2022 Book Wrap Up & Rating All The Books I Read This Year
Hi readers and writerly friends!
Welcome back to the blog! If you’re new, thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out all of my Bookish Things posts if that’s your cup of tea! This post is my 2022 Book Wrap Up! Share your 2022 Book Wrap Up in the comments below!
It has been a crazy couple of years. I could say that again.
I had high hopes for 2020 and ended up completing 0 of my 20 Bookish Goals For 2020. In 2021, I set 21 goals, naturally. I should have dialed it back a bit to account for the unexpected. However, I stubbornly set 21 goals for myself and again, completed very few in comparison to the amount of goals I set. I didn’t read 52 books. I didn’t finish a single series.
The goals I completed in 2021 include:
Read the House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristin Cast. (I read four books from this series and decided to finally put it to rest. This was my second or third time trying to get through this series and it just wasn’t for me. The writing was inconsistent —you could tell where one author stopped and another began, and not in a good way —and the story’s premise was just all too familiar: YA vampire school romance, bleh. I think I’ve seen enough of that trope to last me a lifetime. So I added the series to my DNF (Did Not Finish) list on Goodreads and let myself off the hook.)
Read More Classics In 2022 (I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, so I think this one counts as completed!)
My other 19 goals for 2021 were left sitting on the shelf, covered in dust.
This year was different.
While many of my goals from 2020 and 2021 remained in the back of my mind, I set only one goal for myself in 2022.
Read 22 books.
That’s it! I set out to get less than two books a month for a year and I knocked that goal out of the park.
I knew I was capable of reading two books a month based on my track record for previous years — 16/52 books in 2021, 15/12 books in 2020, 22/20 books in 2019, and 2/12 books in 2018. But like I said, it's been a crazy couple of years. I learned my lesson the hard way, by setting unrealistic goals for myself, not completing them all, and feeling disappointed when the end of the year came and I had hardly anything to show for it.
My average rating of the 35 books I read in 2022 was 3.5 stars on a 5-Star Rating scale.
2022 Reading Statistics
Number of books Read:35
Number of Re-Reads:0
Average Rating: 3.5 stars
I’ve listed all the books I read this year in the order I read them below. Each book was given a 1-5-star rating for each book based on how much I enjoyed the book overall, how well I liked the writing style, and how useful the information contained within its pages was for me.
Rating the books I read in 2022
Sweet Bitter by Stephanie Danler ⭐⭐⭐
Smithsonian Makers Workshop:Unique AmericanCrafting, Cooking, Gardening, and Decorating Projects by The Smithsonian Institution ⭐⭐
Loving Someone with PTSD: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Connecting with your Partner After Trauma by Aphrodite Matsakis ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Never Use Futura by Douglas Thomas and Ellen Lupton ⭐⭐⭐
The CBD Beauty Book: Make Your Own Natural Beauty Products With The Goodness Extracted From Hemp by CICO Books⭐⭐
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge ⭐⭐⭐
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce ⭐⭐
Oh Hell No!:And Other Ways To Set Some Damn Boundaries by Chronicle Books ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gorilla and the Bird: A Memoir of Madness by Zack McDermott ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wild Edible Plants of Oklahoma by Charles W. Kane ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood ⭐⭐⭐
Pride: Celebrating Diversity & Community by Robin Stevenson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear by Carl L. Hart ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The “I Love My Instant Pot” Free Holiday Menu by Michelle Fagone ⭐⭐
The Forager’s Feast: How to Identify and Prepare Wild Edibles by Leda Meredith ⭐⭐⭐
The Drama of the Gifted Child by Alice Miller and Ruth Ward ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook by Pamela J Compart and Dana GodBout Laake ⭐⭐⭐
Foraging Cookbook: 75 Recipes to Make the Most of Your Foraged Finds by Karen Stephenson⭐⭐
The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot by Kathy Hester ⭐⭐
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wingbound by Heather Trim ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Courage To Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga ⭐
Consumer Economics by Wendy Reiboldt ⭐⭐⭐
A Radical Guide for Women With ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers by Sari Solden, Michelle Frank, and Ellen Litman ⭐⭐
Mastering Your Adult ADHD: A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program Client Workbook by Steven Safren ⭐⭐⭐⭐
How to Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back by Jeff Tweedy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) by the American Psychiatric Association ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dracula by Brahm Stoker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Learning About Dance: Dance As An Art Form And Entertainment by Nora Ambrosio ⭐⭐⭐
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wingless by Heather Trim ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Buzzed: The Straight Facts About The Most Used And Abused Drugs From Alcohol To Ecstasy by Cynthia M. Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder, and Wilkie Wilson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday ⭐⭐⭐
All the books I read in 2022
Looking at this list, it's easy to say my reading interests have been aaaaall over the place. From cookbooks, to the DSM-5, to various mental health books, to classics, to textbooks, to fiction and everything in between, my reading habits this year have certainly been interesting and diverse.
I’m proud of myself for reaching my reading goal and expanding my reading horizons too. I even managed to get a new bookshelf (2021 goal 😂). Well, actually, I just repurposed another shelf for use as a bookshelf, so I still need to get a new one, but I digress.
All this to say, yes, life has been crazy for the last few years —it’s been hectic, full of ups and downs, and many learning curves — but it does get easier. The tide always goes back out and the sun always comes up. And it is possible, through some discipline, to break out of a reading slump and reach your bookish goals.
What were your bookish goals for 2022? How many goals did you achieve? What goals have you set for 2023? If you want to read more on this topic, check out the related topics and past blog posts below!
Related Topics:
Similar Blog Posts From Previous Years:
How to Read More Books in 2022
A stack of books I want to read in 2022. Photo by Payton Hayes.
Hi readers and writerly friends!
Welcome back and if you’re new thanks for popping in! This week in Bookish Things, I’m going to be sharing all of my tips and tricks for knocking out those reading lists and other bookish goals!
Just to give you guys a little bit of backstory and help remind you that despite all of my bookish content and strategizing I do here, I am still human and I also struggle with finding time to read and keeping up with my yearly reading goal. I also catch myself falling into reading slumps from time to time so don’t feel like you’re alone, because there’s millions of readers out there who have to actively work towards their reading goals!
In 2018 I did not meet my reading goal (2/12) 😬 but in 2019 (22/20) 🎉 and 2020 (15/12) 🥳 I did. In 2021, I fell way short of my extremely ambitious goal of reading 52 books, of which I only read 16. I look back at these recent years and my reading goals, and the life events I experienced stick out very clearly to me. This reflection serves as a great reminder that sometimes life does get in the way of reading and that’s okay. Don’t feel bad if you’ve been slacking in your reading goals. Let’s get back on track together!
Start by creating a reading plan
Why do you want to read more? Considering this question will help you firmly define your “why” and make it easier to keep on track with your reading throughout the year. Perhaps you’re reading for educational purposes or to better yourself? Maybe you want to read more novels to escape from stress and practice self-care. Maybe you want to be more well-read and explore the written word over modern media. No matter your reason, its always a good idea to read regularly as long as you’re doing it for you and you know why.
Additionally, you may want to ask yourself a few more questions to help clearly define your reading goals for 2022. How long will you read for each day? How many books do you have on your To-Be-Read (TBR) list? Is there a series you’ve been meaning to get into or a classic author you want to check out? How many books a month do you want to shoot for? What genres most interest you right now? What genres do you find yourself shying away from? Do you want to schedule your reading and plan out each months books? I personally prefer making an annual loose TBR list and choosing I can what to read as I go. Other readers enjoy making a reading schedule with specific books for each month or planning seasonal reads as the year goes on. I always try to read horror or spooky-themed books in October! Map out a book timeline that makes sense for your lifestyle, interests, and reading goals.
1. Keep track of your books by using Goodreads
This tip isn’t new, especially around the bookish community, but its worth mentioning to start, especially for anyone new to the reading scene or anyone just getting back into it! You might also be a reader who has never kept track of their reading habits before so this might be a great strategy for you to remember what you’ve read, keep your eyes out for new books, and stay focused on your yearly reading challenge.
Goodreads does a yearly reading challenge which can be a great resource for reading inspiration and motivation. Sign up, add a few books to your “Want To Read” shelf, set a reading goal for yourself, and get reading! You can also share your reviews and recommendations with other readers and authors on the app!
2. Make your reading goals public for external accountability
To make use of external accountability, consider joining a local book club or reading group, joining online reading communities, and sharing your reading goals, updates, and reading lists to your own social circles. Having a tight-knit group to share books with and discuss stories can be just the thing to get you back on track with your reading goals!
