New Mario Kart on Switch 2!

 

Just had to make a post about this because Mario Kart is one of my favorite things and I cannot wait to play the new game. Looks like it’s going to have 24 racers which is nuts. I like the design of the characters too. Better have Link.

2024 End of Year Reading Survey

I love answering questions about my reading year. Each of these books I have reviewed on this blog and on Goodreads. You can read each review if you click on the picture below the books mentioned. 

1.) How many books did you read? Did you meet your goal? 

        📖 155 books- I had a great reading year and found so many new favorites. 

        📚 My reading goal was 100 books, so I definitely hit my goal.

2.) Most read genre?

        🐉 Fantasy- Fantasy is always going to be my most read genre so this isn’t surprising at all. I read over 100 fantasy books this year and loved a lot of them. Such a great time!

3.) Longest and shortest books you read?

        📖 Longest: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson with 1007 pages. Finally, read a Brandon Sanderson book this year and I absolutely adored it. I have been wanting to read The Stormlight Archive for years, but haven’t because of their size. In 2025, I will definitely be picking up more of this series and I look forward to getting back into this fantasy world.  

        📚 Shortest: Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer with 32 pages. Such a great book of poems. I love this idea so much. 

4.) Favorite book published in 2024?

        🐴 A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher- As soon as I read this book, I knew it would most likely be my favorite book of the year. I was very right. T. Kingfisher has an incredible writing style that stands out in each of her books, at least the ones I have read. She is becoming one of my favorite authors ever and I will be picking up even more of her books in 2025. I adore how dark this book got at times and also the balance with the humor. Hester is one of my favorite narrators of all-time. This was a gem that I’m so glad I found it this year and I cannot wait to pick it up again. 

5.) Favorite debut book in 2024?

       🍑 The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang- I cannot believe that I read this book almost a year ago because it feels like it was much more recent than that. It was such an intricately woven story which creatively weaves together three different timelines brilliantly. Reincarnation stories have always drawn me in and I enjoyed how Justinian chose to show the cycle through time periods. I’m glad he decided to go back and forth between the characters and how we didn’t know for most of the book who was the reincarnated versions of the emperor and Dong Xian. It felt like a puzzle. This is not a well-loved book by many but I had a lot of fun with it. 

6.) Favorite book not published this year?

        ☠️ Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut- I have heard incredible things about this book for a very long time and decided to finally read it this year. My gosh, this book shocked me by how incredible it was. It’s now a new favorite classic and I am looking forward to rereading it again in the near future. Such a great book which hit me hard. I will be picking up the graphic novel adaptation this year. 

7.) Favorite narrator?

        🏺Hermes from Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz- Rhaskos and Melisto’s story is narrated by many different characters through artifacts, verse, and prose. It is told by the gods, their mothers, Sokrates, many other people from their lives, and also themselves. Hermes’ narration was an absolute delight to read and made this even better than it was. 

8.) Least favorite book of the year?

        🧹 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire- I went into this book hopefully optimistic. This was not the first time I have tried to read this book and I have got to say I should not have tried to read it again. There is so many ideas here which work and that is obvious from the musical which takes the best of this and makes it into (in my opinion) a better story. I do not enjoy this book at all, but adored the movie. 

9.) Book that felt like the biggest accomplishment?

        💧 The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson- I’m very glad I got to this during 2024 and it feels like a big accomplishment. 

10.) Favorite character.

        🐴 Hester from A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher- Hester is my favorite type of character and is one of the reasons I love this book as much as I do. Her wit is top-notch and was perfect for her side of the narration. She is a character I totally related to so many ways and I adore her. 

        🪴Kiela from The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst- I could not just pick one character this year because Kiela was everything to me. She is another character that I adore and I loved reading about her in 2024. 

11.) Least favorite character.

        🍎 Probably, King Callen from The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter- King Callen is a man who likes to hide behind a fake charismatic attitude and shows his true nature quite a lot near the end of the book. I love how Heather took this origin story for the Evil Queen from “Snow White.” Such a clever take on the original story and King Callen was the perfect villain for Ayleth’s tale. 

12.) Favorite book idea

        🦁 The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix- I had to add in this question just for this book. I love how John Hendrix chose to tell the story of C. S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien in this book. He chose to blend together prose, images, and narrative comics to chronicle each of their lives. It was such a clever way of writing and I’d love to see the lives of other authors in this medium. Definitely, a favorite I will reread, especially with my beautiful finished copy. 

13.) Favorite couple/OTP.

        🦚 Oliver & Darcy from Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa- Darcy and Elizabeth are one of my favorite couples from literature and I loved this reimagining of their relationship so much. Oliver & Darcy are such a cute couple and I adored this book so much. 

14.) The best-written book you read this year.

        🪦 A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle- This was a very hard one to answer because there are so many books that I read that were written incredibly. But, I think Peter S. Beagle is one of the best writers I have ever read and this one definitely was one of the best written books I have read in a long time. What makes it even more amazing is that he originally wrote this book when he was 19 years old, which just shocks me. A phenomenal story with stunning writing. 

15.) Book that you pushed the most people to read in 2024.

