2020 Recap: In Which I Ramble About Life and Writing and Fangirl Over Books

This is it. The last day of 2020. And all 2020 jokes aside, I’m a teeny, tiny bit sad to see it go. God taught me a lot this year, it was definitely a year of growth for me, and that’s the part I will miss in a bittersweet way. Otherwise, bye-bye 2020! We will not miss you in the least!

Now, I don’t have a month by month highlight reel, mostly because I have a Dory-like memory when it comes to certain things and I didn’t write anything down, (That’s something I hope to change for the coming year, though!) and let’s face it, this has been like four or five years in one and how are you supposed to remember it all? So instead of monthly doings, I’ll just talk about things and not worry about when exactly they happened. Okay? Okay. Here we go! Please note that this post is designed for skimming. 😉

Life

I started blogging! Heheh, duh, but still, this goes first because it’s truly one of the highlights of my year. It was something that I’d been wanting to do for a long time and I’m so grateful God worked things out in my life that allowed me to do so. I have had so much fun blogging and I can’t wait to see where this journey leads me.

Through blogging, I’ve made several lovely online friends I am so blessed to have! Love you guys! ^_^ (If you’re reading this, that’s you! Probably, because I honestly have no clue about some of the views I receive. If you’re new or have been a silent reader, come say hi! :D) I have so enjoyed blogging and chatting with everyone, though I am shamefully behind on everyone’s blog posts. And I want to say a special thank you to Christine who was my very first online friend and was so welcoming of me to the blogging community! I am so blessed to have found you in the vast blogosphere and you truly are such a sweet, genuine, and amazing person! ❤ (Shameless friend plug here, go follow her blog! Her posts are always epic and amazing! :D)

A little personal victory of mine is that I lost ten pounds this year! Ten pounds might not seem like a lot, but because it took me all year that means it’s more of a lifestyle change and making healthier choices that will last, instead of joining the next diet craze and lose thirty in a month and then turn around and gain it all back because my lifestyle didn’t change, and I’m starving.

And I said this was a year of growth for me, and while a lot of that growth is too personal for me to feel comfortable sharing, I did write this post about some of it. Another way I grew was in the literal sense. I had stopped growing when I was around twelve at 5′, but just a few days ago I found out I’m now 5′ 1&1/2″ tall. I know this sounds silly to mention, but as a short person any amount of added height is great. And yes, it’s completely necessary to state that extra half inch. ;p

And… I think that’s it in the “Life” section, despite everything, it really was a pretty uneventful year for me. I do feel like I’m forgetting to mention something, though. I will definitely keep better track next year because this is a little pitiful. XD

Writing

I haven’t mentioned this story on here before, but way back in March I finished the first complete draft of the story that started my writing journey. Technically it was like the fifth or sixth draft but this was the first time I wrote the end scenes and wow, I was a bittersweet mess. I’ve been with these characters and their story for five years, they are my first cast and I just love this story so much. Maybe once I finish Roses, Thorns, and Curses I’ll talk more about this one and give y’all an actual idea of what this story is about.

I came up with three or four new story ideas which was awesome. Normally a writer already has enough plot bunnies hopping around and they don’t really want or need more entering the picture, but I had hit a creative dry spot and was no longer sure if I could even come up with good ideas anymore. Let’s just say the story above kind of drained me. Yet here I am at the end of December, working on a story I came up with earlier this year that is the start of a whole, sprawling series, of which a second story idea I had is part of (More Than a Dream) and I have an idea of what happens between those two books which will more than likely take up an entire book. There’s also Dylan’s story that came to me shortly after RTC. God reawoke my creativity and I am so grateful!

