Somehow, 2022 is basically halfway over. Which is crazy. And a little nerve-wracking since I am kind of behind on like ALL of my goals. So why not do the mid-year book freakout tag while I sit over here freaking out about all the books I haven’t read and how far behind I am on all of the reading goals I want to accomplish this year. That’s healthy, right?

Overall, this hasn’t been the best reading year. I’ve read some great books – and some awful ones – but I have been kind of slumpy all year. This month has been particularly bad. I just don’t feel like reading, and it has been kind of a struggle. I’ve also haven’t read something that has really captured my attention in a few weeks. I am hoping to get back into a good groove, but my reading/blogging habits have been on the struggle-bus lately.

So today, we’re going to do the mid-year freakout tag, so I can continue to freak out over the fact that I’m like eight books behind my reading goal and have finished less than half of my reading list for this month with just three days to go. Fun stuff. Here’s the tag.

best book I’ve read so far in 2022

Don’t make me choose! I haven’t read all that many five-star reads, but the ones I have are all so different. If I have to pick one, I think I might have to go with How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. It’s such a well-written, unique, and creative book. It hasn’t been too long since I’ve read it, but it has definitely stayed with me. I absolutely want to read more from this author.

Other books I’ve really loved this year: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, Disfigured by Amanda Leduc, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, and Hench by Natalie Zina Walscots.

best sequel I’ve read so far in 2022

I have only read two sequels this year, so this is an easy answer. Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire is the seventh book in the Wayward Children series. And it is fantastic. I don’t want to talk too much about the plot here because it will spoil previous books for those of you who haven’t read them. But this one was great. Very different than the other books in the series so far, but I liked that it was a slight departure.

a new release I haven’t read, but want to

So many! The one I really, really want to read and have been staring at every since it arrived at my house is You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi. I honestly don’t think this sounds like the kind of book I would typically enjoy, but I feel like Akwaeke Emezi probably did something unique with a story that sounds so familiar.

A few other new release I’ve picked up and really want to get to this year: Hide by Kiersten White, which is a thriller set in an abandoned amusement park. (It’s been getting mixed reviews, so I’m curious to see how I’ll feel about it.) When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill, which is about an alternate 1950s where hundreds of thousands of women suddenly turned into dragons. And Invisible Kingdom by Meghan O’Rourke, which is a nonfiction book about the rise of chronic illnesses and how chronically ill are treated, especially in America.

most anticipated release for the second half of 2022

Funnily enough, today’s post was originally supposed to be my most anticipated books for the second half of the year (let me know if you still want to see that – it was just taking a while to put together in time). So I have a whole list of upcoming releases on my radar. But the two I am most excited for – by authors I have read before and loved – are Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng and The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid.

Our Missing Hearts is about a young Asian boy named Bird. He and his father live quiet lives, trying to fit into “American culture” as much as possible. Bird’s mother, a Chinese American poet, left when Bird was nine. Her books are among those seen as “unpatriotic” and removed from shelves. And Bird has no idea what happened to her. Celeste Ng writes really beautiful, heartbreaking novels, and this one seems like no exception.

The Last White Man is also a commentary on race, but with a magical realism slant. It’s about a white man, Anders, who one day wakes up to find that his skin has turned dark. Which is giving me some Kafka vibes (I hope I’m not getting my hopes up too high for something weird). Soon, other cases of people waking up with dark skin start surfacing. It seems really interesting (and it’s short), so I think I’m going to try and keep this at the top of my new-release TBR for this year.

biggest disappointment

I think this one has to go to Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente. This book definitely disappointed me. It sounded so weird and creepy, which you know I love. And it had gotten great reviews from people who have similar taste to me. And I did enjoy most of it. It was a nice, quick, slightly unsetting thriller. And then the twist happened. I saw it coming, but was really, really hoping the author would surprise me and take it in a different (better) direction. But nope. I ended up rating this three stars because the first 75% of this book was great. I just kind of hated the ending.

I feel like I also have to mention Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin here as well, because it was definitely a disappointing read. The premise sounded to fun (trans women hunting feral men and evading the evil TERFs). But ooof, this book has problems. And it seems like the author is also a little problematic. I did feel bad giving this a bad rating because it did get review bombed by TERFs before it was even published), but I just didn’t think this book was all that good. And it had way too many content problems to ignore.

biggest surprise

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a lot from Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa. I just wanted a cute Japanese book to read for a post (click here to read my thoughts on reading five Japanese bestsellers). But this book just really got into my brain. I even ended up bumping up my rating (I initially gave it four stars) because the more I thought about it, the more I just loved it. It’s such a lovely book with a wonderful message. Definitely one I won’t stop talking about for a while.

favorite new author

It might be a little soon to tell, but I want to say Natalie Zina Walschots. I absolutely loved Hench and it’s almost certainly going to be one of my favorite books of the year. It’s about a henchwoman who is injured by a superhero in the course of her work and ends up disabled. She decides to take revenge and ends up working for the most notorious villain, helping him take down the supers. It’s just really fun, but also has some depth to the characters, and was a truly enjoyable read.