        📖 I have recommend Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa and A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher a lot in 2024. 

 

16.) Favorite book cover of the year.

        📚 There are too many covers I loved to be able to pick one, so here are my five favorite covers in no particular order. 

 

17.) Favorite adaptation.

        🫧 Wicked- I love how my favorite movie of the year is based on my least favorite book of the year. It’s kind of funny. I got to see this beauty twice and had the time of my life. Musicals will always be my favorite and I just adore Oz with all my heart. This was a masterpiece to me. 

18.) Favorite take on a classic tale. 

        💀 Death’s Country by R. M. Romero- Retellings are my favorites and this was the best I found this year. I love how Romero took the myth of “Orpheus & Eurydice” in this contemporary fantasy book and made it her own. This is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. She is one of the best at writing stories in verse and I look forward to reading more of her works in 2025. Absolutely, beautiful in every way.

 

19.) What book surprised you the most?

        👻 The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor- What surprised me so much about this book, was how much I loved it. This was one of the most hard-hitting books I have ever read. It has many heavy topics such as dealing with grief, burnout, and the importance of keeping boundaries. I was surprised by the emotional depth in this graphic novel. Going in, I knew I was going to love this story, but I didn’t quite realize how much this was going to hit me. I adored this so much. 

20.) A new favorite author you discovered this year.

        📚 T. Kingfisher- I read three of her books this year and fell in love with her writing style. Definitely, looking forward to picking up more of her works in 2025. 

21.) Favorite graphic novel of the year.

        📖 The Adventure Zone Volume 6: The Suffering Game by the McElroys- The Adventure Zone series is one of my favorites and this is one of the best they have done yet. This has a good amount of the humor from the other volumes but is much more hard-hitting. Really, looking forward to the final volume, which I believe is coming out this year. 

        👻 The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor- Had to cheat again and put more than one answer for this question. There is no way I would have been able to pick a favorite from this one and The Adventure Zone because they were both so great!

22.) Favorite book you re-read this year.

        👽 Probably, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams- This is one of my top ten favorite books of all-time and I always have a great time when I reread it for Towel Day in May. 

23.) Were you happy with your reading year? What will you do differently in 2025?

         📖 I am very happy with my reading year and I don’t plan on doing anything different other than having some different reading goals, which I already made a post for on this blog. 

24.) Favorite 24 Books of 2024? 

These are my top 24 favorite books of 2024. They are in order by when I read them throughout the year and are color coded by the month I read them in. My top 10 are marked with 🤩. 

1. The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang 
   
2. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Haniff
3. The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
4. Most Ardently by  Gabe Cole Novoa 🤩
5. Storm of Olympus by Claire Andrews
   
6. The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix 🤩
7. Death's Country by R. M. Romero 🤩
8. The Adventure Zone Volume 6: The Suffering Game by the McElroys
9. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson 🤩
10. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
11. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
12. Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz 🤩
13. A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher 🤩
14. The Shadow Dragons by James A. Owen.
15. The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi
    
16. The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor 🤩
17. Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan
18. Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones 
19. The Dragon's Apprentice by James A. Owen
20. The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter 🤩
21. A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle 🤩
22. Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers
23. Holiday Heart Strings by N. R. Walker
24. Slaugherhouse- Five by Kurt Vonnegut 🤩

My Top 10 Books

 

 

2025 Reading Goals

Here are my reading goals for 2025.  

🟪 Read 100 Books

🟦 Reread at least one book every month

🟩 Read at least one 2025 release every month

🟨 Read at least 5 tomes

🟧 Review every book I read

🟥 Read 5 classics other than the books in my next goal

🟧 Complete the Jane Austen Reading Challenge from Canterbury Classics

        ❄️ January: Read Pride & Prejudice

        💝 February: Try Your Hand at Needle Work

        ☘️ March: Read Sense & Sensibility 

        🐇 April: Shop for Regency Romance at a Local Bookstore

        🌷 May: Watch a Jane Austen Film or Tv Adaptation 

        🌻 June: Plan a Summer Picnic

        🎆 July: Read Mansfield Park

        🏖 August: Read a Jane Austen Inspired Book by Another Author

        🍁 September: Read Persuasion 

        🎃 October: Read Northanger Abbey 

        🦃 November: Read a Non-fiction Book About Jane 

        🎄 December: Read Emma

🟨 Finish 3 Series

        Some series I would like to finish.

1. Once Upon a Broken Heart
2. Little Thieves
3. The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica
4. The Girl from the Other Side
5. Johnny Maxwell books
6. Emily Wilde books

🟩 Read 12 retellings

🟦 Read 25 fantasy books

🟪 Read 25 graphic novels

🟦 Read 25 books in 2025 from my list

1. Run Away With Me by Brian Selznick
2. When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley
3. Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen
4. A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames
5. Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
6. The Way of Edan by Phillip Chase
7. Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
8. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
9. Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
10. The Little Liar by Mitch Albom
11. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
12. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
13. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
14. Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
15. Emma by Jane Austen
16. The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
17. The Dragons of Winter by James A. Owen 
18. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
19. Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
20. The Library Mule of Cordoba by Wilfrid Lupano
21. Aria in the Land of Wonders by Mia Araujo
22. The Herbwitch’s Apprentice by Ireen Chau 
23. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
24. Darwin’s Watch by Terry Pratchett
25. Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett        

🟩 Read 10 poetry collections 

Challenges

Here are some challenges I would like to also complete during the year, but I’m not making them goals. 

