Tag: reading challenges

April 2022 Wrap Up

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Hello, reader!

How is it already May?? I feel like April flew by and I’m not ready for it to already be the fifth month of 2022. We’re already almost halfway through the year! Still, with as fast as the month went, I still somehow managed to one of my best reading months of the year, so far. Dare I say, one of my best reading months ever. I managed to read 19 books last month. NINETEEN BOOKS! That is definitely a new personal record! On top of that, I also have 5 five star reads. Like, what?!

I fully credit two things for how great my reading was last month: rediscovering the wonderful world of audiobooks and the incredible Magical Readathon hosted by G @ Book Roast. Seriously, I had so much fun participating in the Orilium Spring Equinox round of the Magical Readathon. I managed to complete all the classes my character needed for her chosen calling, plus six additional side quests. G did a fantastic job of building a creative and fun readathon and I’m excited to participate again in the fall!

Alright, enough stalling… let’s talk about all the great books I read in the month of April.

Books Read

  • Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick: I read this for a The Write Reads blog tour and found myself loving this creepy middle grade horror! If you’re not a fan of spiders, I would maybe steer clear. Otherwise, this was a fast-paced, properly spooky story that had me on the edge of my seat. You can read my full review here. ★★★★
  • The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman: The printed version of Amanda Gorman’s incredibly compelling inauguration speech was just as moving as watching it live. It was profound; a rallying cry for a country that was finally getting a smidge of hope. And that’s what the tone of this poem was, overall… hopeful. I adored it. ★★★★★
  • Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica: This was my first Mary Kubica book, but it certainly won’t be my last! I loved this twisty, suburban mystery. I thought the characters were intriguing and the twists had my mouth hanging open! There was one plot point that felt a little out of left field, but, overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. ★★★★
  • Scorpica by G.R. Macallister: I was given an e-ARC of this book on Netgalley. I knew nothing about it until the publicist emailed me, but, once I read the synopsis, I knew I wanted to read the book. I’m glad I gave it a go, too, because I ended up being sucked into this world! Slow on plot, but tons of great character building, which I love. And all the tangled political maneuverings were a definite bonus, as well. You can find my full review here. ★★★★
  • The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary: This contemporary romance was SO STINKIN’ CUTE! I mean, it dealt with some heavier topics, like emotional abuse and stalker behavior, so know that before diving in. But the romance between Tiff and Leon was absolutely everything I could have wanted and more. They are so cute and made this book a joy to read. ★★★★
  • The Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie: I was truly in my audiobook era during April and used that mojo to try and catch up with a Poirot readalong. Still not quite there, but I did manage to read two last month and they ended up being two of the more enjoyable ones! This was probably my favorite of the two because I enjoyed the set up much more. A little sad that Poirot wasn’t a big part of this book, but, overall, I had a ton of fun with it! ★★★★
  • Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie: This was the other Poirot novel I read in April and, though I enjoyed it, it definitely wasn’t as good as Three Act Tragedy. I do love a locked room (or plane, in this case) mystery and this delivered! My only sticking point with this one was that the big reveal felt so underwhelming. There was more Poirot in this one, though, so he made up for it. ★★★★
  • May Day by Josie Jaffrey: This was another blog tour read, this time for the first place winner of last year’s Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA). I can see why this book won first place because it was a wild ride! Who knew that all you needed to do to get me to like a vampire novel was to make the vampires detectives 😂 This was a gruesome and intricate mystery that definitely left me wanting to pick up the next book. You can read my full review here. ★★★★
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March 2022 Wrap Up

kerrimcbooknerd2 Comments

Hello, reader!

We made it through another month of 2022! I feel like March went by super fast which was not at all what I wanted, haha. I feel like I got nothing done because the month just slipped through my fingers! At the same time, I’ve been unusually stressed with nothing added to my daily routine that would explain all the stress. It was a weird month, y’all. Here’s hoping April will be a bit more chill.

In the reading department, I read quite a few books but not nearly the amount I was hoping to achieve. I only read a few books from my Magical Readathon and WomenInMyth-Athon TBRs, but I still had a lot of fun participating in both! I suppose I shouldn’t be too hard on myself because I still managed to read nine books. Nine books in one month would have made me from a few years ago die of shock! And the quality of those books what top tier. I had three five star reads last month! I gotta remind myself of these things when I’m being too down on myself for how much I read. After all, it’s quality not quantity that counts.

