Can you believe we are officially halfway through 2019? That means it is the perfect opportunity to revisit the books we have read so far with the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag, a bookish tag created by BookTubers Ely and Chami. Since we are currently behind in the 2019 Goodreads Challenge, it is obviously time for us to seriously freak out about all of the books!!!!!
Best Book You’ve Read So Far
I wasn’t expecting to love The Kiss Quotient as much as I did, but it is without a doubt the best book I’ve read so far in 2019. If you love books and romantic comedies, then you have to get your hands on The Kiss Quotient as soon as possible. You will not regret reading this book!
Biggest Disappointment
Swing Time is my first Zadie Smith read, and it left me unsatisfied and feeling like this was probably not the right book to start my Zadie Smith journey. The writing is absolutely lovely, but the story was definitely lacking for me.
Favorite Book to Film Adaptation
There have been quite a number of adaptations released this year, but so far, I have only seen If Beale Street Could Talk. Although the movie was a beauty to behold, and the story was powerful, I haven’t read the book yet, so I can’t say how well the book translated to screen. For an adaptation where I have read the book, I would choose Julie and Julia. I found the adaptation delightful, even though there were some flaws that took away from Julie’s story.
Book That Made You Cry
Although Becoming made me shed a thug tear or two, Becoming is the opposite of sadness. Sometimes the story brings sadness through Mrs. Obama dealing with the deaths of people she loved most, but I still feel this memoir is a story of triumph. Most times, my tears were from the pride of seeing Mrs. Obama build something great while navigating the many obstacles life threw her way.
Most Beautiful Book You’ve Received So Far
After rounding up a list of books about bees, I received an ARC for The Enlightenment of Bees. Isn’t that cover totally gorgeous?! If you’re a bookworm who judges a book by its cover, then you have to assume the story inside a book with a cover this beautiful is going to be quite good, right?
Books You Need to Read by the End of the Year
Even though I’m behind on my Goodreads Challenge, I am still knocking my 2019 Reading Resolutions out of the park! I have not read one book written by a white man!! In fact, all the books I’ve read so far have been written by women. I am more than happy to continue the trend. However, I still need to read something in Science-Fiction/Fantasy. My two current choices are The Children of Men or Kindred depending on what is available at my local library.
Favorite Review You’ve Written This Year
What makes Crazy Rich Asians my favorite review so far in 2019 is that I absolutely loved both the entire Crazy Rich Asians trilogy and the Crazy Rich Asians adaptation, despite the movie taking a LOT of literary license. Crazy Rich Asians and the subsequent sequels are more bookish romantic comedies that I highly recommend! I am so excited to see what the movies do with the rest of the trilogy!
Newest Favorite Character
When Hercule Poirot refused to help soon-to-be murder victim, Cassetti, in Murder on the Orient Express because of his face, he became an instant fave. I love his mix of humor, intuition, and directness. This is also why I really loved Stella from The Kiss Quotient. She is a close second favorite character because she share similar qualities.