Welcome to my 2022 wrap up and year in review! I want to do something a little different, and take each month and talk about what happened that month, my favourite posts from that month and then at the end share my top ten books of the year and my goals for next year! This post is very ambitious and it will take me ages (although I wouldn't have it any other way!) so please comment and let me know what your favourite reads of the year were and what you got up to!
In January, I was obsessed with the blog. It's all I wanted to do, all day long! I made huge changes to the layout and style of my blog (you can see one of the trial versions in the bottom right of the graphic above), and I'm really happy with the way my blog looks now! I also started getting ARCs, which was such an amazing experience, and the feeling of receiving one for the first time was just incredible!
Favourite Post from January: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Book Review
My memory of February is that I just wanted to read YA book after YA book, it rained a lot, and I made waffles with a friend. That's about it!
Favourite Post from February: Random Ramble || cosy stay at home storm day, recent reads and things I'm enjoying at the moment
BOOK TOUR | You Won't Know Her Name by Shanti Hershenson // book review - My first ever book tour!
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One of my favourite parts of March was going to see The Lion King musical. It's so beautiful and I got to see it as part of a school trip too and so got to be there with my friends. I also saw Rock, Paper, Killers in a bookshop which was incredible because it was the first time I had seen an ARC I had received being out to the world - very surreal to think I got to read it before everyone else! It also started to be Spring (isn't my sister an incredible photographer? - she took the photo of the daffodils) and I read A Room With A View. What a great month!
Favourite Posts from March: YA Book Review: With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo
April was truly one of my favourite months of the year! It was the Easter holidays and I went to Spain and France and it was just amazing! I spent so much time with my family and on the beach and it was truly fantastic! The TV show of one of my absolute favourite books, Heartstopper, was also released in April, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I love it!
Favourite Posts From April: Top Ten Tuesday | Favourite YA Books Of All Time (freebie)
May started with bluebells and blossoms, went on with a day with one of my closest friends at Agatha Christie's house in Devon and ended with going back to France (image taken from the ferry in the bottom left). A beautiful month!
Favourite Posts from May: 4 YEAR BLOGOVERSARY | reacting to my first ever post!
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I spent the first few day of June with my family in France (including at the beautiful beach on the bottom right which is actually on an island). I had a lot of revision to do because of end of year assessments, which got a lot more intense than in previous years, but I also got to see Mamma Mia! which was such a joyful show. A very mixed and slightly stressful month, but overall with some great moments!
I went on hiatus in June! It was one of the scariest but also best decisions because I could focus on school and get back to the blog feeling more motivated. It was the best break away, and I'm pleased to say that my blog is doing better than ever, and the hiatus didn't impact my views, and that's thanks to you for coming back to support me!
My main memory of July is of the school residential I went on, but I also camped in a forest with my friends, went on beautiful walks and right at the end of the month, went back to France! It looks like I am in France every month from April, but I actually went at the end of May crossing over into the beginning of June, and then at the end of July crossing over into August!
Favourite Posts from July: Summer Plans 🌞| stepping out of my comfort zone, reading plans & MORE
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Wow. August was such a whirlwind month! I volunteered at a sailing club for four weeks, which was one of the scariest things I've ever done, but also was one of the most incredible experiences. I learnt so, so much and met so many people! I got to cycle down every morning from my grandparents in France and the image in the bottom right was my view - truly magical! I then got to escape with my family for a few days on a island to finish up the summer!
Favourite Posts from August: Heartstopper Netflix Show Review | graphic novel fan watches netflix show
I obviously went back to school this month, but it was also a weird month because I live in the UK and the queen died, which definitely shook things up a bit! I also went to my first ever carnival and looked for frogs in my friend's pond. All great fun, but overall a very mixed month!
Favourite Posts from September: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell || Book Review
Honestly one of the best days of the year for me was in October, when I went to the Jane Austen Centre in Bath with a really good friend of mine. We went bookshopping too and it was just the most magical bookish day! I also saw this stunning sunrise (in bottom left) and picked lots of apples in my garden!
Favourite Posts from October: BOOK HAUL || bookshopping and Jane Austen day in Bath // cosy day out
November just disappeared for me! On the 5th it is bonfire night here in the UK and so I went to see fireworks with my friends. The highlight of the month was going to London for a weekend with my family, especially our brunch at Notting Hill!
