Happy Saturday, everyone!
With this year’s summer solstice having come and gone, it’s finally time for 2024’s Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag! Created in 2012 by Ely and Chami over on BookTube, it has become a traditional way for the book community to wrap-up the first half of its reading year, and since I am a part of the book community – albeit one that sometimes disappears for days at a time without sending any signals of still being alive – I’m doing it, too. Obviously!
I’ve gotta say, though: Reading-wise, I’m pretty satisfied with 2024 so far. Excluding math textbooks and rereads that were reread in the same language I first read them in, I’ve completed 38 books in 2024.
(Out of those 38, 36 books were actual non-reads and two were Swedish ones that I’ve now finally read in their original language, after already having read them countless times in German. Which may sound a bit confusing, but, like, I need my Swedish accomplishments to be documented somewhere, without me suddenly having to track ALL rereads! It makes sense!)
Even better, though, I’ve really been liking most of the stuff I’ve been picking up. I’ve rated the overwhelming majority of the books I read 4 stars – which is definitely not normal; my most frequent rating is usually 3 – and haven’t had any truly despicable 1- or 1.5-star reads yet.
My 2024 ratings thus far – courtesy of StoryGraph
So, overall, I’m very satisfied! To give you a bit more than those vague details, though, let’s get straight into the questions…
(As always, I’ve linked the posts where you can find reviews of the books, should you want some of my more in-depth thoughts. However, I did read a considerable number of my favorites in June, so you’re going to have to stick around until I publish my wrap-up in those cases!)
1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2024?
It may have taken me half the year to finally come across a five-star read, but, boy, was In Memoriam worth the wait!! 😭🥰😭 A story about two English schoolboys who are secretly in love with one another going off to fight in World War I, the novel had me close to tears on multiple occasions. It was emotional, its characters felt incredibly real, it made me think, it included loads of different languages, its writing was beautiful, it had the most adorable and heartbreaking romance, it quoted Shakespeare… Basically, In Memoriam just did everything that is guaranteed to make me love a book, and I highly recommend you go read it!
2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2024?
Don’t make me pick!! 😫 It’s a tie between Iron Flame (the sequel to Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing) and The Ink Black Heart (the sixth book in J.K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series, which she writes under her pen name Robert Galbraith). Who says you can’t love both dragon-featuring political romantasy AND slow-moving character-driven crime fiction, huh?
3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to?
This is not another Seasparrow situation, I swear! I didn’t go an entire year without knowing There Is a Door in this Darkness existed; this particular Kristin Cashore novel was released on June 11th, 2024. So I don’t have to feel that guilty about not having read it yet! Being the informed book blogger that I am, I have absolutely no idea what it’s about, just that it’s not Graceling Realm related and a contemporary with a touch of magical realism (I think?). Anyway, Kristin Cashore wrote it, so that’s good enough for me. I intend to go in blind and enjoy every minute of confusion! 🤗
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of 2024?
Providing that I haven’t missed hearing about a ton of things that will be released this year – and, let’s face it, with my notorious track record, I probably have -, The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer, which comes out on October 1st! I’m a bit apprehensive because I adore The Darkness Outside Us with my entire heart and soul and actually really liked it as a standalone, but the mere possibility that I might love its sequel even half as much has me very excited, too. Nobody can write mind-blowing spacey sci-fi quite like Eliot Schrefer, and I’m here for more of it!
5. Biggest disappointment?
Look at me, hating on a book before it’s even released in English 😅 But The Color of Revenge, the fourth book in Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart series, was just so bad? I really can’t put it any other way. It was boring, it was predictable, the characters had next to no agency, and the ending consisted of one of the least foreshadowed deus-ex-machina solutions I have ever come across. Eight-year-old Naemi, who loved Inkheart to pieces and spent hours practicing reading out loud, on the off chance that she might also be able to magically read objects out of their stories, would’ve died of disappointment if she’d known how much her older self would end up hating this. Why couldn’t Cornelia Funke have left it at the original trilogy?
