Mid-Year Reading Recap
My reading stats, 5-star books, and a little bookish tag because I miss the internet of yore.
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Somehow it’s halfway through July which means it’s halfway through the entire year???? So I figured it’s time to share my mid-year reading stats, the books I’ve loved, and what I was surprised by.
(also peep the new Substack name??? more on that later this week!)
The Stats
I’ve “only” read 15 books so far this year – which sounds kinda shrimpy compared to all the prolific lit girls who’ve already read like 60 or 80. But this is a huge personal triumph for me, I’ve had such a hard time consistently reading for pleasure over the past five or so years. So I technically already hit my reading goal for the year, plus I’ve read a ton of really great books. I’ve been on a tear lately!
Here’s what my Storygraph stats have to say:
I definitely have a preferred type of book (depressing, spooky) but I’ve been working in a few more rom-coms and I’ve tried to start trading off between the two moods so I don’t get too bummed out. Last week I made some shelves on Goodreads so I could more easily peruse the bajillions of books I added to be TBR list, and the genres I chose made me laugh, because it’s truly all I read: crimey, spooky, literary, and rom-com.
Five-Star Reads
Happy People Don’t Live Here by Amber Sparks
This book doesn’t come out until October, but I was granted an ARC on NetGalley (thanks Liveright!) and I absolutely adored it. It follows a mother and daughter who move into a very haunted, dilapidated apartment building that used to be a sanatorium. The daughter, Fern, can see the ghosts and is convinced she found a dead body by the dumpster, but her mother is much more concerned with the possibility of her long-gone past catching up with her.
It was heartwarming and slightly spooky story of found families, mother and daughter (and sister) relationships, and I really really loved it. Highly recommend for fans of Coraline, Nancy Drew, or Shirley Jackson.
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
I had that perfect serendipitous moment with this book where I bought it on a whim at the bookstore after reading the back cover, and then it turned out to be one of the best and most-anticipated releases this year. Yay me! I LOVED it.
It’s essentially a sapphic retelling of Carmilla, the vampire novel that inspired Dracula (I have read neither of these which feels like a real oversight) – and it was delicious. It also reminded me how much I love novels set in the Victorian/industrial revolution time period. Anyways, this book features lesbian vampires, revenge on a shitty husband, and … I mean, do I need to keep going? Chances are if it’s for you, you’re already intrigued.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
I really didn’t think Emily Henry was for me, I don’t know why – I think I had it in my mind that her books were like super smutty BookTok romance (no judgment if that’s your thing, but it ain’t mine). However, I finally caved and decided to read this over my vacation since I’d seen two different creators with similar reading tastes as myself recommending it highly.
I loved it. I devoured it in a single night and immediately downloaded the rest of her books to my Kindle. It was like the perfect Nora Ephron rom-com, big cozy sweater, comfort food of a book. I laughed, I cried, I grinned like an idiot.
It gave me like, Gilmore Girls meets You’ve Got Mail type vibes, which if someone would have just TOLD ME that I’d have read it years ago (joking, because I’m certain at least one other person on the internet has made that comparison).
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
I actually originally gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads, but I have been thinking about it non-stop since I read it so I went ahead and changed that. I read it right after I finished Nightbitch, so I was clearly in a “raw meat as a euphemism for female rage” phase. This book on the surface is a rather gory tale of cannibalistic women, but underneath is an achingly beautiful meditation on mothers and daughters, and especially what its like to not get the love and care you need from your mother. I finished it, thought “huh, that was weird” and then suddenly I was sobbing in my bathroom so… it’s a slow burn but it’s incredible. (Though if cannibalism specifically freaks you out – I know some people really get the ick reading or thinking about that – maybe skip this one).
Mid-Year Book Celebration Tag
I’ve seen the #midyearbookfreakout and/or #midyearbookcelebration tag going around on Instagram (thanks to
from !) so I decided to join in on the fun here and on Insta.
Best Book You’ve Read So Far: Happy People Don’t Live Here by Amber Sparks
Book that Made You Laugh: Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
Book that Made You Cry: The Lamb by Lucy Rose
Favorite New Character: Hungerstone by Kat Dunn (Lenore/Carmilla)
Favorite New-to-You Author: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Favorite Book by a Debut Author: We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
Biggest Disappointment: Normal People by Sally Rooney. (I know people either love or hate this book – I didn’t hate it, but I definitely felt disappointed after hearing people raving about it for years. I couldn’t get into the characters and their relationship just pissed me off. I realize that’s largely the point, but it's just not something I enjoyed reading).
Biggest Surprise: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Most Anticipated Release: Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez
New Release You Still Want to Read: Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker
Book You Want to Read by the End of the Year: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Most Beautiful Book You’ve Acquired This Year: A History of Ghosts, Spirits, and the Supernatural by DK. The cover is entirely beautiful holographic foil – I mean, look at it:
