Mid Year Reading Progress & My Favourites Of 2016 So Far!

Posted on by Ashleigh

mid year progress

Quick note: I’m no longer posting on Saturdays, since I post so many times a week and don’t want to run out of ideas too quickly. I’ll still be posting on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays though. And if I have extra reviews, they’ll just go up randomly. Just thought I’d let you know in case you didn’t see my post or poll on Twitter!

Just in case you didn’t know this already, it’s June.

I know, crazy right?!? That was totally a secret 😆

I wanted to do a mid-year post, but couldn’t decide whether to do a progress one, or one about my favourite books of the year so far.

SO I’M GOING TO BE GREEDY AND DO BOTH.

But they’re in the same post, so that counts as one, right?

Let’s see my reading progress & favourites so far!

reading progress

Oh, how I love the Goodreads reading challenge.

At the start of the year, I decided to set my challenge to 50. I didn’t know how much work I’d have at college, and one book a week is my average reading pace. So 50 books was my aim. I mean, there’s 52 weeks in a year so I knew it should be easy enough for me, reading one book a week. I didn’t want to add any pressure.

Because I don’t deal well with pressure. I need my comfort zones.

So how’ve I done?

mid year challenge

It’s safe to say…

I’M NAILING IT!

42 of 50? 18 books ahead of schedule???

I literally have to read 8 more books then I’m done. So basically, this summer. 

“Why don’t you raise it a bit higher?” I hear you call.

Well, like I said. I don’t deal well with pressure so I’m very happy with what it says now. Also, I’m planning on reading some pretty hefty books soon, so that 18-books-ahead-of-schedule is bound to drop quite far.

And as for the stats…

mid year book stats

I actually find this SO interesting!

I’ve read 15,967 pages (bloomin’ hell!) and my average rating is 4 stars (though bare in mind some of those might be 4.5 because Goodreads doesn’t have half stars).

The longest book I’ve read so far is Outlander – not surprising – and the shelf most added to is “own” – again, not surprising.

And I have five new favourites so far! I know there’s seven books shown in the 5 star rating section, but two were rereads so they’re old favourites.

favourites

So, what are the five new favourites?

Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander

Oh how I adored this book. It took me about 20 pagest= to know I’d love it. It was really odd.

Yes, I was intimidated by the size. I still am, when thinking about the second book. BUT I ADORED IT SO MUCH.

Seriously. My review is basically just me fangirling.

Basically, this book is time travel, old Scotland, small fantasy elements, Scotland, slow building relationships, Scotland, epic storylines…and did I mention it’s set in Scotland? I was completely and utterly in love with this story, and the idea of there being eight other just-as-huge books doesn’t seem as daunting anymore.

[Click here to see review] – warning, it’s oldschool. It’s my blog before I had this design so the photos & layout? Not great.

~~~

Me Before You

by Jojo Moyes

me before you

Everyone and their mother, sister, aunt, uncle, nephew, cousin-in-law, grandfather, and pet goldfish has heard of this book. Or at least, of the film. At the start of the year, the trailer for the film was released and everyone went crazy.

Myself included. No shame.

And me, who at that time didn’t like contemporary romance that much, fell for this story like a skydiver without a parachute. The thrill was there, slow building, then I was ecstatic with how much I loved it, AND THEN THE ENDING KILLED ME.

[Click here to see the review]  – Again, it’s oldschool blog review.

~~~

A Gathering of Shadows

by VE Schwab

A gathering of shadows

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2016. I loved A Darker Shade of Magic, so I wanted to get my hands on this as soon as physically possible.

Which, if I remember rightly, actually happened because my bookstore had them early.

I managed to enjoy this even more than the first, which I didn’t think was possible. And looking back on my review, apparently it was very quotable. Who knew? (well, obviously I did since I wrote about it back in March)

[Click here to see review]

~~~

A Court of Mist and Fury

by Sarah J Maas

A court of mist and fury

OF COURSE this was going to be here.

Another of my most anticipated releases. So much so that I tried savouring it once I had it. I took about a week reading the first half…only to the devour the other half in one night. I’m just a sucker for Sarah J Maas’ writing.

This book made me want to scream and tear apart my pillow and throw the book at the wall and scream some more. I adored it so much.

Isn’t it odd how the books that turn us into raging creatures end up being our favourites?

[Click here to see review]

~~~

Isla and the Happily Ever After

by Stephanie Perkins

isla and the happily ever after

This a recent favourite of mine. I finally finished the Anna and the French Kiss series, and this one – the third – is definitely my favourite of the bunch.