6. Biggest surprise?
If it isn’t a biography or about math or nature, I don’t really read a lot of non-fiction. And feminist non-fiction? I often find it a bit preachy and not all that applicable to my own experience, so I tend to avoid it even more.
The Authority Gap, though, took me completely by surprise. Because, holy shit, this spelled out so many things that I, as a young woman who eventually chose a career in STEM, related heavily to but had never really been all that consciously aware of! Instead of droning on and on about how unfair the world was but never really getting to the point, Mary Ann Sieghart provided evidence and suggested solutions. She’d talked to numerous people, commissioned countless studies, gone through tons of other researchers’ data, and organized her findings in a way that was compelling, relatable, logical, eye-opening, and, sometimes, shocking. Although it made me really frustrated and angry at times, I simply could not stop listening to the audiobook – which was narrated by the author herself – and really think The Authority Gap is a book that would do the world a whole lot of good if more people read it.
7. New favorite author?
Alice Winn and Ann Liang (pictures from Goodreads)
After discovering In Memoriam, I’m obviously going to be keeping a very close eye on whatever Alice Winn decides to publish next! There’s no way she’s capable of writing a bad book, not after what I’ve seen of her writing and character development skills.
However, I’m also really curious to try more of Ann Liang‘s works because I absolutely adored her YA contemporary novel I Hope This Doesn’t Find You, which follows a people-pleasing straight-A student who secretly writes hate e-mails to all the people she’s mad at – especially her equally smart and ambitious school co-captain – in order to let off steam. Sure, maybe parts of the book were a bit over-the-top, but I Hope This Doesn’t Find You was still one of the most relatable things I’ve read in a really long time. I may not have any hot academic rivals or secret hate mail slumbering in my drafts folder, but the overachieving part? Or the always-putting-everyone-else-first-even-when-you-are-really-annoyed-with-these-people-for-taking-advantage-of-you-because-you-want-to-be-nice-and-make-sure-others-like-you part? Those hit way to close to home and made me love the protagonist all the more!
8. Newest fictional crush?
I never have an answer to this question, and yet I always leave it in the tag anyway. Who knows? Maybe next year will finally be the year I’ll find someone who can compete with Gilbert Blythe and Peeta Mellark? 🤔
9. Newest favorite character?
Henry Gaunt & Sidney Ellwood – Fanart by viimsical
Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood from In Memoriam, Cyril Avery, Catherine Goggin, Alice Woodbead, and Bastiaan van de Burgh from The Heart’s Invisible Furies, Laila and Mariam from A Thousand Splendid Suns, Jeremy Knox and Jean Moreau from The Sunshine Court, Sadie Wen and Julius Gong from I Hope this Doesn’t Find You, Henry Latimer from The Silence Factory, January Stirling from Mars House, Mara of the Acoma from Daughter of the Empire… I have lots of favorites, okay?! I can’t just narrow it down to one of them!
[Okay, but maaaaybe, if I had to, I’d probably pick Henry – In Memoriam Henry, that is. He’s just the most idealistic, standoffish and relatable cinnamon roll of a person and I love him! 🥺🥰🥺]
10. Book that made you cry?
Even when books have me in agonizing inner turmoil, it’s very rare that they’ll actually make me cry. So the fact that I’ve already had four books this year that at least got me to the sniffling stage is beyond amazing! 🤗😭🤗
- I’ve already mentioned In Memoriam, of course, but just in case it being my favorite book of the year thus far hasn’t clued you in, here is me explicitly spelling it out for you: YOU SHOULD READ IN MEMORIAM. It’s a heartbreakingly sad but also weirdly hopeful WWI story.
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies, a historical fiction novel about an illegitimately born gay Irishman, is also heartbreakingly sad and weirdly hopeful, maybe even more so than In Memoriam. And it’s funny – in this incredibly-ironic-bordering-on-almost-inappropriate way that I adored. It’s probably the book on this list that got me the closest to full-out crying, so, obviously, I think you should read this, too.
