Tag: 2021

The 2021 Mid Year Book Freak Out

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

It’s that time again where I look at my Goodreads account and cry.

The Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag was created for Booktubers so long ago that the original video has been privated. Just from a quick search, it looked like at least ten years ago. Since I’m not really doing on camera stuff this year, baring streaming (if my internet is ever stable again, but that’s a rant for another day), it’s always better for me to do this via my blog.

There are 13 questions in the tag that I am using this year. Because I had a massive reading slump during the spring of this year, I’ve only read 11 books, with three of those being comics. So, there will be some doubling up. I’ll also try to keep this spoiler free, or at least spoiler light, but no promises.

Let’s jump into it.

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2021.

Two books jump to mind for this, but I’m going to hold one until the next question. Lore by Alexandria Bracken blew my mind away in January. It was an instant 5-star book. I loved the world building, and the fact that while still urban fantasy, it was still somewhat grounded in reality. The characters were pretty dynamic, and the premise was awesome. And it’s a standalone, which means I’m not sitting around all year waiting for book two.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2021.

Hands down, this is Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson. I wasn’t sure if she would be able to recapture the amazement that was the first book, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. But she did. By coming up with a new mystery for Pip to solve, on top of getting “updates” on the previous case, Jackson drew me in and didn’t let me go. I’m so glad that the finale will be getting a simultaneous worldwide release in September, instead of the US having to wait until March. I don’t have to avoid spoilers this time!

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

I finally hopped in TikTok a couple weeks ago (yes, I know I’m so very late), and fell right into BookTok. The one book that seemed to be everywhere was One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, and the plot is probably right up my alley. I have a few books ahead of it right now, but I can’t wait to give it a read soon.

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

The thing is, I’ve stopped looking way ahead at book releases. There is one, I mentioned it above, but for the most part, I’m not scouring release dates. I fell out of doing that when I left all the book communities on Facebook. I realized I was so excited to own these books, but I wasn’t excited to read them. It’s a mindset that I’m working to change, by limiting the amount of book I purchase to just Owlcrate orders and the BN YA Book Club picks.

5. Biggest disappointment.

Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin. I was so excited after I read Serpent & Dove back in September of 2019. I thought it was a great book, though it had some flaws. I even recommended it to my former boss, before I quit my job during the pandemic. (I wonder if she ever read it? No, probably not.) And then I picked this one up, and had to literally bribe myself through reading it. It’s been a really long time since I screamed while reading a book. Probably the same amount of time for me to throw the damn thing across the room. Into the unhaul pile with that trash.

6. Biggest surprise.

Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Oseman! I will be the first to say that I have outright avoided reading this for years, simply because of the hype (which has mostly died down to normal levels of fandom love). I picked it up on a whim one day and very much enjoyed it. It’s not perfect, but it was a cute story, and I’m glad that it has continued on.

7. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)

So here’s the thing. I don’t really have a new favorite author. Everything I’ve read this year thus far (barring Heartstopper and The Old Guard: Tales Through Time comics) has either been author’s I read before, or new authors that I wasn’t a fan of. I guess to be fair and to answer the question, I would have to go with Alexandria Bracken, as she was the only author that I had read before that my opinion changed on. She previously wrote the Darkest Minds series, which I was unimpressed with, to put politely (never made it past page 50 of the first book). I went into Lore not knowing it was her, and it blew my mind.

8. Newest fictional crush.

I don’t really have one? I don’t really pick out characters to have crushes on anymore. At least not without a visual. Don’t know why that is, but that’s how I am right now.

(I’m gonna cheat and say Eddie Diaz from the TV show 9-1-1, because why the hell not. He’s pretty.)

9. Newest fictional character.

Basically, see answer above. Unfortunately, if I had just read Lore, I could pick someone out, but it has faded enough in my mind that I’m not sure anymore.

(Copout: Evan “Buck” Buckley, because that boy has massive character development. And damn it, he needs a hug. Oh wait, Christopher gave him one.)

10. Book that made you cry.

Sarcastic answer and spoiler incoming: Blood and Honey. Dear god, I was crying by the end, mostly because I felt I had wasted so much of my time. And also because one of the few characters I actually liked got killed in the last few pages of the book. Seriously?! What a waste. Even if I knew said character was going to die by the beginning of this book, because it was hinted.