It’s cute, it’s quick to read (I read it in a day), I loved the main character, and it made me want to go to Paris, like the first one did.

It was the perfect summer read. And I was prepared to tear down buildings if the title deceived me.

[Click here to see review]

~~~~~

I’ve got to give honourable mentions go to Paper Boats by Erndell Scott, Blue Lily Lily Blue by Maggie Steifvater, Am I Normal Yet? and How Hard Can Love Be? both by Holly Bourne. All of these books were rated 4.5/5, but were very very close to being new favourites!

~~~

So there we have it!

That is how I’m doing, halfway through the year.

How are you guys doing with your reading challenge?

Have you changed your goal at all?

What are a few of your favourite books so far this year?

Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

sign

Come and visit me!

instagram pi  twitter pi  goodreads pi

24 thoughts on “Mid Year Reading Progress & My Favourites Of 2016 So Far!”

  1. Yay for slaying on your Goodreads goal, it’s always nice to be ahead. ACOMAF would definitely be on my favourite list too. That book was just phenomenal. I’d also put the first 2 books of The Gentleman Bastard Sequence on there as well. Such great reads.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m still not over ACOMAF, and I read it weeks ago haha! And the first book in The Gentleman Bastard Sequence is The Lies of Locke Lamora, right? I’ve had that sat on my shelf for months and keep forgetting to read it!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. Well done on being ahead of your goal! I didn’t set one this year because I failed so epically last year, but oh well! Goals are good! And omg I’m reading ACOMAF right now and yep, it is pretty amazing. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I mainly do the goal just so that I can see what I’ve read during the year! I love being able to look back. If I didn’t think I’d achieve it, I’d probably lower it because I don’t like failing haha 😆
      I’m so glad you’re enjoying ACOMAF!!! I adore it so much ❤

      Like

      Reply

  6. I set my reading goal to 50 too and I’m also pretty far ahead. I think right now I’m 8 or 9 books ahead of the challenge which is honestly not something I was expecting at all.
    I really want to read Outlander but I’m so intimidated by how long it is! I’m not sure how well I’d do with it with my attention span haha That’s the same reason I haven’t read A Game of Thrones yet… Some day lol

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yay well done!! 😀 It’s great being a few books ahead because then if it takes longer to read a book than usual, you won’t fall behind 🙂
      With Outlander, I’d say it definitely doesn’t feel as long as it is when reading. But I definitely get intimidated by them. I usually have a graphic novel around at the same time so that if I fancy something different, or quick, I’ll pick that up instead so I never get too overwhelmed!

      Like

      Reply

  8. Great post. And yes I know, no pressure . Im aiming for 100 books this year. I have read about 52 so far and I am 4 books ahead. I know by the time the year runs out i will hit the mark but no pressure.

    I have a few favourites one was the Dragonian Series by Adrienne woods (reviews coming soon) I demolished that series of 5 books in a week. Im hoping to mee VE Schwab at the YALC in July, that will be make my summer even better.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. 100 books is incredible!!
      I’ll be sure to look the Adrienne series up, I’ve never heard of it before. And I hope you do see VE Schwab at YALC, that’d be amazing for you 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. Congrats on being so far ahead! I’m currently on 31/50 and 7 books ahead of schedule – but that’s not counting the 4 books I’ve re-read this year. I had it set to 70 books originally but that was stressing me out, so I don’t think I’ll be raising it again.

    I recently bought A Court of Mist and Fury but I still need to read A Court of Thorns and Roses ahhh. I WILL… eventually. Pleased to see that you loved it so much, though! Would you say that the Anna and the French Kiss series gets better? I did not enjoy Anna so I’m hesitant about giving the others a go.

    Charlotte @ Bookmarks and Blogging

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Good luck with your challenge!
      With the Anna and the French Kiss series, I didn’t enjoy the second book as much as the first and third. I’d say if either of the other two sound interesting, give it a try (I’ve heard some people skip the 2nd and just read the last one) because they can be quite quick to read, but if not then maybe it’s just not for you 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  11. Pingback: June Wrap Up | A frolic through fiction

Leave a comment