- And A Thousand Splendid Suns? It took me totally by surprise with how much I loved it, particularly since all of you told me not to expect it to be as good as The Kite Runner. What the heck is wrong with you?? If The Kite Runner blew me away, A Thousand Splendid Suns tornadoed me into internal wreckage. Spanning several decades, the novel tells the tale of two women growing up in Afghanistan, unexpectedly allied despite being one generation apart. Go read it!
- Finally, we have The Sunshine Court, the first book in a spin-off series of Nora Sakavic’s All for the Game trilogy. Which – although it didn’t really have much of a plot apart from characters cooking, shopping, going to the beach, and playing Exy, the fictional sport the series is centered around – left my heart torn into bleeding shreds that still haven’t healed. If you want to put yourself through absolute emotional torture, go read this series. It’s 100% worth it.
10. Book that made you happy?
Maybe Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands didn’t exactly have the strongest plot, but you know what it did have? The Alps!! 😍🥰😍 And lots of Emily and Wendell banter!!! Reading about two pretentious academics wholesomely bickering in the mountains while researching faeries is pretty much all I need from life.
12. Favorite book to movie adaptation you’ve seen so far this year?
There’s no competition. To say that I am beyond obsessed with Maxton Hall is an understatement! Sure, it’s a little bit tropey, but in the very best way possible!! We’ve got a posh British school, a rivals-to-lovers romance, complicated family dynamics, strong sibling bonds, drama… I love it so much that I may or may not have watched it three times already 😂🙃 You’ve got to take advantage of your country finally making a good show that isn’t so creepy that you’re too scared to watch it past the first handful of episodes, right?
(No, I still haven’t continued on with Dark, and I don’t think I ever will… 😅)
Also, in this case, I feel like the adaptation is better than the book it’s based on, so it gets bonus points for that. Wonky timeline changes aside, the writers really made the most out of their source material!
13. Favorite post you’ve written this year?
Unfortunately, 2024 hasn’t really been the most exciting year on A Book Owl’s Corner 😅 I’ve gotten a lot better at taking time off when I need a break, but as a result, I haven’t really written all that many creative things; it’s mostly been wrap-ups, tags, or new takes on old ideas around here…
Still, I do think I have three pretty clear favorites. First, there are the travel-blogger-in-the-guise-of-a-book-blogger posts, in which I paired literature with cool places I’ve been to! 😎 I had way too much fun documenting my time in Iceland and one of my Alpine adventures, and I really hope some of that enthusiasm came across in my writing. And then, there was one of my more wacko ideas, namely making a quiz based on AI fanart of popular books! I nearly died of laughter seeing the AI’s interpretation of some of my favorite scenes and watching you guys struggle to guess what the heck those drawings were supposed to be depicting. Even better, though, some of you – like Charlotte @ Bewitching Books, Ravenous Reads or Smellincoffee @ Reading Freely – seem to have liked the idea enough to make your own quizzes, which meant that I got to try my hand at guessing myself! WHICH WAS SO FUN!!!
[Yes, this is me very inconspicuously pointing out that I would love more AI fanart quizzes, and that I would be over the moon if you decided to jump on the bandwagon as well! 😁]
14. Most beautiful book you bought this year?
How can you not look at this cover and want to read The Warm Hands of Ghosts immediately? It’s simple and blue and has a violin on it and it’s even shinier in real life than it looks in this picture 🤩 Unfortunately, though, no matter what the tagline says, I do intend to get rid of this book. It wasn’t terrible or anything, but compared to Katherine Arden’s beautifully folkloric Winternight Trilogy, it was just a bit too bland for me to ever see myself rereading it. Especially since I would’ve expected a WWI-novel to give us an in-depth exploration of its central characters’ emotions instead of jumping to random side characters every time things on the front actually got interesting or mysterious.
