Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag // 2021

I loved doing this tag last year. It lets me look back and see how my reading has been going this first half of the year. I just looked at my last year's post and I didn't realize I read some favorite books that fast into the year! So let's see what this year's got.

Best book you've read so far in 2021

I chose three last time and I'm sticking with tradition. The Lager Queen of Minnesota is a multi generational story about greed, hardwork, and making beer. Let's Call It a Doomsday has an anxious main character that feels like she's not good enough and that the world is ending... soon. Remote Control is about a girl who gains powers to kill people. I loved all of them and highly recommend them. It is a bit sad to see that all of my best books so far this year were in the very beginning. I'll need to step up my book choices!

I've read four sequels so far this year. It's funny to see that the same series won best sequel two years in a row. I absolutely love Witch Hat Atelier. The characters, plot, and art are all so wonderful. If you like manga you need to check this out. It's about this young girl who gets mixed up in magic and becomes a part of this magical world as she tries to learn enough to undo a mistake.

New release you haven't read yet, but want to

I am so beyond excited to read Finlay Donovan is Killing It and Dial A for Aunties! They are finally both in my library system so I hope to get to them soon. It's interesting that they are both mystery comedies. An unusual niche genre that I'm so interested in because I just want to laugh when I read sometimes. I usually read books containing serious topics so I want some of those more lighthearted books in my life.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

The Other Me has a theme that I usually avoid - time travel. But I think I am getting over that irrational fear. The premise sounds really cool. I love the idea of having an alternative life and exploring where that pinnacle choice could have taken you. Gearbreakers has mecha and for a 90's girl that grew up with two older brothers that sounds like so much fun. 

This has been a weird year of reading. I always think the books I end up reading to be very different to everyone else's but it truly feels like it this year. My first book of the year, Aurora Burning, wasn't that great. We spent too much time in a certain area and a certain romance built up too fast. Hakumei and Mikochi Vol. 8 wasn't as good as the others. There was a whole chapter on smoking and having a grandparent who died of secondhand smoke that's just not cool with me. The Night She Fell was just so very weird. It went completely left field and got tedious. 

Two of the biggest surprises for me had to be Let's Call It a Doomsday and What Kind of Woman. I picked up the former because I had read a book by her before that I really enjoyed. I had such a good time with this contemporary mental health/religious story. I felt very seen and I think I just read it at the right time. I did a poetry book reading experiment and What Kind of Woman was my favorite. It had the most memorable poems that I would read again. As a non poetry reader that's saying a lot.

I don't really have a favorite new author. I read new authors mostly but I will say that I loved Nnedi Okorafor's writing the most based on my reading so far this year. Remote Control is a completely different type of book than I've ever read before and the writing felt almost lyrical. It was beautiful.

Qifrey (Witch Hat Atelier) when he takes off his little cape/robe thing and is getting ready to get to work on his magic, is the cutest person ever. If I had a teacher like him I wouldn't be able to concentrate 😅. 

I loved Silas, the Pumpkin Head, because he was so exaggerated with his features and he was really sweetly into a cause that we would find ridiculous in real life - pumpkin equality. I also loved Diana who made bad choices but still made up for them. She was always trying to be a good granddaughter and became an incredible beermaker.

This is kind of a cheat answer but The Unexpected Everything made me cry the most. It was a reread for me and I absolutely love the ending scene with the two main characters. It makes me so happy every time but also really makes me cry... of happiness!

I'm the Catlords' Manservant isn't the best book but it made me chuckle. I think I just read it at the perfect time. I wish there was more character development but I also really had fun. I was and am struggling with a reading slump so this was a great pick me up. 

Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)

I've bought a few ebooks this year and Boneset & Feathers is by far the prettiest. I love the hues of orange, yellow, and red. Once I get out of this reading slump I will have to pick this up.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

By the end of the year I want to have read Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower because I loved anything fairytale so it fits into that theme pretty nicely. I love that she's trying to figure out how to rescue herself with a little help. And that cover is calling to me. I want to read A Girl Like Her because this is the one romance that I am consistently wanting to read. I really love the backstory and this is set in a small town which is one of my favorite themes in books. There is just something about it that makes me want to read it no matter what by the end of the year.

What are your answers to these questions? 

What do you need to read by the end of the year? 

What have been your favorite books so far?