Favourite Posts from November: Weekly Wrap Up || i watched young royals, a bit of a reading slump and new persephone books
We had insane cold in December (we got to -7, which is VERY cold for England!) and therefore SNOW! I went to France for Christmas with my family over there, and there was the most surreal experience on the beach, where there was this massive pool of water, which reflected the sun, sky and clouds and then a horse was riding along and it was just the strangest but most amazing moment, which I managed to capture in this photograph!
Favourite Posts from December: 8 Of My Most Anticipated YA Releases 2023
....and of course this post!
My Top Ten Books of 2022
1. If This Gets Out by Cale Dietrich and Sophie Gonzales
2. Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
3. The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman
4. Floored by A Collaboration of UKYA authors
5. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
6. You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
7. Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson
8. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
9. With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo
10. A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
If you would like these in more detail, then please let me know in a comment and I will do a separate post!
A Reflection Of My Reading in the Last Year:
At the end of last year, I wanted to read 12 classics this year and do YA Book Of The Month. Neither of these happened. I think I almost read so many amazing classics last year that I fell into a bit of a slump with it this year. I ended up reading 7 classics, but I did love all of them so I'm not complaining! I read SO MUCH YA. Pretty much all year that's all I wanted to read and WOW I read a lot of incredible YA books this year! I did end up leaving YA Book Of The Month after my hiatus, but I really enjoyed the experience of writing those posts for the first few months.
The Statistics:
Firstly, I wanted to mention that statistics absolutely don't matter when talking about what you've read in a year. I, for one, have read much less than I did last year. You have to factor in the circumstances and events which these statistics don't take into account. The lockdowns in 2021, meant I had more time to read, while in 2022 I ended up having Covid twice and felt too ill to read, honestly, so I missed out on at least a week of reading each time! That's just talking about Covid, which is only one example of something that's really affected our lives and therefore reading.
Anyway, here are my statistics for 2022:
Books Read: 55
Pages Read: 14271
Shortest Book: The Raid by Leo Tolstoy (48 Pages)
Longest Book: A Tale Of Magic by Chris Colfer
Average Book Length: 259 Pages
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.5
A Reflection Of My Blog in the Last Year:
I wanted to connect more with the blogging community, which is definitely something I did, and it's been fantastic! I've had SO MANY more comments this year too and it's just been the best experience! I took the time to go on hiatus, but I don't think that was a bad thing, and I still posted more than I have any other year (even with the month of hiatus!), so I'm really proud of myself for that.
I also reached my 10,000 all time views at the end of this year, which for a little blog like me is incredible and I just wanted to thank you because you made that happen for me. THANK YOU for every comment and every view, for following my journey and wanting to spend your time here. THANK YOU.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post, for supporting me for another year and for all of your subscriptions and comments. I hope you had a good Christmas if you celebrate and have a happy new year!
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p.s. casual magic of the day:
(If you are new here and have no idea what I'm on about, click here to find out more)
I am working on my goals notion page for next year and I just love the way it came out! Notion has truly changed my life this year and it's such an incredible platform!
What a wonderful wrap up, Zoë! I love the photo collages for each month. I hope you have a happy 2023!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! The collages took ages, so I'm glad you love them - I do too!! You too, thank you so so much for supporting my blog over the past year, it truly means so much. Happy new year!!
DeleteI enjoyed reading this post so much! The Jane Austen day was one of the best days of my year as well:))
ReplyDeleteThank you!! It truly was the most magical bookish Jane Austen day, here's to many more bookish days together ;)) thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment!!
DeleteLots of beautiful pictures to summarize your year. It looks like you had a great 2022. I think you might have mentioned France a few times. I think it's good that you did some traveling. I am more of a stay-at-home traveler so I enjoy seeing other people's travel adventures.
ReplyDeleteYou also read a lot, 55 books is a lot to me. I think just reading and even if you didn't finish a book, is still good. Sorry to hear you got sick. It seems no one can avoid the dread C thing. I'm glad you've bounced back.
I hope you have another fun-fill, adventurous, happily busy 2023.
Thank you! I'm half French, so it's no wonder that I go there frequently!! I love seeing other people's travels too!
DeleteYes, 55 books is a lot, but I do think that statistics are not the most important thing, and you are very right in saying that just reading, even without finishing books is still good. Getting the dreaded virus twice was definitely not in my plans, but then I avoided it entirely for two years, so I can't really complain.
Thank you, and I hope you do too! Happy new year and thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and comment, and for all your support over the last year.