Reading – TandeWrites

What I Read in 2022

Posted on January 3, 2023January 1, 2023 by Tegan Anderson

I’m still working on a post about my favourite books of 2022, so here I am instead to write a recap of the year! I haven’t done one of these big round-up posts since last year, but Goodreads has shown me all of my reading statistics for the year, and I am still a number nerd.

Reading-wise, this year has been… something. It’s been a little underwhelming as last year was my most ambitious reading year to date, and this year has been spent handling university and life and health rather than reading. However, I’ve still fallen in love with the works of many new authors, and I’ve been making the most of my local library’s app for eBooks.

This year has also been pretty tough. My mental and physical health has been at its worst and I’m yet to fall back in love with writing, the one thing I’ve loved for a huge proportion of my life. And ongoing Covid. We won’t forget about that.

But this blog isn’t going to focus on that: it’s going to focus on all the good books I’ve read this year and how I suddenly need to buy a new bookshelf because the Waterstones half price hardcover sale continues to demolish my bank account.

This post might be long. Let’s begin!

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C.G. Drews, Emily Lloyd-Jones, Reading, Review

Best Reads of the Year (So Far)

Posted on August 23, 2022August 15, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve read so far this year, and I’ve been making reviews for the advanced copies and did the Mid-Year Book Tag for YouTube, but I wanted to spend a little more time talking about my favourite reads of the year so far and collect those thoughts in one place. I did a video version of this last year for what I believed to be the best books of the year (so far), but since then I’ve accepted that some of the books I love to read may not necessarily be the best of books. This list will be in no particular order, just vaguely chronological, so let’s begin!

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Reading, Review

Gallant by V.E. Schwab [REVIEW]

Posted on June 28, 2022June 24, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

“Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source.”

Do you ever finish reading a book and think “oh that was a Me type of story”? Gallant was one of those for me. I finished reading and wanted to fold myself into the pages and stay there, and I really appreciate stumbling across those kinds of books rather than genuine perfect five star reads. I will say now that I did give this book five stars, but it was for those reasons and the fact that the book hit so many of my niche interests rather than the quality of the story and writing. An honest rating would be closer to 3.5 stars so I am going to take that into consideration for this review.

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Reading, Review

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on January 30, 2022January 30, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

I was given an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but I preordered it months ago because I’m in love with the concept.

Lakelore is a young adult contemporary fantasy that tells the story of two neurodiverse and nonbinary teenagers. They’re connected through Lakelore, an ethereal world beneath a lake that they both visited when they met for the first time seven years ago. Lore’s only seen the world once, but that one encounter changed their fate. Many years later, Lore moves to the same town as Bastián as they’re once again connected as the lines between air and water begin to blur.

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Personal, Reading

What I Read in 2021

Posted on December 31, 2021December 31, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

I’m still working on a post about my favourite books of 2021, so here I am instead to write a recap of the year! I haven’t done one of these big round-up posts since last year, but Goodreads has shown me all of my reading statistics for the year, and I am still a number nerd.

Reading wise, this year has been exciting. It’s been my most ambitious reading year to date, I’ve fallen in love with the works of many new authors, and I’ve been making the most of my local library’s app for eBooks.

This year has also been pretty tough. My mental and physical health has been at its worst and I’ve fallen a bit out of love with writing, the one thing I’ve loved for a huge proportion of my life. And Covid. We won’t forget about that.

But this blog isn’t going to focus on that: it’s going to focus on all the good books I’ve read this year and how I suddenly need to buy a new bookshelf because I’ve filled my fourth one.

This post might be long. Let’s begin!

Continue reading →

Reading, Updates

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2021

Posted on July 6, 2021July 5, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

We’re already halfway through the year and I’m surprisingly ahead on my reading challenge, but my TBR pile has also doubled in size. I’ve discovered the joy of my local library re-opening after our third lockdown, and some incredible Kindle books for under £1. I’ve also still been borrowing eBooks from my library until it’s safe for me to visit in person more regularly. Until then, my TBR will continue to grow and grow and grow.

Today, I’m doing the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag, which is great because I’m currently looking at my reading challenge to remind myself what I’ve read, and I have no memory of reading any of them.

Let’s begin!

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Reading, Review, Tags

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2020

Posted on July 4, 2020July 1, 2020 by Tegan Anderson

We’re already halfway through the year and I’m slightly behind on my reading challenge, but my TBR pile has also doubled in size. I’ve discovered the joy of Maggie Stiefvater’s audiobooks on Spotify, and some incredible Kindle books for under £1. I’ve also been borrowing eBooks from my local library, and I’m looking forward to a time in the future when it’s safe for me to visit in person. Until then, my TBR will continue to grow and grow and grow.

Let’s begin!

Continue reading “Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2020” →

Review, Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas [REVIEW]

Posted on August 21, 2019August 14, 2019 by Tegan Anderson

After many months of my friend peer-pressuring me to read this and finally finding it in my local library, I finally read Throne of Glass.

This book started with an incredible premise: the most notorious assassin in the land is now a slave and is being offered to win back her freedom in a ‘to-the-death’ tournament (although this becomes ‘almost-to-the-death). For me, it went downhill from there. Continue reading “Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas [REVIEW]” →

Review, Uncategorized

Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trisha Mateer [REVIEW]

Posted on August 14, 2019August 14, 2019 by Tegan Anderson

I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a poetry and prose collection about selfcare, retelling Aphrodite’s empowering story through the past and present. I think this is the best poetry collection I’ve ever read. It’s a beautiful story about forgiveness, dealing with past trauma, and accepting yourself just the way you are. Continue reading “Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trisha Mateer [REVIEW]” →

Reading

7 Books I Nearly Didn’t Read

Posted on July 28, 2019July 22, 2019 by Tegan Anderson

There are so many books that I nearly didn’t read. There are so many stories to consume and we can’t get to them all, so some books will be passed over.

This blog was originally going to be a list of books that I decided not to read, but then I thought I’d end up feeling guilty and put all of them straight back onto my TBR. Instead, I’m going to list a bunch of books I tried to put down, but failed and read them anyway.

I will genuinely read anything.

Continue reading “7 Books I Nearly Didn’t Read” →