Mid-Year Freak Out Book Tag ’23

I’d intended on getting this posted last week, you’ll see how well that worked out for me. I’ve done this tag the last few years, and have had a lot of fun with it, even if it took me an unexpectedly long time to assemble this one.

I have really enjoyed reading the posts that several others have put up over the last week or so (like Novel Lives, Biblio Nerd Reflections, Pages and Tea, and Twirling Book Princess…I thought I’d noted a few others, too, but apparently not. Sorry if I neglected you). Hopefully, this is half as entertaining.

I think I did okay at not mentioning some titles too often—but I had to repeat some. When a book is good in one category, odds are it’ll be good in others.

1. The best book you’ve read so far this year?

This was a four-way tie that I whittled all the way down to 3. How’s that for not at all decisive? (the other one gets mentioned a couple of times below).

The Perception of Dolls by Anthony Croix, Edited by Russell Day (my post about it) is a truly impressive work. I have not been able to stop thinking and talking about Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (and I think I didn’t say enough good things about it in my initial post (my post about it) . Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor shows that his debut wasn’t a fluke.

I should probably mention Fearless by M. W. Craven (my post about it)and Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman (my post about it), too. I’m forcing myself to stop now.

2. The best sequel you’ve read this year?

It’d be Samantha Jayne Allen’s Hard Rain (my post about it) or Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air by Jackson Ford. A lot of the stand-out books I’ve read this year are first books in a series and or stand-alones (also, I haven’t read quite as many sequels as I thought I did). Hard Rain does a great job of continuing the growth and development of Annie McIntyre, while telling a different kind of story in that same world. Random raised the stakes from its predecessor and showed that Ford was not pulling any punches—it’s one of those that the more I think about it, the more I’m impressed.

3. New releases you haven’t read yet but want to.

This list should probably be longer, but off the top of my head (do note, these are books I own, so I should be able to read them easily): Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson Lancaster, All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, Evidence Pool by Ian Robinson, Blood Runs Cold by Neil Lancaster

Not necessarily in that order.

4. Most anticipated releases for the second half of the year.

The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss and The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher are reflex answers. Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep are close seconds, to see how Seanan McGuire handles the conclusion of Be the Serpent and how she handles these two books together.

Not Prepared by Matthew Hanover is technically an answer to this, but I got an advance copy and I’m starting it this week, so….

5. Biggest disappointment.

I feel like I’m picking on books here, but…

Karin Slaughter’s Triptych (my post about it) was a major let-down for me and made me unsure that I want to try anything else by her. And The Stench of Honolulu by Jack Handey made me reconsider wanting to read humor.

6. Biggest Surprise.

Ummm…how little I liked those last two books?

Eh, let’s go positive again. I assumed (as I always try to) that I was going to have fun with books with titles like Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (my post about it) and A Necromancer Called Gam Gam by Adam Holcombe (my post about it). But I wasn’t prepared to enjoy them as much as I did.

7. Favorite new to you, or debut, author.

Jesse Q. Sutanto (my post about her book), Ausma Zehanat Khan (my post about her book), and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (my post about his book) would top this list. I can’t believe everyone isn’t talking about Adjei-Brenyah in the same way that S.A. Crosby and Oyinkan Braithwaite were a few years ago (and Crosby still is). Zehanat Khan feels like someone I should’ve been reading for years (and I have some makeup reading to do). Sutanto is just a fantastic breath of fresh air compared to most of the people I read—like Abbi Waxman, but with murder.

8. Newest fictional crush.

Lola, the corgi in Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen (don’t ask me why I haven’t got a post finished about this yet…) would be my new fantasy dog. Any corgi that can put up with living with a vampire—and actually seem to enjoy it—is a special kind of dog. Honestly, I don’t know that many of her interactions with her vampire, Louise, really won me over (although I appreciated Louise’s devotion to her), but it was the way that Lola helped bring poor Ian out of his shell/emotional wreckage that was so heartwarming.

9. Newest favorite character.

I don’t even know if I can limit this to a handful…Ben Koenig (from Fearless), Vera Wong (from, well, duh), Imaya Rahman (from Blackwater Falls), Juniper (from Mrs. Covington’s), and Nick Ryan (from Sleepless City) all jump to mind. And if I let myself keep thinking, I’d come up with another 6 in 20 seconds. I think I have to go with Juniper (but I could make a case for all of these)

10. Book that made you cry?

Huh…Don’t think I’ve read one this year. On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel (my post about it) probably moved me the most of the books I read this year. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow could easily have jerked a tear or two out of me if I’d been in a slightly different mood, ditto for Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire (my post about it).

I think this year’s books have been the literary equivalent of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. Which is a line I stole from my ’22 post. By the end of the year, something will change that, I’m sure.

11. Book that made you happy?

Well, really, any book that I rated 3 Stars or higher (most of them for the year) made me happy—it’s why I do this. But I associate happiness with three in particular: Mrs. Covington’s by K.R.R. Lockahven (my post about it), Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (my post about it), and Cutthroat Cupcakes by Cate Lawley (my post about it) (that might be recency bias, but…eh, who cares?).

Cozy/Cozy-Adjacent books like these just make you feel good. These three still make me feel good as I think about them later.

12. Favorite book to film adaption?

I almost put nothing here (other than a list of ones I’ve intended to get to), but at the last second, I remembered that Bullet Train was adapted from a novel. I have no idea how it is as an adaptation, but I had a lot of fun watching this a couple of months back.

and another last-minute memory—the TV show Will Trent. Which is all sorts of okay (which still puts it miles ahead of the first book in the series).

13. Favorite post/review you have done this year?

Everything relating to the Literary Locals series and most of the A Few Quick Questions I’ve done this year are probably my favorites, but I have a hard time picking out individual posts from them, so I’ll go with:
They Asked, so I Answer (just about) Anything for My 10th Blogiversary
TEN(!!!!!) YEARS of The Irresponsible Reader. (or, Happy Blogiversary to me.)
Book Blogger Hop: Are Books a Must-Have in Your Home?

I think my favorite review-ish posts would be (although all of them make me want to spend another hour or so improving them):
The Perception of Dolls by Anthony Croix, Edited by Russell Day: Creepy Dolls, Creepy dolls, and Creepy do!!s
Scratching the Flint by Vern Smith: We Didn’t Start the Fire…
Ten Reasons to NOT Read Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

14. Most beautiful book you have bought or been given this year?

Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall is just a gorgeously put-together book. It’s worth getting just to look at.

The Hardcover reissue of The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson, Mrs. Covington’s by K.R.R. Lockhaven, and However Long the Day by Justin Reed are pretty attractive, too.

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

The lists from my 20 Books of Summer, Books on My Summer 2023 to-Read List (That Aren’t on My 20 Books Challenge), the answers from #3 and 4, and the rest of my challenge reads. That pretty much takes care of the year (but I know I’ll read others, too).
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As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.