#TGIF: Everything I've read this year so far

With books, I have found new love beyond romance genre. Since last year, I have started to explore genres like contemporary fiction and historical fiction. It was partly because I was heavily influenced by BookTok recommendations, but mainly also because I do want to branch out to romance fiction. I got tired of the same storyline every time. I wanted more, I wanted my reading experience to be more diverse.

This year though, I started to indulge myself in some biography, started with I'm Glad My Mom Died and I thought, okay this is actually interesting. To have a view into someone else's life and this person is a real human being, not some fictional character. It helps that I actually know Jennette McCurdy from the many hours spent watching iCarly and Sam & Cat growing up. 

Then, because I was preparing for Umrah, I explored Islamic books. I wanted to feed my mind and consume content that I can benefit from. Books that will actually help me and give me a bit more insights for the journey I was about to embark. I was so glad I read Biografi Muhammad bin Abdullah before landing in Madinah because I was able to experience Madinah from a different lens, having a better appreciation after knowing the importance of each historical landmarks. Since, I found Islamic books real interesting that I read a couple more after that. I've also started to buy more too (they are so much cheaper, too!).

I still read romance though, more so to take me out of a slump as romance fiction is easier and faster to get through as apposed to any other genres. So here's the list of books I've read so far, in order from January till now:

1. Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
2. More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
3. And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
4. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
5. Same Time Next Year by Tessa Bailey
6. Chase Me (Broke and Beautiful series) by Tessa Bailey
7. Need Me (Broke and Beautiful series) by Tessa Bailey
8. Make Me (Broke and Beautiful series) by Tessa Bailey
9. The Housemaid's Secrets by Frieda McFadden
10. Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
11. Hopeless by Elsie Silver
12. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
13. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
14. Biografi Muhammad bin Abdullah by Zulkifli Mohd Yusoff & Noor Naemah Abd Rahman
15. Tuhan, Seindah Apa di Hujung Sana? by Hafizul Faiz
16. The Beauty of Promised Rizq by Ayesha Syahira
17. Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
18. Befriending The Quran by Ayesha Syahira
19. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

I have a goal of 35 books, I don't think it's a lot at all, but now that we're in October and I still have about 15 books I have to read to hit, I am not so sure I can do it. I took quite a long break during Ramadan and Raya, I usually don't read during Ramadan anyways but even during Raya month, I was not in the mood. That pushed me back by 2 months. 

We'll see how many will I end up reading by December, for now I will just enjoy reading without putting too much pressure to hit the 35 books reading goal. What have you been reading?