Kindles are also great for cutting down on book storage and readers can make use of the “Read Sample” prior to purchasing digital copies of books they’ve yet to read. Kindle Unlimited also offers access to millions of books every month.
4. Use a designated device solely for reading
I understand some bookworms here are still ballin’ on a budget, but if you can afford to, splurge on a tablet purposed only for reading. This separation of activities can be crucial in helping you rewire your brain for reading time. Avoid reading on your phone to eliminate distractions from social media and texts.
5. Multitask with audiobooks
You do not have to physically read a book to absorb the important and useful information contained within its pages. Many readers make use of audiobooks for the convenience, portability, and multitasking ability they have. Read a book while you cook, read a book while you walk, read a book while you clean or workout, read a book during your commute to and from work and on your lunch break —there’s a number of activities you can do while listening to an audiobook!
6. Read more than one book at any given time.
Now don’t let your “Current Reads” list get too full of unfinished books, but it can be refreshing to read more than one book at a time, especially if you alternate between fiction and non-fiction and read from different genres to avoid reading slumps! I personally enjoy having an e-book and audiobook, as well as a hard-copy on hand at any given time. This is especially useful in keeping concepts, themes, and characters separate across multiple novels.
7. Put down any books you’re not enjoying anymore.
If it’s no longer serving you or bringing you joy, feel free to let it go. Everyone can rant and rave about how good a book is but you don’t have to like it just because everyone else does. If you’re done with a book, feel free to move it to the “Read” shelf in Goodreads, leave a review if you’d like, and move on to the next read. Don’t let your disillusionment of a book you had high hopes for put you in a reading slump or worse, ruin your love of reading and learning.
8. Read for 15 minutes a day
Set a short timer to go off at the same time everyday and read for 15 minutes. This could be a really effective strategy for making regular reading a successful and sustainable habit.
9. Bring a book with you everywhere you go
Find yourself bored standing in line at the store or waiting on your oil to be changed? Bringing a book with you can help you avoid awkward queues and chip away at your TBR.
10. Get the main points of the book without having to read for 5+ hours
If you’re wanting to get into the reading scene but are feeling held back by your reading ability or lack of time for reading, consider getting the bare-bones content, main information, or essential ideas from an app like Blinkist. (If you’ve ever heard of Sparknotes, or Cliffs Notes, this app provides similar content.) Blinkist offers key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours. While its debatable how much material you’re actually absorbing via condensed methods such as this, its certainly a low-barrier-to-entry option and might work better for busier readers with less leisure time on their hands.
11. Enroll in a library membership
Much like joining book clubs and reading groups, signing up with your local library can be a great reading resource and method of external accountability, especially if you can find others to read and discuss books with. Library memberships are usually free to the public
12. Romanticize reading and make it a ritual
Not only should we be romanticizing reading, but we should also make it a ritual rather than a chore. If you enjoyed reading in the cozy chair by the window with a cup of coffee beside you, you might want to make that part of your reading ritual. Some daily readers will opt to get their 15 minutes in just before bed, making it a nighttime ritual that helps them wind down and relax, while other readers will avoid reading in the bedroom altogether. Designate a time and space for reading and it will be easier to get into the practice of reading daily. Ensure your reading environment, snacks, music, and other possible distractions or reading aids remain consistent throughout your reading practice to help further reinforce the habit in your daily life.
13. Organize a reading list that you will actually enjoy reading
As mentioned with the first step in this guide, it’s incredibly important to get a strong sense of what you enjoy reading, what your reading goals are, and what you want to read for 2022 to help you get started with your reading plan. Think about which authors and genres you’d like to read from. Consider diversifying your reading list so that its not all fiction, non-fiction, a single genre, or books from the same author.
14. Gather book recommendations influential people and other authors
Still not sure what to read? Follow your favorite authors and influencers on Goodreads and see what they’re reading each month for some inspiration. You can also check out BookTube and Bookstagram for thousands of book recommendations from other readers. Some of my favorite reads were recommended to me by the people I follow, so don’t limit your reading content to what you’ve heard of —take suggestions too! Whenever I am looking for recommendations, I ask my friends and Bookish Facebook groups what they’re reading and that usually gives me a pretty wide variety to pick from. You can also check out the New York Times Best Sellers List for the hottest reads.
15. Broaden your bookish horizons
Reading isn’t just good for intellectual growth; it can be a great avenue for personal enrichment in many areas of your life. You might not enjoy every book you read this year but you can learn at least one thing from them. Read from authors you normally don’t gravitate towards, explore genres you’ve never read from before, pick up a craft book, zoology book, a book about how to build a computer, or how to do your taxes yourself for practical reading, or read a hefty tome of a novel and lose yourself in the world-building —the options are endless!
16. Pick up a daily reader
While daily reading isn’t for everyone, its a surefire way to make steady, measurable progress towards your reading goals. Daily readers such as the Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, or The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz are all great examples of popular books with a page-a-day reading pace. Check out more from the Daily Readers Goodreads shelf here.
17. Set up a rewards system
Yes, Bookish People, this is your permission slip to go buy more books. (But only if you’ll actually read them!) Set up monthly incentives to help motivate you to pick up your current read each day! This could include a new book for every book you complete, an afternoon at a local Bookish coffee shop, cute bookish socks for each completed read, or a new bookshelf at the end of the year if you complete your challenge! Whatever you decide to implement as a rewards system, ensure that it is sustainable and makes sense for your lifestyle, environment, and budget. I like to check out books from the library and for every 3 I read, I’ll get a new book. This helps me keep from overbuying new books and it helps me tailor my personal library to only the titles I truly love and will reach for again.
18. Don’t compare your reading progress to others
It can be fun to have a little friendly reading competition, but don’t let someone else’s reading challenge overshadow your own reading progress. Read for you, celebrate the completion of your goals, big and small, and make sure you’re reading for your own enjoyment and enrichment and not for the opinions of others. In the long run, the former is more fulfilling and the latter will leave you stuck in a reading slump.
19. Visualize your reading goals with a habit tracker app or printable reading tracker
If you’re not into Goodreads, that’s okay! You might find keeping a reading list in your planner or a cute printable reading tracker taped to your fridge is the way to go for you! You can download my free printable tracker by clicking the image on the right. Pintrest also has tons of printable reading trackers and book lists too!
20. Be flexible and leave room for more reading
Don’t overwhelm yourself with an overly-planned reading list if you’re just getting into reading or getting back into it after a while. Be gracious with yourself and remember that its okay if you don’t read every single book on your list cover-to-cover or if you miss some of your reading goals this year. If you manage to read one book a year, you’re still learning and growing, so try to take it one book at a time. Leave spaces open throughout the year for new books to join the rotation and be prepared to “Do-Not-Finish” (DNF) a book if its not meeting your expectations.
Those are my 20 tips for reading more in 2022! Are there any other bookish tips you have for reaching your reading goals? What books are you planning to read this year? Let me know in the comments below!
Bibliography:
Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations, London: Penguin Classics, 2006. Goodreads.
Cliffs Notes. “Homepage.” CliffsNotes.com, accessed April 6, 2022.
Goodreads. “2022 Reading Challenge.” Goodreads.com, accessed April 6, 2022.
Goodreads. “Daily Readers Books.” Goodreads.com, accessed April 6, 2022.
Holiday, Ryan. The Daily Stoic, London: Portfolio, 2016. Goodreads.
Sparknotes. “Homepage.” Sparknotes.com, accessed April 6, 2022.
Related topics:
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—Payton
Book Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Hi readers and writerly friends!
This is a spoiler-free review.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager reminded me of American Horror Story’s Hotel season, where patrons of the hotel go suddenly missing under mysterious circumstances. The Bartholomew was an entity and character of its own and I couldn’t help feeling like I simultaneously wanted to visit the spooky hotel and stay a million miles away from it forever. The unsettling events that occurred behind closed doors were absolutely chilling to the bone. I found myself wishing I could shake the main character and tell her, run Jules, run!
This heart-pounding, breath-catching, page-turner of a thriller kept me hooked start to finish. I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and I was completely enthralled the entire time.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager follows a young woman whose new job apartment sitting in one of New York’s oldest and most glamorous buildings may cost more than it pays
No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.
As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.
Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent (Sager 2019).
The entrance to the Dakota where John Lennon was shot. Photo by Encircle Photos.
The Dakota as seen from Central Park west. Photo by Michelle Young.
Something Riley Sager is known for in his books, is the central plot twist—a storytelling element he does very well. I didn’t see the major twist coming and when my original theory was flipped on its head, I was astonished. However, the twist made sense, once all the clues he laid out beforehand were explained.
