2025 Mid-Year Check-In

Somehow it’s July. We’ve read a lot (for the now-times). Our TBR hates us. Here’s the damage.

The Stats So Far

Here’s how the year’s shaping up for each of us.

Kelly’s Stats:

• Total Books Read: 30
• Audiobooks: 20
• Physical Books: 2
• eBooks: 8
• Book Events: 2 events sounds pathetic, but one of them was 4 days long!
• Debuts: 4
• Books Bought vs. Books Read: 35 books purchased this year, I have read 7 (which also sounds terrible, but to be fair I definitely read a bunch of books publishers have gifted me which doesn’t count in the purchased category!)
• Queer Books: 25
• New-to-Me Authors: 10
• Number of “book bans” I declared…and immediately broke: I definitely banned myself from book boxes but broke it twice this year so far (not counting one-off special editions or series I needed to continue buying (ugh)).

Christy’s Stats:

• Total Books Read: 49 (two books until I am back on track sigh)
• Audiobooks: 27
• Physical Books: 8
• eBooks: 14
• Queer Books: 23 (this feels low?)
• Books I preordered and then forgot about until they arrived: 🙃
• Book Events: 2? Yikes.
• Books that made me cry: Compound Fracture wrecked me…and Sunrise on the Reaping
• Times I threatened to throw a book across the room (and maybe did): 1.

Our Favorite Reads (So Far)

Books Sure to Make the End of the Year List (Kelly)

1. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
2. Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins
3. Holy Terrors (Little Thieves #3) by Margaret Owen
4. Roll for Love by M.K. England
5. Dan in Green Gables: A Graphic Novel Modern Reimagining of Anne of Green Gables by Rey Terciero

Books Sure to Make the End of the Year List (Christy)

1. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
2. I Think They Love You by Julian Winters
3. The Corruption of Hollis Brown by K. Ancru
4. Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
5. Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins
6. Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson
7. You Belong Here by Sara Phoebe Miller & Morgan Beem

Audiobook Highlights

Kelly’s Fave Audiobook(s)

• Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus – written & narrated!
• Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab – full cast for each main character POV!
• When Love Gives You Lemons by Steven Salvatore – Narrated by Jason June!
• Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna – written & narrated!

Christy’s Fave Audiobook(s)

• The Favorites by Layne Fargo
• When Love Gives You Lemons by Steven Salvatore
• Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McCleod Chapman

Bookish Highlights

Here are a few things that made us smile.

• ALA – It was so nice to get to be an a book focused event with each other! Plus all the books! Christy got so many for her LFL and that was worth it just in children’s’ books alone.
• Some of our favorites blog posts:
  • Comic Crush Saturday: Pride 2025 Edition
  • Author Interview: Dan in Green Gables by Rey Terciero
  • Co-Review: Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus
  • Book Recommendations: The Horrors That Haunt You: Why Caitlin Starling’s Books Get Under Your Skin (and Stay There)
  • Book Recs: Reading Beyond the Bestseller List: YA Fantasy Picks for the Reluctant Reader
  • Guest Post: Huda F Wants to Know? by Huda Fahmy
  • Book Recs: Books to Read After Sunrise on The Reaping
  • Feature: Your Outie Reads YA

What’s Next?

Here’s what’s on our radar for the next 6 months.

Kelly is Looking Forward to…

• Coming up on 14 years of book blogging…wow!
• The slew of queer books still to be released this year, and hopefully reading as many as I can, including the ones already released! Books Like:
  • Exquisite Things by Abdi Nazemian – Releases September 23rd
  • The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes – Releases September 16th
  • Fireblooms by Alexandra Villasante – releases September 30th
• I really enjoy pairing my holidays with holiday themed stories and this year we have a few new ones to tackle!
  • Joy to the Girls: A She Gets the Girl Novella by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick – Releases September 30th
• I am looking forward to enjoying blogging and reading and booksagram again, I mean it hasn’t happened yet, but I hope it happens really soon, ha!
• Maybe planning for the newly resurrected BookCon in 2026.

Christy is Looking Forward to…

• The Columbus Book Festival is this weekend and I’m moderating TWO panels! I am so excited to meet new bookish folks, see some old favs, and immerse myself in books for 3 days.
• I am hoping to get my monthly read up to 10-12 rather than the 8 it’s been sitting at. Really I wish I could get back to at least 15 but living with your best friend and the state of the world is distracting!
• Disney’s Marathon Weekend is BOOK THEMED. Can you believe that? So my wife (yes, wife!) and I are planning some bookish costumes!

If you’ve got recs that should be on our radar, send them our way! Here’s to a back half of 2025 full of five star reads, plot twists, and maybe a little self control at the bookstore (no promises).