much, was absolutely delightful and fascinating.

9. Underrated gems

Semiosis by Sue Burke; The Escapement by Lavie Tidhar;  The Problem with Pajamas by Lauren Stohler; The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr

10. Book that made you cry

Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson.

11. Book that made you happy

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows.

12. Most beautiful book cover of a book you’ve read so far this year

Gallant by V.E. Schwab and A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows.

13. How are you doing with your year’s goals?

Not bad! I’m aiming for 150 books, which I’m easily on track for. I’m also trying for one book per month off my physical TBR (ARCs notwithstanding) and I’m managing that, though often barely. No idea what my percentage is for authors of colour, but I’d like to think I’m doing okay on that front too.

14. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Everything I haven’t crossed off on this list, which luckily also includes about 2/3 of the current ARC pile, which is also a goal…