2018 Mid-Year Check In (incl. Mid-Year Freakout Book Tag)

Time for my 2018 mid-year check in! Before I get started…What’s up with ya’ll posting mid-year stuff throughout June? I accept only one date as ‘mid-year’ and refuse to post any recaps before then. 🤣 Anyway, in this post I’ll take a look at my reading and blogging goals progress, the quality of my reading compared to last year, and the Mid-Year Freakout Book Tag.

Reading Goals

• 56/75 books read – It truly feels like a miracle that I have consistently been 10+ books ahead of my goal since February (currently 19 books ahead!!). When setting my yearly goal, I forgot to consider that taking courses on children’s and young adult literature definitely helped!  I imagine I might slog behind again in the fall, but I’ll be taking another children’s lit course so that might give me another burst… Last year I read 85 books. I hope I can pass that this year, even though I’ve got two semesters of courses rather than just one.
• 1/7 books about/by J.R.R. Tolkien (not including re-reads) – Hm. I’m part way through two books that I will finish this summer. I also have On Fairy Stories on my nightstand so there’s still hope for this goal.
• 3/6 books by Indigenous people who grew up in Canada– On track.
• 0/3 books about Japan or Japanese spirituality  – Ah, it’s that goal I’ve had for the past three years but never made any progress on…I do have The Book of Five Rings on my nightstand so I should read it this month.
• 16/20 middle grade speculative fiction books -another goal I may have reconsidered had I thought of my children’s lit courses 😉 Cybils judging gave me a boost on this one in January as I read six of the nominees in this category.
• 1/6 rereads – This one will stay quiet over the summer. When I return to my bookshelf in September, I shall pluck a few favourites off it.
• 4/10 graphic novels
• Collectively, I am at 25/52 books read for specific goals, so I’m on track! 😊

Blogging Goals

My blogging goals for this year (in which I have six months of MLIS courses) are simple: Post twice a week in non-busy months and once a week in busy months (February, March, October, and November). In my head, that means 8 times/month and 5 times/month (4 regular posts + 1 wrap up post). This would work out to 42 posts between January and June – I wrote 43 posts 😀 The balance was slightly off (one post short in January and May, extra posts in June) but not as much as it has been in previous years.

Ratings Recap

Since 2015, I’ve taken a look at my Goodreads ratings of the books I read in the first half of the year, which I compare to the previous year. This gives me a sense of whether I’ve gotten better at selecting high quality books for myself to enjoy 😉

• I’ve read 6 ★★★★★ books.
  • Compared to last year: -6
• I’ve read 28 ★★★★ books.
  • Compared to last year: -3
• I’ve read 14 ★★★ books.
  • Compared to last year: +6
• I’ve read 8 ★★ books.
  • Compared to last year: +6
• I’ve read 0 ★ books.
  • Compared to last year: No change

2017’s selections were an improvement over 2016’s, but I did note last year that I thought I might have been more generous with my four and five star ratings than usual. Perhaps that accounts for the ‘decline’ in quality this year. (I had read about the same amount of books at this time in 2017.) I would also factor in that I had more required reading to do this year, so I wasn’t always in control of selecting my own books. I am a bit surprised to see only 6 five star reads (and one is a reread). I hope I find some more books that speak to my heart in the next part of 2018!

Mid-Year Freakout Book Tag

Thanks to Gabriella @ Gabriella M. Reads for tagging me! Check out her post here. This tag was originally co-created by booktubers IsThatChami and Earl Grey Books. I removed some questions that aren’t relevant to me, so be sure to check out the original tag if you’d like to participate.

The best book you’ve read this year?

Hah, like I can pick just one. But I’m going to give a shoutout to Ash Hardell’s The ABC’s of LGBT+ because I think it’s an excellent book that could be helpful to a lot of people.

New releases you haven’t read yet, but want to?

There are some, but the top one is probably A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano.

Most anticipated releases for the second half of the year?

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

Biggest disappointment?

The Owl Service by Alan Garner

Biggest surprise?

Al Capone Throws Me a Curve by Gennifer Choldenko (fourth book in a series I hadn’t read, but was actually a great read anyway)

Favourite debut author?

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (debut short story collection)

Newest favourite character?

Drystan from Pantomime and Rosa from A Properly Unhaunted Place

Book that made you happy?

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

Favourite post you’ve done this year?

Hard to pick! I’ve written a number of reviews I’m happy with, but the responses I got to “How I Fell In Love with Middle Grade Fiction” were heartwarming. 🧡

Most beautiful book you’ve bought this year?

The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz and Hatem Aly

How is your reading going this year? Are you keeping up with any challenges, goals or resolutions?