What I’ve enjoyed with my Book Bingo cards of late is reading whatever books through the year and come December seeing what I can put into my card, then trying to find something to read to fill in the final few boxes if there are any left. I think this time a few choices could be a bit stronger, and of course, one year this will backfire miserably, but for now we’re safe.
With 150+ books at my disposal to choose from I only managed to not fill in two. But the year is not finished yet, I could maybe do it, but I think we’ll call it and aim better next year. I’ll add that in as a new rule, what isn’t completed one year must be on the next year’s card. I vaguely recall that happening in the very beginning but all it resulted in is a lot of empty poetry boxes before I learnt my lesson.
Last year I was going to move more into fantasy, but I’ve not really gone the fantasy route instead there’s a lot of contemporary, my push to at least try a few romances, and of course my rereads were always fun. My diverse reads are getting better and I have found some amazing Aussie YA through my challenge and through the #LoveOzYA tag and website. Though, having said that, the point of the bingo card is to read widely so maybe I need to add poetry and fantasy back on and read more outside the norm.
I am keen to get into a new bingo card. I will say I am going to up my short story and anthology reads, I did have one, technically, but I also needed a Shakespeare spot filled and as it was a Shakespeare anthology it was a toss up which slot it should satisfy. Maybe in the final days of the year I can get through a Shakespeare adaptation and balance out the boxes. But for now, this is my list and I will link up to the reviews when they come out.
Debut Author: All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield
From Own Shelf: Rocking Horse Hill by Cathryn Hein
Romance: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Chosen for the Cover: Flubby Will NOT Go To Sleep by J. E. Morris
Non-Fiction: A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Aro/Ace Character: The Trouble by Daria Defore
Historical: The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor
Picked Up by Chance: The Bad Mother’s Book Club by Keris Stainton
New author: Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose
Lesbian: Say A Little Prayer by Jenna Voris
Non Human Main Character: The Duck Never Blinks by Alex Latimer
Free Choice: The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
Different Culture: Impossible Music by Sean Williams
Fairytale: The Beast Within by Serena Valentino
On TBR Pile: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
CBCA Book: How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox
Published This Year: The View From the Balcony by Janette Paul
Shakespeare Retelling: That Way Madness Lies by Dahlia Adler
Number in the Title: 100 Remarkable feats of Xander by Clayton Zane Comber
Own Voices: Green by Alex Gino
#LoveOZYA: Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza
Reread A Series: Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde
TV/Movie Adaptation: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
The funny thing about stop signs is that they’re also start signs.
This was the first book I put on the list at the start of 2019. It wasn’t the most amazing book I had read in terms of emotions or how it moved me, but I loved it so much because it is a story that is so cleverly told it is hard not to be constantly amazed at Capin’s skill. The reflections with historical events and reimaginings of historical people is divine and each time I realised a reference, a moment, or a character portrayal I fell even further in love. This is Tudor England set in a US high school and honestly those two things are perfectly fitting with a class system, drama, and chaos. I love that era and seeing it play out in the modern era was an absolute joy.
How to Fight A Dragon’s Fury by Cressida Cowell
Book two of the Truly Devious series and it does not disappoint. It is filled with answers, new questions, a deeper descent into the mystery of this school and this kidnapping and as Johnson plays it out you can’t help but be enraptured.
Pretty sure these graphic novels will be on here every single year if they continue with their publishing schedule. From the A-MA-ZING podcast Clint has once again transferred it brilliantly into written form. The illustrations are fantastic, the humour is fantastic, and the story is wrapped up but there’s an ongoing arc to keep your interest piqued.
As slow as 2019 was, the year seems to have come around quickly again as January means I get to celebrate my blogiversary, the day I took the plunge and started my blog all those years ago. There’s no seven year itch in sight as I make this blog into something which has taken up a lot of my life and something I genuinely enjoy doing and sharing with you all. I have found myself thinking about my ten year anniversary already which I really must not do because that is a ridiculous time, not to mention three years away. But while it has been a somewhat chaotic and often rewarding time, the past seven years seems to have gone by in a flash and those early years seem a lifetime ago.