Anyways, let’s get into all the books I read in the month of March!

Books Read

Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page

Book: Anne of West Philly by Ivy Noelle Weir/illustrated by Myisha Haynes

Rating: ★★★★

Thoughts: This was such a cute, fun graphic novel! It’s a retelling of Anne of Green Gables, which I haven’t read. Still, I know a bit about the character of Anne and I think this duo captured her spirit to a T! The art is beautiful, the story was touching, and I had a blast reading it. You can read my full review here.

Book: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Rating: ★★★★

Thoughts: Well, this was quite a thrill to read! From the very beginning, I was invested in Priya and Malini’s stories. They are incredibly well-written and compelling characters that made me want to keep reading. Beyond them, the lush world-building and the intriguing politics had me absolutely captivated. I’m excited for the next book in this series!

Book: The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Rating: ★★★★★

Thoughts: This book took me by surprise! I got it in my Book of the Month box and signed up for a blog tour simply because I liked the cover. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the tour, it probably would have languished on my shelves for awhile. I’m so glad it didn’t, though, because it absolutely blew me away! You can read my full review here.

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February 2022 Wrap Up

kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

I know, I know. It’s already the middle of March and I’m just now doing my February wrap up. Imma be honest with you… I apparently had a dream that I had already finished this post and it was out on the internet for all to read. Then, I started questioning myself, looked it up, and realized that my subconscious thinks I’m far more on top of things than I actually am. Really, just a snapshot of how my brain has been working this path month. Like a sloth crawling through molasses up in here *taps head*

Anyhoo! Now that I’ve realized my mistake, it’s time to go over all the wonderful books I read last month. It was a pretty incredible reading month, especially considering it’s the shortest month of the year. I read a lot of books for me and a lot of quality books, at that! So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.

Books Read

Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page

Book: Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Phillips

Rating: ★★★★

Thoughts: This was just as much fun as the first book in the series! I loved watching Ebenezer and Bethany bond even more. I also loved watching them learn more about friendship and what it is to be a ‘do-gooder’. I read this for a The Write Reads tour and you can read my full thoughts here.

Book: False Value by Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: ★★★★★

Thoughts: Another gem in the Rivers of London series and this one finally reached the full five stars for me! I think this book really shows how much Peter has grown over the course of this series. I also loved all the tech talk and, of course, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy references! I’m looking forward to whatever comes next.

Book: Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

Rating: ★★★★

Thoughts: Another novella by Dr. Okorafor that I truly enjoyed! I think I liked Remote Control a smidge more, but this was a great read, as well. I loved how it examines topics like misogyny and how people treat those they see as ‘other’. This was a quick, engaging read and I enjoyed discovering all its layers.

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January 2022 Wrap Up

kerrimcbooknerd2 Comments

Hello, reader!

Now that we’re solidly into the second month of 2022, I figured it was time to do my reading wrap up for the first month. I had a pretty decent month of reading in January! I didn’t read a lot of books, but the quality was certainly top notch. I also finally watched Encanto and it kind of took over my life for a little bit. Not that that has anything to do with my reading, but there have definitely been days I chose watching Encanto again over reading a book so… maybe it does?

Either way, let’s start of by going over what books I did read in January 2022!

Books Read

Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page

Book: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Rating: ★★★★★

Thoughts: I kicked off the year with quite a banger! I finally read These Violent Delights and I absolutely loved it. It was an action-packed, emotional beginning to what is promising to be an epic reimagining of Romeo & Juliet. I loved the vivid feel of the world and Juliette was incredible character. Roma was pretty alright, too, lol. I can’t wait to read the sequel!

Book: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Rating: ★★★★

Thoughts: I did it, y’all. I caved to the peer pressure and I read The Love Hypothesis. I’m happy to report that I really enjoyed it, as well! Was a tad be unrealistic? Sure. But did I have a lot of fun while reading it? Absolutely! Also, Olive needs better friends, I’m just saying. The amount of cringey things she did just because her best friend kept pushing her into PDA situations was just… yikes. Still, this was a fun read and I’m glad I picked it up.

Book: Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Rating: ★★★

Thoughts: This was an interesting horror novella that would have been much better if the ghost had been more present. Which is saying something, since the ghost is quite murderous! I just did not care about any of the characters in this book. The spooky stuff, however, was on point! Give me more of that and I would’ve been happy. Overall, this was a good, quick read.