Sager employs a history, both real and invented to weave a thrilling tale that feels equal part as urgent and realistic as present-day and equal part ancient and enchanting as The Dakota, the upscale apartment building in New York upon which the elegant Bartholomew is based! Lock Every Door is an intoxicating tapestry that is every bit as disquieting as the bizarre wallpaper in Jules’ apartment in the Bartholomew and the unsettling events it has witnessed.
“I wanted the building to be seductive yet sinister, elegant yet also creepy…I wanted people to really want to live there but at the same time, to be terrified while they’re living there.” —Riley Sager on Lock Every Door.
The Bartholomew, the setting of the story, a character as much as the people in the story, evolves as the story progresses, observed initially as sophisticated and whimsical, and eventually becoming increasingly more sinister and mysterious. From elegant, gilded cage elevators that carry patrons from the top floor to the bowels of the building, to watchful gargoyles perched on the exterior, elements of the setting grow more and more unsettling and oppressive as Jules uncovers one dark secret after another.
This story is a gripping read cover-to-cover that teeters precariously between thriller and horror and stupefies readers with a chilling plot twist that doesn’t come completely from left field.
“There’s plausibility in a thriller. No matter how weird they may get, it’s something that could potentially happen in real life… It never gets otherworldly, so to speak…it is always grounded in some sense of reality. With horror, it seems like there’s a tear in the fabric of reality and that inexplicable things are going on and that just makes it even more frightening...I like to walk that fine line between the two.” —Riley Sager on Lock Every Door.
The quotes from Riley Sager about his book is from the “Interview with Best-Selling Author of Lock Every Door: Riley Sager” on the No Thanks, We’re Booked Podcast Hosted by Mollie from Mollie Reads and Katie from Life Between Words. Check out the rest of the interview here.
“Move over Rosemary’s Baby, urban paranoia has a deliciously gothic new address.” —Ruth Ware
This book makes me want to a) read more of Riley Sager’s writing, b) read Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, and c) get into more urban paranoia.
In July of 2019, Paramount Television, Sugar 23, and Anonymous Content announced plans to adapt Lock Every Door into a television series, and I am so stoked to see how it turns out. I cannot wait to draw comparisons between the film adaptation and AHS: Hotel.
And that’s it for my review of Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door. Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Have you read any of Sager’s other works? I cannot wait to check out Final Girls by Riley Sager to see more of Jules’ story and where it goes from here. Will you be watching the film adaptation? Let me know what you thought of this book and this review in the comments below!
Bibliography:
Hayes, Payton. “Lock Every Door Audiobook on Google Pixel.” (Thumbnail photo), September 19, 2021.
Sager, Riley. Lock Every Door. New York: Dutton, 2019. Amazon.
Related topics:
Double Book Review: Before The Storm by Christie Golden and Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux
Book Review: Good Morning Good Life by Amy Schmittauer Landino
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—Payton
Book Review: Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight
It’s been on my to-be-read list for quite some time now, and I fear I might not have seriously picked it up if it weren’t for COVID-19. But I am SO glad that I did, because once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I binged the series in less than a week and found myself highlighting passages because the writing was JUST.THAT.GOOD.
This is a spoiler-free review!
Hi readers and writerly friends! Below is my review of Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight! Check out my other book reviews here!
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
Wildfire By Karsten Knight
This book review starts with my first-ever book hunt in my Midwest City Dollar-Tree. I was shopping for some containers and noticed the store had an awful lot of books and many of them I’d either seen before, heard of the authors before, or the covers were just so gorgeous that I couldn’t help myself. I think I left the store with 20+ books. And guess what book just happened to be amidst all those tomes I scurried out of the store with? That’s right—the aforementioned Wildefire by Karsten Knight. I had no clue what this book was about. I’d never heard of the author or the title and the only reason I bought it was because the lovely cover sucked me in, and the punchy writing kept me hooked. It’s true, I totally judge books by the cover.
It’s been on my to-be-read list for quite some time now, and I fear I might not have seriously picked it up if it weren’t for COVID-19. But I am SO glad that I did, because once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I binged the series in less than a week and found myself highlighting passages because the writing was JUST.THAT.GOOD.
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
As per the Wildefire Goodreads page:
Every flame begins with a spark.
Blackwood Academy was supposed to be a fresh start for Ashline Wilde. A secluded boarding school deep in the heart of California’s redwood forests, three thousand miles from her old life—it sounded like the new beginning she needed after an act of unspeakable violence left a girl in her hometown dead. But Blackwood is far from the peaceful haven Ashline was searching for. Because terrifying, supernatural beasts roam the forests around campus. Because the murderer from Ashline’s hometown—her own sister—has followed her across the country. Because a group of reincarnated gods and goddesses has been mysteriously summoned to Blackwood...and Ashline’s one of them.
—Karsten Knight, Wildefire, Goodreads.com
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
I can confidently say, that if you enjoyed reading ANY of Rick Riordan’s mythological fiction, you would likely love this series. I would categorize it as a mythological thriller because it revolves around reincarnated gods and goddesses from all different kinds of mythologies including Norse, Greek, Roman, Polynesian, Japanese, Mayan, and Aztec, and it was an absolute page turner! Without spoiling, the YA fiction is centered around the main protagonist Ashline Wilde and her newfound friends at Blackwood Academy in Southern California. She and her friends find themselves face-to-face with some unsettling foes—the seemingly nefarious cloak, inky, black creatures with singular blue flames for eyes. They are all given unique quests to carry out as they familiarize themselves with their own newly realized god/goddess abilities and struggle to fit in with their mundane, human classmates. However, school life quickly becomes the least of their worries when Ashline’s treacherous older sister appears out of the blue, other gods force Ashline and her friends to go on the offensive, and schoolmates end up caught in the crossfire.
The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. Photo by Payton Hayes.
I of course, don’t want to give too much away because I implore you, dear readers, to please give this series a try. The pacing was fantastic (and kept me turning pages into the wee hours of the night), the characters were compelling as all-get-out, and the prose was simply exquisite.
I can only describe Wildefire by Karsten Knight, through the title—a ruthless wildfire that swept through me, a ravenous hunger to breathe, sleep, eat, and drink in the entire story until I’ve had my fill. Unfortunately, now that I’ve actually finished it, I can’t help but want more. This story was a whirlwind of romance, mythos, angst, and a deep desire to belong. It was a wild ride and I enjoyed every second of it.
Every one of the characters are carefully constructed. You can clearly tell that Knight took his time fleshing out each character from the names down to their personality traits and compelling developments over the course of the trilogy. Everything was intentional. At times, I saw myself in Ashline Wilde, and at others, she felt like my best friend—as if we’d known each other forever and I was just now embarking on this insane journey with her. Books that achieve this level of relatability in the character-reader relationship can hard to find. Each and every character is meaningful and when some of them leave the story, it comes like a punch to the gut.
If you need more reasons why I LOVED this series, I’ve left a few below:
The writing—duh! Fantastic, believable, well-written prose laced within an excellent premise that upsets me for the sheer fact that I had not come up with it first.
Compelling, relatable characters that make you swoon, cry, and grit your teeth.
Knight’s expert ability to weave and interweave plots within plots to create a constantly enthralling and complex storyline that is guaranteed to keep you turning pages.
The mythology. Like I said, if you enjoyed Percy Jackson or any of Rick Riordan’s prose, you would likely enjoy this series simply for the employment of many different kinds of mythologies. The mythos used in Karsten Knight’s Wildefire is well-researched and expertly infused within believable character development. It doesn’t seem forced at all and where creative license is used, it is minimal and justified.
While it’s a paranormal YA fiction, set (initially) against the backdrop of a boarding school, Knight’s take on centuries’ old mythology and paranormal romance is new, interesting, and refreshing.
But don’t just take my word on it. Read it for yourself here.
And that’s it for my spoiler-free review of Karsten Knight’s Wildefire trilogy. As promised, there’s a personal life update just below here, but I wanted to thank all of you who took the time to read this review. It honestly means the world to me. If you enjoyed this post, please consider signing up for my newsletter here! Tweet me or comment below if you decide to read this book and let me know what you thought of it!
Read more of my book reviews!
—Payton
Do We Really Need to Read the Classics?
Hi fellow readers and writerly friends!