15. What books do you really need to read by the end of this year?
So many! I mean, technically, I probably don’t need to read anything – unless you count math textbooks that include vitally important information for my thesis – but there are so many books I’ve wanted to get to but have been neglecting: Books by my favorite authors, books from non-English-speaking countries, books in other languages, series finales, classics, new releases, favorites of yours that you keep shoving in my face when I visit your blogs, books I already said I wanted read by the end of last year in 2023’s Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag…
THERE ARE SO MANY, AND I AM JUST NOT FINDING THE TIME TO GET TO THEM ALL!!! 😭😭😭
However, if I had to choose one book that I really do want to have read by the end of the year, that would be War and Peace, which I’m currently buddy reading with Morgan @ Morgan Is Reading Again. Since we’ve both realized that we’re hopelessly clueless when it comes to the Napoleonic Wars and there’s quite a lot to unpack this monstrosity of a tome, we’ve been taking things slowly – I’m currently about 600 pages in, which isn’t even the half-way point – and intend to continue at a pace that leaves plenty of room for thought and discussion, but I do still want to finish the book before 2024 is over! I need to know what happens to all these characters!
(Although after Anna Karenina, I’m also a little worried… Please, Tolstoy, just don’t kill Andrey or Pierre or Marya! 🥺)
And, with that, we’ve reached the end of 2024’s Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag! Although, of course, you’re also welcome to check out previous years’ versions if you haven’t had enough yet. (Or if you want to see how bad I actually am at reading the books I say I “really” need to get to by the end of the year… 🙃)
2023 || 2022 || 2021 || 2020 || 2018
However, do let me know your thoughts on this year’s version down in the comments! Have you read any of these books? What are your own favorite and least favorite reads of the year so far? Have you cried over a book yet in 2024? I would love to know!
A Book Owl's Corner 
YAYY! You read A Thousand Splendid Suns and I just finished the Kite Runner yesterday. Although I cried reading both of them, I must say the former was actually SO touching. I feel like ATSS is underrated given Kite Runner’s popularity!
And I read ‘I hope this doesn’t find you’ as well!! I got the rec from Jan’s review and I think I forgot to say but I adored that book. I stayed up after midnight to finish reading it lol.
Ahhh there r so many books in this tag, and I hv too little time🙈😂
Also, the books you mentioned under ‘books that made you cry’ seem amazing. I think I’ll use or rec and read a book or two from there!!
It was fun reading this post, lemme see if I can make time and do this tag! It’s irresistible 😂😂
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I think I did actually full out cry when I first read The Kite Runner, too – it’s been so long that the memory’s a bit hazy… 😅 Somehow, though, I think A Thousand Splendid Suns hit me on an even deeper level. There was so much quiet fortitude in Mariam and Laila’s bond, the ending completely destroyed me, and I love how the characters continued to see the beauty in their country even after everything that had happened to them 😭🥰 I’ll definitely be thinking about this one for a really long time!
I Hope this Doesn’t Find You was everything I didn’t know I needed! 🥰 I also initially saw it on Jan’s blog, so I guess we’re both forever indebted to her now. Not that I mind!
Oooh, and if you read any of my cry-worthy books, do let me know!! I’d LOOOOVE your thoughts on them! As well as your own version of the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag, so I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled! 😁🤗
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Well, looks like I should find a copy of in memoriun asap haha 😍
And good luck with war and peace! I wasn’t meant to be reading it slowly over the year with some people and I’m still on like chapter 15 🙈 I should prob Aly wip out and audio of it and catch up
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You should!! 🤗😭🥰 I swear, Hannah, that book will destroy you in the very best way possible.
Thank you – and best of luck with War and Peace, too! I can definitely promise that it picks up once you’ve figured out who all the characters are and how they’re related to one another, so I wouldn’t give up on it! Trying an audiobook sounds like a good idea. And if you ever want to exchange thoughts, Morgan and I will probably still be at this for quite some time, too! 😂😁
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I know you’ve been missing those 5-star reads but looking at your stats, there’s nothing wrong with the quality of the books you’re reading! I think we’re actually close to the same average rating!
