Reading Challenges I Took Part In This Year – Blogmas 2025

December 4, 2025 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Let’s continue on with the book theme, now shall we?

Here’s a fun little tidbit. Towards the end of 2024, I hit a reading slump. Nothing was catching my eye, nothing was piquing my interest. Manga I’d enjoyed earlier that year bored me. Novels I’d waited all year for were set aside.

I was a right mess.

And then… I discovered a reading challenge.

Okay, now let’s be fair. I’ve been doing the Goodreads Challenge for years now. Set a goal, read that goal, bask in the glory of finishing that goal before the end of the year. But just reading x number of books in a year because a chore, a task to do. There was nothing interesting about it.

Until there was.

Throughout the year, Goodreads has been setting little reading challenge. Read a book off of a specific list, and get a fabulous prize! Also known as stroking your ego and boosting your reading goal by reading books that are probably outside your preferred genre and comfort zone. The challenges had to be completed within a specific timeframe, usually two months or so.

Thanks to this challenge, I have read award winning books, books by marginalized authors, Queer positive stories that have been in genres I would normally touched… The Goodreads Reading Challenges have very much opened up many doors for me.

But that’s not the only official reading challenge I’ve done this year. I discovered that Barnes and Nobel has their own, which isn’t very well advertised. And actually, they did two.

Barnes and Noble’s Reading Challenge presented 52 prompts around the year, meant to be weekly, though you could easily read ahead if wanted. The prompts were for the most part one word challenges, such as “prequel” or “relaxing, “avoided” or “memoir”. A kind soul over on Storygraph made a reading challenge page for it, which has made keeping up with the challenge much more manageable.

On top of this, Barnes and Noble also did a 14 week Summer Reading Challenge, with the fourteen prompts being common summer themes, from “hot dogs” and “forests” to “shark week” and “campfire stories”. I was the one who set up the challenge over on Storygraph (which has been a lifesaver this year), and it went well, I think.

Because of these reading challenges, and my own personal goal to attempt to not overlap book picks all that much if possible, my reading goal for this year when from high and probably insane to very much possible, with added manga to the mix.

Here’s hoping that next year brings more reading challenges that are fun and inventive, but also allow for readers’ choice.

Happy reading!

My Rise and (Tiny) Fall from Book Clubs – Blogmas 2025

December 3, 2025 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

If someone told me that in late 2023 or early 2024 I would be a part of a bunch of book clubs, and that by the end of 2025 I’d be down to just a few, I’d laugh at them.

Okay, maybe not laugh, but I wouldn’t believe them all that much. And honestly, I have personal history to back that up.

For the vast majority of my life, I have detested being told what to read or when to discuss it, how to read something in a particular way and how to “engage with the text.” Even though I have an English degree and love reading, it’s always been difficult for me to read assigned books. Sure, some ended up becoming books I liked or loved or fought for, but in the end, that was like four out of fifty.

I also don’t particularly like discussing books down to the most minute detail. When I read, I want to enjoy books, not analyze them.

But then… well… the pandemic finally eased and I needed to get out of the house.

Without going through the entire history, I ended up joining book clubs at two different used bookstores and through my local library. Each one had a different mix of choices and types of discussions and in general everything seemed to be working out great.

I have read books that were so out of my comfort zone that it was unbelievable, and yet I ended up liking several of them. (Even the one that still gives me the occasional nightmare because it was so well written and vivid.) I’ve also read books that I thought I would enjoy, and discovered that I didn’t. I’ve found new auto-buy authors and whole genres I’ll give a second shot.

Over the past few months, things have changed a bit. I’ve made the decision to cut out all but two of the book clubs. Past of the reason is that I didn’t feel heard anymore. My suggestions weren’t being taken seriously. My points were being ignored in conversations, or were being somewhat manipulated to mean something else. It felt like anything I had to contribute was just… a waste of my time. But more over, it was becoming a waste of anyone else’s time but the core group.

