Tag: yearly

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2022

Kat Impossible16 Comments

I keep saying this so often, but I do these tags super irregularly. However, I took the time to put something up last year and want to try and keep this going … So, this is me doing the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag on the most semi-regular basis ever. Enjoy!

*By clicking on the covers, you’ll be re-directed to the Goodreads pages of the books!*

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ YET IN 2022

Tough call, tough call. I’ve had some really lovely reads this year already. One of the books that I was most excited about and that luckily turned out to be just phenomenal is The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. I’m so glad I got to read that book! It had me crying, laughing and falling in love with the characters.

The Dead Romantics

BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2022

Wow, I genuinely haven’t read a single sequel so far this year. I might continue with the Wayward Children series, which I thought had a fantastic start! I’ve mentioned it before though, but the books are super expensive, so I don’t have an actual plan on when I will get to the continuation.

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET BUT WANT TO

I’ve read only a couple pages of an ARC for Before Takeoff by Adi Alsaid so far, so I’m going to count it for this prompt. It sounds like something right up my alley, it’s just been a time issue so far and the book was only released a couple weeks ago.

Before Takeoff

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

Okay, do I really need to say it? I have to say it! The Atlas Paradox! I’m one of the biggest fangirls of this series (as proven by this post) and cannot wait to finally get my babies from the Atlas Six back. I miss them so much, even if most of the story is just vibes.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Hmmm … I suppose Watermelon Sugar was a disappointment. I don’t really understand how it has so many fans, because it makes zero sense. It just says … nothing.

In Watermelon Sugar

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson was … unexpected. Told in second person POV, I don’t necessarily think it’s for everyone, but I found it really immersive and touching. I can see great things from this author!

Open Water

FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR

Tia Williams convinced me and gained me as a fan with Seven Days in June! No doubt about it! Her writing had such excellent humor, but also so much heart and realness. I’m looking forward to reading more books by her.

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

Not me having to reuse an answer by picking The Dead Romantics again, but – BENJI ANDOR!!! The man is amazingly attentive, but also driven and a literary editor. I just loved his whole vibe and wish we had gotten more of him in the book. Like, that’s my complaint, not enough Benji.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

I’m picking a lot of books that deal with the death and/or sickness of a parent. It’s like these stories just find me and every single one of them made me cry. The latest one was This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub – absolutely fantastic with a sci-fi twist!

This Time Tomorrow

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

My Mechanical Romance was penned by the same author as The Atlas Six, however, under a different pseudonym. I just love the writing style so much, even though I’ve sort of stepped away from YA a little bit as of late. It had girls in STEM, rivals to lovers and just really cute conversations. I smiled through so many parts of it.

My Mechanical Romance

FAVORITE BOOK TO SCREEN ADAPTATION

I have to name two, I can’t stop myself! One for a TV show and one for a movie, because … this is all I ever talk about, right? You can’t just make me choose. Also, I want to note that these are adaptations that I’ve actually read prior to watching, otherwise my selection might have been different.

TV Show: Conversations with Friends – it was really faithful to the material again, just like Normal People, but also expanded on everything and made it a little more in depth or relatable. These characters are still very much flawed, but not as exhausting as in the books. At least to me. Read my full post here.

Movie poster of Along for the Ride with the text "book vs. movie"

Movie: Along for the Ride – this was my first experience with a Sarah Dessen story and while I wasn’t super impressed, I really enjoyed the movie. It was cute and lovely and from the looks of it, Netflix keeps pumping out YA adaptations, so, I’m here for it. You can find my full length thoughts here.

FAVORITE POST YOU HAVE DONE THIS YEAR

I know that people would likely suspect that my favorite post of the year so far would be one of my many reading experiments, but it’s actually a spin-off feature in the realm of my blog celeb book club – Books I’d Recommend to Celebs Based on THEIR Taste!
I always complain that I think that the actors pick rubbish books and that I could give them better reads and I stand by that. It was so fun to come up with recommendations based on what I had learned about them and I hope to do more along the lines of this soon.

Celeb Book Club

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE BOUGHT THIS YEAR

Have you SEEN the character illustrations in The Atlas Six? Gorgeous. Beautiful. Memorable. My faves.

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR

I don’t like to put that kind of pressure on myself, so I’ve done away with “must reads”. Whatever the mood strikes and maybe some stories for experiments. We shall see.

I TAG THEE

I tag whoever wants to do this as well! If that’s you, then I tag YOU!!!

What did you think of my answers for the prompts this year? How is your reading year going so far? Let’s catch up in the comments!