I’m going to skip commenting on your favorite book funnily enough 😂 Though I’m jealous of you having two choices for best sequel as that one is a slight struggle for me this year. But it’s funny because I doubt your two choices have ever been mentioned alongside each other anywhere else 😄
I’m intrigued to see what you think of the new Kristin Cashore. The synopsis has really put me off despite liking Cashore’s writing, so I don’t mind you testing it at all.
I’m glad to see The Authority Gap under biggest surprise so we can hopefully get more people to read it! And The Heart’s Invisible Furies did actually make me full-out cry when I read it. I think less than ten books has gotten that reaction from me so I’m impressed you manage to stay in the sniffling stage 😅
I completely forgot to try Maxton Hall despite meaning to – I felt like I was suddenly bombarded with new seasons of other shows I’m watching so no time to try something else. And now you’ve of course made me very indignant with that Dark mention. It sounds like you’re implying that Maxton Hall is better which of course can’t be what you’re saying…
I’m sure you’ll mange to get to all those books you want to read this year, no problem at all 😅 I’m rooting for you!
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I’m definitely not complaining! It was a bit frustrating to not have ANY five-star reads, but now that I’ve read two in a single month, I’m perfectly content to let 2024 continue the way it has 😁 All those 4.5 and 4 star books were so good that this year is still very much an upgrade from 2023!
What, you don’t think my comment section can handle 150 extra words? 😜 Seriously, though, I’ll be forever indebted to you for introducing me to In Memoriam! I’m actually already kind of itching to reread it, even though I sort of already did half reread it while searching for its best quotes… But I need more!
I’ll happily test the new Cashore book! Despite not even having read the synopsis 🤣 I’m just trusting the fact that I’ll like it because Kristin Cashore wrote it! (Although I wasn’t a huge fan of Jane, Unlimited, but we’re just going to go ahead and forget that minor detail… 😂😇)
More people do need to read The Authority Gap! Although maybe I want them to read The Heart’s Invisible Furies even more? Come to think of it, I’m no longer entirely sure I DIDN’T full out cry… There was a certain character death and another characters reactions to it that DESTROYED me 😭😭😭 The pain was definitely off the charts no matter how many tears there were!
Oh, and I actually wasn’t trying to imply that Maxton Hall was better than Dark at all! Just that I am way too much of a wuss to go near Dark again, particularly without my siblings to watch it with me and protect me from dying of fear 😂🙈 I could tell it was excellent both from a storytelling and cinematography perspective, but I was just so creeped out!
Finally, thank you for rooting for me! 🥰 Although I don’t even know why you would doubt that I’d get to all these books! 🙃😁
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Great to be reassured about Dark, although I’ll still argue it’s not that scary 😄
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Trust me, it doesn’t take much more than people slowly walking down a dark corridor paired with a sketchy soundtrack to have me hiding behind a blanket 😂🙈
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38 books is fantastic, well done, especially as you’ve been giving so many of them five stars. Yay!! And I’ll keep my eyes peeled for your June wrap up with its many favourites.
Ooh did you decide to pick up In Memoriam after Line mentioned it? Because I remember her praising it recently too. And it certainly sounds like a powerful, emotion filled read.
I really need to check out Fourth Wing sometime. Not only does it sound fantastic but the hype is getting to me 😂 and I had no idea that there were six Strike books already. For some reason I thought there were four 🙈 I’ll have to try and pick them up sometime too. It’s wonderful that you were torn between favourites here.
I don’t think I’ve heard of that Cashore novel. I’m definitely going to go and check that out in a minute. I hope you enjoy it 🥰
I hope the sequel to Darkness Outside Us lives up to your expectations. I know the results can be mixed when standalones unexpectedly gets sequels but I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you 🤞
Ooh my latest read was actually Ann Liang’s upcoming book and I really enjoyed it. The writing was just so beautiful. And I never can resist Asian inspired mythology tales. Although this one was more historical. I never seem to get around to picking contemporary up but I really need to try and do so as I used to love the genre. Plus the one of hers that you’ve mentioned sounds fantastic.
