I still can’t believe we are already almost halfway through 2021… Not that this year is any better than the previous to be honest. With the country in lockdown mode again and no vaccine in sight in the next decade or so, things have been bleak and I’ve returned to stress baking as well as other DIY projects on top of my reading. I painted the map mural below by hand with only my phone as a reference, and I also painted another ‘mate’ set as a gift for my sister-in-law… Winter also seems to be right around the corner, so I see lots of curling up under a blanket with a book and a cup of tea in the near future.

Next: the bookish numbers.

  • Number of books read in May: 25
  • Total number of books read in 2021: 113
  • Total number of pages read in May: 9.072
  • Total number of pages read in 2021: 39.553

I managed to read a lot during May… The fact that we’ve been in lockdown again these last two weeks probably played a role. I’m really happy with my reading choices though, as I had no less than eight new nearly perfect ratings and only two books were below 3 stars.

MAY 2021 READS

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic!

Local Woman Missing – by Mary Kubica // Evil Games – by Angela Marsons // The Life We Almost Had – by Amelia Henley // The Woman With The Blue Star – by Pam Jenoff // Hostage – by Clare Mackintosh // The Last Train To Key West – by Chanel Cleeton // Lost Girls – by Angela Marsons // Home Before Dark – by Riley Sager

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

First Blood – by Angela Marsons // Whispers Under Ground – by Ben Aaronovitch // The Bonds Of Blood – by Rob Sinclair // Tears Of Amber – by Sofia Segovia // The Family Tree – by Steph Mullin & Nicole Mabry // Spring Skies Over Bluebell Castle – by Sarah Bennett // Harry Potter En De Steen Der Wijzen (REREAD) – by J.K. Rowling // A Carrion Death – by Michael Stanley

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!

A Dog’s Journey – by W. Bruce Cameron // The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes – by Arthur Conan Doyle // In Dark Water – by Lynne McEwan

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic.

My Dark Vanessa – by Kate Elizabeth Russell // The Serial Killer’s Wife – by Alice Hunter // Take Me There – by Carolee Dean // The Mist – by Ragnar Jonasson

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting.

Shipped – by Angie Hockman

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’. 

Every Vow You Break – by Peter Swanson

I ended up joining more challenges than planned this year, but I’m hoping to finish most without too much effort… I managed to finish the first two challenges of the year already! I decided to increase my Netgalley goal to 50 though to keep things interesting…

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals: I haven’t been able to bring my ARC ratio back below 40%, although I did manage to shave 2,7% off the ratio so I’m not complaining. I also managed to finish both my classics goal and read my Dutch title of the year, and most other goals are doing pretty good too. I’m slacking a bit with my Karin Slaughter goal, but that is mostly the fault of me discovering the DI Kim Stone books and preferring to catch up with that series instead. xD

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 3 (modern) classics (rereads don’t count) DONE!! 3/3 (The Big Four // The Mystery Of The Blue Train // The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes)
  • Complete at least 6 series (rereads don’t count) 4/6 (Harold Fry // Martini Club // It Happened In Charleston // Hidden Iceland)
  • Catch up with Karin Slaughter series (Will Trent/Grant County) 3/15
  • Reread at least 2 books DONE!! 2/2 (The Shadow Of The Wind // The One)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 650 books and keep it that way. 755/650
  • Read at least one book over 600 pages DONE!! 1/1 (The Rose Code; 645 pages)
  • Keep ARC/backlist title ratio below 40% 41,6%
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 1/2 (Los Plebeyos)
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch DONE!! 1/1 (Harry Potter En De Steen Der Wijzen)
  • Read at least 15 international authors and/or translations (each author counts only once) 12/15 (The Shadow Of The Wind (Spain // Snowblind (Iceland) // Crazy Rich Asians (Singapore) // Smoke Screen (Norway) // Hotel Cartagena (Germany) // Los Plebeyos (Argentina) // These Violent Delights (China) // Inborn (Norway) // Facets Of Death (South Africa) // The Final Chapter (France) // Tears Of Amber (Mexico) // Harry Potter En De Steen Der Wijzen (UK; Dutch version))
  • Read at least 10 TBR jar picks 6/10 (Radio Silence // Shutter Island // Hidden Figures // Inborn // My Dark Vanessa // Take Me There)
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year DONE!! 5/5
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% 98%

Stay safe and happy reading!

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