End of Year 2020 Reading Resolutions Wrap-Up

So this year was kind of rocky for my reading. Basically I went into a reading slump that pretty much lasted the entire year. Looking forward into my Reading Resolutions for next year, there will be some changes taking place because I think a big reason I went into a slump was because I got behind at the beginning of the year when I took some months away from reading while I moved and did some remodeling in my new house. I had too high of expectations, and that ended up being the downfall of my reading year.

I have a few different challenges that I am really interested in tackling next year, but I'm thinking of setting up a jar with monthly challenges to do change up my reading resolutions, goals, or challenges. I'm looking forward to the next year, and the books that I am really excited to read.

1. Meet My Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal

Halfway through the year, I changed my goal from 50 to 10, and I did end up meeting this challenge, and exceeding it by 21.

2. Listen to 10 Audiobooks

I ended up listening to six audiobooks - wasn't a strong year for audiobooks, but slowly I am starting to listen to more overall then I have in my past years.

3. Read 10 Contemporary Novels

Contemporary books are my least favorite genre, so every year I just aim to read 10, sometimes I read more and other times I don't meet the 10 books. I read two contemporary novels this year - so it wasn't a strong year for this. This is one of the challenges that doesn't really faze me if I don't reach it just because contemporaries aren't my favorite and it's just a challenge that I put into place to try to read outside of my normal reading tastes.

4. Read a book in all of the following genres:

Dystopian/Apocalyptic: Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams

Historical Fiction: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Fantasy: Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala

Fairytale Retelling: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Mystery: Things She's Seen by Ambelin & Ezekiel Kwaymullina

Thriller/Suspense: Off the Trail by Diana Urban

Horror: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Graphic Novel/Manga: Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

Poetry/Verse: Voices by David Elliot

Anthology: Rural Voices by Various Authors

Sci-Fi: Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Middle Grade: NONE
Steampunk: NONE

5. Read 10 books that are longer than 500 pages

I did not end up reading any book over 500 pages - I don't know if I am going to make this a challenge next year or not. Although, I do want to read more longer books. Even though I didn't read any books over 500 pages, I got close with a few books that I read this year.

6. Finish the Series of Unfortunate Events

I didn't read any Unfortunate Events books. This will probably not be a challenge next year.

7. Read all of Amie Kaufman's, Meagan Spooner's, and Jay Kristoff's books

I did not read all, but I did read Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Other than that, I read nothing. I'm probably going to aim for this challenge again next year.

8. Read all of Kasie West's books

Nope, did not happen. We will see if this will be a challenge.

Have a Happy New Reading Year!!!!!

Waiting on Wednesday: 2021 January Scheduled Book Releases

In the coming year, I plan to slowly introduce new posts weekly. One that I am starting is going to be my Waiting on Wednesday: Monthly Scheduled Releases to share with you the books that I am highly anticipating reading this year that also happening to be coming out this year.

Last year, I was looking forward to 45 books that were scheduled to be released throughout the year. Obviously, last year was a bad reading year for me in general, but I ended up only reading 1 of the 45. Some of those books are on my TBR for this year (already planned for January), so I am still planning to get to some of them. I also in general only read, 9 books that were published in 2020 (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), with the majority of the books I read last year from the previous year, 2019.

Starting off in January, there are five books coming out that I would love to read either during the month of January or hopefully February.

I have not preorder any of these books, and most likely these will all be acquired from my local library. I don't tend to preorder a lot of books, just because I have limited space for my books - although, it is known to happen.

There are also plenty more books that I would love to read that are coming out in January, but these are the ones that if I had to pick and read any books coming out this next month, these would be the ones.

Tistheseasonathon TBR

If you want to know more about what this readathon is about, check out the twitter account: @Tistheseasonn. So my plan is to read all holiday themed novels for this challenge because I'm really in that Christmas Spirit minus one which is the second challenge because there wasn't any Holiday themed books on my TBR for this year. Also for my Diverse Book, I don't yet no if that will fit, but I'm hoping because it was hard to look for a diverse holiday book, but if it ends up not fitting, I do have an alternative book.