You can definitely tell how much you adore In Memoriam with this post. I read The Kite Runner years ago for school but really need to pick up Thousand Splendid Suns one day. It sounds like an intriguing tale. And I know that it’ll be a harrowing one.
I’m definitely reading Emily Wilde soon. I know I’ve been saying that all year, then got distracted by falling into arcs, but I’m in the waitlist for the sequel at the library so I’m definitely reading my copy of book one soon.
You’ve had lots of wonderful content this year 🥰 and your travel enthusiasm always shines through. It’s lovely learning about your adventures. And the answers to my quiz are coming tomorrow. I sorted most of it out yesterday. I hope others pick the idea up too as like you I find it so much fun guessing.
I knew War & Peace was massive (being a classic I’m guessing with tiny writing too?) but 600 pages isn’t even half way through?? 😬 with a fantasy I can’t see that kind of length putting me off but with a classic I think I’d run a mile 😂😂 we have some must read this year books in common too: Priory Of The Orange Tree, Discovery Of Witches and Sabriel (as with the last one I’ve owned an ex library copy of book two for about a decade now 🙈) I hope you get to at least a few of these books and they all end up being worth the wait. And good luck with War & Peace.
I won’t share my own answers as I’m hoping to do this tag myself next weekend. Along with finally sharing one from several years ago when I was tagged for it and forgot all about, with commentary as to whether I read the books 😂😂
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Thanks, Charlotte! 💙 Although I didn’t actually have very many five-star reads at all – it took me until this month to get my first two! However, I don’t think it matters because so many of my 4.5- and 4-star books were so good that I loved them just as much 🥰 I think I just tend to be rather picky with my ratings?
Yeah, Line was 100% responsible for me reading In Memoriam 😂 Our tastes are pretty similar anyway, and when she described the synopsis and how much she’d loved the book? I just couldn’t resist!
I really think you’d enjoy Fourth Wing! The writing isn’t the epitome of greatness or anything, but the story is just so fun and action-packed and THE DRAGONS!! I fail to see how anyone could hate those. Besides, if you like your share of steamy scenes, Fourth Wing has also got you covered 😁
And the Strike books are great, too! There are actually seven of them already (but I thought the plot in book six was stronger, so I picked that as my favorite sequel over book seven), and I just can’t get over how well fleshed-out the characters are and how much development they’ve had over the course of the series! 🥰 I think I might read the books more for them than the mysteries themselves at this point!
Oooh, it’s nice to see you’ve been enjoying Ann Liang’s novels, too! I haven’t heard any details about her upcoming one, but everything you mention makes it sound really intriguing! 👀
Also, thank you so much for all your support! It means the world to me that you’re not just here for the books, but also enjoy my travel content and weird other ideas 💙 And you can bet I’ll be jumping on those quiz answers the second I return from my orchestra rehearsal today!!! 🤗🤗
The writing in my copy of War & Peace actually isn’t too bad! Although it’s definitely more on the “tiny” than on the “large” front 😂 But without any pressure to finish it quickly and with Morgan to exchange thoughts with, the experience has actually been fun rather than intimidating! Still, I get if it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and wish you good luck with all the other books on our shared TBR! I’m looking forward to your version of this tag!
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Two in a month after that wait is wonderful though. Maybe you’ll suddenly start stumbling across more of them. And I’m glad to hear you loved those ones as well 🥰 I think I’m the opposite, I’m pretty generous but I genuinely adore any book that I give five stars to. I think a 3 star rating for me is probably more like a 2 for most people though 😂 but then I have to majorly struggle with a book to give it 1 or 2 stars (which sadly has happened 😢)
Aww well that’s wonderful. It’s lovely that you can help each other discover books like that. And from what both of you have said it does sound like a beautiful book.