This week in Bookish Things, we’re discussing something very near and dear to my heart and likely many other readers/writers’ hearts as well—do we really need to read the classics? I made the mistake of asking this to another editor early on in my freelance career and she hit me with “do you have to eat to stay alive?” Okay, got it, thanks. She was one of those nit-picky editors that new writers always fear at first. (You know the one—with the red pen, the beady eyes, and the too-tight turtleneck.) But she did have a point. And her comment reminded me of one of my favorite quotes.
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
And what do you know? Emerson is regarded as a classic writer. (Albeit romantic, but yes, a classic)
And he had a point too. Writing and reading at it’s core is capturing the human existence and weaving it into the written word for all future generations to read. Reading is an integral part of the humanities and is one of the things that sets us apart from other mammals. Of course, we all know that reading is important, should be valued over many other mundane activities—and above all else—reading immortalizes our words.
Classics teach us to appreciate the evolution of modern literature
So, what does this have to do with the classics? To better understand and appreciate contemporary writing, we must read older writing as well.
Stack of classic books on my shelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.
Italo Calvino tackles this question in his collection of literary Criticism, Why Read The Classics, and Ginni Chen touches on this subject in a similar blog post on Barnes and Nobel Reads. I don’t claim to provide a more comprehensive answer than these two, but I thought I’d write my own blog post as well, because not only did I question the classics, but I think there is still a vast amount of people who don’t know why they should read them or don’t have any interest to do so. However, these few reasons to read the classics will make you want to rethink tossing your copy of Pride and Prejudice in the attic, and instead crack it open, dust off the pages, and see what you can learn from it.
Ginni explains that writing is a living, breathing entity that is immortalized in the way we tell stories and pass those techniques down from each generation:
“When you read the classics, you’re reading books that have had a pivotal role in shaping the way we read and write today. Books aren’t written or read in a vacuum. They’re woven by writers and consumed by readers with the influence of centuries of writing behind us. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, reading a book is never an isolated incident but part of a tradition.” -Ginni Chen, Para 2.
I agree with Ginni in that to better understand and appreciate writing, we must also read classic writing so that we understand fully what contemporary writing and reading began as and where it came from to become what we practice today.
Basket of classic books on my shelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.
Likewise, classic writing captures the essence of humanity from the time in which it was written. They act as literary milestones of our own literary traditions. Sometimes, classics reflect values, movements (realism or romanticism) or prominent genres (such as the rise in popularity of science-fiction and fantasy in contemporary writing). The classic writers sparked literary trends because they either a) did it first or b) did it best. Additionally, classics are often hailed for their challenging of societal constructs and values of the time. Take Kate Chopin’s writing, for example. Her works were lousy with feminist values and now she is known as one of the greatest American Feminist writers of all time.
How does this make you love reading more?
When we familiarize ourselves with the classics, we gain a better understanding of where other books fit in. You’ll start recognizing common themes, influences, references, structures, and many more elements in your reading that perhaps you hadn’t noticed before.
Ginni compares it to developing a sudden appreciation of wine:
“It’s like developing a sudden appreciation of wine—different notes open up to your palate, you detect hidden floral, fruity, or oaky elements, and you’re better able to articulate your tastes.” -Ginni Chen, Para 4.
Vintage typewriter and basket of classic books on my shelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.
When you learn to love the classics, you also learn to love your favorite stories even more. When you go back to your favorites, you begin to pick up on these elements you found in the classics and unearth depths you had never known existed prior. Elements of these books that may have initially seemed arbitrary or like attempts at attention-seeking, but now they seem intentional, calculated and clever. These elements help you to unpack the bigger picture parts of the story and allow you to begin to understand where other things come from such as the meaning in a character’s name, the use of certain words, or the presence of certain themes and their importance with regard to both the story and society at the time.
Another way the classics aid in your growth as both a reader and writer is that they also help you better identify your favorite writer’s literary influences. Often, writers borrow style, subject, and themes from the classics and as you become more familiar with classic literature, you begin to see your favorite writers as one writer paying homage to another by reinventing their storytelling elements in a new, refreshing, and exciting way. You’ll begin to understand how we’ve been telling the same handful of stories over and over again throughout the years, and how the use of the same few techniques, in combination with unique writer voice, has birthed millions of books that can all be traced back to the classics.
Ginni also compares reading the classics to travelling:
“Here’s another way of looking at it: Think about reading as traveling the world. In your travels, the classics are those must-see historical sites that you hear about and see in dozens of reproductions—the Great Wall, the Colosseum, the Taj Mahal, the pyramids. Like these historical sites, the classics have withstood the test of time, are part of an incredible heritage, and can change your worldview entirely.” -Ginni Chen, Para 7.
Basket of classic books on my shelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.
I love that comparison because its exactly right. We always hear that being “well-read” is a good thing and in the bookish world it’s a title we strive for, so that should include the classics, right? Of course! I could go on and on about worldview and how we have such a limited perception of things, but I’ll spare you that rant for another time. The biggest takeaway from this blog post is that to gain a better understanding of humanity, our own existence and experiences, and how they relate to the existence and experiences of others, we absolutely must read. And moreover, we must read the classics just as we must read extensively from any genre we wish to write in. I keep bringing up writing and reading, but in the creative world, the two are inextricably linked. And that link is part of an even bigger packaged deal—understanding
ourselves and others. At it’s core, reading is in essence, humanity.
What do you think about reading the classics? Which classics have you read? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to check out Ginni’s blog post because I would have never thought to speak out on this topic without first stumbling upon her words.
Click here to read Ginni Chens post, “Why Read The Classics?” On Barnes and Nobel Reads
Click here to read Italo Calvino’s Book, “Why Read The Classics?”Pride and Prejudice
—Payton
3 Bookish Things Tag
The Hush, Hush Saga, Black Ice, and Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick. Photo by Payton Hayes.
I didn’t come up with this and in fact, found it first on Instagram and then saw it on another bookish blog! It’s the perfect tag for those of use who love the perfect aesthetic of things that come in threes! (Or for those of us who can’t count very high, whichever applies, maybe both.) I’ve got books to read and review, manuscripts to edit, and stories to tell which means three items per category is perfect for me—the editorial do-it-all person that I am. Call me an editorial renaissance woman or jack of all (written word) trades, but all I’m getting at is that I’ve only got a little time to accomplish everything and if you’re the same way, then this tag is awesome for both of us! Let’s get on to the tag, already! Of course, I have some honorable mentions in this list because I just can’t pick favorites, apparently. What can I say? I love them all.
3 Favorite Authors
Richard A. Knaak. Of course, I adore everything he’s done in the World of Warcraft book universe —the game has such a special place in my heart and his incredible, fantasy writing does as well.
J.R.R. Tolkien. I don’t have to read a series more than once to know it will be a favorite. I’ve treasured the Peter Jackson films since I was a little girl and I always knew when I finally sat down and read the novels, I would love them just as much, if not more. 2019 was my first year reading the Lord of The Rings trilogy and while I am still working on it (yes, in 2020) it already is a favorite of mine and will be for years to come.
Becca Fitzpatrick. I love every.single.book. she writes—especially the Hush, Hush saga. Black Ice and Dangerous Lies a VERY close second and third. I just wish she’d write more because I absolutely adore her paranormal romantic thrillers!
The Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson. Photo by Payton Hayes.
Honorable mention: James Patterson. I knew this one would be swapped out for another author eventually, but before I discovered Fitzpatrick, Patterson was my all-time favorite author, with Maximum being my all-time favorite series. I’d read it several times, and while I do still enjoy the series, I don’t again see it being a forever favorite.
Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings. Photo by Payton Hayes.
3 Weirdest Things You’ve Used As a Bookmark
Okay, seriously? An empty Kit-Kat wrapper. Or was it a Hershey’s? I don’t remember. All I know is that the book still smells of chocolate, even though I got zero candy in the pages.
A faux tortoise shell bracelet. Okay, maybe this isn’t an uncommon household item, and well, neither is chocolate, but it’s still a pretty strange bookmark, if you ask me. It was just laying on my desk, and when I needed a bookmark, it seemed a likely contender. Of course, that was until I put the book back and lost the bracelet until I reopened the book and it fell out. Oops!
Receipts. Yes I, like every other stylish, bookish girl out there, go shopping on occasion aaaand I may have a few receipts laying around at any given time. So, I just used one of those! It was likely a Taco Bell receipt though, let’s be real.
You think bookworms use actual bookmarks? Hahaha, you’re clearly joking. Right? I don’t even remember the last time I used a proper bookmark.
3 Series Binged
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. If you read the first part, then you already know what I am going to say. This is my absolute, indisputable, all-time favorite series and I devour it every. single. year. I love this series and it never gets old.