December 2021 Wrap-Up / The Year in Review

Kat Impossible12 Comments

I finished the final month of 2021 strong by reading 6 books. This may not seem like a lot to some people, but if I take back a look at the past year, that was a really solid month for me in terms of books. I’m really happy with that and it made me finish my Goodreads challenge with a neat 50 books in total. Let’s take a look!

One Hundred Years of Solitude Daisy Jones & The Six Saga, Vol. 1 Where the Crawdads Sing Taste: My Life through Food Weather Girl

As per usual, click on the covers to get re-directed to Goodreads, where you are always welcome to add me as a reading buddy! OR find me on Storygraph, where I’m trying to find my footing as well. My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above if there are posts for them.

As is tradition, I’ll share parts of my reading year. As I’m still struggling with the desktop interface of Storygraph a little bit (I hear the app works better), I have to forego their stats for now, even though they’re magnificent. They even show you what kinds of moods and pacing you were most drawn to, but I’ll just stick to the simpler one curated by Goodreads for now (you can find the full post here).

I originally set the goal to read 35 books (yes, I aim for achievable), but managed to read a total of 50 books (as mentioned above already), which in this particular case translated to 17,255 pages. My reading experiments really motivated me, but I also started a new job that involved a lengthy commute for the first couple of months, which allowed for way more reading time. My shortest book was actually a novella called Galatea by the ever magnificent Madeline Miller. I’m not surprised to find that the longest one was Anna Karenina. It did feel like forever.

The average book I read was about 345 pages long. Honestly, that tracks with previous years, because around 300 pages is the length I feel most comfortable with. I do plan to try and read some lengthier books in 2022 though … we shall see if I actually manage to go through with it. As for my average rating, it’s exactly the same as last year with 3.7 stars! I have gotten more critical over the years and hardly ever give 5 star ratings, if I don’t absolutely adore and love the book, but at the same time, I do know what I like and tend to find books that fit into what I enjoy.

2021 was … something.

I remember clearly, the hope I harbored for 2021 to be better than 2020 and in some regards it really was. I found a great place to work at with colleagues I absolutely love to be around, I found an apartment for myself and finally moved out from my parent’s place. I should not complain and yet … 2021 was hard! Maybe one of the hardest years I had to face ever with a lot of personal dreams getting crushed (goodbye, my beloved Canada) and devastating events that drained my spirits. I don’t want to get into it, but for a time there, it was just one blow after the other. The fact that we’re now going into the third year of the panini isn’t helping either … BUT, and this is just my sunny disposition coming through, I refuse to let that drag me down in 2022. I’ll dust myself off and just get right back to it. I’d like to think that things happen for a reason, that you’re always right where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be. And when it doesn’t feel like it, just fake it until it does *shrug*.

So, on to more pleasant things! I was really consistent with my blogging in 2021. With a few exceptions, I always managed to post at least 3-4 times a week, which would have been unimaginable in some of the past years. I’m still not back to the crazy posting schedule from 2016, where I double and triple posted some days, but I have found my groove and would like to continue that into the new year. I want to thank each and every one who has visited my corner of the internet and especially those that stuck around! My gratitude for your support knows no bounds!
Here are some updated blog stats for you:

  • The blog currently has 2,871 WordPress followers and a couple people via mail as well. I’ve made the decision to wait until the 3K mark for another giveaway on the blog. Money is tight, but I definitely want to celebrate that milestone once we hit it!
  • There have been 20% more views in 2021 than in the previous year, which I know is vague, but has me thrilled!
  • While I’ve written about 1,490 posts for this blog, I don’t want you to go digging too far into the past. I’ve started to tidy up a little and removed some of the older postings. Sometimes I just changed my opinion on them, other times I don’t feel like it fits the content on here anymore. Either way, I’m hoping to not have too many dead links, but I’m working on it.
  • Once again, I’d also like to give a huge thanks and shout-out to my top commenters! The fact that people keep showing up makes my heart sing and my day better. Please feel free to show them some love in return: Brittani, Caro, Marie, Rami and The Orang-Utan Librarian.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF 2021

I’m going to start with the posts that I wrote in 2021 and that were most popular and list some of the most viewed archive posts below! If you want to know more about a post, simply click on the title!

Are Tom Hiddleston and I compatible (readers)? – Genuinely ALL my reading experiments (I’ve also done this with Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal so far) were so well received. I did time this one particularly well with the release of the Loki series, so I get why it had the absolute most clicks, but you guys were here for the celeb book club and I love that! I don’t have too many original features on here, so I’m happy that my one original idea took off so well.

8 Years of Blogging – Reintroducing Myself! – Yes, I have been doing this for a very long time and since my readership is constantly changing, I thought it was time to reintroduce myself. The feedback and support was absolutley lovely.

