Tag: End Of The Year!

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Don't panic; it's not the end of the year yet. But, we're getting close. So close that it's time to do The End Of The Year Book Tag. Hopefully these six questions will help you organize your reading life before the year ends.

Do book bloggers still do tags? I feel like I haven't seen one in forever. I'm probably just not looking in the right places. Anyway, after a bit of Googling, I came across The End Of The Year Tag. I believe it started on BookTube years ago. I liked the questions, so I tagged myself. If you want to answer these questions on your blog, consider yourself tagged. You still have a few months before the year is really over!

🎆  The End Of The Year Book Tag  🥂

1. Are There Any Books You Started This Year That You Need To Finish?

Besides the one next to my bed right now? There are no individual books I need to finish, but I am partway through two amazing series. I'm on the library's waitlist for book #6 of The Incorrigible Children Of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood. It's an upbeat, hilarious middlegrade series about a quirky 15-year-old orphan who is hired to be a governess in a mansion. When she gets to her new home, she discovers that her students were raised by wolves. I'm a proper grownup, but I can't get enough of these children's books. They make me happy.

I also need to finish my reread of The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I've read this series several times, so I'm trying it on audio. The audiobooks are awesome. There's a full cast of narrators, plus sound effects. The books follow a group of teenagers who are living on a spaceship after their planet was attacked and destroyed. The audiobooks are very atmospheric. And very funny. If you like science fiction, I highly recommend this series. It's fast-paced and fun in both audiobook and traditional book format.

2. Do you have an autumnal book to transition to the end of the year?

Can "autumnal" mean "short & spooky"? I'm way behind on my reading goal for the year, so I'd like to read a few spooky graphic novels to bump up my numbers. (I know it's not fashionable to care about numbers, but I'm a book blogger! I barely read at all during the summer. Now I feel like an imposter. Basically, I'm trying to fix my self-esteem issues by reading short books. Feel free to judge me.)

Short & spooky #1: I'd like to read The Black Project by Gareth Brookes. It's about a dude who somehow ruins his life by building himself "girlfriends" out of household objects.

Short & spooky #2: Last year, I was scrolling through the free movies on my TV and came across My Friend Dahmer. Of course I had to watch it because it's weird to think that serial killers have friends. I liked the movie so much that I watched it twice. It's a fascinating look at the teenage years of a future serial killer. It explains some of Dahmer's behavior without excusing it or making him likeable. I'm interested to read the memoir that inspired the movie.

Short & spooky #3: Thornhill is a haunted house story that was recommended to me by the Goodreads algorithm. I loved Emily Carroll's Through The Woods, so I clicked "Readers Also Enjoyed" and discovered Thornhill. Let's find out if I like it as much as Goodreads thinks I will. (When has an algorithm ever been wrong?)

3. Is there a new release you're still waiting for?

I'm kind of waiting for The Death Of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling. I say "kind of" because I can't afford new releases, and my library sucks at getting them, but I'm determined to read this one. It will happen! Eventually. Probably in 5 years when I find it at a used bookstore. The Death Of Jane Lawrence has vibes of Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Bluebeard, and Doctor Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. That's a lot of vibes. It's about a woman who has entered a marriage of convenience with a reclusive doctor. The doctor turns out to be a weirdo. Terrible things happen. (I guess the marriage isn't as convenient as Jane imagined . . . )

4. Three books you want to read before the end of the year?

These three have been sitting on my shelf for literal years. I haven't read them yet because they didn't get great reviews from my bookish friends. I still want to read them! I'm just not in a massive hurry to do it.

Little Heaven by Nick Cutter is a thriller about three bounty hunters who are hired to track down a missing person. They end up in a small New Mexico town where supernatural stuff is happening. This book often gets compared to Stephen King's novels.

As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann is a historical romance, which I didn't know when I bought it. There's nothing on the back of the book that screams "romance." Disappointingly, it's NOT a romance between meat and salt. It's about a man in 1600s England who commits murder and then kidnaps his brother and soon-to-be wife. Apparently, there's a romance in there somewhere. Apparently, it's a smutty romance. Fun times.

Picnic At Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay is a classic! Three college girls go for a short walk in the wilderness. They never return. I guess it's a TV show now?

5. Is there a book that could shock you and become your favorite of the year?

Of course! Every book on my shelf has the potential to become my favorite. That's why they're on the shelf. I wouldn't have bought them if there wasn't a high probability I'd love them. If I had to choose a book that's most likely to become a favorite, I'd choose The Toll by Neal Shusterman. It's the conclusion to a thought-provoking science fiction trilogy. The books are set in a world where humans have conquered death. Medical science has defeated disease and old age. To keep the population from growing out of control, the main characters are tasked with deciding who lives and who stays dead forever.

6. Have you started making reading plans for next year?

Nope. Well, not really. It's always my goal to read at least 100 books a year. Other than that, I have no plans. Just read books and be happy.

Do you want to do this tag? I tag you!