I did something super scary, friends – I recorded a podcast! It’s just on Spotify so far while I figure out how to push it to other platforms. I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but most of my favourite podcasts have two people engaged in a conversation and it felt weird to do it on my own — but then one of my favourite bookish content creators, Page In Print, launched the Page by Page Book Club this year, and I’ve been absolutely LOVING them – it feels like she’s chatting with me, and that the vibe that I’m planning to bring to the party!
While I don’t think every episode will turn into a blog post, I did want to dust off this old thing and try to cross-post once in a while … I think I started feeling like I was so behind it was impossible to catch up (y’all, my Q4 faves for 2024 is still sitting in draft form!), but instead, let’s just start fresh…. welcome to Reading with Writer Grrl.
I decided to keep the first episode short and sweet with the End of the Year Book Tag, which was created (and revised this year) by Ariel Bissett of Books Unbound, a podcast I’ve been loyally listening to since its inception, as it features two of my favourite Canadian booktubers from back in the day!
1. Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?
I’ve picked up and set down quite a few books this year, always chasing what my mood craves, but the only book that comes to mind that I would definitely like to finish is Onyx Storm. I think I read about 150 or so pages of it, but there was such a big character dump that I found myself getting really confused so I set it aside. I’m waiting for the audiobook at the library to be available at the same time I’m in a fantasy mood, and then I plan to immersive read this one.
2. Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?
I normally read pretty much what I want all year around, but this year I seem to have picked the perfect transitional book – Chasing the Sun by Lena Hendrix. It has a tiny bit of a ghost story, and the best grumpy/sunshine small town vibes so far – it’s everything I could possibly want right now while the sun is shining, the leaves are turning and there’s that perfect crispness to the air.
3. Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?
I have a few preordered until the end of the year, so let’s stick to just those. Secret Haven by Catherine Cowles, the final book in the Sparrow Falls series comes out October 21 – this series has had me in an absolute chokehold since I started it earlier this year, and then binged the first four books back-to-back, which I almost never do! A week later on October 28, the final books in Becka Mack’s Playing for Keeps series, Breathe With Me, releases and I know that this book is going to DESTROY MY SOUL and yet I’m ready for it. This book already comes with major trigger warnings for infertility. The final book that I have preordered is At Whit’s End by Bailey Hannah, which I thought was the final book in the Wells Ranch series, but apparently we’re getting a fifth book! I’m still so excited for this story – this is another series that I devoured earlier this year and I love Bailey’s writing so much.
4. What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?
I made a list of preorders that I haven’t read yet, and would like to read them all before the end of the year – in addition to the four that I’ve already mentioned, I have three more books that I preordered but haven’t read yet: Story of my Life by Lucy Score, Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab.
5. What trends have you noticed in your reading this year?
I would like to say I’ve bought less books, but I know that isn’t true – but I do feel like I’ve been more intentional with the books that I’ve been buying. I also did a massive unhaul of my unread books over the summer, dropping my total unread books below 200 and it felt so good! I got rid of a lot of books that I’ve had for years and have lost interest in reading – acknowledging that my tastes have changed over the years, and that it’s okay to let go of some of those books that are just collecting dust. I’m genuinely excited about all of the books that are left on my shelves, and I look forward to continuing to focus on my TBR for the rest of the year.
6. How do you feel about your reading goals? Anything you want to change, adjust, or abandon?
Honestly, I don’t feel like I really set too many concrete goals this year, other than focusing on my owned books. I did say that I would read any book I paid full price for right away, but that one definitely fell apart after my birthday shopping spree at Indigo in March. I only have 8 books left on my 25 books to read in 2025 list, so that feels very manageable – and I’m excited to read all of them. I still have four series left to finish, but two of them are books coming out this fall. I also have two more BB4E books, but they’re also on my 25 books list. Finally, I had five books on my shelf of books that Dany recommended, and I only have one more to finish that challenge too.
7. Have you already started making reading plans for next year?
Not really – that always feels like something that I really start thinking about when I start putting together my reading journal for next year, but I know that I will be continuing the journey to reduce my physical TBR — there are worse problems to have than too many great books to read, I suppose!
Writer Grrl Reads 