BOOK HAUL & the MID-YEAR FREAK OUT tag (plus a 2023 reading goals check-in)

I got some new books! So here's a little haul for you as well as the mid-year freakout tag and a check-in for my reading goals.

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MID-YEAR FREAK OUT QUESTIONS:
1. Best book you’ve read so far this year?
2. Best sequel you've read so far this year?
3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to?
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?
5. Biggest disappointment?
6. Biggest surprise?
7. Favorite new (debut or new-to-you) author?
8. Newest fictional crush?
9. Newest favorite character?
10. Book that made you cry?
11. Book that made you happy?
12. Most beautiful book you've received or bought so far this year?
13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

MENTIONED:
@novelideea

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00:00 - intro
00:28 - book mail
02:57 - Book Outlet haul
10:15 - mid-year freak out tag
17:40 - goal check-in

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description may be affiliate links, which means I would earn a small percentage if you decide to purchase one of the items, but it does not mean the price is any higher through them. Thanks for your support!

[babyalive]

I think I need a Canada hoodie like that, since I have a friend there 😉 😉 I think you’re doing great on your goals! And I’m loving this years read your bookshelf prompts 🎉

[kamidsjournee]

My Ant-u-knee-u I own it, too, but have not read it yet. Our local high school English teacher taught local authors, and Willa Cather lived in Nebraska.

[dwoodw]

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year? It's a tie between Beyond the Wand (Tom Felton) and When A Killer Calls (John Douglas) Surprisingly both are nonfiction books.
2. Best sequel you've read so far this year? Undeath and Taxes
3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to? The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year? Bookshops & Bonedust
5. Biggest disappointment? Before the Coffee Gets Cold
6. Biggest surprise? Reminders of Him (because I'm not really a romance reader)
7. Favorite new (debut or new-to-you) author? Either Drew Hayes or John Scalzi
8. Newest fictional crush? Jamie from Kaiju Preservation Society if I have to name one
9. Newest favorite character? Fred from the Fred the Vampire Accountant Series. And I highly recommend this series if you like Vampire Books
10. Book that made you cry? The Day the World Came to Town
11. Book that made you happy? Legends and Lattes
12. Most beautiful book you've received or bought so far this year? The Body in the Library
13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year? too many to list.

[rachelpalmer]

“I don’t read happy books” 😂couldn’t have said it better myself, honestly so funny though how you said it

[insearchofwonder]

I read Don Quixote last year for the first time. It's so so so long! But laugh out loud funny in parts, confusing and head scratching in others, and over all worth the read, especially the first part. The second part is a little mind-bending because it's kind of story-within-a-story.

[vivianrogers]

I love willa cather. I'm reading Dracula in that style, the little books. I loved daddy long legs as a kid. One of my favorites.

[leanneroot]

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year? - A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
2. Best sequel you've read so far this year? - The Monster in the Hollows (3rd book in the Wingfeather Saga)
3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to? - The Metropolitan Affair & The Secret Book of Flora Lea (it's a tie)
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year? The All-America by Susie Finkbeiner
5. Biggest disappointment? The NEST!!! It was TERRIBLE!
6. Biggest surprise? To the Lighthouse by Virginia Wolfe...the cover looked boring and I wasn't feeling a classic but read it anyways. I was really surprised to find that I loved it!
7. Favorite new (debut or new-to-you) author? Carri Stuart Parks & Jennifer Nielsen
8. Newest fictional crush? I didn't have a crush, but I loved reading about the marriage relationship in A Severe Mercy!
9. Newest favorite character? Mrs. Pollifax & Vera Wong! They are old ladies that made me laugh out loud! I hope I'm that fun when I'm old!
10. Book that made you cry? A Severe Mercy & To the Lighthouse
11. Book that made you happy? The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, A Place to Hang the Moon & the Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
12. Most beautiful book you've received or bought so far this year? I'm in the same boat with the Skyhunters book!
13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year? Ummmm....all of them?

[psalmcreations]

I really enjoy Robert Frost's poems, so I'm hoping you will too! Since I don't have a channel of my own, here are my answers:

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year.
The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and His Majesty’s Dragon. I can’t pick just one.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year.
Angel of Storms by Trudi Canavan. I loved the first book last year, and I loved the second one even more.

3. New release you haven’t read yet but want to.
Homecoming by Kate Morton

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher! The first book in the Cinder Spires series came out in 2015, so the sequel’s been a long time coming, and I’m so excited it’s finally being published!

5. Biggest disappointment.
Shelter of the Most High by Connilyn Cossette. I've enjoyed a lot of her other books, and I enjoyed most of the non-romantic plot in this one, but the romances are starting to get a bit old for me.

