In January 2021, I participated in the Among Us Readathon, hosted by Hal at hdsreadinglife!
If you would like to watch the video of my Wrap Up, head on over here to see it on YouTube!
I started playing Among Us back in 2020 (yes, my friend group discovered it when it was trendy and I was convinced to join because I am weak for anything resembling that Mafia game we played as kids) and my signature character is always the pink crewmate with the lil’ matching pink flowers. My next door neighbor’s daughter even sewed me a plushie to match! So, of course, upon finding this readathon, I knew I had to be either the Pink Crewmate or Pink Impostor. Unfortunately, due to my love of taking on the most challenges possible at all times, I chose to be an Impostor and selected a book to eliminate each other colored crewmate? Did I accomplish said goal? Of course not, but we had a great time attempting it!
In the future, when I catch up on my monumentally large list of blog posts, I will split these into TBRs and Wrap-Ups, but for now, let’s dive in!
Prompt #1 – Fake a Task – Read a Standalone or Sequel
For the first prompt, I chose a standalone: The Library Book by Susan Orlean! I knew nothing about this book going in, except that it was nonfiction and involved some sort of fire. In January, my friends and I did our own private readathon of sorts, where we picked our top 5 books (either of 2020 or all time!) and read one from each friend’s list. This was chosen off of Nikoleta’s list, and you can find her YouTube channel here!
Did I read it? ✔️
What did I think? ⭐⭐⭐
What did Nikoleta think? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt #2 – Vent! – Read a 5 star prediction/book you know nothing about/by favorite author/recommendation
For the second prompt, I chose a book I know nothing about that was also a recommendation: The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan! I knew nothing about this book going in either except that… I assume there is a duke… and that it is probably a historical fiction. This was also part of my Vlog Squad Readathon and was chosen off of Bailey’s list. You can find her YouTube channel here!
Did I read it? ❌
Will I read it? ✔️ Moved to February’s TBR.
Prompt #3 – Blame Someone Else – Read a book with a morally grey character
For the third prompt, I chose to read Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi. This is the third book in the Shatter Me series and this book really, in my opinion, showed that all the characters could be morally grey in the midst of a war. I borrowed the audiobook edition of this from my library.
Did I read it? ✔️
What did I think? ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Why not 5 stars? I am a total sucker for the romance in this book, but the actual war plot? I was laughing at the choice of leader.
Prompt #4 – Eliminate Red – Read a science fiction
For the fourth prompt, I chose to read The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey. This is an ARC I received on NetGalley from Tor Books. I chose this book because I knew it involved a brilliant scientist who makes clones and was pretty sure that either she is a clone or that she makes a clone of herself. Spoiler alert (the synopsis clears this up but I go in blind): neither of these were exactly true.
Did I read it? ✔️
What did I think? ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Did I review it? ✔️ Check it out here!
Prompt #5 – Eliminate Brown – Read a book that’s been on my TBR a long time
For the fifth prompt, I chose Caraval by Stephanie Garber. This book had been on my TBR since 2013, and although I still know nothing about it eight years later, I heard the novel Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles was inspired by it. I’m so excited to read Where Dreams Descend, but I wanted to read Caraval first. This book was also selected as part of the Vlog Squad Readathon as one of Staijah’s favorites, and you can find her YouTube channel here!
Did I read it? ❌
Will I read it? ✔️ Moved to February’s TBR.
Prompt #6 – Eliminate Lime – Read a book that represents you/is a comfort read
For the sixth prompt, I chose Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Although I have never read this book, I grew up on the movies, and found both Green Gables Fables (vlog series) and Anne With an E (tv series) to be comfort shows for me. I also wanted to read this because it is my mom’s mother’s favorite series (she even gave my mom the middle name Anne!) and because it was selected as part of the Vlog Squad Readathon from Martine’s list. You can find her YouTube channel here!
Did I read it? ✔️
What did I think? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What was my favorite part? This is so silly, but I’ve gotten really into the Enneagram since the end of 2020, and Anne Shirley-Cuthbert is so clearly (to me, at least) a Type 4w3 (dreamy and emotional with a touch of ambition). I chose this book as a ‘comfort read’, but as a 3w2, I felt like it easily could have worked for the ‘represents you’ part as well. There were so many good quotes! Also, Diana Barry is my favorite. That is all.
What did Martine think? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt #7 – Eliminate Pink – Read a book with a plant on the cover
For the seventh prompt, I chose Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I chose this book because my librarian saw me reading Outlander and told me should read this next and because one of my best friends, Natasha, was reading it around this time and I decided to join in. I knew literally nothing about this book. Do crawdads sing in it? Where? Will I learn to be funny?
