Melodious Books

2020 is Rough.

I think this is something we can all agree on. There has been a lot of different kinds of energy this year; both in the book community and everywhere else. Miss Corona has stopped by to pay us a visit, which seems to be the spotlight of the year (despite people thinking she is gone now, which she is not). Murder hornets were an episode of 2020 that seemingly got cancelled, since we haven't heard or seen them since the "arrived." And the IMPORTANT and RELEVANT Racial Movements happening all over the world in support of Black Lives Matter. We are realizing that the world needs to change.

Justice for Elijah McClain change.org/ElijahMcClain

Justice for Breonna Taylor change.org/JusticeforBreonnaTaylor

It feels like 2020 has been a decade in itself, yet we are only six months into the year.

Half way. That means it is time to see what has happened bookishly through the first half of the year and what is yet to come!

1. How Much Have You Read?

I have read 26 books this year! Which means I am on track to meet my goal of reading 50 books this year! Quarantine definitely helped with this one. I'm hoping once school starts up again I don't lose my vibe.

2. What Have You Been Reading?

I love statistics and sharing them with others to the point that it annoys them.

I've read 14 physical books, 7 digital books and 5 audiobooks so far.

22 of those being fiction while 4 are nonfiction.

I've read 11 adult books, 11 young adult books and 4 children/middle grade books.

I've read 11 books off of my owned TBR, 2 books purchased in 2020, 5 library books, 7 advanced readers copies, and 1 gifted book.

When it comes to genre I've read,

7 general fiction, 5 romance, 4 fantasy, 2 science fiction, 2 historical, 1 mystery, 1 classic, 1 general nonfiction, 1 memoir, 1 nature/science and 1 self-help.

3. Best Book You've Read So Far in 2020

So far I've added 4 books to my all time favorites shelf this year! I'm hoping to add more as the year goes on!

4. Best Sequel You've Read So Far in 2020

Considering I've only read two additions to a series so far this year, I only have two choices: Both books from The Raven Cycle.

I would have to go with Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater which is the third book in The Raven Cycle.

5. New Release You Haven't Read Yet, But Want To

There are many books and too little time. And these are all new releases I hope to read this year! Even though I only own the first two...

6. Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half of the Year

As I said before, there are simply too many books and not enough time. These are the releases that I am most looking forward to this year, despite me probably not reading them until 2021 or even further into the future... which is not good considering I have an advanced copy of the first one.

7. Biggest Disappointment

I know what this is right away. Despite having a pretty good reading year, I have had my few disappointments. But the biggest one has to be Scorpionfish by Natalie Bakpoulos. I expected this to be a whirlwind of Athens and love and beauty. No. The only good thing about this was that it took place in Athens, but even then we really didn't experience the setting very much.

8. Biggest Surprise

I expected to like this book, but I didn't expect for me to love it so much that it made me ugly sob at the end. It definitely surprised me how amazing it ended up being.

9. New Favorite Author (New or Debut to You)

This 100% has to go to Josie Silver. I loved One Day in December and I plan on reading The Two Lives of Lydia Bird! I love her writing style and her take on romance.

10. Underrated Gems You've Discovered Recently

Three that are most definitely underrated and deserve more attention are these three books. One of which was published a few years ago, and the other two were published earlier this year. So maybe the first one got the hype before I was in the book community and I missed it, but I think it still deserves to be talked about a lot more; Along with these two newer books!

11. Rereads This Year

I do not like to reread books, but I do have one reread! However, it was actually less enjoyable the second time around and I lost a lot of the love I had for this book which makes me really sad. Maybe that's why I don't reread books.

12. Books That Made You Cry

I am an emotional person and I am not afraid to admit it! These are the books that (I remember) made me cry, sob, tear up, etc.

13. Book That Made You Happy

Despite liking a lot of books this year, these are the ones I distinctly remember making me happy!

14. Most Beautiful Book You've Bought This Year

I've bought wayyyyy too many books this year. Three of which I got through Book of the Month and the other I just recently bought at Barnes and Noble. Have I read any of them yet? Nope!