6. Biggest surprise.
The City of Ember by Jeanne duPrau. I read this book several years ago after watching the movie and was greatly disappointed by it. I finally re-read it this year, after having not seen the movie for several years either, and was surprised by how good it actually is. Sometimes it pays to not be influenced by the movie version.

7. Favorite new (debut or to-you) author.
Ben Hatke. I’ve read six graphic novels by him this year and have enjoyed all of them.

8. Newest fictional crush [or newest favorite fictional couple].
I don’t have fictional crushes either, so I decided to go with my newest favorite fictional couple, which is Wax and Steris from Mistborn Era 2.

9. Newest favorite character.
I can’t pick just one, so I’m going with the entire group of girls from The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter. I love the banter and friendships between them.

10. Book that made you cry.
Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen

11. Book that made you happy.
Shadows of Self/Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

12. Most beautiful book you’ve received or bought so far this year.
As much as I want to say the Anne of Green Gables series, it’s Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (the Kickstarter edition).

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
A lot. I have several series that I’m wanting to finish, and the list just keeps growing as the year goes on and I don’t read as many books as I would like to each month.

[sandra]

Tonsil guillotine - scary! 😂 (Re In Myrtle Peril.)

[Celestria]

Just added Eternity Gate to my tbr. You had me at Enclave Publishing.

[katiemcneece]

I loved Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh, so I definitely want to read The Lost Year.

[thebookbunch]

I wish every book was pocket sized haha, doesn't matter how thick

[froxisbant]

1. This Marriage? by Dave Canales. The grace in their marriage was wonderful and inspriing
2. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. I thought it was better than the first one though very different genres.
3. I really do not read new releases. Wraitbound by Tim Akers was one I was waiting on but I finished it.
4. The Looking Glass Illusion by Sara Ella. First was very good and I hope the second is as good.
5. The House in the Cerlean Sea by TJ Klune. There were so many plot and logic holes I barely got through it in time for a book club.
6. Mote in God's Eye by Larry Nivens. Just a fun science fiction book with plenty of twists.
7. Christopher G Nuttall was a free borrow audio book and was a good listen
8. None.
9. Honor Harrington though not very new to me, I am getting back in to the series by David Weber.
10. Jim Elliot: One Great Purpose by Janet Benge. Martyr's stories are tear jerkers for me.
11. Echoes of Honor by David Weber. I had forgotten how much I enjoy Weber's books and humor.
12. I got a Bestiary for Pathfinder and the pictures are wonderful. It is called the Faerie Bestiary published by Legendary Games
13. I am doing a reading challenge from Visual Theology which has 104 topics to read on. I am looking for a book by a pastor's wife and public speaking among the 38 other topics.

[NatalyaVins-blueflower]

I read 40 books so far this year.

1. Best books so far are The Night Circus and Macbeth.
2. I’ve only read one sequel so far - The Hollow Boy, 3rd book in Lockwood and Co. series.
3. New release I want to read is The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
4. I don’t know what books are coming out in the second half of the year 😂.
5. Biggest disappointment - The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
6. Biggest surprise - Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
7. Favourite new author - Gerald Durrell
8. -
9. Favourite character - Lucy from The House in the Cerulean Sea
10. -
11. Book that made you happy - The House in the Cerulean Sea
12. Most beautiful book - I preordered a special edition of Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie
13. Books that I still need to read this year:
King Lear W. Shakespeare
Julius Caesar W. Shakespeare
If We Were Villains M.L.Rio
Babel R. F. Kuang
Les Miserables V. Hugo
Nettle and Bone T. Kingfisher

[AshleasBookshelf]

I plan on answering these questions on my blog after I get home (currently visiting family). I now have more books to add to my Goodreads tbr.

[LadyNoble]

1. I'm Glad My Mom Died Jennette McCurdy
2. A Tempest at Sea Sherry Thomas
3. The Secret Service of Tea and Treason - India Holton
4. Sleep No More - Seanan McGuire
5. The Summer I Turned Pretty #1-3 - Jenny Han
6. The Poet X - Elizabeth Acevedo
7. The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies - Alison Goodman
9. Lady Augusta Colebrook
10. Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Geoffrey Trousselot (Translator)
11. Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children - Therese Oneill
12. When You Trap a Tiger - Tae Keller

[novelideea]

My Antonia was my favorite out of Cather’s frontier trio! Be prepared for a couple unlikeable characters and some prejudices that grate on you. The ending is what did it for me♥️

[thebookbunch]

I also have the Arc for The Eternity Gate... I need to get to it soon haha ☺️

[carlyhunt]

I love Enclave books. I am about to finish Enhanced by Candace Kade. It is excellent!

[robinkirk]

I have had so many great 5 star reads this year! How do you choose? I’d say a few are the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. They are top notch life-changing fiction! Not sure anything can really top those. ☺️