Hello Fiction Dwellers!

It is the month of December, the last month of 2021, and I am internally panicking. The main reason is that how fast this year passed. Since I quit my retail job there is a sense of freedom I gained from the pressures of doing something I don’t particularly like to something that I am passionate about. The amount of books and reading pace have significantly increased so I have read a few books that I’ve always wanted to read. To end this year I am quite ambitiously as I am 10 books away from reaching 100 books read in the year of 2021. I basically doubled the amount of books I’ve read from last year. Now that 2021 is coming to a close, I can’t help but think ahead and start planning my 2022 reading goals. For now though let’s rewind a bit and end the year with a bang by answering a few questions surrounding my plans to end the year with this book tag!

Before I dive in into the prompts, this post is a tag that is created by the booktuber, Ariel Bissett. Here is the video if you want to watch it and prompts if you want to share your end of year goals.

Prompts

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?
Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?
Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?
What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?
Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favourite book of the year?
Have you already started making reading plans for next year?

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

There are a couple of books that comes to mind reading the question. First, The Way of Kings, the first book to the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. All year long I’ve been hyping myself up that I will read The Way of Kings within this year but here we are, it’s December, and I am not sure I will be finishing it before the year ends. I’ve read 10% of it and I’m going to put it here for a reminder to myself that I need to get my sh*t together in 2022. Second, In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu. For this novella, that’s recommended to me by my friend Sen, I am confident I can include it in my potential reads for December. I tried reading it back in October but I was busy vacation-ing and that I was not in the mood for a particular type of fantasy so I paused it. It all comes down to my mood for me, I am mood reader through and through so I hope I can read it this month. It’s a short book too! So I’m definitely going to prioritize for Sen.

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

The thing about Autumn is it doesn’t happen in my country. There is only hot, very hot, wet, and very wet here in Indonesia. But I do associate the months of October to December as the months when the country is cloudy and gloomy. I’ll count it as autumn. For books wise, looking at the books I have (both physical books and eBooks) the book that can transition me to the wet months of South East Asia is probably The Green Bone Saga. Fonda Lee’s world building captured that rainy Asian metropolis and besides Kekon is a dear place in my heart. Janloon specifically! I am probably biased on this but Jade Legacy just released 30th November 2021 and I just got the audiobook narrated by Andrew Kishino. I want to read the quotes I highlighted on my ARC enunciated and articulated with emotion that will grip me even harder than when I read the eBook ARC. So, my pick is Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee.

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

All of the books I’ve anticipated to be released have released but if I have to pick it’s probably the Seven Seas edition of Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù novels. I’ve been anticipating this since the day it was announced, the first books of all the series : Heaven Official’s Blessing, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and The Scum Villain’s Self Saving System will be released December, 14th 2021.

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

This is very tricky. There are so many books I want to read before the end of the year. I can’t help but feel conflicted by the temptations of reading what ever I want and reaching my goal of 100 books. I can narrow it down to three books though! I’ve been wanting to read self published books so I’m happy to include a couple on my priority list.

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

I’m going to say no. Because this year’s contenders are just mind-blowingly crazy. I’ve read a lot of good books this year and I think it’s my best reading year in my lifetime. It may sound like I am exaggerating but it is true. Just looking at all the books on my 2021 reads Goodreads shelf is enough testament of how good this reading year is. Be sure to look out for my yearly wrap up in which I will be picking the best of the best amongst all the good books I’ve read in 2021! 🙂

6. Have you already started making reading plans for next year?

For 2022, I plan to read at 50-75 books. I don’t want to reach the same goal I have this year because I know myself that if I start setting up high expectations I will perish from internalized pressure. Then I would like to finish a few series I’ve started and read books by authors I’ve been pining over such as : N. K. Jemisin, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, Jen Williams, Dyrk Ashton, June Hur, etc. I have all of their books but for some reason I just can’t seem to read them and I am determined to changed that. Next, I want to cut the book buying especially for new releases. As a blogger I come across a whole lot of ARCs so I am going to promise myself to read the ARC first then consider buying the book or pre ordering especially for young adult books. Those tempting pretty covers and pre order goods though they look good they don’t reflect my rating at all. Since I acquired a Kindle I’ve been reading a lot of eBooks and it really helped me to push myself to read more. I want to go harder and be stricter with myself when it comes to book buying.