Maximum Ride by James Patterson. Although it’s been a few years since I’ve reread the series, every time I do, I burn through all nine books in about two weeks’ time. The books are so action-packed, and the pacing is so good, I can’t not get stuck in them and neglect my adult responsibilities until I’ve finished the novels and have nothing else to do with my life. It’s the obvious reaction.
Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan. I read this series around the same time I’d discovered Maximum Ride (in early high school) and I blew through them so fast, and somewhat out of order, oops! I hardly remember what happened and in what book. It’s about time to reread this series as well because everything is a sort of Percy-shaped blur.
3 Characters You Love
Patch Cipriano from Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Duhhh. Tall, dark, brooding, and handsome? Angsty angel of my dreams? Helloooo. of course, he’s my all-time favorite novel character. Truth be told, I wish he was real.
Ares Lavrenthea from Mooncallers by Leda C. Muir. I’m sensing a theme going on here, but I don’t even care. Ares is dragon daddy and honestly one of my favorite book characters. He’s such a dynamic fantasy character and when he’s not sipping tea or smoking roseleaf cigarettes, he’s out on an adventure with Luxea and I love both his personality and their relationship. Besides, his backstory is so good. If you haven’t read this book, you must.
Tom Bombadil from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. I absolutely adore this guy. He is such an enigma. Tom’s lighthearted, charismatic, and benign demeanor was so fun to read in the series. I love all of his little songs and dances and I just want to spend a day with him because he’s essentially the Bob Ross of Middle Earth. How can you have a bad day when you’ve got someone like that at your side?
Patch Cipriano from the cover of The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick, Tom Bombadil by Hildebrant from J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of The Rings Trilogy, and Ares Lavrenthea from The Mooncallers series by Leda C. Muir.
3 Unpopular Bookish Opinions
Divergent genuinely did want to like the Divergent series and can fully see why they’ve been so successful. I just wish it was done better. The first chapter seemed promisng, but it sort of went downhill from there and I just couldn’t get into the books.
Bookish Subscription Boxes. I just don’t understand these. Why would I subscribe to a book box subscription when I can just buy books I know I’ll love. And if this blog post has taught you anything, it’s that I definitely don’t need the subscription for the bookmarks. I wouldn’t use them anyway.
The Hunger Games. I had a hard time figuring out this once, primarily because I didn’t even have these books on my shelf anymore! I donated them to the local library last year, and while I am probably going to get some hate for saying this, I can’t say I miss them. I read the first novel, and it was alright, but I just didn’t think it warranted all the hype. I tried to get into the second book and didn’t. When I caved and watched the movies, I realized I probably wasn’t missing out on much. For the record, I am not really a fan of the dystopia genre anyways.
Click here to read more of my unpopular bookish opinions.
3 Popular Bookish Opinions
Hyped books. I love hyped books, just like the rest of us, and I tend to jump on the hype train along with everyone else. Sometimes the books suck, and I’ll be the first to point it out, but most of the time, hyped books are popular for good reason.
Hardcovers are better. In my 7 Unpopular Bookish Opinions blog post, I say I like both hardcovers and paperbacks, but I will concede that the hardbacks are the superior of the two. They’re durable and they stand on their own like strong, intelligent, independent, bookish creatures. The only problem is that they cost more. :/
Spin-off Series. I actually really love spin-offs. They’re awesome! My favorite spin-off is Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus. Spin-offs are a delicate balancing act between overdoing a story and not doing enough to it, but the HoO series is an example of one that does this balancing act well. I think the Harry Potter series has had enough spin-offs though, just let it go, Rowling.
3 Favorite Book Covers
I won’t even pretend to behave here. These are all my favorites. It was so hard to even narrow them down to 14.
Fourteen of my favorite book covers. Collage by Payton Hayes. Cover art credits belong to their respective owners.
Do you see what I did there with the color scheme? Just because I don’t follow the tag rules doesn’t mean my graphic can’t still be pretty. Truthfully though, I do love all of these covers. Another truth? I haven’t read most of these—Gasp!
3 Bookish Goals for 2020
Okay, I already have an entire blog post about this, but I think I’ll put my top three here anyways.
Read 30 books. I truly do want to read 30 books and I think that goal will be easily surpassable this year. I figured out a way to get myself out of reading slumps quickly and I even beat my goal for 2019—23/20 books! I think I am ready to kick it up a notch.
Join an IRL Book club. I know there’s a psychology book club at my school but this might be the year I charter and star up the official book club there, or at least join a club if I can find one. I’ve always wanted to be part of a book club and be around like-minded individuals where we can just nerd out about books and reading.
Review more books. If you’ve been around this blog for any period of time, you can tell my book review section on the book blog is severely lacking. In 2020 not only do I want to read more books, but I want to review them as well. I think thinking critically about novels is important to understanding the bigger picture part of them and not getting completely wrapped up in the little parts of the story.
Click here to read my 20 Bookish Resolutions For 2020 blog post.
And those goals bring me to the end of the 3 Bookish Things Tag! I broke some of the rules, but can you really blame me? I think some of these are almost too hard to pair down to three and to those of you who can do it—I both applaud and envy you. I just have too much bookish love to give to all of my wordy babies. (Shhh, it can be a thing—like fur babies. It’ll catch on, right?)
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and I’d also love it if you did this tag to let me know so I can check out your 3 bookish things!
Thumbnail photo by Marta Dzedyshko.
—Payton
Reading Slump Emergency Kit: 15 Surefire Ways To Break Out of a Reading Slump!
Do you find yourself stuck in reading slumps often? Are you caught in one now? Would you be found Googling “how to get out of a reading slump?” This handy-dandy guide will help you to break out of that nasty reading slump and get back to reading right away!
There's a couple of things to keep in mind before you crack open the emergency kit:
Learn to let go
First and foremost, if the book just isn't working out, learn to let go and read something else. Take the pressure off yourself to finish any novel that isn't bringing you joy or fills you with dread when you think about reading it. I did this last year with a novel that just couldn't keep me hooked no matter what I tried. I had to let it go
Don't set unrealistic expectations
Most of the unnecessary pressures we put on ourselves as readers comes from out lofty reading goals that we take on each year. However, these goals aren't meant to bog you down or make you feel like a failure when you don't reach them—they're just for fun! So don't set unrealistic reading goals and instead, set a few, manageable and achievable goals and just have fun with reading.
Without further ado—onto the list!
Make special time for reading
If you're really loving the book or reading in general, but you just can't bring yourself to sit down each day and read, then you need to intentionally carve out time for reading. This 30 minutes to an hour should be sacred. Figure out where you can cut down time on other activities to read. (Don't forget to take the dog out and feed the kids, though!)
If you're a mood reader
I used to think I'd never be someone who reads daily, that I was a mood reader and if my life was stressful, I would have a hard time sitting down to read and keeping my mind engaged. I think this is true for everyone—it can be hard to get immersed when your life is tumultuous. If you're not able to read for escape then combine the first trip, reading every day with this: set the mood. Make a playlist of songs that remind you of the book your reading or the people, places, or things contained inside it. Play the playlist every day before you scheduled reading time, and you'll start to train your brain to want to read regularly.
Try different genres
My go-to when I get stuck in a reading slump is to put my book down (if I am currently reading one) and pick up another in a different genre, specifically romantic thriller or horror. Even though fantasy is my favorite genre to write in, it can be so hard for me to read fantasy because it's a genre that is typically not very fast-paced.
However, the exact opposites are romantic thrillers and horror novels. These are usually short, action-packed, page turners that kick the pacing up a notch and are usually all I need to pull myself out of a reading slump. When I plan my reading goals each year, I make sure to leave room for the emergency thriller novel after every fantasy novel, just to keep myself on track.
Try reading differently
If you normally just read in silence, I urge you to try out immersion reading—the act of reading a tangible, hard copy book (or e-book) and listening to an audiobook simultaneously. This employs two senses—sight and sound and can make a world of difference in your reading experience. Likewise, you can listen to that playlist you made on page two, or you can listen to ambient sounds from YouTube or websites like Ambient Mixer!
Re-read an all-time favorite
Do this especially if you have an all-time favorite series. This will help you build up the habit of reading while you get back in touch with a familiar story. Every fall, I whip out Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. It never gets old, and it always keeps me reading. (And what do you know—it's a romantic thriller!)
Turn off your phone
I know this can be easier said than done for most in the digital age, but just hear me out. We do TONS of reading daily on our phones, but it's lazy, cheap writing that doesn't provide us with any literary gains. Swap out phone reading time for proper book reading time and see how easy it is to maintain a reading schedule when your phone stays out of the way.
