I turned thirty on Friday, and so it’s time for another one of my reading challenges to myself. I didn’t do the best on my challenge from the previous year, but I like the challenge and I like trying to check books off of my physical TBR. I have a large personal library, and while I have read a lot of them, there’s always more to read. Below the cut you’ll find my list of 30 books I want to read before my 31st birthday.
Ashley’s November Book Haul and Wrap Up
November was a really interesting month for me. I read a lot of books, but I also didn’t have nearly as much time for reading as I usually do as I started a course on becoming a teacher librarian. It’s really interesting, but with that on top of teaching full time, I didn’t get as much reading as I wanted to done. However, I’m still happy with what I read. Let’s jump into it.
Misc Monday | Ashley’s 29th Year Books – Six Months Update
It’s been just about six months since my birthday, so I thought it would be a good time to do a quick update on how many books from my 29 Reads for My 29th Year post. If I have read it, I’ll give it a quick review.
Ashley’s June TBR Hopefuls
I didn’t do a TBR in May because I had disappointed myself the previous month by not achieving all of the TBR challenge prompts I was supposed to do. I didn’t do that in May either. I technically read books that applied to all the prompts but I didn’t read all of the books I had planned for the prompts. However, I still kind of wanted to do this post because I like talking about the books that I’m going to read. So I will do so below the cut. However, I want to emphasize that I don’t plan on reading all of these, but I know I will get to a fair few of them.
Ashley’s March Wrap Up and Haul
March was a good month. I ended up reading a bunch and I enjoyed almost all of the things that I read. I picked up some exciting books and I’m feeling really good about how things went!
Book Review | The Follower by Kate Doughty
**Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of The Follower by Kate Doughty through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this opportunity.
The Follower by Kate Doughty is a young adult mystery thriller novel about a set of triplet social media influencers. The Cole triplets move from house to house with their parents as they flip homes. This new house is their last chance, but it seems that maybe they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. The Follower is due to be published on March 23rd, 2021. I rated it 5 stars on GoodReads.
Book Review | Namesake by Adrienne Young
**Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of Namesake by Adrienne Young through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to them and the publisher for this opportunity.
Namesake by Adrienne Young is a young adult fantasy novel set in a fictional world where our cast of characters live and die on the seas while trying to make their fortunes. Fable learns about her history and tries to make a name for herself. It is set to be published on March 16th, 2021. I rated it five stars on GoodReads.
29 Books to Read in my 29th Year
This will be my third year completing this challenge, and I have to admit I’m excited to try and do even better than I did the previous two times. I can’t make any guarantees but I really, really want to try and read all 29 books that I put on this list. I’m also going to try and not add one item with multiple options on it. That really just ends up making it to be more than what I really need to strive for.
Book Review | Smash It by Francina Simone
**Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy of Smash It by Francina Simone from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to them for this opportunity.
Smash It by Francina Simone is a young adult contemporary novel. It is an #ownvoices coming of age story, and also a retelling of the Shakespearean play Othello. The book publishes on September 22nd, 2020. I rated it four stars.
Book Review | Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp
** Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader’s copy of Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.
Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp is a young adult mystery thriller set at an isolated cabin on a mountain. It is about five friends who play a roleplay game together, and who are getting together for the last time only for things to go horribly wrong. Even If We Break is set to publish on September 15th, 2020. I rated it 4 stars on Goodreads.