WRAP-UP: Reading Goals for 2020

Maybe you saw my original post for my 2020 reading goals? Honestly, I thought I did a pretty good job of setting attainable goals, but then (as we all know) 2020 changed drastically. Despite all of that, by September I had made pretty good headway on my goals (see my update here). Between September and the end of the year, however, I went through a bit of a slump. Finally, I discovered that the only books I could really get through were romances for some reason. In the last couple months of 2020 I decided to really embrace that and have been reading romances almost exclusively since then. With that being said, here’s how my 2020 goals ended up shaking out:

• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• Try The Princess Diaries series
• Finish series’ that I own (The Remnant Chronicles, The Reckoners)
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Kristin Hannah books
• Ruth Ware books
• Reread Twilight

It’s in the exact same place that I left it in September, but I don’t really mind. I still feel like I got a lot accomplished and I think the two I didn’t finish will fit in with my 2021 reading goals as well.

How did you do accomplishing any 2020 reading goals? And how did COVID effect your reading this year?

November 2020 Wrap-Up/TBR Update

This month I officially leaned way into reading romance. It’s the only thing that I’ve been able to get through lately. I’ve enjoyed reading other books, but they seem to take me way longer than usual. So yeah! Lots of romance this month.

• The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – Read
• Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch [ARC 11/10] – DNF 15%
• The Camelot Betrayal by Kiersten White [ARC 11/10]
• It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne [ARC 12/1]
• The Umbrella Academy vols 2-3 by Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba – Read

Also read/reading:

• The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune – Read, review coming
• Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher – Read and reviewed
• Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore – Read and reviewed
• Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes – Read and reviewed
• The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman – Read and reviewed
• If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane – Read and reviewed
• Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters – Read, review coming
• Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane – Currently Reading

Books finished this month: 10, 1 DNF
Books currently reading: 1

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296
TBR at the beginning of November = 325
Books added to TBR = 7
Books read/deleted from TBR = 1
Total on TBR now = 331

How did your reading go this month?

October 2020 Wrap-Up/TBR Update

I had high hopes for this month, but I ended up feeling so slumpy. Nothing sounded good and I had no motivation to actually read. On the other hand, I did catch up on some graphic novel series and ended up doing some rereads so I read more than it felt like I did.

• The Umbrella Academy vols 1-3 by Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba (reread) – Finished volume 1
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (preorder) – Read and reviewed
• Boop and Eve’s Road Trip by Mary Helen Sheriff [ARC 10/6]
• Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch [ARC 11/10] – Currently Reading
• The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Read and reviewed
• Emma by Jane Austen (book club)

Also read/reading:

• Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody – Currently Reading
• The How and the Why by Cynthia Hand – Read, review coming
• Lumberjanes vol 12: Jackalope Springs Eternal by Shannon Watters et al – Read
• Lumberjanes vol 14: X Marks the Spot by Shannon Watters et al – Read
• The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen – Reread, dream cast
• The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – Read and reviewed
• Runaways vol 4: But You Can’t Hide by Rainbow Rowell – Read
• Runaways vol 5: Canon Fodder by Rainbow Rowell – Read
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – Reread
• The Wicked King by Holly Black – Reread
• The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – Currently Reading

Books finished this month: 12
Books currently reading: 3

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296
TBR at the beginning of October = 319
Books added to TBR = 14
Books read/deleted from TBR = 8
Total on TBR now = 325

How did your reading go this month?

July 2020 Wrap-Up/TBR Update

I did surprisingly well this month completing my TBR! I got to almost every book even though I didn’t end up reading that many.

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Read and reviewed
• Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby – Read, review coming
• Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero – DNF pg 10
• Being Toffee by Sarah Crossan [ARC 7/14] – Read
• Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon [ARC 7/28] – DNF 11%
• The How & the Why by Cynthia Hand

Also read/reading:

• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Read, review coming
• The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan – Read
• The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss – Currently Reading

Books finished this month: 5, 2 DNF
Books currently reading: 1

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296
TBR at the beginning of July = 317
Books added to TBR = 5
Books read/deleted from TBR = 2
Total on TBR now = 320

How did your reading go this month?

June 2020 Wrap-Up/TBR Update

I actually had a really good month! I’m surprised at how well I was able to stick to my TBR.

• Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control by Stephen Kinzer – Read
• Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner – Read, review coming
• Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby – Currently Reading
• So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson – Read
• Holes by Louis Sachar (book club) – Read
• Again Again by E. Lockhart [ARC 6/2] Read and reviewed
• When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry – DNF pg 52
• Happy and You Know It by Laura Hankin – Read, review coming
• American Royals by Katharine McGee – Read, review coming

Also read/reading:

• Saga vol 1-9 by Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples – Read
• Lumberjanes, vol 13: Indoor Recess by Shannon Watters – Read
• Stars Above by Marissa Meyer – Finally finished after 3 years
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (book club) – Read
• Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore – Read, review coming
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Currently Reading

Books finished this month: 20 (1 DNF) Books currently reading: 2

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296 TBR at the beginning of June = 318 Books added to TBR = 7 Books read/deleted from TBR = 8 Total on TBR now = 317

How did your reading go this month?

March 2020 Wrap-Up & TBR Update

As a stay-at-home mom to a toddler, my day-to-day life hasn’t changed much with the quarantine/social distancing. And yet. Everything has changed, right? Somehow I still managed to read a ton this month. I’m not totally sure how, but here we are. Perhaps you can spot a pattern in my reading below…

• Havenfall by Sara Holland [ARC 3/3] – DNF 39%
• The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley – Finished
• Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (book club) – Currently Reading
• Catch & Kill by Ronan Farrow – Read
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (book club) – Read
• We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian [ARC 3/31] – Read and reviewed
• Meet Me At Midnight by Jessica Pennington [ARC 4/7] – Read and reviewed
• We Didn’t Ask For This by Adi Alsaid [ARC 4/7] – DNF 18%
• The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh – DNF pg 15

Also read/reading:

• They Called Us Enemy by George Takai – Read
• The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren – Read
• After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Read
• The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot – Read
• Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot – Read
• Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz [ARC 4/7] – Read
• Princess in Love by Meg Cabot – Read
• One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Read
• Princess in Waiting by Meg Cabot – Read
• Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Read
• Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot – Currently reading

Books finished this month: 15, 3 DNF
Books currently reading: 2

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296
TBR at the beginning of March = 305
Books added to TBR = 8
Books read/deleted from TBR = 6
Total on TBR now = 307

How did your reading go this month?

February 2020 Wrap-Up & TBR Update

I had a great reading month in February! With Locke & Key hitting Netflix, I decided to binge the whole graphic novel series–I’ll probably do an overall series review sometime…soon.

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – Finished
• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson [ARC 2/4] – Read and reviewed
• Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long [ARC 2/18] – DNF 9%
• Havenfall by Sara Holland [ARC 3/3] – Currently Reading
• Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimara [ARC 3/3] – DNF 26%
• Lucky Caller by Emma Mills – Read, review coming
• Prey by Michael Crichton (book club) – Read

Also read/reading:

• Locke & Key, vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill – Read
• Locke & Key, vol 2: Head Games by Joe Hill – Read
• Locke & Key, vol 3: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill – Read
• Locke & Key, vol 4: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill – Read
• Locke & Key, vol 5: Clockworks by Joe Hill – Read
• Locke & Key, vol 6: Alpha and Omega by Joe Hill – Read
• Furious Hours by Casey Cep – Read
• This Place: 150 Years Untold (Anthology) – Read
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (narrated by Tom Hanks) – Finished
• The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware – Read, review coming
• Sword & Pen by Rachel Caine – Read, review coming
• The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley – Currently Listening
• Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey – Currently Reading

Books finished this month: 15 with 2 DNF
Books currently reading: 3

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296
TBR at the beginning of February = 302
Books added to TBR = 9
Books read/deleted from TBR = 6
Total on TBR now = 305

How did your reading go this month?

Cooler weather at last! | October Wrap-Up & TBR Update

The heat has finally dialed it back and we’re having some nice cooler weather where I don’t feel like I’m dying every time I step outside. I’ve had a tough blogging month…but we’ll see how next month goes.

• Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes [ARC 11/5] – Read and reviewed
• Across a Broken Shore by Amy Trueblood [ARC 11/5] – DNF 12%
• Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks [ARC 11/19]
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin [Book Club] – Read
• Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley – Finished #9
• Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – Finished!!! (#4, 5, 6, and 7)

Also read/reading:

• Scythe by Neal Shusterman – Read, review coming
• Operatic by Kyo Maclear – Read
• Secrets & Suitors by Joanna Barker [ARC 10/1] – Read and reviewed
• White Cat by Holly Black – Read and reviewed
• The Umbrella Academy vol 3: The Hotel Oblivion by Gerard Way – Read
• Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman – Read, review coming
• A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo [ARC 11/5] – Read, Blog Tour
• Tithe by Holly Black – Read and reviewed
• Valiant by Holly Black – Read and reviewed
• Ironside by Holly Black – Read and reviewed
• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde – DNF 33%
• Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara B. Larson [ARC 11/5] – Currently Reading

Books finished this month: 17, 2 DNF
Books currently reading: 1

I didn’t really realize that I’d read so much this month. A couple of them were graphic novels and then I had to binge the Harry Potter books because the audios all got checked out to me at once basically. So those things helped.

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 383
TBR at the beginning of October = 342
Books added to TBR = 8
Books read/deleted from TBR = 45
Total on TBR now = 305

How did your reading go this month?

September was Holly Black month | September Wrap-Up & TBR Update

My reading mood continues (thankfully) I feel like I’ve just been reading really good books lately and I’ve been excited to read. Audio books have also been super helpful in increasing my reading productivity though my podcasts have been suffering a little bit.

• In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund [ARC 10/8] – Read and reviewed
• Fireborne by Rosaria Munda [ARC 10/15] – Currently Reading
• The Big Year by Mark Obmascik – Read and reviewed
• Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty [Book Club] – Read and reviewed
• Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley – Finished #8, currently listening to #9
• Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – Finished #3

Also read/reading:

• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – Read and reviewed
• The Wicked King by Holly Black – Read and reviewed
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – Read and reviewed
• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black – Read and reviewed
• The Lost Sisters by Holly Black – Read
• The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo – DNF, 88 pgs
• Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty – Read and reviewed
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson – Read

Books finished this month: 11 plus 1 novella and 1 DNF
Books currently reading: 2

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 383
TBR at the beginning of September = 412
Books added to TBR = 2
Books read/deleted from TBR = 72
Total on TBR now = 342

How did your reading go this month?

What a crazy summer | August Wrap-Up & TBR Update

I can’t believe August is over already! It seems like we just moved to California last week, but we’ve actually been here for almost three months. As I’ve been seeing everyone’s back-to-school/end of summer vacation social media posts, I’ve realized that we’re in a super interesting time of life where our summer vacation doesn’t really end? We don’t have any kids in school yet and we’re not in school anymore either. The weather will get cooler but like…we’re in California so it’s not going to get that cold. My husband has been working full-time all summer and he’s going to continue to do that…things just aren’t really changing for us like they are for everyone else. We can still go do summery, outside things basically as long as we want. Anyway, unrelated to book things but it was an interesting realization that I had.

• King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (buddy read with Audrey Writes Abroad) – Read and reviewed
• Descendant of the Crane by Joan He – Read and reviewed
• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach – Read and reviewed
• Color Me In by Natasha Diaz [ARC] – DNF 43%
• Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford [ARC] – Read and reviewed
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – Read and reviewed
• Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley – Finished listening to #6 and #7, currently listening to #8

Also read/reading:

• Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz – Finished listening
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – Finished listening
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling – Finished listening
• Runaways vol 2: Best Friends Forever by Rainbow Rowell – Finished
• Runaways vol 3: That Was Yesterday by Rainbow Rowell – Finished
• Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills – Read and reviewed
• Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob – Finished

Books finished this month: 14 with 1 DNF
Books currently reading: 1

Well, would you look at that! I actually managed to complete my TBR and then some this month! Way to go me!

A couple other things real quick, I finished my Goodreads Reading Goal this month! I had no idea how this year was going to go (especially with last year being a bit of a dud reading year) so I set my goal to 70. Luckily, I’ve exceeded my expectations! My new goal for the year is 100. Second, I’m working on a TBR weeding project. I’m going alphabetically and I’m trying to just take one letter at a time, figuring out what I want to keep on my TBR and what can go. So you’ll see my TBR count going down significantly and that’s why.

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 383
TBR at the beginning of August = 469
Books added to TBR = 8
Books read/deleted from TBR = 65
Total on TBR now = 412

How did your reading go this month?