Heyo Bookaholics!
1 Day Till Christmas & 7 Till 2020!
I haven’t done a proper wrap-up post in a hot minute but I could never not do a yearly wrap-up. This one will be dramatic, long and full of everything that I have done this year that has been exciting and positive!
I don’t want to ramble too much here. You know the deal, I talk about the books I read and purchased in the month, plus showcase the blog posts I loved. The only difference is that this post will include a yearly roll-up of everything I loved in the year. Without further ado, please enjoy this huge ass post!
Books I read in December:
In December, so far I’ve read Oasis by Katya Debecerra (review coming Jan 6th 2020 for the blog tour) and finished my re-read of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I’m currently reading Wearing Paper Dresses by Anne Brinsden, a novel sent to me by the publishers and I hope to finish it before the end of the month.
Books Read In 2019:
I read a greater amount of books this year than I expected to and I almost met my Goodreads reading goal for 2019!
If I finish the two books left on my December TBR, then I will be only one book behind on the challenge, which is an insane thought. This is the first year I’ve actually set myself a realistic Goodreads goal and the one year I’ve almost actually achieved said goal.
Top 5 Books Of 2019:
Is it even possible to choose 5?
Apparently it is possible; here are my top 5:
- Once & Future by Amie Carpetta and Cori Mcarthy
- Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
- Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
- The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare
- What The Woods Keep by Katya De Becerra
and because I needed to add the following to the list, I’m excusing it as it is a comic and therefore can still be added to my top books of 2019:
Heartstopper Volume 1 & 2 by Alice Oseman
List Of 2019 Book Reviews: can be found HERE by clicking on the link.
Best of 2019!
Favourite Jasper + Spice blog posts of 2019?
So I scrolled back through all of the posts on my blog because I cannot remember all the times I’ve tweeted out “this has to be my favourite post on my blog.”
Nevertheless, after much searching, I have found those posts and listed them all here for your enjoyment!
Making this list, I’ve noticed that there are probably five or so types of posts that I write, Guest Post/ Interview, Book Reviews, Informative Lists, Relatable Sh*t/ Buzzfeed-esque Posts and Rambly/ D&M Style Posts. The likes of which are demonstrated by the following post examples:
Guest Post/ Interview
Meeting Readers IRL: A Guest Post From An Author’s Perspective (SW#45)
Book Reviews
Informative Lists
Relatable Sh*t/ Buzzfeed-esque Posts
Rambly/ D&M Style Posts
Of course, I love every post I put out on Jasper + Spice but there are some that I will be more proud of than others. These are just a few that I picked out that I am proud of. Happy reading xx
Full 2019 Pin Collection!
(minus the 2 that I lost -_-)
I put all my pins on this canvas bag I bought in Korea before realising how hazardous that with pins potentially falling off and all. I currently have 17 pins in total. It would be 19 if I hadn’t somehow misplaced one and then lost another (agh).
I’m so happy with my ‘lil collection and I really want to get more pink ones in 2020, but mostly just purchase pins that mean something to me, such as DnD, Travel, Hogwarts and Shadowhunter related pins.
If you have any pin stores that you love to shop at which deliver to Australia, please let me know in the comments section and I’ll be sure to check them out!
Favourite book purchase of 2019?
I purchased a copy of City of Bones in a Korean bookstore early December. It’s all in Korean which is what I wanted and now stands front and centre as one of my prized possessions on my Shadowhunter shelf.
Achievements of 2019?
Sometimes I think the year often gets split into two parts:
2019 Part 1 – January to June 30, and
2019 Part 2 – July to December 31.
I’m not saying this because I’m a tax-accounting-loving nerd but because when I’m at uni, the years just don’t seem to blend together as well as it used to, so to remind myself that 2019 was actually from Jan to December, I have a lil section for my achievements.
Here are a few things I’m proud of myself for:
- Accepted a graduate job offer for 2020
- Passed my third year of uni
- Learnt to be happy with myself and my body
- Ticked off over half of the aspirations on my 2019 mood board
- Learnt to prioritise things such as blogging to feel less stressed and write content I am proud of
- Did my first guest post (with an author) on Jasper + Spice!
- Attending The YA Page writer meet-ups and writing more than I have in the past
- Purchased a fkn Kindle!
Huge Thank Yous, Hugs & Kisses To…
I would like to shout out a massive thank you to my amazing friends, from uni, the book club/ writing group, work and everywhere else. It’s not that I’ve made heaps more friends this year, it’s the fact that I’ve become closer to my friends that I am appreciative of. I’ve been able to escape my shell more and be genuinely me in front of more people with is really freeing and so cool to be able to do.
Also a massive thank you to my boyfriend because he is amazing and he has started reading Nevernight a couple weeks ago. So applause to him! No telling how long it’s going to take him to finish it tho.
A huge huge thank you to Allen and Unwin, Macmillian Aus, Pantera Press and Bloomsbury for supplying me with the goods to fuel my book addiction this year as well as others in the book community who have reached out to me and that I have connected with over the past 12 months.
And lastly, to you. Yes, you reading this! Thank you for reading my blog posts! Whether this is your first, fifth or fiftieth time her on Jasper + Spice, thank you.
I put so much effort into these posts and have so much fun writing them so for people to actually read this is beyond my wildest dreams. I’m really just a girl tapping away on her Mac with wild dreams of grandeur. So if you are reading this, I love you 3000.
Leave your opinions in the comments or alternatively on my social media channels!
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See you back here on Monday’s (book reviews), Wednesday’s (storytime/ writing updates) and Saturday’s (other bookish content).