Swap fiction for non-fiction
This is similar to tip number 3, but next time you find yourself stuck in a reading slump, try reading the opposite of the (overarching) genre you read most. If you typically reach for fiction, switch it up by grabbing a self-help novel or memoir. I really love reading contemporary entrepreneurial books when I need a break from fiction. These books are super inspiring and motivating and they help me in the creative parts of my life when I just feel like spending time in the real world for a while.
Skip the TBR pile and grab something else
If you have more than one bookshelf filled with books you've never read, perhaps you should skip this tip, but if you find you aren't reaching for books on your TBR shelf, look elsewhere for your next read! Check out books from the library so you don't have to feel bad if you don't finish it (the way you would if you'd spent money on it). Or if you're not in immediate danger of TBR-Mount Everest, stop by a new bookstore and pick up a new book that speaks to you. Sometimes, we just get tired of saying we'll read the same books every year and not following through, and all it takes is a fresh face—or well, cover to encourage us.
Do some easy reading
Even if it's a super short book, graphic novel, or magazine, reading something—anything at all can steer you back in the right direction for reading. No matter how easy the read is, the sense of accomplishment you get from completing the read is usually enough to keep you reading and inspire you to tackle bigger reads.
Watch a bad movie adaptation
Sometimes stirring up a little righteous indignation is all it takes to get a reader back in between the pages. Watch the reeeeally crummy ones and remind yourself why books are usually always superior to their movie counterparts.
Get connected
Okay, trying really hard to not contradict myself here, but phones are permitted for this step. Get engaged with the bookish community online or join a book club in real life! Being around like-minded individuals will only encourage you to level-up your reading game and re-inspire your love of books.
Create a cozy reading nook
Of course, don't make it so cozy that you'd fall asleep there, but create a special space away from other activities so that you can read comfortably, without distraction. By doing this, you're assigning that task a specific location which helps the brain understand, when I'm here, I read.
Reorganize your bookshelves
If you're a bookish individual, then you know bookshelf porn is definitely a thing! There is something so powerfully motivating about having a gorgeous, aesthetically pleasing bookshelf to story all your little bookish babies. You can organize them by author, alphabetically, by color, genre, or whatever organization method you chose! You can also decorate your shelves with flowers, dragons, crystals, action figures, or any other gadgets or gizmos that bring you joy!
And that’s it for my 15 tips to break out of a reading slump! Comment your thoughts below and don’t forget to download the free PDF so you can be ready when the next reading slump strikes!
—Payton
10 Tips For Planning Your 2020 Reading Challenge
Not into New Years resolutions? Think you’d do better with a challenge? Well the good news is there’s something that works for everyone! This list of 10 tips will set you on the right track for you 2020 reading challenge!
Photo by Ann Poan.
Make time for reading
First and foremost, carve out a special time each day to read. Even if it’s for only 30 minutes at first, you will find yourself more interested in reading that you initially thought possible. Us the pomodoro technique to read in 25-minute intervals, to break the looming task down just a little. The easy part is setting the goal and doing the planning, but the follow-through is where it really counts, and unfortunately that part isn’t quite as easy. Set alarms to go off when you’re supposed to start and stop reading and make sure your reading area is conducive to relaxation and enjoyment.
Pro tip: Don’t forget Audiobooks! They totally count as reading and are a multitasker’s best friend! You can listen to audiobooks at the gym, in the car, or doing little chores around the house, to name a few activities.
Outline your own reading challenge
Reading challenges appear in many different forms: monthly Bookish bingo challenges, pre-made monthly lists, or like the Goodreads challenge, a set number of books you will try to read by the end of the year! Pick an existing challenge to participate in and figure out which books you want to read in 2020. Make them their own little list or shelf and be sure to leave room for extra books that you might need to get you out of reading slumps.
Pro tip: I always read romantic thrillers or horror novels to get me out of reading slumps! Usually it’s fantasy that puts me in a slump (even though I love the genre to death). Figure out what your go-to genre is and line up an reading slump emergency kit!
Get creative with your goals
Just because Goodreads has the yearly reading challenge and helps you keep track of the amount of books you read, doesn’t mean your goals have to strictly be a number. Consider what other goals would be helpful for your growth as a reader or writer. For example, one of my goals this year is to write a review for every book (or series) I read. I want to get into doing book reviews regularly and this is an excellent way for me to build the habit while challenging myself in a new, fun way. Another couple of examples is to only buy a new book when you’ve read one you currently own, join and IRL book club, or to get into reading audiobooks by reading one each month!
Organize your TBR
We ALL have that one shelf where we’ve boughten all kinds of books that we may or may not have the intention of reading. Whether you’ve got an actual bookshelf or your Goodreads virtual bookshelf, your amazon wishlist, or a handwritten list of books, keeping your TBR organized is key to accomplishing your reading goals in 2020.
Join a read-a-thon in 2020!
Read-a-thons are reading challenges that happen year-round and are hosted by book bloggers, booktubers, bookstagrammers, and bookish brands such as Owl Crate and Book Box! Joining the bookish fun is a great way to get involved, stay motivated, and make new friends along the way!
Photo by Content Pixie.
Prep your shelves
If you are in fact hoping to reach your goal of reading a certain number of book in 2020, you’re going to need to not only plan out your reading list, but also your shelves. See if you can find a reading challenge you’d like to participate in and pair the books on your shelf to the prompts in the challenge. You’ll get a good idea of your reading challenge this way and if you’re having trouble matching books to the challenge, it might be a good sign it’s time to pick a different challenge.
Track your progress effectively
Find a tracking method that works for you. I find the Goodreads reading challenge to be a great motivator and a great way to keep track of the books I’ve read. Plus, it gives you all sorts of statistics at the end of the year , like what books you read, longest to shortest in page count, most and least popular from your books, and it even keeps track of your reviews! However, you don’t have to use Goodreads. You can take the old-fashioned route and design a pretty progress tracker for 2020 that will inspire you to complete it!
Pro tip: Pintrest is a fantastic resource for finding any kind of habit tracker out there! Just type in “reading tracker” or “book tracker” in the search bar and you’ll be met with a plethora of fun designs you can use to track your own reading progress!
I SO look forward to this goal all year long and it continues to motivate me each year, even when I find myself in reading slumps or lacking motivation.
Connect with the bookish community
Reading brings people together! Get involved in the bookish community online and in real life to build strong connections with like-minded people and keep yourself motivated throughout the year and the reading challenge. Having a bookish BFF is an awesome way to keep yourself reading all year long! There are all kinds of fun, bookish things you can do in real life as well. You can start a book club together, buddy-read, host silent reading parties, or trade book recommendations!
Pro Tip: Bookstagram and reading groups on Facebook are both great ways to get engaged with the online reading community! See if your local library or community college has a book club you can join or start!
Set up a rewards system that works
If you read my guide on how to cure writer’s block for good, then you might know what I am about to say. Don’t neglect your other goals (saving money, losing weight, quitting smoking etc) by rewarding your good bookish behavior with toxic behavior. Set up a sustainable rewards system that doesn’t interfere with your other goals.
For instance, I am trying to cut out sugar AND stop impulse spending. So, what kind of reward can I set for myself? Weekly watch time for my favorite shows, nights out with friends, and every time I hit a major milestone for my reading challenge, I’ll allow myself to get ONE new book. This doesn’t interfere with my goals of consuming less sugar or saving money because my smaller rewards such as the nights out or TV time, effectively get me to my bigger milestones and better rewards.
By setting up a tiered rewards system, you keep steadily increasing motivation to finish out your goals and reach those rewards, all year long!
Pro Tip: If you chose to track your progress with Goodreads, they show you all sorts of fun statistics at the end of the year! This on it’s own is pretty exciting for me!
Check in an evaluate your reading challenge
Keep your reading challenge flexible and open to change if needed. Set monthly reminders or as often as you need them, to check-in and reevaluate your reading challenge. Don’t be afraid to raise or lower your book count goal accordingly, if you realize the current one just isn’t a good fit. Sometimes I just don’t meet my goal and instead of feeling sad about it, I just scale it down to something more pragmatic. Sometimes I easily surpass the goal, and likewise, I have to scale it accordingly. Remember the main goal of the challenge is to have fun so don’t get hung up on goals and deadlines, and just enjoy reading.
If you made it this far, I have an awesome freebie for you! Sometimes reading slumps are inevitable, but you can pull yourself out of your next reading slump with these surefire tips! Click here to get your FREE Reading Slump Emergency Kit!
