Tag Archives: Wrap-Ups

2021: Reading Wins & Disappointments

Today, I’m sharing some of my favourite and least favourite reads of 2021, along with goals for 2022! I am chuckling at the fact that in my mid-year check in I mention how much I am sweating in the heat, and now I’m typing from my chilly bedroom! (Hello, climate change…) 

This year, I’ve read 37 books which is pretty great (probably helped along by the fact I included a few long fics in there as well). But overall, I had a great reading year. Since I almost reached 40 books this year, that is going to be my goal next year. It would be really cool if I reached it, as that would be my new record!

I already did a few wrap ups earlier, so I will focus on what I read later in the year!

Related posts:

What did I read in 2020?
Mid-Year Book Freak Out

Some favourites were:

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

I wasn’t sure what to expect since this had pretty mixed reviews, but overall I loved it. Nikolai’s one of my favourite characters, so I guess I was biased on that front, but I also loved reading Zoya’s character development. *Them* I felt like this book was cliffhanger after cliffhanger which I loved. Especially, Nina’s chapters!! I will admit the last half was a bit slower as we crawled deep into the political strategy of the war, so that was less entertaining for me. However, I still have to say it was one of my favourites of this year, and a must read for any Grishaverse fan. 

Chain of Iron book by Cassandra Clare Cover is blue with a girl wearing a gold dress and who has long flowing brown hair

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

This book has me in a chokehold which I will not be released from until Chain of… whatever the next one is called is in my hands. The drama, the romance, the mystery (had to be my fave)! I thoroughly ate this story up, and yes, I will not be relaxing until I read the third book!!

The Renegades Trilogy by Marissa Meyer

Another end of the year fave has been the Renegades Trilogy by Marissa Meyer. Now, I can’t say this series is a literary masterpiece but by my level of enjoyment, it is! I’ve had this on my TBR list for a while and wasn’t sure when I’d get to it. But, when I saw someone on BookTok compare it to Miraculous Ladybug, it skyrocketed up there. This is a story you can have a lot of fun with if you don’t take it too seriously. There’s enemies to lovers (of course), and secret identities (my favourite), oh and superheroes! I’ve been listening to the audiobook of the third book Supernova while working on a book-themed puzzle I received for Christmas <3

lore olympus cover features persephone on a horse in pink on the bottom half of the cover with Hades in blue (the underworld) at the top of the book (upside down)

I just read the hardcover Vol. 1 of Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe and fell in love with it! Now, I’ve been catching up on Webtoon and just finished Season 1 of the comics.

I have also been on the Marvel train recently as I caught up with my movie marathon that I started in the summer just in time to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home. The movie was fantastic, and now I’m hoping to get into reading some of the comics. I’ll be starting with Daredevil because I am obsessed with the show and would like to learn more about his character!

End of year disappointments:

the starless sea has a swirling blue cover with a gold bee imprinted on its centre

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I think what hurt the most was the fact that this was going really well! I read over 100 pages just on the first day of having the book, and I was so happy to have an actual book back in my hands! (I had only had time for really listening to audio) However, this one really fell flat. There were so many obscure twists and turns I really thought were going to get explained that never were. The mystery was just never solved… There were some really beautiful lines in here about stories and magic, but by the end it felt like a lot of that had been lost, as I was just struggling to comprehend what the point was. There also was a romance thrown in here which felt really lacking. It was like the book was trying to get you to root for them when there was nothing to root for. 

the song of achilles cover features a trojan war helmet on teal background

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I think with all the rave reviews, I really just expected too much from this one. It just didn’t hit as hard as I was expecting it to and maybe knowing how it would play out it didn’t affect me as much.

Some book related goals for the future:

Annotate & Review More

I’m getting more into annotating and recording my thoughts of what I read. I’d like to write a short review for every book I read and either leave it in the book on a sticky note (if it’s mine) or record it in my reading journal. I think it’s occurring to me that I am not forgetting what I enjoyed so much in books I read 4, 5 years ago and hey I’d like to remember! Tabs just don’t do it for me anymore!  I have yet to reread a book that I’ve annotated, but I think that would be a lot of fun too. I’m more comfortable writing in my own books now, but I did get some translucent sticky notes from Muji which I am super excited to try out! 