So, I cut down from five or six book clubs (there was one that we only held sporadically) to just firmly two. One is fiction that feels very open to all conversation (and suggestions and picks are welcomed with open arms) and the other is queer, with subjects and genres galore.

Technically there is one more within that store, I just don’t go to it, as the theme just doesn’t click with me (and that’s fine!). I also have an open invitation to book clubs at any of the other locations, as well as one of the Barnes and Noble locations near me (though they have cancelled the YA Book Club, but that’s a conversation for another day).

As for now, i have two book clubs in two weeks in December, reading Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (for this coming Saturday) and The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch (on the following Sunday). I’m slightly behind in my reading, so I’m off to jump in.

Happy reading!

Oh How I Love Advent Calendars – Blogmas 2025

December 2, 2025December 1, 2025 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

I have always loved Advent Calendars. From the beautiful one that has always graced my family’s wall each year to the newer ones bought each year, I have come to appreciate them.

This year, I’m doing several. Some that are advertised as Advent calendars, and others that… well, okay, it’s more like a series. But it counts!

Lego Star Wars 2025 Advent Calendar

For the past few years, I have made it a point to do a Lego Advent calendar. In 2023, it was the Lego City calendar, and last year was the Lego Star Wars one (mostly because it included a minikit! I couldn’t pass that up!)

This year I had been planning on returning to the Lego City calendar, but it has been sold out since mid October, I swear. So, instead, I’m “settling” with the Lego Star Wars one, as the other themes don’t do it for me and I’m too lazy to come up with something for myself, at least like this.

Each day comes with either a Minifigure to put together or a little set that is Star Wars themed. They are very adorable to look at and the Christmas theme, while not exactly Star Wars appropriate (as besides several Lego Star Wars movies, Christmas doesn’t exist in Star Wars to my knowledge…).

A Heart For Christmas by Sophie Jomain (A Advent Romance)

Thanks to the magic of random internet browsing, I happened upon a novel designed to be read as a chapter a day. Of course, being myself, I didn’t bother to read the reviews (not exactly great…) and instead just bought it and have been impatiently waiting to read it.

From the first chapter, I’ve met the main female character of this romantic (apparently young-adult) story, who is eighteen and spending the Christmas holidays in the Alps with her father, two years after a heart attack left her with a donor heart. I’m curious to see if the story takes off into unexpected directions or if I’ll be reading the same old tale again… We shall see.

Disney’s Twisted Tales Advent

Ever since I saw the first book in Disney’s Twisted Tales series, I’ve been wanting to get into them and enjoy all that is within the pages. Of course, every time I think “this is it”, something comes up and I never crack open that book.

This summer, I happened upon an official Advent Calendar for the Twisted Tales, originally released in 2023. I scooped it up… and then promptly forgot about it until yesterday, when I was starting to set up for Christmas and found it again. So I decided I would do a tale a day… until discovering that there were only ten actual short stories, and the rest were diaries, coloring pages, and other random things. And THEN (I promise this will be the last one, I swear), I found out that a second Twisted Tales Advent was released in the UK in October. So that will get here when it gets here, and until then I’m doing two. The short stories are spread out enough to accomidate that, or so I hope.

This might be the only one that I’m behind on come the end of December.

A Manga a Day…

And finally, my own kind of Advent calendar, based entirely on my feelings for that day.

Over the past few years, my manga collect has massively expanded. I’m reading series that I would have never though to touch before (including a horror series, and I hate horror! And I love that series!). There’s long ongoing series, short ones that I have collected complete, a few that I’m in the middle of because of printing issues (In/Spectre, why are volumes 5 and 6 still the only ones out of print?!)… All over the map at this point.