It’s definitely on my TBR and I’m majorly hoping to get to it sometime this year. I’m very intrigued to meet the dragons 🥰 and love that it’s action packed. I like steamy scenes as long as there’s plot too which with lots of action I’d imagine there must be. I’ve seen such hype that I’m leaning towards treating myself to a copy of it 😅
Oh wow, even more catch up for me 😂 and that’s wonderful to hear. I do think the author is great with her characters – how else do you explain the truly universal hatred of Umbridge – so I’m not entirely surprised. But the TV adaptation of Casual Vacancy also made me wary about trying anything non fantasy by the author. If that’s the case are the mysteries good too or not?
It’s not out until October so that could be why. It’s about one of Ancient China’s Great Beauties which I’d never even heard of before but now I need the tales of the remaining three 😂 it’s meant to be adult but it felt more YA to me personally but it was fantastic regardless.
It’s lovely that you’re so enthusiastic about your travels. And get to visit such interesting places. Plus you come up with such creative post ideas, it’s so much fun discovering them 💗💗 I hope rehearsal goes well and look forward to seeing what you think of the reveals.
I suppose if it’s as long as you’ve said it has to be though, otherwise it’s probably hit the 2000 page mark 😂😂 that’s lovely to hear though. I think that’s what I did wrong with my first classic tbh. I had to read it for school and found it better than I’d expected initially. But I only really read one book at a time so after a while I just wanted to finish it and return to my own books 🙈 so I think if I ever did pick up a longer one again I’d maybe try reading more than one book at the same time for once. At least if I started to need some fantasy in my life 😂 Thank you 🥰
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Well, I think it’s a good sign if you usually rate your books high – that means you’re enjoying what you’re reading! I also need to truly dislike a book to give it two stars or less, which is always such a disappointing feeling 😥 So yeah, I’m also very thankful not to have had any one star reads in 2024 yet!
And I do really like the mysteries in the Strike books! The one in Lethal White (Book 4) was a bit weaker than the others, in my opinion, and the one in The Running Grave (Book 7) could’ve been less rushed towards the end, but all books kept me guessing and in suspense! I definitely liked them a lot more than The Casual Vacancy. Although I read that as a teenager when I was quite young and actually think I might like it way more if I read it now? It’s the sort of depressing that I might appreciate now that I’m older. Although I haven’t seen the TV show, so I can’t vouch for that!
Lol, nope, my copy of War and Peace isn’t quite at 2,000 pages – just 1,600 🤣 I can imagine that the English translation might be shorter, though… German can be a bit long-winded at times 😅😂 But yeah, I’ve found with some classics, you get so much more out of them if you take your time reading them! Breaking something long up a bit has definitely been helpful for me!
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That’s true. I’d like to say that it’s because I know what I like but I’ve been convinced I’d adore books before and majorly let down afterwards 😞 Hopefully there won’t be any one stars later in the year either.
That’s good to know. Especially that they kept you guessing. Thinking about the level of plotting and planning that went into the HP series I suppose it makes sense that mysteries would be crafted well. To be fair I can’t really judge the book having only seen part of the show. And I watched that when I was in a terrible mood so that’s not even truly fair. It would be interesting to see if you found it better now though. Tastes can change a lot over time.
Ah yeah I didn’t think of the different translations being different lengths. I think the English one is just under 1400. I could be wrong but that was it’s word count on Goodreads that I spotted whilst checking the link in my post. I’ll definitely give that a try when I get around to picking one up. I have a few super high priority reads I want to get to first though. And it’s weird as long fantasy books, like Priory, make me excited. Yet classics scare me 😂 although in total contradiction to that feeling in general I added Vanity Fair to my tbr because I spotted it on my parents shelves and the length intrigued me 🤔
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First of all, thank you for making me put two books on my never-ending tbr. 😂 I need to read The Heart’s Invisible Furies & In Memoriam. I’ve heard about the former in Bella @ throneofpages’s vlogs, and she sobbed her eyes out, so that’s a sign I need to pick it up. 🤣
I also really want to get to One Hundred Years of Solitude, Where the Crawdads Sing and Carrie Soto is Back this year! And we can totally do War and Peace! I love that we’re taking it slow. I just read a bunch of pages yesterday, so I’m determined to catch up to you!
