This idea was co-created by Ely and Chami as a way to check in to your reading goals halfway into the year!
I have read 51 of my 70 book goal for this year so I’m on track to meet and exceed my reading, but I want to focus on what I’m reading now rather than how much.
BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2022
There have been so many five-star reads this year so far, but my personal favorites of those have been Bad Blood and In the Dream House.
BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2022
I typically don’t read series, especially sequels, but the first book of a series I am most likely to read more from is The Shadow of the Wind.
NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET BUT WANT TO
I’m taking Book Lovers on vacation with me!
MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR
I’m basic so it’s going to have to be the new Taylor Jenkins Reid: Carrie Soto is Back coming out in August and Soundings: Journeys in the Company of Whales coming out next month!
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
I was extremely let down by The Book Thief, criminally overrated by reviewers. Dishonorable mentions include Her Body and Other Parties (I had huge expectations after In the Dream House) and Wish You Were Here (I know not every book Picoult writes is a stand-out but this one was just insulting).
BIGGEST SURPRISE
I’m always down for another nature read, but Beloved Beasts did more for me than I could have imagined: a history of conservation, not backing down from its dark side.
FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR (DEBUT OR NEW TO YOU)
I don’t know if I have a new favorite, but I look forward to picking up more books by Emily Henry and Daniel Immerwhar.
NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH
If I had to pick, it would be Garrett from The Deal, a funny hockey player great in bed? That’s all I’m looking for in a man.
NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER
I can’t say I have one, I don’t get attached to characters often.
A BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY
A Little Life, duh. But it didn’t make me sob like others claim, just that kind of miserable that pushed tears through my eyes.
A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY
Ken Jennings’s Maphead: he said all I was thinking about our shared strange love for maps and geography and the book was just full of fun facts, really.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL YOU’VE BOUGHT (OR RECEIVED) THIS YEAR
I’m going to cheat and use a book I bought in November of last year as it wasn’t included in last year’s mid-year freak out: Wuthering Heights I bought from Word on the Water in London. The cover has cherry blossoms (my favorite flower) on it and gold leaf page edges! This is from the Chiltern Classics collection and I must buy more.
WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR?
I don’t need to read any, thank you very much. But my top five books I’d like to read before the end of the year are Little Women, a book over 1,000 pages, A Prayer for Owen Meany, All Creatures Great and Small and Rebecca.
What has been your favorite book of the year so far?
Photo by Fang-Wei Lin.