I finished a rough bones first draft of another story in April. It’s only 20,000 words long, one of my shortest drafts to date! I had already written most of it last year and wrote the finishing touches this year, which amounted to a little over 8,000 words. XD I’ll talk more about this story at another point too, I’ll just say it’s kind of like if the Tinker Bell books/movies took place without Neverland and were about a group of faeries trying to overthrow an evil queen and were for older teens because even little stories I write about cute faeries turn dark real fast. #itried

There was the whole More Than a Dream adventure last month that I won’t recap because y’all are probably getting tired of me talking about it. ;p

I wrote some of Roses, Thorns, and Curses, not as much as I’d hoped but still a good bit. Did I really say I hoped to write 60,000 this month? Eheheh… Let’s just say MyNoWriMo didn’t quite happen. I had almost no time to write the entire first two weeks, it was crazy, plus the fact I had a lot of catching up on all the things.

And for the last thing I wrote a few pieces of flash fiction/short stories, one I shared already and another that I might share sometime in the future.

Reading

*rubs hands* As of the writing of this post I’ve read seventy books and almost all of them were really good! There were a few I wouldn’t recommend and will not read again, and a few I personally liked (minus content) but wouldn’t recommend to anyone but older teens and adults, and then there were the ones that I’d recommend to everyone! I’ll try to limit the books, but hey, it’s BOOKS. The lifeblood of writers. I am obsessed with stories and fangirling about them is the best! And these are in date-read order because you can’t make me choose top favourite among my favourites. I also linked each book cover to its Goodreads page for quicker adding to your TBR. *smile smile*

Oh my goodness! I absolutely LOVED this book! It’s a delicious What If story about Frozen where Elsa and Anna don’t know that they’re sisters. I devoured this book in one sitting and stayed up late reading it. It was one of the few that actually made me laugh out loud, mostly because of Olaf, because OLAF. I also loved the scenes that seemed to be taken straight from the movie. Yes, that could be labeled a cop out on the author’s part, but they were still beautifully written and were some of my favourites. I absolutely loved all the twists of this story and highly recommend this book to everyone!

Ooooh, this book was wonderfully creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat and up way past my bedtime. I only started reading Ted Dekker’s books last year and this one was so good! I don’t want to talk about it too much because I might spoil certain things.

Ranger’s Apprentice series

Did I read most of this series last year? Yes, but it was late in the year and I finished the series very early in the year so I’m counting it. 😉 This whole series is just SO good. I devoured each book as soon as I got it. Each book is amazing and I may just reread the whole thing before I begin reading the sequel series. Halt is by far my favourite character.

The Hagenheim Fairy Tale Retellings series

I’ve only read up to The Captive Maiden, (which I accidentally read first without knowing there was an actual order to the books), and I am loving this series. I was a bit confused with The Merchant’s Daughter because it takes place in England and, timewise, before The Healer’s Apprentice, but after looking at the author’s website I found out that it was setting up for a later book when, well, it might be a spoiler if I say it. I don’t know. But these books are so good!

After reading the Storm Siren series last year I knew I had to get ahold of more of Mary Webber’s books and these were SO good! I loved them so much. I have a little brother and our age difference is about like Sofi’s and Shiloh’s so I was really relating to Sofi’s relationship with him, even though my own brother and I have never been forced to compete in deadly games where you get sold to the black market if you lose and then have to deal with aliens.

Oh, wow. Reading Snow’s story of how he degraded to who he was in The Hunger Games was depressingly good. (Oxymoron much?) I was almost having an existential crises when I found myself rooting for him. *horrified gasp* I know! How could I root for the bad guy? Well, that’s the beauty of Suzanne Collins writing and the type of arc Snow had. Granted, I was rooting for him and Lucy Gray to win and be together and basically not have Snow become a villain, so. And Sejanus was such a precious boy who deserved so much more and oh my heart! It’s Peeta all over again but without Katniss there to save him! This book was a thrill that tore my heart into little tiny pieces, sewed them back together and then smashed it again. Ew, graphic. It was so fun learning about the origins of some of the things that happen in THG series.

