The master post where I keep a list of the books I read and the movies and TV shows I watch in the coming year.
For the books & movies, bold formatting = 5 stars; italicized = 4, plain text = 2 or 3 stars (usually 3 unless otherwise specified for the books), and strikethrough = 1 star (rare; it has to be awful, and these days I usually DNF instead). Ratings may shift over time. TV shows are not formatted.
An asterisk in front denotes a reread or rewatch, and for books, [NF] = nonfiction because I like an easy way to designate. Book titles [will eventually] link to my Goodreads reviews, or go to the list of all my 2025 reads on Goodreads.
NOTE: if you want to look around my shelves, be sure you visit my main Goodreads page, otherwise you will only see books read in 2025.
I lied, we're not done thinking about 2024 at all. :P Other posts on this topic can be found HERE @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
At the moment, I have around 3 dozen 2024 releases left on my TBR - after having already read a good 40! - so this is a slightly challenging yet very manageable exercise in trying to determine which ones I was both most hyped about, and most surprised/disappointed I haven't read yet.
The Lightning Circle - Vikki Vansickle: I wanted to read this badly enough to buy it when I couldn't borrow, so I thought I would have read this immediately after doing so. But in my defense, it is kind of hard to get hyped about a summer camp story at the beginning of winter.
Coyote Lost and Found - Dan Gemeinhart: The sequel to a book I gave 5 stars and oldest '24 book on the list, I really thought I would read this ASAP, but it came out in March and I've never been quite Ready to return to this world. I think I'm too scared it won't be 5 stars - I need to get comfortable with the idea that it might be a solid 4-star and that's okay.
The Grandest Game AND Games Untold - Jennifer Lynn Barnes: I'm just gonna bundle these together because honestly, with my level of hype I really did assume I would have read at least ONE of them before the year was out.
Aliferous: A Collection of Fairy Tales, Adventure, Romance & Whims - Alissa J. Zavalianos: Chantel Reads on YouTube shared this in a book haul over the summer, and I have been DYING to get my hands on it ever since because it looks so pretty, and I enjoyed the sample I read online. No libraries bought it and its price has not dropped much, so I think I am going to request it for my birthday.
The Muse of Maiden Lane - Mimi Matthews: in my defense, I wanted to be SUPER in the mood for this one since it's the last of the Belles quartet, and also it only came out in November, so I'm ~saving~ it.
Given Our History - Krystin J. Miller: this one might be too graphic for me, but I'm still SO intrigued by the prospect of a (2nd chance) romance between college professors. Oh! One of my local libraries has it now; they didn't last time I checked. Sweet.
Love & Other Conspiracies - Mallory Marlowe: Speaking of romances, I think this will be really fun! I wasn't reaching for a lot of rom-coms last year, but hopefully that changes soon.
Dad Camp - Evan S. Porter: I'm bummed that the library didn't buy this, not even on Libby!, because this is actually probably the book I MOST want to read off this list, tied w/ Matthews. I love a good father & daughter book.
Slow Dance - Rainbow Rowell: I mean I knew I wasn't going to read it immediately, but I did think maybe by fall, so...starting to feel like this is gonna be one of the ones that sits on my TBR for 5 years while I wait to be ready.
Welcome to the final 2024 reflection post of TTT...other posts on this topic can be found HERE @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
Even though I had a whole extra month to think about this one...I simply could not get this down to a top 10. I have a definite top six (though not in order at all as I do not even have a standout first-place), but after that could not choose four from the tightly bunched pack beneath them. Maybe two -- but not a full top ten.
So instead of going short, I went overboard, because if you saw/remember my survey, I read 141 new-to-me authors, which is twice as many as last year* and a number even greater than the TOTAL amount of books I read in 2023. And that's just a lot of good names that deserve recs. *That's my excuse for why this basically ended up a double feature, yeah.
Hello and welcome to the first TTT of the new year. In the past this has often been a topic I've skipped, buuuut, I'm Fancy New Stevie now who knows entirely too much, even though I had to peek at a few "most anticipated releases" videos on YouTube and this post on Book Birds just to get to 8, with the remainder falling into my lap just a couple of days ago.
*there are some more maybes, but to avoid overwhelming myself, I wanted to stick to books I am genuinely excited enough that if you gave me an ARC I would read it tomorrow. Which makes it rather unfortunate that most of them aren't out until at least April...
Maybe I should add "streamlining the surveys I've done for the past 5 years into one re-numbered, remastered, manageable list" to my 2025 goals...sorry this survey is once again gargantuan. I can only promise it will take less time to read than the...5? hours I spent writing & editing it.
NOTE: I wanted to post this ASAP, even though the official Top Ten Tuesday post isn't for another 2 weeks, and I will simply link it up when the time comes. These goals are pretty Goodreads-focused, I'm realizing now, because I still spend a simply absurd amount of time on that site (because I love it). For contrast, here's how I did on last year's goals.
Ayyyyyy, we're back! Here's what I think I might read in the month of January. I will be continuing to pack in the books like bonkers before I go back to work and find out if 2024 unlocked a new SuperReader state of being permanently, or if I will come back to earth in 2025.
It's here, the final TTT of the year! (queued post, will be linked)
And it's a tough one, because I read 224 books this year. I gave 40 of them 5 stars on Goodreads (though some were more like 4.5 rounded up). I have spent two full weeks working on this post in tandem with the still-in-progress end of year reading surveys, agonizing over which ones were truly BEST, and I almost gave up and did even more, but...I THINK I managed to do it.
I feel pretty confident about my top 6, but couldn't pick an actual favorite from those, so those are just in chronological order by read date. I also feel pretty confident about the inclusion of books 7-9. Choosing the last spot from so many equally worthy candidates was crazy tough and I'm still not sure I chose 100% correctly, but we're just going to have to go with it for now.
As we're fast-approaching the end of this year, I thought it would be fun to reflect on these as I prepare to make a new set. The more expanded version can be viewed in the original post.