Other new-to-me authors that maybe aren’t “favorite” status yet, but have potential are: Mizuki Tsujimura, who wrote Lonely Castle in the Mirror. Sequoia Nagamatsu, who wrote How High We Go in the Dark. And P. Djèlí Clarke, who wrote Ring Shout. (I’ve heard great things about A Master of Djinn, so I think that’ll be my next Clarke book.)

newest fictional crush

Let me preface this by saying I have always developed book crushes on the weird, misanthropic characters. Mr. Darcy might have shaped my pre-teen brain a little too much. The only character from this year (so far) that I might have a little crush on is Leviathan from Hench. Yes, the supervillain. I know I should have a crush on the cute, nice cop from Finlay Donovan is Killing It, but nope. I have a soft spot for the quirky, mysterious, iguana-loving villainous Iron Man. I mean, that’s just more fun. Right?

newest favorite character

Looking back, I don’t seem to have read very many likeable characters this year. Or at least, characters I liked. Maybe Tokue from Sweet Bean Paste? I really haven’t stopped thinking about her since I finished this book. Actually, I’m sticking with Tokue for my answer. Because other than the pig from How High We Go in the Dark, she’s the only character I still think about all the time. I can’t recommend this book enough.

a book that made me cry

I haven’t actually cried this year, but two books got me close. The first book is Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, which is about a café in Tokyo that gives patrons the opportunity to travel back (or forwards) in time within the confines of the café. It’s a really cute novel, though I think it’s pretty obvious this book is based on a stage play. I didn’t love it, and I also didn’t cry. And now that I think about it, I didn’t tear up like I did for the book I’m about to mention, so Before the Coffee Gets Cold is getting second place here.

The book that did bring tears to my eyes this year is How High We Go in the Dark. I was not expecting it at all. But if you know me, you know animals in books are usually what gets me. I cried over Mr. Jingles when I read The Green Mile. So it’s not at all surprising that the only time I actually had tears in my eyes while reading this year involved a pig. This book was absolutely fantastic, and I would 100% read it again. Even if it makes me cry over fictional animals.

a book that made me happy

There haven’t been many happy books in my 2022 reading so far. Apparently, I’ve been mostly reading sad books about characters who are either horrible or not at all memorable. Maybe I need to fix that. But for now, I guess I can say a book that made me happy is Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. But I can’t tell you why without spoiling it. All I can say is this is a really great character-driven book with a really lovely cast of characters. This book definitely makes me smile when I think about it.

favorite book to movie adaptation I’ve seen so far

I have been mostly binge-watching true crime shows, so I really haven’t seen very many book adaptations. But one movie that I loved (and had no idea was based on a book) is The Outfit. Really not the kind of movie I typically gravitate towards, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mark Rylance is absolutely brilliant in that movie (and I know it’s super early and I’ve seen basically no other movies, but I’m thinking Oscar nom for that one). I don’t really plan on reading the book by Richard Stark, but who knows. It has pretty good reviews (though not a lot of them, despite being originally published in 1963), so I might pick it up someday.

the most beautiful book I’ve received or bought this year

I’m going to take the easy route for this one and say the 10th anniversary edition of The Song of Achilles that I bought myself a few months ago. I have a soft spot for special editions of my favorites, and this is definitely a good one.

books I need to read by the end of the year

All of them. Seriously, though, I have kind of a massive list. I’m pretty behind on my reading goals, and I’m getting a little bit nervous. But if I had to pick maybe a top five books I really need to read this year (and haven’t already mentioned in this post), I’d go with:

The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas – I am behind on my classics goal and really want to get to this one because I loved The Count of Monte Cristo so much last year. The Book of Form and Emptiness, which I’m planning on reading very soon (and also just won the Women’s Prize for Fiction this year!). A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson – I’ve heard amazing things and am very excited to include this in my Halloween reading list this year. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (mostly because it has been on my TBR for an embarrassing amount of time). And Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, because I cannot believe I didn’t immediately pick this up and it’s taunting my from my bookshelves.

That’s it for this tag! I hope you enjoyed it! This tag has been going around forever, so if you feel like also doing this tag, please do (and tag me – I’d love to read your answers!) What’s your favorite book so far this year?

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