I lifted this tag from Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. Like a thief in the night. A cat burglar on the prowl. She never saw it coming. You should have seen the other guy. Okay, I’ll stop now.

We’re now more than halfway through the year and I’m taking a look at my reading habits so far by answering the following questions:

1 – THE BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2018

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – Finished 4/23 – This book has gotten a lot of hype and in my opinion it deserves every ounce of it. Raw, emotional, important and surprisingly well balanced. Grab a box of tissues and hold on for the ride. 5 stars

2 – YOUR FAVORITE SEQUEL THIS YEAR

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling – Finished 7/12 – We listened to the audio book as a family during our last family road trip and it proved well worth a “re-read” – I think I enjoyed it more the second time around. Jim Dale really is a fantastic narrator for this series – if you haven’t listened to him narrate the books, treat yourself to a listen soon.

3 – A NEW RELEASE THAT YOU HAVEN’T READ BUT YOU REALLY WANT TO

My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton – I loved their last book, My Lady Jane and I’m fairly anxious to get my hands on this one. It’s a retelling of Jane Eyre this time – and obviously very loose.

4 – MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

Whiskey in a Tea Cup by Reese Witherspoon – I’m a sucker for a celebrity memoir and this one looks right up my alley.

5 – YOUR BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue – Finished 1/22 – My main beef with this story was that it was disturbing in a way that I was not prepared for. But I was also disappointed because it didn’t feel like the story I was promised based on the book’s description – I was expecting some fantasy and magic and escapism and it’s more like traumatic and heart wrenching and not enough pay off at the end to justify itself. My only 2 star review of 2018.

6 – BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE YEAR

A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout – Finished 6/25 – This sounds terrible but I was surprised to like this one. My book club discussed it in June and I was not convinced it would be “my cup of tea” – but I was pleasantly surprised by it. Don’t get me wrong – this was a difficult, heartbreaking read. Definitely not for the faint of heart. But it was fascinating and disturbing in equal measure. 4 stars

7 – FAVORITE NEW TO YOU OR DEBUT AUTHOR

The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman – Finished 1/31 – For a short story, this book packs a big punch. This was my first time reading Fredrik Backman but it left a big impression. I am finally reading one of his novels now, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry and I’m thoroughly enjoying it so far. I’m really digging his writing style. 4 stars

8 – YOUR NEW FICTIONAL CRUSH

Nathan from The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay – Because, honestly, how could I not have a book crush on the adorable engineer type guy who “noticed her all along”? This is an Austen-inspired novel without being a retelling of any kind.  Yes there is a love story (two actually) and Austen references abound, but not in the way you think it will. Thoroughly enjoyed. 4 stars

9 – NEW FAVORITE CHARACTER

I mean, it pretty much has to be Starr Carter from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – given that it was my favorite of the year, this is unsurprising. Starr is pretty awesome and very easy to root for.

10 – A BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

I’m feeling silly and redundant but again, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Read it now!

11 – A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones – Finished 6/2 – We loved the movie version of this book and I thoroughly enjoyed the book as well. It is different from the movie in several ways but this didn’t bother me too much reading it. I really love this story and couldn’t help but smile while reading it. Sophie continues to delight me.

12 – YOUR FAVORITE BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION THAT YOU’VE SEEN THIS YEAR

We’ve been continuing to love A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix. Yes, I’m aware that this is a tv series and not a movie but it’s too good not to mention. This might be the best thing Neil Patrick Harris has ever done and that is saying something. We’re all extremely anxious for Season 3 to come out.

13 – FAVORITE BLOG POST YOU’VE PUBLISHED THIS YEAR

I’m pretty proud of how my summer reading challenge for the kids came out this year. It’s inspired by Choose Your Own adventure books and there’s a FREE PRINTABLE if your kids need some motivation to read more books this summer.

14 – THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU HAVE BOUGHT/RECEIVED THIS YEAR

From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon – This came in a recent Owl Crate and I was more than a little delighted – both with the exclusive cover and the fact that I’ve been wanting to read this author for awhile now.

15 – WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BOOKS THAT YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR?

These are just a handful of the books waiting on my kindle that I’ve purchased this year so that seems like as good a place to start as any!

Per usual, I’m not planning to tag anybody specifically. But let me know if you play along on your own blog.