11. Book that made you happy.

Sarcastic answer incoming: The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He. I was so happy to reach the end of this one, because I was so disappointed. It felt so flat. I finished and just sighed in almost relief. Sorry to fans of this one, it didn’t do it for me.

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received).

There are two that immediately come to mind: one that I loved and one that I ended up disliking. The first is Lore. I have two copies, the Owlcrate edition, which is dark and gorgeous, and the standard edition (for the book club, I ordered it before Owlcrate shipped). Even the standard edition is beautiful. I love it. The second book is The Ones We’re Meant to Find. Again, two editions (Owlcrate and standard). The covers look painted in such a stunning fashion. Pity it was boring.

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

Hahahaha. Too many. No seriously, I want to read all the Owlcrate books from this year (though if they send another “witchy, separated sisters” thing again, I may scream. Wait, what’s coming for June? AAAAAAAAH!), as well as all the book club books, in the hopes that we one day have book club meetings in person again. I also want to reread a couple books, including Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, since Netflix is making a film adaptation and I loved this one (and Lock and Key). But besides the books that I’m “requiring” myself to read, I’m basically going with the flow. I’m not going to push myself to read something that just doesn’t’ click with me, regardless of popularity. (Which means you will NOT see me read ACOTAR anywhere on here. Nope.)

And that’s the tag! I’m glad I was reminded of this one, as it only took me about an hour to answer everything. I got a major sunburn on my arms and legs at the beach last Sunday, and even sitting and having a cable brush against my skin makes me want to scream. I’ll be ok, I just have to remember that I’m still majorly sensitive to the sun, and to avoid the beach like an intelligent person. Just letting you all know in case Thursday’s post is up late, like this one.

Until next time!

Reading Goals for 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

I usually never set hard and fast reading goals for myself. It’s something that I had always hated when I was in school. We would always have to read a certain type of book, usually a classic or three, and that would be the focus of the year. Forget loving fantasy or sci-fi, they need not apply. Even in college, when I was on the English/Creative Writing track, we were heavily encouraged to only read what was assigned to us, and if we had any free time, to focus on literary fiction. Genre fiction need not apply.

Because of that, and being burned by Accelerated Reader so many times, I developed some really bad reading habits. I blast through books without taking the time to really focus on characters or anything besides the main plot. If I do slow down, I find myself bored. Another thing is, if I stop reading at any point, for more than a few hours (like, I went to bed or something), getting back into a book is an outright nightmare. I could only do that with rereads, and only certain ones at that.

For the past several years, I’ve signed up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge. My bad habits came out in a big way because of this. I’d read a bunch during the beginning of the year, taper off during summer, and blast through a lot of manga or graphic novels by November and December. Or I’d just lie. Because honesty doesn’t exist when a non-competing reading challenge is at stake. (That was sarcastic, I swear.)

This year, I decided to try to change things up a little bit.

I cut my Goodreads Reading Goal to almost in half. Instead of 100 books, I’m aiming for 52, which is amount of weeks in a year. So, if I miss a week or two (which I did at the beginning of the year), I can make it up pretty quickly. This has already lifted a weight off my shoulder, which is something that I was doing to myself.

Another goal for me is to review everything I read. I have this terrible habit of not talking about what I read, or just a one line little sentence. I miss discussions (and book club meetings). To compensate for that, I’m going to try to give at least a one hundred word review for what I read. Will I do it every time? Probably not. I’m totally gonna miss a book at least twice this year. I also want to give honest ranking. Not just giving everything that I’m okay with a 4-star. I want to be honest. I’ll go into that in more detail in another post.

A goal that came to mind when I decided to write this post is to not hold myself to finish a book. By that, I mean that if I’m truly not enjoying a book, I can set it down to return to it later or DNF it altogether. I usually hate doing this. I have so many books with sticky note bookmarks in them. And I just don’t like DNF’ing books. But I am giving myself permission to do that this year. I actually already did this, when I put down Rebel Rose, which was the first book I started reading in 2021. It just didn’t click with me, at least right now. With the world the way it is, I’m not going to force myself to do something that I just can’t get my heart into.