Because I have so many unread volumes due to life and other obligations, I decided that each day in December, I’m going to read at least a volume a day. It doesn’t have to be from the same series (for example, on December first I finished Aria the Masterpiece and then volume 13 of Otherside Picnic, two wildly different manga). My reason for this is two-fold. I have so much left to read… and I desperately want to pad my Goodreads total for personal reasons. Yeah, that’s happening.

And Of Course, The Classic

The final Advent calendar is the one that hasn’t actually been put up yet, because this year we’re behind in our decorating.

Many years ago, I think before I was born or the year that it happened, my parents were gifted a beautiful Advent calendar from my aunt. Yes, I think it was from a catalogue, and yes, it’s old, but we hang it every year and fight where to place all but a few of the pieces (certain ones have their own special place, because I said so).

No matter what happens, no matter if we have ten Advent calendars or one, this will always be that one. And that’s what makes it all that more special.

Once the month draws to a close, I’ll rate and discuss which one were worth the money, and which ones weren’t (hint, it’s probably the book, based on the reviews alone, from people I trust, haha).

Until then!

It’s a Holiday Surprise! I’m Back for Blogmas – Blogmas 2025

December 1, 2025 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a long time coming.

No, really. I’ve been wanting to sit back done and return to this blog, but it’s been hard. There’s a lot that has stopped me, both in my life and mentally. But I decided today that it was time. A habit takes, what, thirty days? And though I only really want to blog once or twice a week, let’s just go full throttle throughout December to Christmas, because why not.

There’s a lot to talk about. I’m going to make the time to do so.

The basics: I’m 35 now. Spent my last birthday celebrating at Disneyland, staying at the Disneyland Hotel (thanks Mom!), having the time of my life. I still have my job that I don’t talk about, been there now three years. Even though each day is taxing, I know what I’m doing is helping people, and that’s what my main goal is.

I’m basically out of the writing and fandom scene. I don’t really write much anymore, completely burnt out thanks to the BS of the last fandom I was in. I’m toying with some things that I may put to paper, but it’ll be a long time coming before anyone sees a glimpse of anything. As for fandoms, I watch stuff, I read more, but I don’t engage. After the fiasco of The Old Guard 2‘s release (yes it came out, yes we’re gonna talk about it), I’ve firmly stepped back. Primarily to protect myself, secondary because I just don’t feel like fighting strangers on the internet.

I’ve joined a bunch of book clubs, and left most of them, mostly due to interpersonal drama and/or clashing personalities. I just don’t see the point of taking part when all opinions can’t be heard or discussed without being told “nah, this is the only thing.” The ones I’m still in are great, fine, calm, and the people there are sweet.

Still reading, still with my insane reading goals. The full thing will be a post on it’s own, but I’ve been doing two reading challenges this year, and I’m about to complete them both. It’s satisfying.

Still gaming, completely in love with Disney Dreamlight Valley, and about to restart Animal Crossing New Horizons because of the surprise 3.0 update coming in January.

And really? Just living. Just getting up every day, doing my job, slowly breaking out of the shell I forced myself into the past couple years when everything seemed to be crumbling around me. It’s going to take some more time, more exploration of myself, before I’m the “me” I can be fully happy with, but it’s a journey. I’m on that path, and it’s healing.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

An Adventure for a Book – Blogmas 2022

December 21, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Today was not the best of days by a long shot, but it topped off in a hilarious fashion that I never could have expected.

Earlier this afternoon, Barnes and Noble announced on their social media that they were releasing the highly anticipated novella Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman early. The novella, part of the Heartstopper universe, has an official release date of January 2, 2023. However, B&N put on a promotion to release it in stores today, with a limited quantity of enamel pins.

So, like any fan of good quality media, I decided that as soon as I finished my day at work, I took off for the bookstore. I was only about to brave a store if I had a very good reason. And honestly, for this? Yep, good reason.

I got to my local Barnes and Noble and began the search. And if you’ve been keeping up at home, you can see where this is going. I walked the entire store, checked all around, couldn’t find it. I knew what the cover looked like, I knew about how big it was. Two of Oseman’s other books were on the shelves, but not this one. It wasn’t on an endcap or on one of the display tables. I looked everywhere.

