I hit a reading slump mid-year and my reading never really picked back up. In the second half of 2023, I read 19 books or 5261 pages, bringing my 2023 total to 53 books or 16611 pages. I didn’t think I’d hit 52 book this year and had even gone back to readjust my Goodreads reading challenge in the last days of December, lowering it to 50, but I hit 52 books just in time and randomly came across a picture book that got rave reviews from Redditors, taking me to 53. The number doesn’t matter so much to me, but I still wanted to remember reading that book! (I promptly reverted my Goodreads reading challenge goal back to 52.)

I’m a slow reader and turn to books to avoid responsibilities, so I spend more time than I should reading and have been telling myself to read less, or at least not get so caught up in reading the incredible number of books that it feels like so many other bookstagrammers do. Quality, not quantity! That said, I only have one new all-time favourite from the second half of the year and two honourable mentions. Anyways, I’m planning to share my 2023 reading wrap up in a separate post (including top reads), so look out for that!

It’s been a very lacklustre reading year so far! January started off strong, as I usually like to get ahead of the Goodreads reading challenge over winter break. February and March were steady. April was finals month, so I only managed to binge the Twisted series. I kicked off summer break in May with a super casual readathon and kept the momentum going, but it all fell apart in June haha. In the latter half of June, I was hyperfixated on James Cameron, maritime disasters, and Bakery Story, so I barely picked up a book. I’m still ahead of my Goodreads reading challenge though, thanks to the buffer I set up for myself in January. Across these past six months, I’ve read 34 books or 11350 pages, of which 81% were by women authors and 55% by authors of colour. 5 were rereads, and I have 2 new all-time favourites, so all is not lost!

Some bookish highlights include hosting my first ever bookstagram giveaway where I gave away one of my crochet love letter book sleeves, receiving an ARC and signed final copy of Yellowface by RF Kuang from the publisher, and receiving a Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow publisher tote bag and signed hardcover, which Cheryne won in a giveaway then sent to me?? Speechless.

The bookish lowlight was the end of Book Depository, rip. I’ve loved watching everyone’s final Book Depository hauls… but at what cost??? For those in the US looking for UK editions, Blackwell’s is an affordable option, but unfortunately I don’t have any recs for those in the UK looking for US editions. Please share if you know any!

This year I read 111 books or 34,036 pages, of which 83% were by women authors and 67% by authors of colour. I spent $116.49 and saved $1,459.61 from read books not bought. But all those stats and achievements pale in comparison to the fact that: I read my favourite book of my life!! No, not just of this year or in a particular genre. It’s THEE one. If you follow me on bookstagram, my favourite will come as no surprise at all: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of tmrx3, which I binged the week I finished my Spring 2022 finals and left me in a book hangover for a month. Tbh I’m not sure I’ve gotten past it even now, half a year later! Cindy gifted me the stunning iridescent UK edition in paperback, which is currently out of stock almost everywhere. Almost 20% of my bookstagram posts this year were for tmrx3, and all two of my Reels were for tmrx3 (here and here). I made origami crane bookmarks with Hokusai printed origami paper (here and here). I bought three custom pressed flower bookmarks with tmrx3 quotes from Page Petal (here) — shout out to Macey for introducing these bookmarks to me! I got back into Tamagotchi (here). I delved into Gabrielle Zevin’s backlist, revisiting Elsewhere — one of my childhood favourites — and reading The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, and Young Jane Young for the first time. And the tmrx3 train doesn’t stop there. In 2023, I hope to reread tmrx3 as well as A Little Life, which I found some similarities with, and also dip into Emily Dickinson’s Complete Poems and Macbeth, both which are inspirations in tmrx3.