Did I read it? ❌
Will I read it? ✔️ Moved to February’s TBR.
Prompt #8 – Eliminate White – Read a book with a beautiful cover
For the eighth prompt, I chose The Carnelian Fox by Kay MacLeod. I received this as an audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review. It is the first book in the Maiyamon series, and is essentially a young adult fantasy adventure novel based off of Pokémon.
Did I read it? ✔️
What did I think? ⭐⭐⭐
Who would I recommend it to? Fans of Pokémon who don’t mind listening to/reading descriptive creature battles and stats
Prompt #9 – Eliminate Yellow – Read a book by an author of color
For the ninth prompt, I chose An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. I bought a copy of this from a sale at the library in late 2019/early 2020 and it has been collecting dust on my bookshelf since then. Fortunately for me, this was on my friend Nessuh’s list for the Vlog Squad Readathon! You can find her YouTube channel here! I knew nothing about this book other than it being dystopian or fantasy…. or both?
Did I read it? ❌
Will I read it? ✔️ Moved to February’s TBR.
Prompt #10 – Eliminate Cyan – Read a comic/graphic novel/manga
For the tenth prompt, I chose Avatar the Last Airbender: The Promise: Part One by Gene Luen Yang! This is a graphic novel that is set directly after the television series ended. This is part of a series buddy read I am working on with one of my best friends, Amber, who you can find on Instagram here! I borrowed this from the RBDigital app. ( RIP RBDigital </3 )
Did I read it? ✔️
What did I think? ⭐⭐⭐
What did Amber think? ⭐⭐⭐
Prompt #11 – Eliminate Black – Read a romance
For the eleventh prompt, I chose Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin. This is the second book in the Serpent & Dove series that I pre-ordered in 2020! This series is about a witch (in secret) who is forced to marry a witch hunter (they have an actual title, but it’s been months and I can’t remember it) for the sake of his reputation. I adored the first one and couldn’t wait to find out what happens next.
Did I read it? ❌
Will I read it? 💤 Currently in the shortlist for being highly anticipated, owned, and a sequel
Prompt #12 – Eliminate Orange – Read a book low on my TBR list
For the twelfth prompt, I chose Vicious by V.E. Schwab. Although this is a book I am excited to read, I’d only discovered it a little over a year ago, purchased it on a whim as my most recent book of the month buy, and it won a poll of four options for this prompt. I knew nothing about this book at all and actually only purchased it because I had a dream where I did.
Did I read it? ❌
Will I read it? 💤 Currently in the the Failed TBR pick list = maybe in 2022
Prompt #13 – Eliminate Green – Read a book over 500 pages
For the thirteenth prompt, I chose Heart of Flames by Nicki Pau Preto because it is 640 pages. This book is the sequel to Crown of Feathers, which is about phoenix riders with an empire against them! I have had this book continuously on hold on Libby since the Phoenix Riders readathon back in 2020.
Did I read it? ❌
Will I read it? 💤 Currently in the shortlist for a sequel and in my library queue
Prompt #14 – Eliminate Purple – Read a book by a new-to-you author
For the fourteenth prompt, I chose These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong. This book is a Romeo and Juliet retelling based in Shanghai in the 1920s (I believe)! It was the first book chosen for the Moods & Pages book club run by Donna. You can find her Twitter here!
Did I read it? ❌
Will I read it? ✔️ Moved to March’s TBR.
Prompt #15 – Eliminate Navy – Read a book with a person on the cover
For the fifteenth prompt, I chose Dark Fae Outcast by Autumn M. Birt, which is a novella in the Tainted Fae series. I received a book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All I knew about this book is that the main character, Riasg, is a drug addict, and a dark fae who is either trying to escape or return to a fae realm.
Did I read it? ✔️
What did I think? ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Did I review it? Yes, you can find my post here!
FINAL STATS
With an incredibly high aspiration of reading fifteen books, I ended up reading seven! This means I was able to fake a task, blame someone else, and then eliminate Red, Navy, Cyan, White, and Lime Crewmates! My monthly goal is five, so this was still great!
Anne of Green Gables was a clear favorite and The Library Book was my least.
My most anticipated book that I want to be sure to re-add to my next TBR is Blood & Honey.
This was such a fun readathon and Hal put so so so much work into the prompts, graphics, and fun prompts throughout the readathon!
Stay tuned for my February TBR and Wrap-up where I take part in Pixarathon!
Books read: 7
Audiobooks: 2
Physical books: 2
E-books: 3
Graphic novels: 1
ARCs: 1
Total pages: 285 + 317 + 76 + 408 + 253 + 189 + 262 = 1,790 pages
Note: the format numbers will sometimes not add up because I occasionally alternate formats during the month