I should also point out that it was incredibly crowded with people making their last minute purchases. Booksellers had people all around them asking questions about books. Even the help desk was backed up, though the two women were incredibly helpful.

When I finally was able to get to the help desk, I did my best to be kind as they looked so very stressed. I just said, “Excuse me, you’ve probably been getting this question all day, but I was wondering if you still had any copies of Nick and Charlie?”

One of the workers shook her head and told me about the street date, which would mean that it wasn’t available. I quickly flipped through my instagram to the official Barnes and Noble account and turned it around. “Oh, that contradicts what the official B&N account says,” I had said, or something along those lines. I didn’t raise my voice, but I was polite.

To their credit, they decided to check it instead of just sending me off like a child. And boom, there it was. One worker went three sheets paler. The other looked as though she’d seen a ghost. I actually felt bad for about 30 seconds.

Less than five minutes later, I was in live for checkout, Nick and Charlie and pin in hand.

The reason why this was an adventure? I am so beyond not comfortable speaking up when I need to. But I was able to when I needed to. And it actually heled out, as while I was standing in the checkout line, I had three different people ask me where I found the book.

I can’t wait until Christmas morning to actually read it! It’s going under the christmas tree as a gift from my uncle (he’s not the best at buying gifts, so usually Mom and I will by for him and he just wraps and labels.

Until next time!

Reading Goals for 2023 – Blogmas 2022

December 20, 2022December 21, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

I’ll be the first to admit that my reading goal for 2022 was a little… unobtainable, especially once my luck with the job market happened.

It wasn’t the total amount of books that was the problem. No, I’ve done that before and more. It was the fact that I was reading the same type of book over and over again. It just got… tiresome? I guess? You could also say exhausting. Or just… very one note. Basically, reading only one type of book made me not want to read, because if I wasn’t reading a book from my challenge, then I felt like I wasn’t reading the right thing.

For 2023, I’m going to try to broaden my palette, as it were. I still have my “reading challenge,” but I have a few others that will let me read basically anything I want. Let me explain.

Owlcrate’s 2023 Reading Planner Goals

Every year, my favorite book box Owlcrate sends out a reading planner with their November box. This year, the planner included a small list of 14 prompts as a way to encourage people to read something they wouldn’t normally.

For example, one of the prompts is to “read a collection of poetry or short stories.” Another is “an epistolary novel.” There’s also a prompt for “a book set in a library or a bookstore.” Two personal favorites of mine are “a book from a country that you’d love to visit this year” and “a recommendation from a friend with reading tastes different to yours.”

I’ve already come up with a few books that might fit some of these prompts, though I won’t start actually reading until January 1st. But I’m okay with that. Mentally planning is important.

The Nest’s 3 Degrees of Difficulty Annual Reading Challenge

Hilariously, this is also Owlcrate. They just launched The Nest, which is an app to connect with other booklovers in a safe and welcoming space (#notasponser). One of the things I like is that they are hosting their own reading challenge, with three levels. To make it slightly more challenging, each level features 25 prompts.

Level one is pretty simple. It has the normal prompts, such as “YA Historical Fiction,” “A Library Book,” or “A Classic High Fantasy.” Pretty much every prompt is one that can be found on another list someone else. It’s meant to be an easy list to fill.

Level two gets a bit more difficult. There are some more specific prompts, such as “set in the 1920s.” “More than 500 pages” sticks out because most prompt lists don’t have a prompt like that. “Portal Fantasy” is something I’ve never heard of as of writing this post. There’s also a “contemporary duology” and a “super serious sci-fi,” which means I’ll be scouring the internet for those and others.