Start a book club

My friends and I had an idea to start our own little book club. It got a bit derailed because of business during the semester, but we had a few people interested, so I hope we can make it a reality! 

Start a ya lit podcast

This might be a bit ambitious considering I can barely now post on my blog or TikTok account, but I think this would be so fun! I’d love to start a podcast with my close friends and delve deeper into themes, tropes, and issues relating to YA literature. We would probably branch into conversations on writing and reading experience as well! I think it would be a great way to stay in touch with them as well as start conversations about what we are reading. I’ve had a lot of topic ideas, so we’ll see if I can someday bring them into fruition. 🙂

How were your reads of 2021? Do you have any anticipated reads for this year or book goals?

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Big Summer Wrap-up 2021

Hi everyone, and welcome to my big summer wrap-up! What classifies as summer for me is a bit weird now since I’m in university, but I’ll be counting the summer months from about June-August. (Yes, I have been procrastinating this post for a while…) Overall, these past few months I have gotten to reconnect with some friends, experience the hottest weather ever, and consume a bunch of media. (Which is why I need a wrap-up like this to remember it all!)

Books:

  • Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

Faves:

My faves were definitely Rule of Wolves and Chain of Iron! They were both exciting and frankly heartbreaking…

Least Fave:

I wasn’t a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and I definitely care more for the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series. While I didn’t dislike Howl’s Moving Castle, I was excited for it after watching the movie and was hoping for a little more! I wanted to know more about how the magic worked, but the movie is actually quite different in terms of plot! I found the book also dragged on at times, so it took me a while to read it. :/

Special shoutout to fics:

I usually don’t read long fics, but since I’ve gotten so many recommendations on marauderstok, I’ve read a few really great ones! (on Ao3)

All my cards are here haey1

This is a marauders band au and it was just a great time. Now the acoustic version of “the one that got away”  is stuck in my head…

That’s the art of getting by by sarewolf

I wanted to read a wolfstar raising Harry fic and this one did not disappoint. It was written really well and it was hard not to fly through it quickly. There were so many painfully beautiful quotes. :’) I thought the author wrote the characters well and wrote them realistically with all the grief and trauma they’d been through.

Hauled:

Ninth House (I bought downtown as pocketbooks were 2 for $15 and I got .. for my mom and now she’s on a Louise Penny marathon!)

Such a Fun Age (I found in a free little library while walking around my friend’s neighbourhood!)

Life Updates

In terms of life, there have been some big changes!  I recently started a co-op job and I quit my part-time job working at a bakery which I was in for about 2 ½ years. I had been wanting to find a better job for a while so I am happy that I am moving onward! I did feel a sense of loss leaving the other day, I think partly because it has become so familiar to me and I’ve met a lot of great people there that I am going to miss it for a while. (Editing this: I def don’t miss the job but still thinking about the people!) Still, I knew it was a place I wasn’t really happy a lot of the time. I believe it was a necessary step on the way to gaining more confidence and independence in myself, but a lot of times it felt too stressful for a part time job. This could also just be that I’m generally anxious and seem to always find something to worry about… but that’s something I’m working on. Now, I am excited to work in a position where I can use my strengths in writing and creativity! I know this will also help me to gain an outlook on what type of job I might be interested in the future. 

Movies/Shows:

I was inspired by my friends to start a Marvel marathon this summer! We watched Captain America Winter Soldier together and most of the other movies I watched with my brother and family. I went to see Black Widow as my first movie at the theatre since covid and it was really good. I hope to see Shang-Chi soon too! Everytime I watch a Thor movie, I can’t help but think how fun a Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard adaptation would be 🙂 I’m planning to continue the MCU even though it’ll be limited to weekend movies now. My friends and I also finally got around to watching New Moon together which was lots of fun.