What are your reading goals for 2020? Did you make your Bookish New Year’s resolutions yet? Comment below and let me know what you thought of this list and if there’s anything you’d add to it!
Click here to read my 20 Bookish Resolutions for 2020 blog post.
—Payton
Read Like A Writer: What Analytical Reading Can Teach Us
When it comes to reading, most of us look at it as a passive activity, but as writers’ more than our imagination should be engaged while reading. Once you learn to read as a writer, it will kind of demystify and disenchant reading for you, but at some point, if you want to get good at your craft and specifically, your genre, you’re going to have to learn to read like a writer and not just a reader. This blog post was written to help you actively move towards your goal of becoming a better writer by becoming increasingly more cognizant of the standard practice in novel writing.
So, How Do You Read Like A Writer?
Of course, it will vary depending on the genre, story, and your experience with reading, but the elements are typically the same. First, you will obviously be taking a more active and analytical approach to reading than just for research or entertainment purposes. Second, you’ll notice parts of the story as pieces rather than the big picture or overarching themes. Third, you’ll understand how everything comes together and you’ll be able to pick out certain things in one story that appear in other stories.
Story Structures and Story Beats
You can read about story structure formally—reading craft books, watching videos, following industry guides, or studying beat sheets—or it can be informal such as with movies and tv shows. After you understand the three-act-story-structure, you will become more aware of its uses in fiction across multiple genres.
Most stories are based off the three-act-story-structure. Try saying that five times fast—whew! I won’t go into too much detail about it because I have an extensive stack of freebies that discuss this topic at great lengths. However, I will say that this method of organizing and outlining story beats appears in almost every fiction novel/series and follows almost always the same format.
Check out my in-depth series on the three-act story structure here.
Whether it is informally or formally, you begin to learn the different parts of the story. As you are reading, notate these different story beats and decide if you like an author’s particular style or method in crafting these story beats. What you will notice is not only how the parts of the story work together, but where these story beats occur and when. Understanding where the parts of a story take place is incredibly important in crafting a well-paced story with just the right amount of tension and the right moments.
Key Turning Points In The Reading Experience
The next aspect of reading like a writer is paying close attention to changes in the reading experience and looking out for key turning points that suggest major plot/pinch points are just around the corner. Here, I am literally telling you to track the reading experience—whether it be page numbers in a hard copy or percentages on Kindle—watch where in the novel, these turning point occur. Being a conscious reader who pays attention to where these key turning points happen can make you a better writer because when you sit down to work on your own writing, you have a better understanding of the preparation that is necessary prior to these turning points—i.e. rising and falling tension and lead-up.
Analyze Author Choices
Consider thoughtfully the choices the author made in crafting the novel. Think critically about the POV—the lens through which the story is told, tense of the story, setting, balance of narration and dramatization, and other story elements. Consider what techniques the writer chose to employ, in what places, and how that affects your experience both as a reader and a writer. What techniques did you enjoy? What techniques did you dislike? Writers can learn a lot about effective storytelling by examining the techniques and elements they don’t enjoy.
Additionally, pay close attention to voice, tone, and mood to understand what choices the writer made to create that specific reading experience. Is he/she using a humorous or snarky voice? Is the voice buzzing with energy—so much that it keeps the pages turning? It the voice dry and dragging? Consider all of these elements when reading because you will need to consider them when writing as well.
Zone In On Bad Books
To reiterate what I said in the previous section, writers can learn a lot about effective storytelling by examining the techniques and elements they don’t enjoy. Is the story boring? If so, what about the pacing is dragging for you? Could it be that the writing seems stagnant, that the writer is info-dumping, that the characters are spending too long engaging in mundane activities, are the characters being annoying, is there no tension or is the tension continuously building without mini-climaxes?
Person holding brown ceramic coffee mug next to a short stack of books. Photo by Parth Shah
Are these elements conscious choices on the part of the writer or subconscious? Of course, we will always be able to pick out what we don’t like about novels since we bring out own worldview, biases, and experience to the table when reading, but it’s worth mentioning that by making note of what we don’t enjoy in other novels we can then avoid it in our own writing.
Consider how you would fix a bad book. An awesome story idea I once found was to take the parts of the story that you really do like and use those to inspire a new book that you then can make better by avoiding the mistakes the other author made in their book. (I don’t mean plagiarizing or paraphrasing—give credit where it is due—but feel free to take a broad, general idea and run with it.
If you’ve ever heard the phrase, there’s nothing new under the sun, then you know immediately after you hear it, you feel all sad and dejected inside—that is until you don’t, because you know that no one can tell the story the way you can, but I digress.
The point is you can take a story that has a really great premise and do it differently. It’s a seriously eye-opening craft exercise to see if the thing you don’t like about a book truly make it bad or if they just don’t work for you.
Analyze Your Favorites
The final tip for reading like a writer is of course, to reread your favorite stories with your craft hat on! This is the part where reading like a writer really can ruin book for you so tread carefully. But examine one of your favorite works and consider why you love it so much and what the writer does in each part of the novel that makes reading it an enchanting experience for you.
What choices has the writer made and what elements are they using to craft the story? Consider what strengths and weaknesses you both have and see how you can learn and strengthen the trouble spots in your writing. For instance, if you’re just awful at dialogue but you really enjoy how Becca Fitzpatrick does dialogue, read her books closely and see how she does it differently. Is this something you can learn? Is it something you can emulate? Is this a concrete craft hack that you can figure out for yourself?
While the magic of some writer’s styles can’t exactly be taught, most of the elements of good writing and the things that make writers great can be learned. It just takes time, studying, and practicing consistently to hone the craft. Most of these things can be emulated and molded to fit your own writing style and once you have the building blocks you can create anything.
That’s it for my tips on how to read like a writer and how it can help you in your own writing career. Analytical and critical reading can help us understand parts of the story, what we both do and don’t enjoy in writing, and learn to emulate other writing styles to grow as a writer. This post might ruin leisurely reading for you forever, but it will also improve your writing in ways you never thought possible. What did you think of these tips and have you ever tried them before? Let me know your thoughts in the comment below!
—Payton
How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It
It might be surprising to learn that a published author, creative writer, and professional editor used to hate reading books. The truth is I wasn’t always an avid reader. To fully understand how my love for books, and more importantly—my love for stories has grown over the years, I have to back up to a time before I appreciated books.
It might be surprising to learn that a published author, creative writer, and professional editor used to hate reading books. The truth is I wasn’t always an avid reader. To fully understand how my love for books, and more importantly—my love for stories has grown over the years, I have to back up to a time before I appreciated books.
I really learned how to read books in the third grade. I hated reading because I wasn’t good at it and thus, I wasn’t good at it because I hated it. It was a vicious cycle that repeated itself anytime my teacher assigned reading for homework. This resulted in me not doing so well in school and having to be held back in the third grade. I’m not ashamed of it now, but it made me feel like a complete failure. As I got older, I realized it was essential to my growth as a student, reader, and writer and I had no idea it would ultimately become my lifelong passion.
So, even though I’d learned how to read around first grade, I really learned to read proficiently during my second round of third grade. I had a kind, caring teacher who was really dedicated to helping me grow as a reader and worked with me to build my skill. Following the third grade, I almost instantly did better in all of my studies, passing tests with accuracy that was once gated by my reading inability.
Woman covering her face with a book. Photo by Siora Photography
I began reading books from the Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne and Barney the Bear-Killer, by Pat Sargent. I was drawn to Sargent’s story because of the cheetah on the cover of book seven in the series and reached for Osborne’s books of which I’d heard contained a magic tree-house that could take Jack and Sally anywhere they wanted to go. Between books that had to do my favorite animal, the cheetah, and endless adventures for kids, I had plenty of reading that I could connect with. These book series helped me to connect with compelling characters over a long stretch of books which kept me reading for a long time.
Games also helped better my reading abilities, which is why I am such a big advocate for giving children access to games. While video games are constantly under fire for promoting violence and toxic environments to children, I have to point out that playing World of Warcraft from the age of nine years old, has significantly benefited my reading skills. When I first started playing the MMO, my reading abilities weren’t too strong, and I had a lot of trouble reading game instructions and quest text. However, playing the games in combination with reading Sargent and Osborne, my reading proficiency increased.
Soon after I’d reached middle school, my family and I moved to Oklahoma and being the new girl, I turned to books until my friends found me. I got into graphic novels from James Paterson’s Maximum Ride Series and after falling in love with the characters from the manga books, I began reading the full-length novels.