There is a goal, or rather two goals, that I would like to complete, though I’m not stressing about it. One is to read all the Owlcrate releases for 2021. I’m so behind in reading my Owlcrate books, it’s not even funny. They’re all sitting on my unorganized bookshelves, taunting me. I would really love to finish at least the next twelve. But I’m still going to follow my previous goal, so if it’s not clicking with me, I can set it down. (I did that with Everland in May 2016.)

I’d also like to catch up with the Barnes and Noble YA Book Club. I’m several books behind, even though I was so excited for so many books. I still am hoping for in person book club meetings to resume in summer/fall 2021, so I want to be caught up. That’s about a year’s worth of monthly releases, excluding December (that month was skipped).

The only other goal I have is to not force myself to read something because of #reasons. By that, I mean I want to read books as I get to them, not because it’s a certain month or because of some arbitrary reason. I’m not planning on taking part in any readathons, unless they are just for myself, for the same reason. By setting sometimes unrealistic goals for myself, I find myself beyond stressed out and just not happy with the results.

I do have a small list of books I want to get to this year, but as I said, no pressure. They include:

  • The Percy Jackson series (all books) by Rick Riordan. My cousin is slowly working his way through the series, and I want to be there for him as he finishes each part. This is a personal goal of mine, not something to speed to.
  • Hold Still by Nina LaCour (among other books by her). I loved her book We Are Okay, which actually destroyed me. I would love to read more from her.
  • Sarah Dessen. Look I just want to reread several of my favorite novels by her, including Lock and Key.
  • Manga: I want to finish Bloom into You and Our Wonderful Days, two absolutely beautiful yuri manga that caught my eye around last summer. I haven’t yet finished both of them (three left for Bloom, just the final volume for Wonderful Days), and I really want to see the conclusions. But that’s about it on manga, considering the amount I read last year.
  • The Sword Art Online light novels. I would love to reread Progressive, in light of the announcement of Sword Art Online the Movie – Progressive – Aria of a Starless Night. Progressive is a retelling of the beginning of the light novel series, with much more depth. There are six thus far, and I think it would be good to at least have that knowledge. I also want to read Moon Cradle and Unital Ring, both continuations of the original series, post Alicization. [And it is here, I realize, that I am a massive anime nerd and not many people would understand why I care about all this. But I do so shush. And yes, that all made sense to me.]

There are, of course, many books that I haven’t referenced here that I’m aiming to read this year. More specifically, Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson (the highly anticipated sequel to last year’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, finally releasing in the states almost four months after its UK release). Also, there is I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre, which has been on my must read list since it was announced in early 2020, only to be delayed twice thanks to the pandemic (first to September 2020, now March 2021). And there is the book that might be a Peter Pan-retelling, though no one is quite sure. Lost in the Never Woods is by Aiden Thomas, coming off of his debut Cemetery Boys, which I’ll be reading hopefully this year (book club book).

And there are more. My shelves are lined with books I just haven’t gotten to yet, or ones that I want to return to. So here’s to that!

Until next time!

Goals for 2021! – Blogmas

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

It’s Christmas Eve! And so that I can distract myself from wanting to sneaking a peek at my presents (yes, I am a child shut up), I’m thinking about my goals for 2021.

So, to be fair, I’m really trying to make a conscious effort to achieve these goals in 2021. That’s why I’m not aiming for “move out” or “finish that novel you’ve been writing for ten years.”

Goal One: Health. I want to make an effort to start working out. Not more, just do it (because I’m truly lazy). We have a stationary bike in our apartment. We bought it right when the first lockdown was looming, so it’s not like I have to go far. My goal is to start with something small and easily achievable (say, 15 minutes, three times a week).

On top of that, I want to cut soda out of my diet again. Just doing that would make a world of difference. For two years I didn’t have any soda, thanks to a medicine I was taking due to a medical condition. It made soda, especially Coke (my soda of choice), taste like battery acid. I want to limit myself and by hopefully March, stop drinking it entirely. The good thing is, a major temptation is currently out of my life. When I’d go to restaurants, I’d always get weird looks because I’d only order water or light lemonade, while Mom ordered whatever she wanted. Since eating in restaurants is basically on pause, it’s something I don’t need to think about.

