End of the Year Book Tag: 2024 Edition

The End of the Year Book Tag is one of my favorite book tags to do each year. It always kicks of my yearly wrap-up and is just a fun one to do in December. I can't believe we're already at this point. This year flew by and it was a rollercoaster of the ride. I'll get into that later this month so, for now, let's dive into this tag!

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1. Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

There's plenty I haven't finished yet but I don't have any that I'm planning on returning to before the end of the year. I have plenty for next year I want to get back to but I'm trying to take the rest of 2024 at a leisurely pace since it's been such a hectic year. 

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2. Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

I know that December is technically autumn but it always feels like winter to me. I don't have an autumn-specific book to transition into this season but I do have some cozy reads that I'm looking forward to. The first is The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong. All I've heard about this is it's a cozy, found-family fantasy. I picked it up from the library and I'm very much looking forward to it.  

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3. Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

There's two actually! We've only got three weeks left of the year but I've still got two I'm looking forward to. The first is Glisser by Jane Washington, which is the fifth book in the Ironside Academy series. I love this series and I am about to start prepping for a reread of it in advance of this new release. It's an interesting take on omegaverse and has a huge cast for a why choose book. It's addicting. 

The second release is A Pack for Winter by Eliana Lee. This is a why choose cozy omegaverse book set in the same world as A Pack for Autumn, one of my favorite books from November. I enjoyed Eliana's other books and I'm very much looking forward to this cozy release from her with characters we were introduced to in A Pack for Autumn. I know it'll be a quick, addicting read. 

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4. What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

Besides the two new releases I already mentioned, I want to continue my read through of The Wicked + The Divine graphic novel series. I read the first one in November and have the next few ones checked out from the library. I find graphic novels to be so fun, particularly in discovering new art styles.

The next is Lights Out by Navessa Allen. It's a dark romcom that I've seen all over TikTok. I picked up a copy in November and I am so excited to read it. I also have been gravitating a lot towards standalones/companion books where I can get a complete story in one book. I love a series but being able to read a complete story in one book is a lot easier on my brain right now. 

The next book would be The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I love organization and being tidy but often struggle with keeping it that way. I'm interested in learning more about the KonMari method and if it will work for me and my spaces. If I read just a bit every day I'll be able to get through it before the end of the year. 

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5. Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

I don't think any would shock me. Most of what I'm looking forward to are books I'm very highly anticipating. I guess the only issue would be if a book I'm anticipating turns out to be horrible and shock me in a bad way (but I'm hoping not). 

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6. Have you already started making reading plans for 2025?

Surprisingly the answer to this one is no. The only things I've thought about are the book releases I'm anticipating but I haven't particularly decided anything for the new year yet. I think that's mainly because I spent most of this year completely abandoning my TBR in favor of mood reading. I will be continuing to mood read in the new year and just embracing the ride. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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November 2024 Wrap-Up + Book Haul

November was an interesting month. I did get to read a bunch of fun books. Every book this month I enjoyed, even if I didn't love it. I read a total of nine books in November, dedicated a ton of time to Stardew Valley since the 1.6 update dropped on console, and hauled some exciting new titles. Let's dive in! 

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1. 

Title: The Scent of Us: Part One

Author: Eliana Lee

Rating: 4 // 5 stars

2. 

Title: The Scent of Us: Part Two

Author: Eliana Lee

Rating: 3 // 5 stars

3. 

Title: His Tesoro 

Author: Emilia Rossi

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

4. 

Title: The Spellshop

Author: Sarah Beth Durst

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

5. 

Title: A Pack for Autumn

Author: Emilia Emerson

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Review TK 

6. 

Title: The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 1: The Faust Act

Contributors: Gillen, McKelvie, Wilson, Cowles 

7. 

Title: Omega Concealed

Author: Elizabeth Dear 

Rating: 3 // 5 stars

8. 

Title: Omega Revealed

Author: Elizabeth Dear 

Rating: 3 // 5 stars

9. 

Title: Knight Owl

Author: Christopher Denise

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

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October 2024 Wrap-Up

October 2024 Book Haul

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I picked up four books this month, one of which was free. I'm pretty happy with the haul this month. It was a lot smaller which I'm happy about and all the titles are ones I'm really excited to have on my shelves. Three of them I've read already and loved (and just didn't have copies). Let's dive in!

Up first, my stepsister gave me her paperback copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. She picked up a hardcover in October whereas I'm working on collecting the paperbacks so she handed it off to me. Now, don't come for my reader card for what I'm about to say next...I've actually not read the entirety of the series. I read The Hunger Games in middle school but had to return the sequel before I finished it. I just...never finished the trilogy after that. With a new book coming out in the spring, I figured it's time I finally read the rest of the series since I do love the movies. 