I’ll admit, Level three is the one I’m not sure I’ll finish. Most of the prompts are ones that I wouldn’t normally pick up, and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it. “African Magical Realism” is something I’ve never even thought of (though I am intrigued). “Healthcare Worker POV?” No offense, but I avoided that line of work for a reason, I’m not looking forward to that one. And I’ll be honest, unless I get lucky, I’m probably to have trouble with the “2022 Hugo Nominee” as I’m usually not a fan of their choices… Oh wait, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir? Okay, that one might be okay.

But Wait! What About Your Reading Challenge?

I’m still going to do it! I’m midway through the Trials of Apollo, which is the last major pentalogy in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. I still have the two spinoff trilogies (The Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard) as well as the companion books.

I also would love to work my way through The Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger, which was already in the challenge. Considering the size difference between KotLC and the other complete series in the challenge (The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare), the former is at least obtainable.

One important things is that this challenge won’t be my main goal. I’d love to complete more than just the CHBC portion (which will get done next year if I have anything to say about it). I’m just going to prioritize reading for the other challenges more than just this. It will probably help with my anxiety as well.

Wrap Up

I’m hoping that having what amounts to nearly 100 prompts, I’ll get a lot of reading done on my offtimes. I do have some grand plans for reading, some ideas I’ve already jotted down, though of course nothing is set in stone just yet. We shall see what 2023 shall bring in the form of reading!

Until next time!

The FanFiction Story I Wasn’t Supposed to Write, and Why I Did – Blogmas 2022

December 19, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Let me set the scene.

It’s fall 2021. I’m still active on a certain Discord. Things are still going fine, no real drama or arguments to speak of, at least not ones that are making me question my sanity. Whumptober has passed, Advent is looming, but there’s time in the middle to breathe.

I’m browsing the prompt channel. I didn’t go in there often, as I usually didn’t like writing prompts given by someone. They were too conflicting or too rigid or too “Buddie-centric,” enough that I just didn’t care anymore. So imagine my surprise when I came across one that caught my eye enough to warrant a second glance.

The prompt was hilarious almost word for word the basic premise of a fic I had just began plotting out. I immediately tried to claim it, but someone swooped in and said that they already had a piece that was in the works and this prompt matched. I tried to be the bigger person, so I let it go and put the fic in mothballs in my Google Drive, never to be seen again.

Months passed. Spring came, and with it drama. By May, I was leaving that Discord, done with being made to feel like trash for having a difference of opinion. I figured, however naively, that I’d still be in the fandom, I didn’t need the backing of the discord.

Then June 20th happened.

I won’t rehash the details of that dark week. It’s not worth it, but it does bare mentioning. That day and the week or so that followed was a dark time in my life, full of baseless accusations and me scrambling to put a damn wall between my professional life and my online life, one that was already there but one that had been torn down by the same people I had once considered close.

Six days later, I decided to repost everything. It took a long eleven days of editing and retagging and posting, all the while I was in training with my job and just trying to keep my head above water mentally.

(But what exactly does all this have to do with a story? I’m almost there, I swear.)

As soon as the last fic was posted, I revisited a work that I’d been working on literally up until the moment everything came crashing down. That would be my “Buck on BookTok” fic, which I’ll discuss another day, I think. That ended up getting posted about two weeks after the fallout. It was a safe fic to post, as it mostly just featured Buck after the bombing, without touching on the tsunami or the lawsuit or anything else. The response was amazing.

The moment I had hit post on that fic, I went back into Google docs. I had a few fics that I’d been playing with at the same time, though nothing stood out. It just felt like more of the same.

Until.

I saw it.

And I grabbed it.

I spent two days scouring two different Fandom Wikis to make sure I had my details right. I created a timeline and lists and literally debated between two different locations for what seemed like years, but was probably an hour and a half (the length of a standard lecture during work training, because priorities). I rewrote my author note regarding the origins of the fic, before deciding that I didn’t want that connection at all.