I devoured all three books one after the other they were that good! I absolutely loved each one and how Kirsten twisted each tale and told them all without magic. The twins were my favourite characters in the first book and I was a little sad they weren’t really in the next two, but still these were such amazing books and I absolutely can’t wait until the next book comes out! She’s bringing in a circus, guys! So, so excited! ^_^

This is more of an honourable mention because while I absolutely loved it, the first book, Princess Academy, will remain my favourite of the series. I loved finally finishing Miri’s journey and it was so bittersweet coming to a close. Miri was the first character I saw myself in. We are very similar, especially in stature, 😉 and it was so nice finally finding a kindred spirit within a book.

I read the ARC version of this book and I loved it so much! This is one of the few books that elicited an actual show of emotion from me, I was in tears at one point. Such a good book!!! You can read my full review here.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!! It’s been on my TBR for years but after Christine said it was her absolute favourite book I knew I had to make an actual effort to get this book. I am so glad I did. I’ve been searching for a book like this my whole life without realizing it. I just loved it so, so much, it was amazing! Howl and Sophie are now on my OTP list. Yes I have a list, because I can’t just pick one couple. Recommended for everyone! Thanks, Christine for giving me the push I needed to read this book! ❤

Another book recommended to me by Christine, and yet another that I loved! Ani was another character that I found myself in, we’re both shy, and would rather be silent and comply with the wishes of others than chance a disagreement. I love her found family! This was a really great book and I need to read the sequels.

The Unwanteds series

I just finished the series today and, except for some issues with the last book, it’s really good! I love how the magic is based on creativity, like drawing, crafts, music, acting, it’s so unique and I love it! There was almost a love triangle which I’m glad was avoided, not that I hate love triangles, but these kids are like thirteen to fifteen and I personally didn’t think a love triangle needed to be in books for middle graders. I already can’t wait to read the sequel series!

Absolutely the reading highlight of my year! Love, love, loved all the things! All the relationships, friendship and romantic, were amazing and I loved all the ways the group would be split up and you could see them all interacting with each other differently, basically everyone eventually paired up with everyone at some point through the whole books and it was fantabulous! I just loved this series so much. I also loved the graphic novel sequel! (Let’s just say Cress and Scarlet and Iko are the only ones who match how I’ve been imagining the characters the entire time, except Scarlet is supposed to have curls, not straight hair.) Oh, and I am Cress, I am very much Cress. Short, socially awkward, loves to sing, and uses her imagination to cope with things. I am not, however, a technical genius. XD It’s so hard picking a favourite couple, because each has such endearing moments and all are so cute and adorable in their own way, I really can’t choose. At one point it’s Cindai, at another it’s Cresswell, and then Scarwolf, then Wincin… you get the picture. (Also I have no idea if those are the actual fandom names for the couples, those are just what I came up with on the spot. Please, correct me and tell me the real names! XD) Oh! And now there’s Ikonney, unless I misread the romantic tension. (If you know you know.) XD If forced to choose, Cress and Thorne forever!!! Scarlet and Wolf came close to being chosen, though. Now, did I see several plot points coming before they did? Yes. Do I even care and does it detract from the absolute amazingness of this series? NOPE. I loved practically everything about this series!

My eldest sister (Psst! Go follow her too! ^_^ ;p) read Dust first because I had such a huge stack of library books when it came in, so like the good little sister I am, I let her read it first. (After I read the first chapter so I could technically have read part of it first. What? Little sister annoying tendencies die hard. XD) But now I’ve read it and IT WAS SO GOOD!!! I saw the twist ending coming halfway through the book, but still, SO GOOD!!! ^_^ And now I can’t wait until the sequel is out!

Okay, wowza! This is one humongous post. Last week’s post was also humongous. I guess this is me subconsciously making up for my short hiatus. The break was great, but I really missed blogging!

🎆Happy New Year!🎆

So, 2020 is coming to an end. #finally. Let’s talk about your favourite part of the year, or something good that happened to you. Christmas totally counts. Any favourite 2020 reads? Also, what’s it like having a younger sister? I’ve always wondered. Are we really annoying or are we just good at finding the right times to be annoying? XD

Tell me in the comments! 😀