2019 MIDYEAR WRAP-UP

I’m not very good at this wrap-up thing. I started doing it January then promptly forgot for the rest of the year because I’m a lazy, lazy blogger.

I didn’t set reading goals for this year because reading goals is a sure-fire way to get into a reading slump for me. Like that currently reading shelf jinx in GR where putting a book on the currently reading list automatically assures that I will not be picking up that book again. I have 6 books stuck in that shelf for more than a year already. Anybody else ever experienced this jinx?

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Updates

First, some updates:

I’ve finally gotten that coveted 80% badge in Netgalley. Yay!

I got quoted on the new cover of Darkness On The Horizon by Christopher Renna!!! I’m so thrilled to see my review on a book cover.

On a personal note, I’m finally finishing that masters degree. It took me four years but damn it was worth it!

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Mid-Year Reads

As of June, I have read a total of 69 book, 17 of them graphic novels. Some of these books were posted on my other blog NIL DIVISION.

Non-fiction is always challenging for me and I am happy to say that I have read AND finished 4 non-fiction books:
River Queens by Alexander Watson – a boating adventures in the American heartland ( 4 Stars )
Ripe: Letters by Alan Semrow – an ode to relationships with men ( 3 Stars )
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe – an honest and raw graphic novel on sexuality (4.5 Stars )
Waves by Ingrid Chabbert – a poignant story of two women trying to have a child ( 4 Stars )

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What non-fiction books do you recommend?

Series I’ve finished:
Trouble Brewing by Layla Reyne – a highly enjoyable romantic suspense series about an FBI agent and a US Attorney ( 4 Stars )
Star Collector by Sophie Schonhammer & Anna Backhausen – a starry love story between a laid-back boy and an Astronomy geek ( 3 Stars )
Bad Valentine by Jesi Lea Ryan, Jordan Castillo Price, Clare London & Dev Bentham – an anthology with the theme of “Nothing good ever came of a Valentine.”  ( 4 Stars )
Mnevermind by Jordan Castillo Price – a sci-fi trilogy steeped in realism ( 5 Stars )
Falling Sky by L.A. Witt – a sci-fi duology with vampires and body modification (4.5 Stars )

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I am stingy with my stars and so far only very few has gotten that golden 5-star review:
The Ballad of Sang by Ed Brisson – a leave-no-man-standing revenge story starring a Filipino child assassin
Leo Love Aries by Anyta Sunday – a squee-tastic slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance
Mnevermind by Jordan Castillo Price – a solid 5-star trilogy on artificial memories and happiness with an MC on the Autistic spectrum

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Are you guys generous or stingy with your stars?

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Future Reads

Right now I’m focusing on finishing all my ARCs and review requests. Many of them are overdue already. I can’t read as much as I wanted to because my eyes are easily strained. The doctor advised me to read only for 1 hour, which sucks because that’s too short for me. So dear authors, I’m so sorry if it’s taking so long to post the reviews.

Here’s my TBR:

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Audiobooks are the way to go for somebody like me who has weak eyes (gad, I’m OLD!). I wish they release the audiobooks sooner.

Are audiobooks yay or nay for you?

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So that’s my midyear wrap-up for 2019. Here’s hoping the rest of the year treats us well!