🟣 Buzzword Reading Challenge- Words & Covers

    Buzzwordathon is a challenge Kayla from Booksandlala created many years ago. Most years, I see if I have completed any of the buzzwords near the end of the year when she does a video doing the same thing. This year, I would like to see how many of these I can complete in the months she picked for them. She has two challenges this year: one with the words and one with covers.

Here is a link to her video for this year’s challenge: *TWO* Reading Challenge Announcements | 2025 Buzzwordathon 

        ❄️ January- 

              Words- Truth & Lie: truth/true or lies, lying, liar

                    ~ Ideas: The Little Liar by Mitch Albom

               Covers- Pattern 

                    ~ Ideas: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen 

        💝 February- 

              Words- Water related: water, sea, river, lake, ocean, etc.

                    ~ Ideas: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

                                    When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

               Covers- Skyline

                     ~ Ideas: Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

 

        ☘️ March- 

              Words- Thing: thing, something, nothing, everything

                  ~ Ideas: How to Invent Everything: Rebuild all of Civilization by Ryan North

               Covers- Books

                  ~ Ideas: The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

        🐇 April- 

              Words- Animals: dog, deer, bunny, etc. 

                   ~ Ideas: The First Dragon by James A. Owen 

              Covers- Animals

                   ~ Ideas: The First Dragon by James A. Owen

        🌷 May- 

              Words- To & Too

                  ~ Ideas: I’m definitely doing The Hitchicker’s Guide to the Galaxy for this month because I reread it every year for Towel Day to celebrate Douglas Adams. 

               Covers- Eyes

                   ~ Ideas: 1984 by George Orwell 

        🌻 June- 

               Words- Memory related: memory, forget, remember, confuse, know

                    ~ Ideas: Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry 

               Covers- Celestial 

                    ~ Ideas: none yet

        🎆 July- 

               Words- Titles featuring punctuation such as : ; , ) ! ? & 

                    ~ Ideas: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree 

               Covers- Technology

                    ~ Ideas: none yet

        🏖 August- 

               Words- With

                   ~ Ideas: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson 

               Covers- Transportation

                   ~ Ideas: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson (The house moves so it is definitely transportation)

        🍁 September- 

               Words- Events: party, vacation, birthday, wedding, retreat, prom

                    ~ Ideas: Seance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

               Covers- Foliage 

                    ~ Ideas: Seance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

        🎃 October- 

               Words- Violent words: death, kill, attack, villain, fight

                    ~ Ideas: Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett 

               Covers- Weapons 

                     ~ Ideas: Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett 

        🦃 November- 

              Words- Never 

                    ~ Ideas: Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

                                   The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

               Covers- Food & Drink

                    ~ Ideas: none yet

        🎄 December- 

                Words- Alliteration 

                      ~ Ideas: Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore 

                Covers- Monochromatic: features one color (can feature different shades)

                      ~ Ideas: Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore 

🔵 Extra Goodreads Challenges

    Goodreads added more challenges this year to their reading challenge which I plan on trying to complete. Some of them are ones I will definitely complete like reading a book every month and completing my reading goal of 100 books. Then there are other ones too. 

        ~ Challenge 1: January Reader- Challenge 12: December - These are all goals where you have to read at least one book each month. 

        ~ Challenge 13: Grand Slam- I would get a grand slam if I read at least one book every month of the year. 

        ~ Challenge 14: Nailed It - Meet your reading goal for the year. Mine is 100 books. 

        ~ Challenge 15: Stepped Up - Read more books from the year before. So I would have to read more than 155 books to get this challenge. 

    Community Favorite Challenges (January-April) 

    These are the challenges I am going to see how many I can complete and not force myself to do any of them if they do not fit into what I would like to read already. 

        ~ Bonus 1: Buzzy Books- These books are reader favorites from many different categories. The list of qualifying books is: The 144 Most Read Books of the 2024 Reading Challenge. So it is the books that the most people read last year to complete their reading challenges. Many of the books are ones I would like to read this year. This one should be finished this month. 

        ~ Bonus 2: Epic Quest- These are the most loved fantasy books from the last 3 years. Again there are many books I would like to read on this list, so this will not be hard to complete. 

        ~ Bonus 3: Era Explorer- These are the most loved historical fiction books from the last 5 years. I’m not the biggest fan of popular historical fiction novels, so I’m not sure about this challenge but there is one book from this list that I would like to read. We will see. 

        ~ Bonus 4: Mystery- This is a mystery challenge which will not be announced until February 1st. There is a hint that it deals with Celebrating Black History Month. 

        ~ Bonus 5: Mystery- Another mystery challenge. This one will be announced on February 5th and the hint is: Sugar & Spice…

        ~ Bonus 6: Mystery- The final bonus challenge and this one will be announced on March 3rd. The hint is that it deals with Celebrating Women’s History Month.