MID-YEAR BOOK FREAK OUT | TAG

Hi everyone! 

Since we've surpassed June I thought it's the perfect time to do the book freak out tag. Let's kick it of with some basic facts. When writing this post I have currently read 40 books. The oldest book I read is 'Leaves of Grass' which was published in 1855. 20 books have been written by female authors, 19 books by male authors and 1 book has been written under an anonymous pseudonym. 15 books have been written by an author from The United States. 

Best book you’ve read so far. 

I think the book I enjoyed the best so far is 'The Vegetarian' by Han Kang. I really enjoyed reading this story and especially the fact that the plot turned out to be a lot different than I expected.

Best sequel you've read so far.

Definitely 'Blood of Wonderland' by Colleen Oakes. This book has been on my shelf ever since it's been republished and I don't know why but I postponed picking it up ever since. When I finally did pick it up I absolutely loved it. Most of the times I don't really like the second book in a trilogy because it just feels like an unnecessary bridge between the first and last book but I highly enjoyed this one. 

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

I am very excited to read 'The Good Immigrant'. I have it on my shelf already and can't wait to pick it up very soon!

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

I am super excited for the last book in the 'Queen of Hearts' saga. The last book 'War of the Cards' will be published on 7 November.

Biggest disappointment.

'Makkelijk Leven' a short story by Herman Koch was probably my biggest disappointment. I was very excited to pick up a book by this high praised Dutch author but was quite let down. This book was just nothing special or outstanding. I have another novel of him on my shelf so I'm very curious to see if that book will be my cup of tea.

Biggest surprise.

- 

Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Hands down. I read three books by her so far this year and absolutely loved all of them. I plan to finish her other three books as well this year. With 'Americanah' already waiting on my shelf. 

Newest fictional crush.

I don't have fictional crushes.

Newest favourite character.

I adored the character August in 'The Secret Life of Bees'. I can't explain much about her character without spoiling anything but she is one of the Calendar Sisters and I love her!

Book that made you cry.

'Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet' by Jacques Vriens. This title literary translated is ' 6th graders don't cry' and it's the story of a girl who gets leukemia. Jacques Vriens used to be a teacher before he was an author and this story actually is based on true facts when he was a teacher of the 6th grade and one of this students got leukemia. 

Book that made you happy.

'Het Paradijs' (The Paradise) Suzanne Vermeer. Not necessarily because of it's theme because it is a thriller. But because it is set in Greece, which sets me in this amazing holiday mood. 

Favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year. 

I only have seen one book to movie adaptation this year which was 'A Monster Calls' and I really loved it!

Favourite blog post you've written this year. 

Probably the blog post on '100 female writers' because it has made me motivated to write on this blog again.

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

Probably 'Tales of the Peculiar'. I have this in the hardcover edition and it's clothbound and has beautiful gold lettering. It's absolutely gorgeous. 

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

I want to finish all the books on my TBR but mostly the underlined ones.

Mannen die vrouwen haten (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) - Stieg Larsson

De vrouw die met vuur speelde (The Girl Who Played with Fire) - Stieg Larsson

Gerechtigheid (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest) - Stieg Larsson

The Trees - Ali Shaw

The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri

De Greppel - Herman Koch

Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I Heart Christmas - Lindsey Kelk

The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman

The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

The Arabian Nights - Translated by Sir Richard Burton

Madness - Roald Dahl

Cruelty - Roald Dahl

Ten Thousand Skies Above You - Claudia Gray

We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families - Philip Gourevitch

The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

The Power - Noami Alderman

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

The Good Immigrant - Nikesh Shukla

The Song Rising - Samantha Shannon

The Righteous Mind - Jonathan Haidt

Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari

Emma - Jane Austen

A Brief History of Seven Killings - Marlon James

Fates and Furies - Lauren Groff

BOOK DISCUSSION | MID-YEAR READING STATISTICS

Hello!

Since we are over the half of this year, I decided to see how I'm doing with my reading so far this year.

I have read 49 books so far, this means I am seven books ahead of my goal to read 75 books by the end of this year. Nine of those books I gave a 5-star rating. Fifteen I gave a 4-star rating, nineteen a 3-star rating, four a 2-star rating and two a 1-star rating.

I have read 15,297 pages so far. The longest book I read this year was 'Illuminae' this book is 599 pages. The oldest book I read so far this year was Peter Pan which was published in 1911.

I have read books that are set in America, Mexico, Ireland, England, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Germany, Italy, India, Singapore and Australia. I still want to branch out a bit more in this.

I have completed 32 challenges from the 'Around The World in 52 Books' challenge including: a book set in the past (more than 100 years ago), a book set in a different continent and a book with a beautiful cover.

Since I hadn't set any personal goals at the beginning of this year, I can't tell you anything about that. Since I have, set mid-year goals I will talk them through at the end of the year. This was it for now, thanks for reading!

I hope you have a lovely day!

MID-YEAR READING CHALLENGES 2016

When I started picking up reading at the end of last year again, I wasn't as serious and addicted to it as now. I had only one goal; to read 50 books (which I had done before so I knew it wasn't that much of a challenge). Now that we are halfway through 2016 I want to set my self some specific reading challenges for the rest of 2016, starting today.

CLASSICS
I want to read 5 more classics this year. I feel like I am really lacking on my knowledge of classics and I really want to read and appreciate them.

HISTORICAL FICTION
I also want to read 5 historical fictions. I want to find out more about this genre because I really think that this could be a favourite genre of my. I never experienced a lot with genres beside contemporary and light-fantasy but I think that this has real potential to be one of my favourite genres.

DUTCH FICTION
I want to read 2 Dutch books. I only choose two books because for one, Dutch books are twice or triple the price of the English books I read, and second, I only can think of two that I really want to read. For 2017 I might take this challenge to a higher level and set an higher goal, but for now, two books it is.

TRANSLATED FICTION
I want to read 7 translated fictions. I want to get to know a wider variation of authors, stories, settings etcetera.

POETRY
I want to read 5 books of poetry. I used to write my own poetry, but I almost never ever have read poetry. Actually, I only read two books of poetry. Five books of poetry might be a bit to high but I see how far I can come.


Do you have any mid-year reading challenges?