2018 Year End Recap

This particular blog post, unlike the rest of its type, does not have the usual first part that documents what was supposedly published here on this blog in 2018, because I literally published nothing; I don't believe I even drafted anything. There are several reasons for this, and while to the (yet-to-be-confirmed) casual blog viewers here, I'm probably this really vague blob of something lmao (since there's hardly any personal info), I'ma share a little to give at least parts of the picture:

• Had to retire my iPhone 4S at some point after Feburary due to battery health. Not a fun thing to get used to, when the nature of syncing was no longer the same, and couldn't access my iTunes stuff because it's on an even older device that isn't worth upgrading. It was also because of this device-switch that prevented me from accessing my NetGalley ARCs via my phone. I used to be able to cram in some books over time as I commuted back and forth from home to school, and could no longer do so.
• My MacBook Pro had recurring issue since it was getting old.
• Walked my commencement ceremony on May 10. For most people like myself, we all still had classes! It was sad in a way that my parents flew all the way to attend, and we barely had time to spend together. When not in class, I was in the Mac Lab taking full advantage, since my device just couldn't handle the workload. That said, the environment there was helpful.
• You thought I'd be free after the semester ended? Nah, I walked first, and still had classes during Summer semester. Then my school did this rediculous thing, reducing Lab opening hours for Summer, making life hard. Had to borrow my sister's HP, which is even more ancient than my unstable MacBook Pro.
• One of my classes didn't work out, so I was still in school during Fall. Both my laptop and the HP refused to cooperate not long after the semester started. My laptop did die at one point, and I think the recovery was unable to retrieve my iBooks bookmarks, highlights etc. This likely further contributed to my hiatus here on this blog, because one of the books I read had enough material for [Food in Books] and the data was just all gone so.
• I know I was still taking advantage of the Lab at least on December 19, because that was the rare moment I actually posted something on my social media. I remember working to the very last day of the semester though. FYI, it wasn't just this blog, I was honestly quiet in 2018 on Facebook, too.
• Not to be misleading, I did have another hobbie that kept me entertained during this stressful year, I played Hogwarts Mystery.

This very post itself, is, unsurprisingly, actually published in 2021 and backdated. Looking back though, I'm glad everything adds up, as in, it really wasn't like I picked hobbies over my future. I'm able to recount the above because that really was the gist of my life in 2018. Might sound a bit depressing, but the important part is that it's over lol. I did successfully get my diploma, hehe. And that's like the biggest glimpse of myself I ever revealed here on this blog, other than the "About Moi" post, haha.

2018 Reading Challenge

Sammm has completed her goal of reading 10 books in 2018!

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80 of 80 (100%)

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Anyhow, here comes the second purpose of the post, muahaha. On Goodreads, there's the My Year in Books function they provided that give some statistics, [check out mine for 2018!] (My GR profile is set for GR Users only, so this one, you'd have to login in order to view.) There's also the Goodreads Year in Review, [read mine!] (no GR account required.) I only whipped up the latter after I finished putting together the one for 2019! Really wasn't kidding about being busy.

So what's different here is that I'm going to rank what I've read, but limited to series that concluded or standalones published in this year. The amount of books I've read published the same year made it enough for a fun ranking. Ladies and gents, drum roll....!

Note: First books of series represent said entire series. I know the cut-off was the final book, but I believe people are usually more familiar with the cover and title of first installments so.

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6. 

In case people don't feel like counting, there are 14 series and standalones in total. That said, there's at least 2 series that, as of 2021/4/12, I have yet to have time shelving. The list may eventually be updated. The reason why some have been stacked, is because, 1 per slot made the ranking list lengthy, which in itself isn't too big of a deal, however, I feel bad for the ones closer to the bottom. It really wasn't like "it's the second to the last place"; trust me, certain gaps are super huge. Since it's still not reflecting well enough, I figure grouping what I feel the similar amount of like, would make me feel less guilty, haha. There you have it!

What series concluded or standalone published in 2018 do you like the most? Feel free to share!