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The 12 Challenge: 12 months, 12 books, 12 friends

kerrimcbooknerd13 Comments

Hello, reader!

If you spend anytime in the online bookish community, you probably already know what this post is about. You probably saw a certain graphic floating around the internet at the beginning of 2022. If not, let me give you a peek at the beautiful template made by @shadowbooker over on Instagram!

Image

This graphic/challenge prompts you to read 12 books that have been recommended to you by 12 friends. It sounded like fun (and was literally everywhere), so I figured I would give it a shot! So, through a mix of both online and IRL friends and family, I cobbled together a TBR of twelve recommendations that I wish to read in 2022.

My 12 Challenge

First, I want to say “Thank you!” to everyone who gave me a recommendation! I made sure to ask for books beyond my usual SFF realm and y’all certainly delivered. I think I have a good mix of SFF, mystery/thriller, and romance going on here and that’s exactly what I asked for. I do love my fantasy and science fiction, but 2022 feels like a good year to try and branch out a little more. That being said, let’s take a look at the books that I ended up choosing from all your wonderful recommendations ❤

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2022 Reading Goals

kerrimcbooknerd7 Comments

Hello, reader!

We’ve made it to 2022 mostly intact, which is nothing to sneeze at these days. Now that we’re here, I figured it was time to share my reading goals for this new year. I realized, as I was preparing to write this post, that I never made a 2021 reading goals post. It’s not that I didn’t have anything I was striving towards, reading-wise, but after the year that was 2020, I wasn’t feeling putting anymore pressure on myself.

Now, you’re probably thinking “Why would sharing your goals put pressure on you?” And the only answer is because of who I am as a person 😂 The need to seem On Top Of Things is real in Kerri-land, so putting goals out there for people to see makes my brain see them as something I have to do. But 2022 is the year that I’m trying to be much kinder to myself. I’m trying to look at these goals as something fun, not like they’re chores. As goals that would be cool to achieve, but won’t send me into a shame-spiral if I don’t quite get there. It’s… a work in progress, lol.

That being said, I’ve only set myself a few reading/bookish goals this year that I think I quite attainable. Let’s take a look at what I have in mind for 2022!

My Main Bookish Goals

As I mentioned, I don’t have a ton of bookish goals I’m focusing on this year. I think that will help me not only focus to achieve the goals I’ve set, but not stress myself out too much in 2022. I was a ball of stress by the end of last year and it was not fun. So I’ve picked out four goals that I’m hoping to focus on throughout the year:

#1. Read more of my owned TBR.

Ya girl has… a lot of books that I own, but have not read. Like…

My overstuffed TBR bookcase

A lot. And that’s just the bookcase! There are three stacks in my office that aren’t included in this picture! So my main focus for 2022 is to the actually read some of these before adding even more books to this fire hazard.

And maybe get a new bookcase.

First, though, I’m gonna read more of my owned books! These are all books that I bought because I truly wanted to read them at some point, but they’ve all been neglected for newer, shinier books. I really got caught up in the new release hype last year which is how my owned yet unread library has grown so monstrous. My plan for right now is no new books until I’ve read a significant portion of my owned library. The only exception to that rule is my Illumicrate subscription (which is already paid for since I pay every 6 months) and my Book of the Month subscription (which I’m going to limit to just my BotM pick… no add-ons!). I have yet to decided what a “significant portion” entails because I have yet to actually count the number of books that encompass my owned TBR.

Mostly cause I’m scared 😅

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May 2020 Wrap Up

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May Wrap Up

Hello, reader!

Before I dive into my May wrap up, I’m going to take a moment to once again share the link for the #BlackLivesMatter carrd. I know that things on the internet will eventually go back to “normal”, but this is something that we can’t afford to forget about. At least I know I can’t. We’re fighting the long fight, here, and I hope you all stay in the fight with us. That being said, don’t forget to take care of you and your mental health, as well!

Now, surprisingly, I read more last month than I have in the three previous months and I am shocked! I read seven books and I have no idea how I managed that! Well, actually, I have some idea. Mainly audiobooks, those beautiful, time-saving creations 💕 I listened to quite a few audiobooks in May and it definitely bumped up my numbers! And I read two new favorites!

But, before I get ahead of myself, let’s get into the actual wrap up 😉

Books Read

Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page

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Book Blogger Hop: Jan 10 – 16

kerrimcbooknerd1 Comment

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!

This Week’s Question

Image by Coffee Addicted Writer
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