SOPHIE LI

Hello everyone!

… Is it too late to do the Mid-Year Freak Out Book Tag? I mean, is still the middle of July, right? Which is still sorta-kinda middle of the year? Right!? Right!??

*Is totally late to the party*

Ahem, anyway! I saw so many awesome people do this tag, and it looks like a lot of fun, so I thought I’d give it a roll.

Best Book You’ve Read Yet in 2017

This one is super hard, because there are so many books that I’ve read this year that I absolutely love. My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga takes the cake, because it made me laugh and cry (and sometimes, both at the same time.) What I love about this book is that no one is perfect and there are no true villains. Everyone is complex and have a story of their own.

Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2017

Hands down, this goes to A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab (the last book of the Shades of Magic series). So much magic! So much imagination! I just LOVE the world of Kell and Lila and Rhy and Alucard! My favourite character has got to be Alucard. He is just SO AWESOME.

The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss is a notable mention. It’s an amazing story and an amazing world. But it’s just… so… long.

New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To

I MUST have been talking about reading The Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab since forever!! This is the sequel to This Savage Song, which I read and loved.

Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year

I am very excited for Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga, to be released in November 2017. I LOVED the writing style and the characters and the dialogue and just about everything in her debut novel Black Holes (see above).

(Oh how I WISH I could add The Doors of Stone, 3rd book of The Kingkiller Chronicle series, to this list. Release date is still TBA…)

Biggest Disappointment

Oh boy. I think you guys must have heard me rant about this one already. My review is here.

Biggest Surprise

The Captive Prince Trilogy by S. U. Pacat is a mastermind thriller and heart-stopping romance, all under the guise of a male/male slash fic. I had expected to read a trashy, brainless novel, but this was anything but.

Favourite New Author(s)

In clockwise fashion: Jasmine Warga, V. E. Schwab, and Patrick Rothfuss 🙂

Newest Fictional Crush & Newest Favourite Character

Kvothe, from The Name of the Wind, because he is just so darn smart and cool ❤

Book That Made You Cry

Black Holes also made my fiancé cry, which is saying something, because, up to that day, I quote, “I have never cried reading a book.” HA 🙂

Book That Made You Happy

Simon Vs The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is one of those books that you can’t put down. Although the subject matter is serious (coming out), the story is written with such wit and humour that I couldn’t help but smile and laugh.

Favourite Book to Film Adaptation

In an effort to research my novel (cough, not procrastinating, cough), I re-watched the Sound of Music movie (1965). Did you know that this was based on a memoir titled The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, by Maria von Trapp? I sure didn’t! The screenwriters did dramatize many elements of (the real) Maria von Trapp’s life, in the name of “artistic license.” Fortunately, many of the essential aspects of the movie are kept: Maria was raised by the convent, and the Captain was sought after by the German navy, and the Von Trapp family did become a prominent group of singers.

Just thought I’d share this fun tidbit 🙂

Favourite Post You Have Done This Year

On Being An Introvert. I love this one because it came from my heart.

Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year

The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich is the only actual, physical book that I’ve purchased this year (others are in eBook or Audiobook formats.) But this IS a beautiful book. There are pages and pages of coloured prints of all the examples that the author refers to in his retelling of art history.

What Books Do You Need to Read by the End of the Year

Oh boy, where do I even start!? I want to read some new YA fiction (like Dimple and Rishi, Eliza, and The Dark Duet) which I’ve read SO many rave reviews about. I also want to read some of the Good Ol’ Classics, like Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, which I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I haven’t read yet 🙂

What are your favourite books this year? Is there a book that disappointed you? What are you looking forward to reading? Do you have a favourite new character?

And I tag… YOU! 🙂