Here are the challenges and my TBR:

1. Read a Holiday Themed Book: 12 Men for Christmas by Phillipa Ashley

2. Read a Book You Wanted to Read This Year: Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

3. Read a Book with Lights on Cover by Jay Asher

4. Read a Diverse Book by Various Authors

5. Read a Cozy Read by Various Authors

Bonus: Read the Group Book: In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Along with the 5 challenges, there is a Bingo Board that was Created, but I have my own Christmas Bingo Board that I will be completed for the entire month of December.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Read Before the End of the Year

If you have been following this year (which would have been really hard), you would have noticed that my year was really rough. This was due to a lot of factors, those being that I moved at the beginning of the year, got a new puppy, and corona happened, which limited me going out to the library (which is where I get most of the books I read). In October, I ended up trying to attempt in two readathons to jumpstart the slump I entered at the beginning of the year (like I had done multiple times of the year). This time it helped and I'm not in my slump anymore. So before I get too far into November, I wanted to share my top ten books I want to read before the end of the year (all of them will be books I own). I already read one book that I would have put on here (House of Salt and Sorrows - look for the soon to posted review of this novel), so I don't want to read too much that would be included in this post. Without further ado... the books...

1. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

I absolutely love Kerri Maniscalco's writing, and I really need to also finish the Stalking the Jack the Ripper series, but this book is about witches, which wasn't really something I was interested in reading much (with a few exceptions), but after reading Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin last year, I am fascinated with witchy novels now. That's all I really know - I'm kind of going into this blind.

2. Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin

Serpent & Dove was one of my favorite reads from last year. I quickly read through the novel because of how much I was hooked by the characters and the story. So basically Serpent & Dove is about a witch and a witchhunter who are forced into marriage while there is a war going on between the witches and the hunters. Blood & Honey picks up pretty much where Serpent & Dove left off. I'm expecting it too bring out a lot of emotions from me, and I'm honestly already looking forward to the next book in the series, Gods & Monsters.

3. Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber

Stroke of Malice is the eighth novel in the Lady Darby series, it's about two individuals who investigate murders in the mid 1800s, and I absolutely love it. It also happens to be set in like England, Ireland, and Scotland. I've been trying to find some books that are very similar, and I haven't really found any that have intrigued me as much as this series. I'm hoping to wrap this book up - I've already started and I'm a few chapters in - before the year is over because the next book comes out in April, and I'm already ready for that one.

4. One by One by Ruth Ware

I thoroughly enjoy Ruth Ware's novels. I am up to date on all of her novels except for this one. What I love most about her books is the unreliability of the narrators (not all of them), and the style of her writing. Turn of the Key was one of my favorite reads of this year, and One by One sounds like I will enjoy it even more. Our main character gets snowed in with eight of her coworkers, who are all untrustworthy, and maybe some people start dying? It sounds like a book that is right up my alley.

5. Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Tricia Levenseller has become an automatic buy author for me after I fell in love with her Daughter of the Pirate King series. It is one of my favorite duologies of all time, and I am ready to jump into her other novels - they have been sitting on my shelf for too long unread. This book is viking inspired, and it sounds amazing! This is about the daughter of  the village leader, who has been training her whole life to take over. During her coming-of-age trial, her test is sabotaged and she fails - which results in her being sent out into a monster-filled wilderness on a quest to kill a god or die trying.

6. Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

I have no idea what this book is about, but anything Amie Kaufman is listed as an author on, I will pretty much pick up and read. I'm not going to find out what this is about, I'm going into it blind. I do know that it's a Sci-Fi novel. And this book was on my Reading Resolutions for the year (although I did not get a majority of my Reading Resolutions completed - it will be nice to at least mark this off.

7. Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang

Impossible Girl takes place in the mid 1800s, and is about a female resurrectionist who procures bodies with anatomic anomalies and sells them. And then murders start happening - and she is the target due to her anatomical anomaly - two hearts.

 

8. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

This book should not be a surprise because a few books up, I had mentioned how much I need to finish reading this series. If you haven't read Stalking Jack the Ripper, you definitely should. Stalking Jack the Ripper is about Audrey, who secretly studies forensic medicine in her uncle's laboratory. Then some gruesome murders start happening, and she starts investigating. Hunting Prince Dracula takes place shortly after Stalking Jack the Ripper wraps up, Audrey goes away with a friend, Thomas Cresswell to Romania where Europe's best school of forensic medicine is, and stumbles into another killer.

9. Windwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch was a top read and it has been a long time coming for me to read the sequel. This series about a world of witches of different talents whose world is thrown into a war. I don't really know much about what Windwitch is about because I decided not to spoil anything by reading the summary, but it takes place right after Truthwitch.

10. Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

I have been wanting to read a novel by V.E. Schwab for some time. I "technically listened" to City of Ghosts by her, but since I honestly cannot remember it, I'm planning to either listen to it or read the book again, and don't really include it. It's about a woman who makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed with being forgotten by everyone she meets. It sounds very intriguing, and I look forward to jumping into this novel.