Then I picked up Lights Out by Navessa Allen. I've seen this book around a lot and it looks so good. The hold on Libby is several months, though, and my local library doesn't have a physical copy. So I decided to grab this one so I can read it ASAP. All I know is dark romcom? Like the subject matter is dark but it's written in a comedic way that everyone keeps raving about.

I also picked up two Ali Hazelwood books: Love on the Brain and Not In Love. I've read and loved both of these through Libby. I knew I wanted to eventually pick up copies for my shelf but I wanted to wait until I saw a good deal on these. I found coupons for both books that made them 50% off which I'm quite happy with. I'm one step closer to owning all of Ali's books. She writes a lot of predictable but fun romances that I eat up every single time. I love them. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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October 2024 Book Haul

October was definitely a big month for hauling books. I will say I didn't expect to get this many books and I am definitely not looking to get this many books in November. I have been rather happy with my smaller hauls lately but that does not negate the excitement for the 12 books I got in October. Let's go ahead and dive right in! 

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The first six books I got were actually from a local used bookstore that I've been shopping at for ten years now. The books were already a good price and I was able to use my store credit for 50% off on top of that which is rather exciting. The first of these books was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. This is one that I've been meaning to read for years. When I moved back to the US, I had to leave my copy behind. When I saw the floppy paperback in perfect condition the bookstore, I knew it was meant to be.

Then I picked up Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman. This is a novella set in the Heartstopper world. I love Heartstopper, both the show and the books/comics. I've had this on my wishlist for about a year now so when I saw it in the store in perfect condition in the edition I wanted, I knew it was fate. These characters are so special and I'm thrilled to have more adventures to come with them in this one. 

I then grabbed a copy of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Believe it or not, I've only read the first Hunger Games book and I never owned a set of the books. I love the movies and the story, so it's wild to me that I didn't already have them. It's my mission to get a set of the trilogy now, though, so that I can finally read it in its entirety. It's a pretty popular series so I doubt I'll have any issues finding affordable secondhand copies. 

Up next for the used bookstore was a boxset of the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder trilogy by Holly Jackson. This consists of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Good Girl, Bad Blood, and As Good as Dead. This series has been on my radar for ages and I had to leave my copy of the first behind in London when I moved. That worked out, though, as the different countries have different versions of the story. Anyway, I figured for such a good price I could grab the set and give it a read and then my siblings could borrow it since they were also wanting to read it. 

A little bit later into the month I stumbled across The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz on TikTok. I was just scrolling and all of a sudden I saw the cutest, most beautiful little art about a dragon who learns to bake. I couldn't stop thinking about it for days so I decided to give in and get a copy. If I want an excuse, I can say I'll read it to my nieces when they visit but, really, it's for me. And it's absolutely stunning and such a cute story.

Then I grabbed the 10th anniversary edition of The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. The Bone Season is a book that I read ages ago and loved. I'm not 100% caught up on the story but that's okay as they just released these rewritten versions of the series! The core story is the same, I believe, but with lots of editing and changes now that the author has grown with her writing. I consider it the perfect time to reread the new versions and get caught up on the series before the next book comes out in 2025.

I picked up a copy of Stacked: The Art of the Perfect Sandwich by Owen Han. This is a cookbook entirely dedicated to sandwiches, wraps, etc. I've followed him on TikTok for a while now and when he dropped the news about this cookbook I was so excited. I have already bookmarked a ton of recipes that I want to try. Sandwiches are so delightful and definitely something I overlooked a lot in my college years so I can't wait to dive into some amazing new ones. 

I then picked up copies of The Emotion Thesaurus and The Urban Setting Thesaurus by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman. I stumbled across these writing resources and immediately knew I needed a set. It's an entire series of these reference books that offer examples and advise on writing about particular things in a book. The Emotion Thesaurus, for example, has hundreds of emotions listed out with definitions, physical movements a character could do to express it, internal feelings, examples of it in a sentence, etc. I started out with just these two from the series, though, as I felt they were the most relevant to my current writing projects. 

Lastly, I picked up a copy of The Stardew Valley Guidebook: 1.6 Edition. I love love love Stardew Valley. It's probably my favorite video game at this point, which is wild to say as I hadn't even played it a year ago. It's a fun, cozy, addicting game. I play on the Switch, however, so I haven't been able to play the 1.6 update yet. However, that's coming in just a few short days (the same day this post with go live, I believe) and I am stoked! I figured it was then time to upgrade my guidebook with the updated information as I used my previous guidebook a lot on my first play throughs. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here for more bookish content!

To get more awesome posts like this one, click the follow button to the right!

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