Besides everything tmrx3, the other major bookish moment of 2022 was crocheting bookish accessories — all freehanded! 🤗 I crocheted this checkered tote; perfectly sized to fit a few library books, a reading journal, and a stationary pouch; not too big for my petite self and not too small to hold everything I need. It’s probably in my top 2 most frequently used bags. I crocheted this checkered Kindle sleeve with a cute fuzzy pink trim and perfectly sized to my Kindle Oasis. And I also crocheted a love letter book sleeve, which I’m doing an Instagram giveaway for next week — you heard it here first!

Crocheting also meant dipping into the mysterious world of audiobooks. I’m an amateur crocheter after all and need to keep a close eye on my stitches, so audiobooks (and podcasts) are much better suited for crocheting for me than Netflix. At first I felt really accomplished for blazing through audiobooks while also making amazing progress with my crochet projects, but I soon realised that I’m not the most active listener and I’m much more of a visual learner. There were some books in my honourable mentions that I listened to on audio that I think could have made my top reads of 2022 if I had read a physical copy, like Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which I intend to reread in 2023. But the best kinds of books for me to listen on audio were the books I didn’t really want to read and just wanted to get the gist of to understand what other people were talking about on bookstagram.

And now, drumroll for my favourite reads of 2022!

Closing out the year, I read 19 books or 6883 pages this final quarter, bringing my annual total to 111 books or 34036 pages, of which 83% were by women authors and 67% by authors of colour. Surprisingly, I didn’t read too much in December. I thought I might inhale books once I hit winter break like I did over summer break, but nothing was sticking.

Nevertheless, I joined two virtual book clubs because their picks just happened to align with my TBR. In December, I knocked Vicious by VE Schwab off my TBR with Litulla Book Club and revisited The Secret History by Donna Tartt with Jaime’s Patreon Book Club. I won’t hold myself to participating every month, but January’s picks happened to align as well — Bliss Montage by Ling Ma and Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree — and although February’s picks haven’t been officially chosen yet, the way the votes are going, it seems like they’ll be ones I’ve already read — Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and Babel by RF Kuang — so that’ll be a chill month.

I’ve really been enjoying Jaime‘s booktube content, so much so that I made a Patreon account just to subscribe to her Patreon. She’s been pumping out videos for both booktube and Patreon, is very engaged with her online community (though I’m more of a silent supporter), energetic, enthusiastic and thoughtful about reading, but also doesn’t take herself too seriously and won’t shy from a frivolous book. So that’s been good company over winter break.

And a last word: RIP z-lib. Curse you Colleen Hoover fans.

Coming off a prolific summer of reading, this past quarter I read a modest 22 books or 6206 pages, bringing my 2022 total to 92 books or 27153 pages so far, of which 84% were by women authors and 72% by authors of colour. This academic term has been absolutely brutal, but I’m excited for the upcoming festivities and fall/winter reads nonetheless! Bring on the candles, heating pads, hot chocolate, and peppermint whipped cream — yes, I just bought peppermint whipped cream from the grocery store!

It’s summer break and binge reading is now in session! This past quarter, I read 42 books or 12749 pages, which brings my mid-year total to 70 books or 21302 pages (last year I read 78 books in the entire year!), of which 85% were by women authors and 72% by authors of colour. I read one of my favourite books in my life, received the hottest ARC of the year, and was featured by Penguin Random House, which boosted my lil bookstagram to 2k — it’s been a good quarter in books.

Going into the third quarter, I think I want to rein myself in a bit. I’ve been absolutely flying through books and not even stopping to write monthly reviews (trying out this quarterly thing right now). For some books, one quick read through is all I need, but for others, I need more time to process, especially for those I’m too emotionally invested in, which are always harder to find the words for. Maybe in November or December I’ll reread all my 2022 favourites.

In other news, I designed the perfect crochet checker tote the size of three hardbacks. I needed a bag small enough for my small self, but big enough to hold multiple books or a book and some knick knacks. I entertained the idea of selling a small drop (like ten bags, aspirationally) since people have been wanting them, but work is picking up so I’m taking my time making bags in my spare moments that I’ll probably just give away to friends instead of rushing for a drop.