I hope you’ll enjoy Wild, I read it this year, and it was phenomenal.
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I think you’d love both The Heart’s Invisible Furies and Im Memoriam, so I’m sorry to say I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty 😁🤣 Just make sure you’ll have those tissues ready because you’ll need them in both cases!
And I’m sure we can diminish our TBRs this year! 💪🏻 Once I manage to actually get myself copies of those books, I’m pretty sure I’ll fly through them; I’ve heard so many good things! My library just hasn’t been the most cooperative in having the books I’d like to read lately 🥲 But maybe that’s good because it means I won’t get too sidetracked from War and Peace – I still need to write down my Book Two, Part I thoughts, too, but just can’t seem to find the time! I guess it’s a good thing we’re buddies 😁😂 Our pace is perfect for me!
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I’m glad that you loved In Memoriam so much. It was just such an amazing read. I’ve always loved books about WWI ever since I read Testament of Youth so many years ago but In Memoriam was definitely one of the best. Mara of the Acoma will always be one of my favourite characters ever and as I’ve just reread the trilogy, she can actually appear in this year’s tag. I suspect that January will be there too.
Your AI art post has to be one of my favourites of your posts as it was such a fun thing to do. I do love to read your travel posts too. Good Luck with War and Peace. I hope it doesn’t break you too much .
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It’s great to hear you loved In Memoriam, too, and thank you again for recommending Daughter of the Empire! 🥰 I’ve got the next book saved on Everand and am already very excited to continue on with the series!
And, ooh, Testament of Youth? I haven’t even heard of that, but now you’ve got me very intrigued 👀 I wouldn’t say I necessarily gravitate towards WWI novels, but when they’re well written, they do always seem to hit me in the feels particularly much!
Also, I’m thrilled to hear you liked the AI post so much! (Any chance you’ll ever do one yourself? 🙃😁) I had so much fun guessing on other peoples’, so I see what you mean!
And thanks for the luck! Considering “War” features in the title of War and Peace, I’m a little skeptical that I’ll manage to escape that emotional trauma, but maybe being only a little broken is fine? 😅
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Testament of Youth is actually a memoir by Vera Brittan and it really gave me my first insight into that period of time.
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Nice to see you back Book Owl. 38 is a really good total. I haven’t read many of these except 1000 Splendid Suns which I loved. I think on the Cornelia Funke point it was probably pressure from the publishers. Shame though.
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Thank you! It’s nice to hear you loved A Thousand Splendid Suns as well 🥰
And I really don’t know about Cornelia Funke… She’s famous enough that her books bring in enough money without her continuing a long-finished series years later, so I think her writing in this world again might really have been her idea? 🤔 I really wish she’d fleshed the details out a bit before putting something to the page, though!
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Definitely not super-jealous of how much you’ve been reading or anything…
But honestly, where have you found the TIME?! I’m going crazy here because things are in full swing – i don’t think I’ve read a book in a month now.
My favourite book of the year is probably Every Soul a Star or First & Then by emma mills. This was fun to read – in the sense that my TBR just quadrupled or something, haha! Have a lovely week :))
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Oh, don’t ask – I’ve been reading a ton at the weirdest times of night, just because I’m so busy during the day 🤣 I definitely get being robbed of time and still really miss my school days, when I had entire afternoons off and didn’t ever fully appreciate them… But thankfully, I do have a few more weekends again than I used to now! 😊
Oooh, I’ve never heard of wither Every Soul a Star or First & Then! I’ll have to look into them!
Anyway, have a lovely week, too, Maya, and thanks for stopping by! 💙
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I hope you enjoy and get something out of War and Peace. It’s really quite the book. I was glad to have encountered your art game!
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It’s great to know you enjoyed War and Peace so much! At the moment, I’m still trying to fit puzzle pieces together and figure out where everything is leading… But it’s been a lot of fun, particularly since I have Morgan to theorize with!
Also, thanks again for joining on on the AI quiz! I had so much fun doing yours! 🤗
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