In eighth grade, I attended Quartz Mountain Christian Camp for two weeks in the summer, and being new to the camp, I again turned to books. We had a lot of downtime in our cabins and with cell-phones off-limits, I decided to read a random book I’d packed in my suitcase on the off chance I’d get bored and have to read.
That’s exactly what happened, and the book I’d brought was Gillian Shield’s Immortal. This book was pivotal for me because it was the first time I’d read a book that I just couldn’t put down. It taught me a very important lesson in reading—there is a genre for everyone and if you don’t like reading, you just haven’t found the right genre. I didn’t know what genre it was yet, but I realized I had been reading all of the wrong books when I was younger and fantasy, romantic, thrillers, action novels and horror were where I should have been the whole time. (Okay, maybe horror isn’t something third graders should read, but still.)
My favorite genre to date, is the romantic thriller. I don’t know, maybe I really am one of those mushy, hopeless romantics after all, but there’s just something so compelling about supernatural love, forbidden romances, and tall, dark, handsome guys with way too much angst. What can I say? I think I have a type. Following Gillian Shield’s Immortal series, I dove straight into the Hush, Hush Saga, by Becca Fitzpatrick, which is my all-time favorite series to date. I’ve read it about eight times now, and I reach for the series every fall. (Except for 2019, where I got a little too excited a little too early and burned through the series in four days over the summer. Oops!)
By my freshman year of high school, I was so deep in the reading hole, I couldn’t get out. In one year, I’d read all of the Percy Jackson and Olympians series and Heroes of Olympus, both of which were written by Rick Riordan. That same year, I reread Maximum Ride, and read for the first time Gillian Shields new book, Destiny, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, and the Warcraft: War of the Ancients Archive by Richard A Knaak. This was a new record for me, because not only had I read so many books in one year, I also burned through the last book, which was thicker than my upper arm, with proficiency.
Since I’d fallen in love with the game, it’s lore, and it’s characters, I was more prepared than ever to take on this thick tome of game lore, character backstory, and history of the world of Azeroth, in which the game was set. I’ve read it twice since then and every time, I enjoy it because I remember how enchanted and enthralled I’d felt when I’d first read it.
As a third grader, I’d never imagined I’d ever read at the level I do now, and as an adult I can’t imagine a life without books. They’ve helped shape me into the woman I am today, and through reading, I have cultivated a love for books and stories. I love equally the process of reading and the process of telling a story—two process that go hand in hand since a writer cannot expect to better their craft without reading the works of others.
I highly recommend reading and if it’s not something you’re interested in right now, keep looking, because I assure you, you just haven’t found the right genre yet!
And that’s the end of my hot take on reading when it’s something you hate. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Thumbnail photo by Daria Shevtsova
—Payton
Get Immersed in Your Reading/ Writing With The 5 Senses
In the writing world, we always hear about ‘showing instead of telling’ but what if we, as readers helped bring the stories to life, ourselves. I’ve talked a little about immersion reading, on this blog before, but this takes it to a whole new level.
In the writing world, we always hear about ‘showing instead of telling’ but what if we, as readers helped bring the stories to life, ourselves. I’ve talked a little about immersion reading, on this blog before, but this takes it to a whole new level.
Sight
Of course, first and most impactful sense is that of sight, and it makes sense that we’d use that sense in our reading immersion. However, what might not be so obvious is that readers can create an environment in their minds, in the tangible world around them, and online to bring the stories their reading to life. First, I would create or save an existing pintrest board that is made specifrically for your story. This is something I’ve been doing as a writer and it helps make my fantasy worlds more real and believable when I have something to actually look at.
Sound
The next most important sense is that of sound. You might be listening to an audiobook which definitely employs this sense. But if your reading a hard copy or e-book, you can also enjoy this kind of immersion. You can listen to playlists made for the genre of the story your reading, such as “Celtic Woods” for fantasy or “Dungeon Music” for a thriller. I really enjoy listening to video game soundtracks, and two of my favorites are the Assassin’s Creed Origins Soundtrack and the Ashenvale Soundtrack from World of Warcraft. Likewise, you can also create ambient soundscapes to play in the background while you’re reading. There are tons of ready-made mixes, such as “The Slytherin Common Room” or “Rivendell” on Ambient-Mixer.com!
Smell
The third sense, and one of the easiest to employ is that of smell. When I really want to feel immersed in the story I’m reading or writing, I will light a candle or put oils in my diffuser to give my environment a new scent and pull me deeper into the story. If you want to feel like you’re in a fall environment, you can burn a pumpkin-spiced or apple-cinnamon candle
Touch
This is one of the lesser-used senses for immersion reading but it can be incredibly effective, especially if the story is set in a certain season. (And even more effective if that season is active while you’re reading the story!) Touch sort of ties in with Smell in that if you want to feel like you’re in a certain season, you can manipulate your reading environment to match the conditions of the story! So, the story’s set in a frozen wasteland? You can just turn the A/C all the way up! (…or not.)
Taste
While not altogether impossible, this is easily the most difficult of the five senses to employ when immersing yourself in a story. Consider the setting and characters in the story and what they might eat or drink and try to recreate it. If you enjoy snacking while you read, then make something from or inspired by the story. Consider making fictitious dishes. Perhaps the characters drink tea or coffee? Brew yourself a cup, cozy up and get immersed.
What do you think about immersive reading with the 5 senses? Have you ever tried this? Let me know in the comments below!
Thumbnail photo by lilartsy.
—Payton
Immersion Reading - Audiobooks and Ambiance
Audiobooks aren’t really books. Or are they? While many argue that listening to an audiobook doesn’t really compare to reading a book, there’s something to be said about immersion reading -or reading text while listening to an audiobook simultaneously. By using two of the five senses, readers gain a richer reading experience and find it easier to get into the story.
Woman wearing headphones while reading. Photo by Karolina Grabowska
Audiobooks aren’t really books. Or are they? While many argue that listening to an audiobook doesn’t really compare to reading a book, there’s something to be said about immersion reading -or reading text while listening to an audiobook simultaneously. By using two of the five senses, readers gain a richer reading experience and find it easier to get into the story.
So, if reading tackles one sense -sight, and listening tackles a second -sound, then shouldn’t this foster a better reading experience?
Not exactly. Many readers argue that audiobooks are distracting to the story, or their reading pace differs from the reading pace of the voice actor, or the narrators read in strange voices for each character. These are all issues authors face when considering having their manuscripts formatted as an audiobook. While these are real issues to readers and authors alike, they still receive an overwhelming positive response, and here’s why:
There’s a new trend in the reading community called immersion reading. As defined above, immersion reading is when a book (or e-book) is read in tandem with an audiobook. This has helped many readers better get into the story and has fostered, for many, a richer reading experience.
Not all voice actors read character voices. If you’ve listened to George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” the first book in the Game of Thrones series, you know how fun/annoying character voices can be to listen to. This is an issue for some because it doesn’t allow the reader’s imagination to create the characters’ voices, but instead provides them with a narrator-interpreted voice. However, this isn’t always bad; readers who want to focus on the writing and the content of the story won’t have to waste their time imagining voices if they hear them while they’re reading. A quick check in the reviews of your audiobook will tell you if the narrator used character voices.
The pacing. Readers often read at their own pace and many argue that audiobooks don’t read as fast/slow as they’d like. If you’re using the Audible app, there is a slider that allows you to change the speed without butchering the narrator’s voice.
Another way for readers to experience immersion reading is by playing music in the background of your reading space. No, I don’t mean Lady Gaga should be blasting while you’re reading your next high fantasy novel. Instead, you should put on music from the Slytherin Common Room at Hogwarts, or something fantasy-based. This helps drop the reader into the setting of the story and makes for a richer reading experience. A great place to find music like this is Ambient-mixer.com or on the Ambient Mixer app. This app allows the listener to create different sound loops and has a variety of looped tracks for any genre/setting.
A quote from the Ambient Mixer site describes what the site offers to listeners:
Ambient Mixer Slytherin Common Room slider volume controls. Photo by Payton Hayes.
“Ambient-mixer.com is a community driven project offering you some unique quality soundscapes with different atmospheres for chilling, relaxing or your recordings using our endless audio loops. You can further effectively mix and create your own sounds absolutely free, with no software installations required. You can begin listening to our sounds by clicking on the images above, which are based on different themes. All atmospheres are royalty free audio files and you can use them even in your commercial projects, thanks to the Creative Commons Sampling Plus license.” (Ambient Mixer, Homepage Footer, Para 1).
While not everyone supports the use of audiobooks over reading tangible books or even e-books, immersion reading is gaining traction and becoming more popular throughout the reading community.
Thumbnail photo by cottonbro.