Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Book Nook Bits has hosted since April 2022.
I can barely believe we’re midway through 2023! It feels like it’s gone relatively fast, but it also feels like I’ve had so much on this year! Hopefully as we get more into summer now I can take some time to relax.
Let’s Talk Bookish July 14th: Mid-Year Reading Check In
Prompts: We’re halfway through 2023! How are you feeling about your reading this year? What are the best books you’ve read so far in 2023? What are your least favorites? What are your goals for the rest of the year?
I’m feeling pretty good about my reading so far! I’ve read 51 books out of my goal of 70, and my reading challenges are coming along nicely. I don’t think I’m actually going to complete any this year, but I’ve really enjoyed the experience of doing them! So far, I’m completed 11 prompts for Disney, 8 for Tarot, and 7 for Netflix. Disney and Tarot are both specific 2023 challenges, but Netflix is open ended, so I’ll definitely complete that at some point.
As for best books, this is one of those years where I feel like I’ve read a lot of really good ones! Most recently, I finished 6 Times We Almost Kissed, by Tess Sharpe, a really sweet, emotional sapphic romance. Revenge Arc by Cat Voleur was a truly excellent found file horror, and Camp Damascus perfectly shows why Chuck Tingle is regarded so highly. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was a delight. Actually a lot of the romances I’ve read so far in 2023 have been brilliant – Chloe Liese’s If Only You had me getting Book 1 almost straight away after, and Stars Collide was another wonderful sapphic read. Honestly, this year has been so good reading-wise I could go on, and on, and on, but I’ll stop there.
As for least favourites, I was left feeling very unpressed by How Not to Fall in Love, Actually. That and Gender Swapped Fairy Tales are the only books this year I’ve given 1 star. Some 2 star books are Mystic Bonds, Everything is Beautiful and Z-Town. I try not to DNF books too often, but this year I did DNF The Rake and Always You pretty quickly, as I started reading and found I really struggled right from the start.
For the rest of the year, my goal is to clear as many of the challenge prompts as I can – and I’d like to hit 20 for each challenge, if that’s possible! I also want to keep working through my NetGalley backlog, which isn’t going too bad as they’re usually a priority for me to add to my prompts! And of course, to read over my goal of 70 books this year. Considering I’ve exceeded 50, that last one should be pretty easy!
What about you – any goals you’re hoping to achieve in the second half of your year? How’s your 2023 going in terms of reading? Let me know in the comments!
Unwrapping Words 