Instead, I went vague, I handed it off to be quickly edited by the most begrudged editor in the known universe (aka my mother), and posted my 9-1-1 / 9-1-1 Lone Star / MCU Fusion fic.

Yes, this was the fic I wasn’t supposed to post, because someone had claimed the prompt. The problem was, it had been nine months at this point and there wasn’t any movement. I also clearly wasn’t part of that discord anymore (and I have in the past been slightly vocal about it). I had waited this entire time, thinking I would post it around now if they actually had posted the fic.

But they didn’t, so I did. To great damn success.

The next month I wrote the first sequel that I had thought of but never thought I’d get to actually write. And then, last night, I finished off the trilogy.

Am I sad to see that I have it marked as complete? Absolutely. It was a fun little world to play in. But I also wanted to put a pin in it. I left it well enough that if I wanted to, I could return to it at any time. For now, at least, it’s complete.

As for that other fic? It’s still never been posted. I assume it’s gone the way of most prompt fics off of that discord, into a dark pit of nothingness and despair that fuels their bullshit. (Or I missed it, but I’m being vivid today.)

Should I talk about a few of my other fics that I’m wrapping up this week? Hmm… Decisions, decisions.

Until next time!

2023 Games I Want to Play – Blogmas 2022

December 17, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Gaming in 2022 has basically come to a close, with only a few more major games to release before January 1st. While I’ll be spending a good deal of time playing through PS5 games that released before I received mine on Christmas, there are a few games coming in 2023 that I’m willing to shell out full price on day one (and one that I’m absolutely not touching).

Forspoken

I’ll be totally honest, I fell for this game just because of the graphics. I have absolutely no idea much about it, barring that it’s an Action RPG being published by Square Enix and developed by the FFXV team. I do love the fact that it appears to be a solid one player game with a female protagonist, Frey, and that magic is a major selling point. It’s also an isekai, or a character from the “real world” falling into a fantasy world that is trying to find their way home.

I’m willing to give it a shot, even if it may end up not being a game that I fall in love with. It just impressed me that much just from some trailers.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

My free time in January will finally be dedicated to blasting through Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which I’m planning on at least finishing the story on my PS5, if not Platinuming. It’s high time, I’ve only been saying this since I bought the game on release day… how many years ago?

I flat out screamed while watching the trailer that was dropped at the Game Awards. I’m not much of a Star Wars fan anymore as the sequel trilogy of films burned me a bit to much. However, I’m still enough of a casual fan to want to play this game day one.

Disney Dreamlight Valley

Alright, this is a copout. Technically this is already out. Technically. In beta.

Basically, about two months ago, the game became available to play, as long as players were cognitive of the fact that it was going to have issues and be unstable. I have it, I just haven’t put too much time into it. Come 2023 and the official release, I’m absolutely going to push my way through a good deal of it. I’m just waiting until a bunch of the issues are fixed first.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

A PS5 exclusive that I will drop my entire wallet for, immediately, hands down. I loved the original Marvel’s Spider-Man and I enjoyed the spinoff dedicated to Miles Morales. The true sequel has finally been given a release window of Fall 2023, which I’m very much excited for to get my hands on to.

There’s obviously a long wait ahead until the release of this, with only a short teaser being released earlier this year hinting that Venom would be apart of the story (if not the villain, but I’m not about to just declare it yet). We shall see what the coming months bring.

Hogwarts Legacy

Remember at the top when I said there was a game I was absolutely not touching? Here it is.

Look, I know people are excited for this game. I’m 100% sure of that. But I’m not about to give that woman a penny of my money. Not a single bit. It can look beautiful all it wants. It can finally be the open world Harry Potter game that fans and former fans dreamed of for absolute years.

The thing is, she’s still getting money from it due to royalties, and honestly? There’s just a bit too much ick wrapped into the story of this one. It won’t be touching my Playstation or Xbox, even if you bought it for me as a gift. I want no part in supporting it.