WandaVision: Episode 1 & 2 Review – So many people were here for this show, but also really, really confused. I hope my reviews and recaps shed some light and didn’t just confuse people further. I did stray into theories like so many others from time to time.

credit: Marvel Studios

Book to Screen Adaptations 2021 – This post was SO much work and a lot of the release dates got changed up again, but it was too on brand for the blog not to do it. Since it was so well received, would you be interested in me having another go at this for 2022? 

MOST POPULAR POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES:

MY 2021 RANKINGS

As you may or may not have noticed, I’ve waited to publish this post until I had all my yearly rankings up! There’s a lot on there, but the chances that I forgot something are still pretty high. Anyway, this should be an accurate representation of my favorite movies, TV shows and books from the last year.

MY OTHER DECEMBER POSTS

MARVEL REVIEWS

VARIOUS TAGS AND POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

THURSDAY MOVIE PICKS

TRAILER POSTS

Now, I hope you’ve already had a brilliant start into the year 2022 and that it will be kind to you! Please let me know which content you liked on the blog last year, so I can work and plan for everything that comes next! THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THE LIFE AND OTHER DISASTERS COMMUNITY!!!

 

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2021

Kat Impossible8 Comments

I do these tags really irregularly, but I took the time to put something up last year and had a lot of fun with it. So, this is my attempt at bringing the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag back on a more regular basis. As in yearly. Hopefully.

*By clicking on the covers, you’ll be re-directed to the Goodreads pages of the books!*

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ YET IN 2021

SoulswiftI’ve only given 5 stars to ONE (fiction) book this year, so I feel like that has to be the one I mention for this prompt? I’m talking about Soulswift, a breathtaking and soul-crushing standalone fantasy novel here. I’m honestly still shocked that not more people have discovered this book yet.

BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2021

King of Scars (King of Scars, #1)The only books that were part of a series that I read this year were the Grishaverse books. I don’t feel super happy giving King of Scars this spot on the post, because I wasn’t actually as happy with it as I would have liked to be, but it’s the only one that makes sense. I should read more series again maybe …

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET BUT WANT TO

For the Wolf (Wilderwood, #1)For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten is 100% up there! The book just sounds like it would be right up my alley and I’m really excited to dive into it once I can get my hands on a copy!

The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

The Taking of Jake LivingstonI don’t know when this happened or why it really even happened, but I found myself drawn to more horror-esque books these past years. It’s such a weird change for me, because I literally hate being terrified, but apparently I don’t hate being just a little freaked out? I don’t know, but I’m super hyped to read The Taking of Jake Livingston.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

My Year AbroadI was so very sad to not have connected with My Year Abroad. I felt like there should have been enough basis from my real life experiences to make this book an outstanding read for me, but somehow, I just wasn’t the right reader for it. I saw a lot of people enjoy the style of writing, while I found it a bit dragging and difficult to get through.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Any Human HeartHonestly, before I started reading Any Human Heart, I really didn’t believe I was going to like it. I had read (or at least attempted to read) another book by the same author and I was incredibly bored. With this one though, despite me not really liking the main character, I felt it had so much emotion. In the end, I really enjoyed the journey we had together.

FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR

You all know how much I adore Morgan Matson and how I will devour anything she writes? Well, I found an author with a similar style of writing, who evokes the same feelings in me. Through The Summer of Broken Rules, K.L. Walther managed to capture my heart and I would love to read future books by the author. This one transported me right to a summery vacation destination, so I’m here for more.

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

The Summer of Broken RulesTo further elaborate the previous answer, I really, really enjoyed The Summer of Broken Rules because it introduced me to Wit. He’s such a lovely love interest and I don’t know how else to put it. I like caring, at times dorky guys with a healthy dose of humor and he provides all that!

NEWEST FAVOURITE CHARACTER

Malibu RisingHmmm … that’s a tough one. I met some great characters throughout the year so far, but I think I might have to give this one to Nina Riva from Malibu Rising. I don’t know how to explain it, but I found a lot of myself in her, which made me feel uncomfortable at times. But I also loved it?

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

Ugh, I hate repeating answers so much, but Malibu Rising it is again. That book lost me a little bit in parts of the second half, but I felt a really big emotional connection to it and it definitely had me well up a couple times. Something about the setting and the family theme just got to me more than I expected.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

Hana Khan Carries OnWhile Hana Khan Carries On definitely has some more serious elements to it that weren’t always easy to handle, Hana’s passion for her podcast and a career in the world of radio had be so excited and happy to keep reading this book. The fact that she also has a “You’ve Got Mail”-style romance was just the cherry on top.

