In place of my December Monthly Rewind, I decided to do a Year Rewind instead. (Partly because I actually haven’t done anything this month apart from cry over unwritten essays and dissertations – May is so close, yet so far…) If you don’t check out my Monthly Rewinds, I showcase the books I’ve read and the music I’ve listened to throughout the year. And for today’s post, I want to highlight the best books I’ve read this year, showcases some of my non-reviews posts and share some of my most listened to songs throughout the year! Similar to my favourite blogging moments, but without the questions and now including some stats from Goodreads!
According to Goodreads, I read 26,224 pages across 80 books. This has probably my lowest reading challenge ever. I intentionally went for 80 rather than my usual 100 because university really took a toll out of me this year. My book promise was to read outside my comfort zone and I don’t even think I managed to do that, sticking to YA and whatever sounded best to me. Mentally, I was not okay and it really reflected in the books I could make myself read and the posts I was making. I don’t like talking so negatively but I honestly cannot wait for university to be over. I have so much I want to do that I feel like university wasn’t really the right choice for me but I pushed myself through it anyway. Anyway, let’s get started. I don’t think I had many standout reads this year. I had initially planned to make this book top nine since it’s the end of 2019 but I found myself struggling to really pick a book and say this one truly brought me joy this year, which I why I whittled them down to six books.
B O O K S
The first is Love From A To Z by S.K. Ali. I was invited to be a part of the blog tour earlier this year and I was literally jumping for joy when I got the email. I absolutely loved Ali’s work and having the opportunity to read such a great YA book that was so refreshing to read was a moment I’ll remember for a long time. You can read my blog tour post here!
My second choice, weirdly enough, was a book from 2014. Gates of Thread and Stone is one of those books that was all the hype back in 2014 apparently, and I just so happened to miss it by a year and it flew completely under my radar until someone on Twitter posted a cover earlier this year and I immediately fell in love. It’s a funny one because the plot and the fact that it follows a lot of cheesy YA conventions made it so surprising that I enjoyed it that much. I do wish I discovered this one earlier though, I know 2014 me would’ve appreciated it a lot.
My third choice is no surprise to anyone who knows me. Sword and Pen is the final book in the Great Library series. I’ve mentioned this enough times on here on how much Rachel Caine has influenced me in my journey of becoming a reader and a writer. Being able to experience another one of her series come to an end was rather bittersweet but amazing. A lot of readers will recognise Rachel from the Morganville Vampires series and the Great Library series is a true testament on how much she has improved in her skill. If you need a YA series to read, this is the one. Normally, I’m very picky over books, my favourites of all time tend to not be my favourite for long but this series has had my heart for so long, I don’t think anything will come to replace it.
My fourth choice blew me away. Summer Bird Blue was a book where I found myself truly in tears at the end. I don’t consider myself a person who get physically emotional, so I was partly in shock at myself when I finished reading this one. It was so emotional and intense and the way music is used to deal with grief is something else.
The next two choices are part of a series which should be no surprise to anyone. My fifth choice is Jade City by Fonda Lee. Jade City is such a epic novel which is such a different book that I don’t often look out for. Since this year was pretty poorly for me, I didn’t branch out in terms of reading choices. So when I saw Shealea promote the next book in the series Jade War, I decided to bite the bullet and try the book out. Honestly, I say this seriously, but this book is a masterpiece. A forever favourite book. And the sixth, and final choice, was Jade War, the sequel to Jade City. “The sheer joy I experienced from reading this novel is something that can’t be easily replicated” From my blog tour post. This series has seriously grabbed me by the throat, and I don’t know if I’ll ever let this one go.
M U S I C
Reflecting back on my music choices through Ask.fm this year really made me realise how boring my music taste. I don’t really have a set genre I listen to because my music taste essentially is: If it sounds good, I’ll listen. Judging by my last.fm, I feel like K-pop has jumped up the list a considerable amount, which is mainly due to the fact I tend to listen to my kpop girl group playlist in between short journeys where I don’t want to use my data to listen to other songs as it’s the only offline playlist I have. 😂
Anyway, I think that will be it for this post. I’m sorry it isn’t as great as I wanted it to be. Blaming it all on the essay blues and third year stress which means the first half of 2020 will not be a kind to me. But to anyone reading, I hope this year has been the best it could be for you and 2020 will bring you everything you ever hoped for!
as told by zaheerah 