What did you read/watch/enjoy over the summer? I know for sure I’m missing the time that I had to read (now audiobooks are my best friend, though I really want to sit down with a book)

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April Wrap-Up: Books, Shows & Summer Reading Plans

Hi everyone! This month has been a whirlwind with my semester coming to an end. If you also just finished the semester, I hope your finals/papers went well and that you can take a bit of a break now! I found it a bit rough near the end, but I made it through. :)) In this post, I will go over all the media I enjoyed, including the highly anticipated Shadow & Bone Netflix show! 

yellow flower graphic

Books:

New Moon (Twilight, #2)

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

I started this one in September.. and just finished it finally. I put it down for a while because nothing was happening and it started to put me in a reading slump. The last few hundred pages did get more interesting, but overall it felt like a bit of a drag compared to Twilight.

Rating: 3 out of 5.
The Lives of Saints (Grishaverse)

The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo

This was a quick and intriguing read! Read my full review here.

Rating: 5 out of 5.
Dress Codes for Small Towns

Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens

This was the last book I read for my GSWS class and I really wanted to like this, but it fell short. It just felt like a contemporary book that was trying too hard. I didn’t mind some of the characters and I liked the religious community aspect, but that was pretty much it. The writing just seemed as if it was trying to be “quirky” with names like “the Hexagon” for their friend group and “Einstein” for a whiteboard. Not my favourite.

Rating: 3 out of 5.
yellow flower graphic

Movies & Shows:

Selena S1 Eps: 1-7

I started watching Selena with my brother who has been singing “Como La Flor” around the house ever since. So yeah, we’ve been really enjoying it so far. Feeling: inspired by Selena who only learned Spanish when she started her career. Season 2 comes out next week, so we’re planning on finishing the rest of the episodes soon!

The Social Network

Did I watch this mostly for the iconic “Sorry, my Prada’s at the cleaners…” Andrew Garfield line? Maybe… (I blame marauders TikTok). Feelings: Overall, I didn’t really care much for the movie, but I also was half asleep while watching it (my bad). This was the perfect time for me to watch it as I just finished my Publishing course where we explored social media and advertising. It’s definitely interesting to see how much Facebook has evolved from Zuckerberg’s initial ideas along with social media as a whole.

Shadow and Bone S1

I watched the show over 2 nights, so I could try and stream with my friend(s). It’s been quite a few years since I read Shadow & Bone, so my memory was a bit spotty on the details, but I was so excited to see the crows come to life. Feelings: Malina deserve the world, the crows (including Milo) are all icons, and Matthias and Nina’s parts were my favourite. I didn’t mind how they mixed the two storylines. At times it felt a little strange, but it also just felt like extra crow content which I could appreciate. The biggest criticism I’ve seen is on the racism that was added in the show, which I hope they address in Season 2.

I haven’t watched a lot of movies or shows in a while. To be honest, I have spent most of my spare time scrolling on TikTok. A few movies I have on my list to watch next are Dead Poet’s Society, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Howl’s Moving Castle.

yellow flower graphic

Reflecting on my reading for the next few months…

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed with how much I want to read and how little progress I seem to be making. Last month, I got my hands on a few of my anticipated releases, but have been feeling down that I haven’t gotten to read them yet. Thinking about it, it makes sense as I was busy with readings for class and other work. What’s important is that I leave time for myself to read a book just because I want to, and not because I have to.

I recently read this great post by Drizzle and Hurricane Books, “10 Tips to Overcome Reading & Blogging Fatigue” and it reminded me how important it is not to compare my reading amount to others. (It can be easy to wonder, why am I not reading that much? Then realize it’s not a competition…) Also, just to remind me of why I read, which is because I enjoy it!

Marie says this really well in her post, and it resonated with me a lot. While being part of the book community is really fun, social media especially can leave you feeling inadequate. I don’t “need” to read certain books just because everyone’s talking about them at the moment. I don’t need to rush through them all. Instead, I can think: I have all these great releases to enjoy during the summer! Also instead of binge-reading, I can allow myself more time to reflect and make content about what I am reading. I don’t need to read every day if I’d rather make a video or watch a show.

This is just a bit of self-reflection, but maybe it can help you if you have also had these thoughts. As an end-of-semester gift, I bought myself a hammock! I’m looking forward to sitting and reading outside when the weather is better 🙂 *Cover photo is my own*

How was your April? Do you ever feel a bit overwhelmed by your TBR? Did you read or watch anything that I did, or have any recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments below!

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