End of Year Book Tag 2022

Using the words 'end of year' in the title of an October blog post might seem a touch premature, however I felt today was the perfect time to complete the 'End of Year Book Tag' for 2022.

YouTuber Ariel Bissett began the 2022 tag, which is made up of six questions around reading goals for the end of the year. Thinking about these questions has made me really excited for the remaining few months of the year as I make my way to my final few reads of 2022.

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

I began Grace Campbell's Amazing Disgrace earlier this year, but before I got too engrossed I put it down in favour of prioritising my university reading. This is definitely one I want to re-start and finish before 2022 is over.

I am currently reading The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, and listening to How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie, both of which I am loving and will certainly not be leaving unfinished this year.

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

Sadly I have no 'autumnal' books on my physical TBR in the traditional sense (Donna Tartt's The Secret History and Francine Toon's Pine spring to mind for this category), aside from perhaps The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton. I found The Miniaturist to be a spooky, cosy book (and, additionally, it came to be one of my favourites of 2020), so I am expecting the sequel to have similar haunting vibes, making it perfect for a rainy evening in October or November. I recently watched the BBC's adaptation of Burton's Miniaturist and it really got me in the mood to return to Nella's world; watch this space.

Finding more autumnal books for autumn 2023 is definitely one of my reading goals for next year.

Is there a new release you're still waiting for?

I am super excited for Tom Felton's memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, to release on 13 October, and I can hardly wait for Malorie Blackman's Just Sayin', which is coming on the 20 October. Though I think they will be 2023 purchases, as I cannot keep extending my physical TBR!

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

I am hoping to read Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and Burton's Miniaturist follow-up by the end of this year. They are my top three for the remainder of 2022, but I'm also intending on reading more, including Hillary Clinton's State Of Terror, which she wrote with Louise Penny, and Jennette McCurdy's I'm Glad My Mom Died, the next audiobook on my list.

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

I have high hopes for all of the above texts (particularly A Little Life) plus my current audiobook read, How To Kill Your Family.

Have you already started making reading plans for next year?

Yes! 2023 will be my first year full since I finished university, so I want to build a thorough, stable reading routine that is made up of books that are just for me and ones that I am choosing myself. So, I am setting myself a target once again, and I am hoping to balance my reading equally between fiction and non-fiction. I am also planning to incorporate different genres across the months, so my reading stays varied and I am always diversifying what I pick up to read next.