Quick Take: The Goodreads Book Tag, inspired by Stephen Writes, explores my current reads and February TBR, making up for the lack of February Weekly Wraps.
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February has been a crapshoot of a month. I was juggling a lot with school, finding my rhythm after the burnout that was December and early January and also applications for fall 2022. As a result, my blog has kind of fallen through the cracks and I haven’t posted evenly a Weekly Wrap since early February.
So, instead of doing a February catch-up, given my February Wrap Up will be posted (along with my January one) in a few weeks, I’ve decided to summarize my recent reads through this Goodreads Book Tag! I was inspired by Stephen’s post on Stephen Writes (who was inspired by Misty’s Book Space).
Without further ado, let’s get into my February reading habits 👇🏻:
What was the last book I marked as read?
Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher was one of my anticipated releases for 2022! While I enjoyed the previous book in the series, Fine Print, this book had all the tropes I adore, including an age-gap romance, workplace romance, marriage-of-convenience, fake dating, close proximity and a grumpy Hero!
My Goodreads reviews prioritize documenting the book’s representation, safety rating (if it’s a romance), possible triggers, and the ending. See here for the details of Terms and Conditions.
What am I currently reading?
I need to finish Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot by the end of February for school. The book is about one of the most successful revolutions in history: The Haitian Revolution. And, it’s erasure from mainstream teaching about revolutions which focus on the American Revolution and French Revolution.
I had a lot going on last week which means I read a lot of books (hi 🙋♀️, stress reader here). I re-read the first book in the Throne of Glass series in January, so I’ve been stress reading the rest of the series and I’m now reading the last book in the series: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas. I have around 300 pages to go!
Lastly, I’ve started reading Beartown by Fredrik. It’s my February pick for The Book Girls’ Guide Read Around the World: Book Voyage Reading Challenge. The February prompt is a book written by an author and set in Western Europe. Beartown is another book I need to finish by Tuesday.
What was the last book I marked as TBR?
I love watching YouTube book hauls, they introduce me to so many great books that I wouldn’t normally come across on Instagram and Goodreads because of the algorithms. I was introduced to Violeta by Isabel Allende by Jananie from The Story Aint Over (see her February Book Haul here).
I adore the cover! It’s also one of my personal reading goals to read more translated fiction this year. Isabel’s book A Long Petal of the Sea has also been on my to investigate shelf for a while.
Violeta chronicles the life of the titular character through the greatest social upheavals of the 20th century: the Spanish Flu, WWII, the Great Depression, the fight for women’s rights and, eventually, COVID-19.
What book do you plan to read next?
No Exit by Taylor Adams is one of the books I’m reading for @bookclubbitches Winter Reading Challenge. The book fulfils the prompt ‘a book that takes place in a single day.’
No Exit is supposed to be an epic, high-intensity and action-packed thriller. I also want to read it before the Hulu film adaptation.
A thriller about four strangers, a blizzard, a kidnapped child, and a determined young woman desperate to unmask and outwit a vicious psychopath.
No Exit by Taylor Adams Goodreads Synopsis
A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?
Do I use a star rating system?
Yes, I do! I love conducting monthly data analysis on my reading habits, so I like how the star ratings reveal trends in my reading. I rate books in 0.25-star increments. I read a lot, so I’ve developed strong feelings about what differentiates a book between 3.5-stars and 3.75-stars, for example.
When I first started my blog I created a rubric that unpacks how enjoyability, writing quality, plot development, character development, and pace influence my rating.
5-stars • Excellent and will probably re-read soon! Gave me all the feels and will probably experience a book hangover after reading.
4-stars • Great but the character development or plot undermined my enjoyability a bit.
3-stars • Good but the plot and character development were missing a “wow” factor. The book is also not memorable.
2-stars • Unimpressive with inconsistent pacing and the plot wasn’t executed well. The characters were also underdeveloped.
1-star • Hate because I typically find 1-star reads problematic and I only finish them out of anger. The characters are flat (or offensive) and there are many plot holes.
Am I doing a 2022 reading challenge?
Yes, I’m participating in a Goodreads challenge for 2022! I’ve set my goal to 400 books which is a big increase from 2021. However, I’m hoping this challenge will push me to prioritize my reading and to read more intentionally in 2022.
I’m also using the bingo reading challenges hosted by @bookclubbitches to get through my backlist of books!
Do I have a wishlist?
I do! I have an Amazon Wishlist which includes the books I want to buy to fulfil the books I want to read to fulfil the Diversify Yo’ Bookshelf prompts.
I also have a shelf on Goodreads called Gimme that includes the books I’m prioritizing for purchase.
When it comes to buying books in person, I use my mood to choose which books from these shelves I want to buy.
What book do I plan to buy next?
I’ll be buying If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy before February is over. It’s one of the last books I need to read to complete my @bookclubbitches Winter Reading Challenge. The book will fulfil the body positivity prompt.
I also adore Cinderella retellings and I’m really excited to read one that has a healthier relationship between Ella and her stepfamily.
Do I have any favourite quotes?
From my IG caption: The quote’s meaning is the adage: just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right. However, I also see parallels between this quote and respectability politics. Society has long insisted that being conventional (acting in the “respectable” way) is synonymous with being moral and therefore unassailable. However, as history has shown, respectability is a tool of control used to ensure the status quo remains unchallenged. If you can’t tell, I love when fictional books give me insight into feminist theory.
Who are my favourite authors?
This is such a difficult question. I think I have to break it down by genre:
- Paranormal Romance: Suzanne Wright
- Historical Romance: Lisa Kleypas
- Slow-burn Romance: Mariana Zapata
- Reverse Harem: Stacy Jones, Katie May, M. Sinclair
- YA Coming of Age: Sarah Dessen, Laurie Halse Anderson
- Fantasy: Erika Johansen
- Contemporary Romance: Talia Hibbert
Have I joined any Goodreads groups?
I joined quite a few a number of years ago but I’m not an active member 😅.
Goodbye, February!
While my February content was pretty much non-existent, I love how book tags break down the books I’ve read, what I’m currently reading and my TBR in a fun way! I’m hoping March is a better month regarding my blog content. I’ve decided I also want to get into the habit of posting some book recommendation lists!
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