FAVOURITE BOOK TO SCREEN ADAPTATION

Okay, this just HAS to be Shadow and Bone! Despite some flaws, the casting of this show was impeccable and gave us so much fun and heartwarming new content for the Grishaverse. I mean, that show made me utterly fall in love with Mal and while I liked him in the books (contrary to most of the fandom, I think), I ADORED the boy on the show. Cannot wait for season 2!

You can read more of my thoughts on the show here!

FAVOURITE POST YOU HAVE DONE THIS YEAR

This is also super easy to answer for me, which is rare to be honest. I’m not trying to say that I’m not usually proud of my own content, but I was especially happy to publish my “Are Tom Hiddleston and I compatible (readers)?” post a few weeks back. It is now developing into a full blown series, where I read the favorite books of celebs and see if we would be a match or not. I think it’s such a fun feature that combines my love for reading with my admiration of all things TV and film. I hope you enjoy reading it just a fraction of how much I loved creating this post/future series.

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE BOUGHT THIS YEAR

Where Hope Comes From: Poems of Resilience, Healing and LightLast year, I mentioned a poetry collection for this special prompt and I’m going to stick with that again this year. I think Where Hope Comes From is such a gorgeous book inside and out! It was written during the times of Covid, so I understand if not everyone is up for that emotional exploration, but I think it was really beautiful.

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR

If We Were Villains

Dark Age (Red Rising Saga, #5)

SO. VERY. MANY. But just because I’m a terrible person and haven’t read the books I mentioned in 2020 yet. I’m going to put those exact same ones here again.

If We Were Villains and Dark Age. are still on my shelf and I have no excuse as to why I haven’t picked them up. Literally none. (Other than the fact that the size of Dark Age scares me.)

I TAG THEE

I tag whoever wants to do this as well! If that’s you, then I tag YOU!!!

What did you think of my answers for the prompts of the tag? How is your reading year going so far? Let’s talk!!

The End of the Year Book Tag – 2020

Kat Impossible8 Comments

Can you believe we are at the stage of the year where tags like this make sense? I saw the End of the Year Book Tag over at Sofii’s A Book. A Thought. blog and she was happy to let me steal it. I know I am nowhere near my reading numbers from a couple years ago, but I am actually pretty content with what I managed to get to in 2020. Let’s see what the questions hold!

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Beartown (Beartown, #1)     This Is How You Lose the Time War

I am currently reading Beartown (which I started in October but got busy and wanted to give more attention to) and This Is How You Lose the Time War (which is utterly confusing). Realistically, I think I can finish both of them, I just have to be willing to make the time now.

Do you have an autumnal (Spring) book to transition into the end of the year?

Take a Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters, #2)

I have to say that I don’t really plan ahead my reading like that, or go for certain seasonal themes. I could see how people would like something more colourful for winter or so on, but I can’t say I’ve been looking into that. However, I still have Take a Hint, Dani Brown ready on my kindle, which is sure to warm my heart!

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

Admission

First of all, I am not super aware of when books release these days. Secondly, I think most of the books I was curious about already released. For example Admission by Julie Buxbaum. I quite enjoyed that one and it got published at the beginning of the month!

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

This Is Not a Ghost Story Soulswift Normal People: The Scripts

Aside from the ones I mentioned above, I am not sure how much I will actually be able to manage. I mean … there’s like two weeks left of the year and I don’t think I have it in me to read five books in total. However, IF I miraculously make it, the ones mentioned above are on my priority list.
This is Not a Ghost Story was recommended to people who enjoyed the Haunting of Bly Manor and I don’t know in what aspect it will be like the show, but I was too curious not to check it out. Also, it has a stunning cover, isn’t too long and ties into me wanting to get out of my reading comfort zone more.
Soulswift is along the lines of theological-esque fantasy and I am very much into that.
Normal People: The Scripts is like the Fleabag scripts aka it is a hardcover copy of all the scripts from the show. I love-hated the regular book in a weird way, but I am still 100% obsessed with it, so, I figured it would be a great addition to my library.

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favourite of the year?

There’s obviously no way to know for sure, but Beartown ticks all the boxes to become a favourite! It’s sports-related, has a tight-knit small town community, drama, beautiful beautiful quotes. I swear I have put so many sticky notes into that book already.

Have you already started making reading plans for 2021?

Ace of Spades

I don’t really make reading plans as much. I do intend to up my Goodreads Challenge from 30 (which I managed well this year) to 35 books. But I also saw the tweet below and the illustration and comparison to Dair and I am really into the idea of reading Ace of Spades next year!

I hope you enjoyed this! I have found myself liking tags that aren’t too long as of late, so I hope you liked reading it too. Let me know some of your thoughts on the tag or feel free to steal it yourself!