Review: Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams

Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams

The Handmaid's Tale meets Wilder Girls in this unique, voice-driven novel from Kelly McWilliams.

Agnes loves her home of Red Creek--its quiet, sunny mornings, its dusty roads, and its God. There, she cares tirelessly for her younger siblings and follows the town's strict laws. What she doesn't know is that Red Creek is a cult, controlled by a madman who calls himself a prophet.

Then Agnes meets Danny, an Outsider boy, and begins to question what is and isn't a sin. Her younger brother, Ezekiel, will die without the insulin she barters for once a month, even though medicine is considered outlawed. Is she a sinner for saving him? Is her sister, Beth, a sinner for dreaming of the world beyond Red Creek?

As the Prophet grows more dangerous, Agnes realizes she must escape with Ezekiel and leave everyone else, including Beth, behind. But it isn't safe Outside, either: A viral pandemic is burning through the population at a terrifying rate. As Agnes ventures forth, a mysterious connection grows between her and the Virus. But in a world where faith, miracles, and cruelty have long been indistinguishable, will Agnes be able to choose between saving her family and saving the world?

Pages: 417

Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Brittney Pressley

Published By: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre:.YA ~ Dystopian

Rating:
✮✮✮

Review:

Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams really intrigued me when I saw that this book was about a virus and a cult, and how Agnes essentially navigates through her new world. The synopsis sales this story as being one of faith, which if you are considering picking this book up, it has very religious aspects.

What I got was a book with a split perspectives of Agnes and Beth as they both see their world upended by realizing everything they once knew isn't how they knew it. Which necessarily isn't a bad thing, but it was very slow and drawn out. Personally, this book could have been half the length with some parts taken out and the whole plot wouldn't really have changed. I felt there was added information that was kind of fluff for a longer story, and it made it hard to really get through.

There was also this supernatural aspect about Agnes, that is written as something from God, but doesn't really feel like it has anything to do with her religion. It just kind of took a lot of what I was enjoying about the story and ruined it some for me. I'm not going to get into it much but Agnes calls it "The Prayer Space", but doesn't even pray to enter it, so I don't get the idea behind the name.

Even though there was a lot of negative feelings that I have associated with this novel, it wasn't a bad story. I liked seeing how Agnes grew as the story progressed and really found out who she was, and how her sister also really learned who she was as an individual, and there struggles really stood out to me and that's really what I loved about this book.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending. Without spoiling it, it felt like the author wanted more of a happier ending then it should have been considering, but I will digress on that. I also want to point out that there are patriarchal ideals presented by this book through the cult perspective so if that would bother you, I would probably not recommend picking this book up.

Overall, I thought it was a good book, but it definitely could have been improved upon. Something that I really wanted to say is that if you are planning on picking up this book, I highly recommend the audiobook. At the beginning of the novel, there are overlapping voices talking about stuff, and then at points during the story, people talk on walkies and it really sounds like that.

If you have read Agnes at the End of the World, let me know what you thought of the ending?

October Readathons

So as you all know, my reading has been very limited this year. I have mostly been completing books that I agreed to review. But I love October and reading creepy horror novels during the season. So I have decided that I am going to attempt a couple of different readathons (although a lot of books crossover for multiple readathons). I will post more about the individual readathons and my TBRs later today or tomorrow, but two have started (kind of), which I will definitely make sure those TBRs get up ASAP. I have actually already completed one book for one of the readathons so I am already feeling great about this month.

Scallywagathon 2020 TBR

The Scallywagathon is a readathon that is from August 16th-23rd and is hosted by Ali from HardbackHoarder, Amanda from Read All the Books, and Vanessa from Paper Faerie. So the Scallywagathon is a choose your own adventure readathon. 

Here is the link to the official page for the readathon where the map and challenges are: Scallywagathon, curtesy of the Scallywagathon hosts. I am also including the map below and the challenges.

 The goal of the readathon is to complete at least four challenges. You start between 1-5, and then you follow the path to the next challenge on the map by following the colored lines that match with the colored number you are currently on. For example, if you choose to start on challenge 1, after completion, you can either go to challenge 6 or 7. If you start with challenge 5, you can go to challenge 7 or 8.

So for this readathon, I have decided to start with challenge 5. So this is what I am planning to read for this readathon.

5) Girls Save the World in this One by Ash Parsons

7) War is Over by David Almond

A) Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

9) Seventh Sun by Lani Forbes