Wrap Up

There’s obviously hundreds of games coming out in 2023, some announced and some that will sneak out and still be brilliant. These are just the ones that have stuck out to me, for good and bad. That’s not to say that I’m going to limit myself to only these games, no of course not. I have a massive backlog and a bunch of games to replay on PS5.

Gaming’s future is looking bright!

Until next time.

My Lowest Rated Books of 2022 – Blogmas 2022

December 16, 2022December 17, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

This year wasn’t my best year, mostly due to drama and life and work and just a general shift my personal time. However, I did read about 30 books (my list isn’t exactly up to date, I’m working on it). When glancing on said list, I realized I had three books that I rated the lowest. Considering how I rate books, I wanted to talk about them.

Before we jump in, I wanted to detail my rating scale:

5 Stars – This book is basically perfect. I would reread it right now. I absolutely enjoyed reading this in every way.
4 Stars – I liked this book. It’s not perfect, but it was fine and I enjoyed my time with it.
3 Stars – I read it. I’m not a fan, but I probably have a reason. It won’t be reread.
2 Stars – I finished it. Not a fan, never again, it’s getting donated.
1 Star – DNF. Absolutely hated it. Offensive.

So let’s run through my lowest rated books.

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (Graphic Novel) – Originally 4 Stars, rerated at 3 Stars.

Before someone throws a tomato my direction, this review is only and specifically regarding the writing of the graphic novel. I’m not touching the contents or the author’s life. (Also, a blanket apology if I mess up Kobabe’s pronouns. I’ve never used Spivak pronouns before, so this is a new experience for me.)

My only and biggest issue with Gender Queer is that I was bored. Kobabe chose to present eir story using a graphic novel style, which should have worked to eir advantage. However, for me, I don’t think it did. I felt very limited in learning about Kobabe’s life during eir coming out and life. I just felt… bored. Focusing just on the writing, I just didn’t get hooked into the writing. I started skimming early on. I didn’t feel like I wanted to really sit their and learn about Kobabe’s life and struggles.

I respectfully just wasn’t interested in the end. I rated it 4 starts originally more because I was worried that people might get pissed at me for rating it any lower. But personally, I just wasn’t a fan.

That said… Gender Queer is a massively important graphic novel that needs to be available to anyone who wants to read it.

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour (Paperback) – 3 Stars

I had loved LaCour’s previous book, We Are Okay. When I picked up Watch Over Me, I was hopeful that I would enjoy it just as much. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

I felt as though nothing happened throughout Watch Over Me. There was a little thing here or there, but no real plot movement until right towards the very end. By the time I finally got hooked into the story, I was into the final chapter and right at the end. I just wasn’t happy about that.

I’m willing to give LaCour another shot either with her 2022 novel or with one of the other novels she’s written previously. I guess it will be a rainy day read.

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson (Hardcover) – 3 Stars

This one is shocking to me, as The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was an instant 5 Star novel for me in 2019. The middle book in the series, Good Girl, Bad Blood, was a 4 Star, but I still enjoyed it very much. As for As Good As Dead…

The best way to describe it is that I really enjoyed AGAD until the middle of the book. The moment the major twist happens, I feel like the entire book takes a left turn into “I don’t know what this is” Land. I read it in my car (in a parking lot waiting for a family member to be done with a medical procedure) one afternoon and I almost threw the book out the window. I was so very annoyed.

I know there is a prequel novella that’s been released, and will be released in February I believe. I also know that Jackson has a new standalone novel out. I’m gonna give it a try (fingers crossed that it’ll be under the tree). I’m just sad because this last outing just didn’t do it for me in any way.

Wrap Up

I’m okay with only having three low rated books in 2022, even taking into account that I honestly haven’t read a lot this year (thanks reading slump). I’m hoping that in 2023, I’ll get more opportunities to read a variety of books. It’s on the list, once things get more settled around here.

Until next time!