Goal Two: Knowledge. One of the things I wanted to do in my life was learn basic Spanish. I’m terrible with languages, but I live in an area where knowing at least a little bit would be a good thing. So, my goal is to do a lesson on Duolingo a day. I’m not looking to become fluent in Spanish. I know my limitations. But I’d like a passing familiarity. (Heck, before moving to California, I bought a Learn Spanish textbook. And promptly packed it. Because priorities).

Goal Three: Reading. So, every year I make a Goodreads goal. Usually by December, I realize I’m not gonna hit it, and rush to read a bunch of manga so that I actually do. I decided this year (being 2020), I wouldn’t do that. So, for the first time in years, I’m gonna fail. But that’s ok. My original goal for 2020 was 52 books, one book a week. I only upped it in April after I left my job, as I thought I would read more. (Nope, I discovered that I couldn’t focus on books.)

For 2021, I want that realistic goal again. So, I’m hoping to read, and review, a book a week. To hold myself accountable, I’m hoping to post a review on every Monday or Wednesday (haven’t decided which yet, so no holding me to it) here on this blog, especially when I return to a regular posting schedule that isn’t daily. I’m also adding the caveat that, while I do enjoy reading manga and I’ve been dabbling in comics and graphic novels again, this only counts for novels or longer texts, such as a non-fiction book (which is what I usually get from my Uncle on Christmas).

Goal Four: Organization and Productivity. You’d think, with all the time on my hands that I have right now, I’d be more organized. But the problem is I have too little structure. That’s why I thrived in college, especially when I was working at the same time. So, one of my major goals is to create and stick to a weekly schedule, including designated times for exercise and working on this blog. Of course, this schedule may change due to hopefully getting a job soon (fingers crossed), but I want something that is at least more structured.

Goal Five: Job. Yeah, this is an actual goal. When I got my last position, before the pandemic, I wasn’t happy. Heck, the entire ten months I worked there, I wasn’t happy. But I was putting up with it while looking for another position, which of course didn’t come because most of the world wisely shut down. I’ve been looking since April, but I honestly haven’t found anything that isn’t answering phones and holding doors open to the general public, which sends my anxiety through the roof right now (worrying about potentially bringing that damn virus home and infecting Mom and Uncle). It’s possible that by the end of January, positions in the government will reopen, and hopefully I can slide in. We shall see.

Goal Six: Entertainment. Yes, there is a goal with this headline. I want to branch out and watch more movies and shows outside my comfort zone. This month alone, I’ve watch a slew of foreign films and shows. I’ve also watched content that six months ago I’d never bother picking up (thanks Matthias for Far From the Madding Crowd, A Bigger Splash, and A Little Chaos, all movies that pre-The Old Guard I’d never even give a first thought about, let alone a second). I want to continue to branch out. I watched half of Band of Brothers for the first time this year, as I normally avoid WWII content due to nightmares. I want to finish it. So basically, I want to get some semblance of culture. (Any films with TOG cast members are always good, btw. And yes, that includes Diabolik when ever it actually releases, thanks Italy for the second wave and new lockdown. I need my Luca.)

Just… no one tell Mom. The list she already started is scary.

Goal Seven: Fun. Look, at my heart, I’m still a gamer. I’m not looking to break records, or break games even. I just want to play some games for fun. That’s why my goal for 2021 in regards to gaming is to play at least five newer games (released in 2017 to now), that are not Lego games. Basically, I want to play something in a franchise that I’m not already invested in. Bugsnax is one game, Miles Morales is another. So three others. I mean, I’m still gonna play Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga whenever it comes out (current release date is now just Spring 2021, so by June at this point). But other games. And not vaporware. Actual games.

So that’s my seven point plan. All these things are extremely doable, without being crazy. No “have job by February” or “lose 50 pounds by June” or “end the year with 100 Platinum trophies”. Actual, real goals. All of which I can do and want to do. Writing them down makes them real and possible. Yes, a few are a bit more… immature, but that’s ok. Being a little immature means I’m being me, and that’s cool.

2020 was a dumpster fire. I want to at least have a really good reason to smile in 2021.

(If we get the announcement of The Old Guard sequel in 2021, I will seriously freak out. It wouldn’t come out in 2022 at the earliest, but I just want conformation. Or just a mini-series with Joe and Nicky… I’m doing it again. Whoops. Talk about hyperfixation. Yay.)

Until next time!