BOOK TAG!!! The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag

It’s been a while since I did a book tag so I was delighted when BooksAre42 tagged me in the Quarter Year Crisis Book tag. This tag seemed like a great opportunity to check in on my reading for 2024, and to tell you a little bit about some of the other things that have been part of my reading life this year. This tag was created by Roisin’s Reading over on BookTube.

I’m not going to formally tag anyone in this post but, if you read this and would like to have a go at this tag, I’ll post a clean copy of the questions at the end of this post. Please do tag me (and the original tag creator) if you decide to take on the tag as I’d love to read your responses!

Now, let’s get to having that Quarter Year Crisis shall we?

How many books have you read so far?

I’ve read 21 books so far in 2024. This is considerably less than I’d read at the same point last year but I’m not too surprised about that. I’m in the final stages of my PhD in English Literature so I’m currently preparing my thesis for submission, alongside several part-time job roles. Two of my part-time roles involve teaching so, between that and the PhD, I’ve been doing a lot of reading for work and considerably less reading for pleasure. So what I should probably say is that, given I don’t usually track the academic texts and obscure bits of eighteenth-century literature that I read for ‘work’ on Goodreads, I’ve read 21 books purely for entertainment this year. And I’ll take that as a win given everything else that’s going on!

Have you found a book that you think might be a 2024 favourite?

Yes! My first read of the year was Starling House by Alix E. Harrow and I really enjoyed its blend of gothic mystery and ‘two-halves-of-a-whole-idiot-catch-feelings’ romance. I’m keen to read more books by this author so I have The Ten Thousand Doors of January on my shelf and am hoping to get to it in the not-too-distant future. I’d also welcome book recommendations for readalikes so if anyone has them, please do drop them in the comments below!

I’m also currently reading The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton and think it might be another contender. I loved both Stuart’s previous books – The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water – and, by what I’ve read so far, this is going to be another ingeniously plotted mystery with a unique twist. Expect a full review in the near future.

Any least favourite book of the year?

I don’t really go in for least favourites. Although there have been books that didn’t wholly fulfil my expectations, I generally give myself permission to DNF books that I’m not enjoying.

That said, there have been one or two books that have been ‘right book, wrong time’ books this year. The PhD isn’t leaving a huge amount of brain space and, as a result, my tolerance for literary fiction has definitely reduced. I’ve attempted to read both The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell and The Fraud by Zadie Smith this year but have found myself returning them to the shelf unfinished. I’m sure they’ll both prove to be excellent reads once I’ve got the brain capacity to fully enjoy them but that time is likely to be after the thesis has been submitted!

Most read genre?

It will come as no surprise to anyone who regularly reads this blog that my most read genre of the year is mystery. It’s my go-to comfort genre, especially when I need to just switch off and relax. My most recent mystery read was A Very Lively Murder by Katy Watson, which I thoroughly enjoyed!

A book that surprised me?

Honestly, Starling House was a real surprise. I don’t always get on with fantasy novels so I was a bit suspicious about whether I’d gel with a book that had such strong magical realist elements. It’s definitely a book that has made me rethink my reading relationship to fantasy and magical realism as a genre.

A book that has come out in 2024 that I haven’t yet read?

As usual, the pace of my book acquisition has vastly outpaced the pace of my reading in 2024! There are several 2024 releases on my TBR pile including The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown, The Beholders by Hester Musson, A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal, and The Book Forger by Joseph Hone.

One goal you made that you’re succeeding at?

Completing my PhD?! Honestly, although I’m reading less I’m also putting myself under less pressure to read when I’m not feeling it. Not only does this mean I’ve been able to spend time on some other long-neglected hobbies (namely working through my gaming backlog) but I think I’m enjoying the time that I spend with the books I do read more. So I guess I’m succeeding at the goal of being a little kinder in my reading life.

One goal that you need to focus on?

I stopped setting formal reading goals a couple of years ago. I set an annual Goodreads goal (52 books) but, beyond that, I find them something of a deterrent to a healthy reading practice. So in that spirit, my goal is simply to keep reading!

The Questions!

• How many books have you read so far?
• Have you found a book that you think might be a 2024 favourite?
• Any least favourite book of the year?
• Most read genre?
• A book that surprised me?
• A book that has come out in 2024 that I haven’t yet read?
• One goal you made that you’re succeeding at?
• One goal that you need to focus on?

All of the books mentioned in this post can be purchased from your nearest bookseller or online retailer. If you can, please support a local indie bookshop by ordering from them either in person or online! Some of my favourites include Booka Bookshop, The Big Green Bookshop, Sam Read Booksellers, Book-ish, Scarthin Books, and Berts Books. 

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