Alternate mid-year reading checkup

In a comment on last year's (2025) reading challenge mid-year checkup post, I noted that Modern Mrs. Darcy had posted a podcast episode on the same subject! albeit with a slightly different focus. (I wonder if I got the inspiration for this post, at least in part, from a previous MMD post?) I did not listen but I did read the transcript. And in the comments, MMD team member Shannan listed 13 questions that guided their conversation.  

I've only JUST read 13 books (plus one more, for 14 total) this year to date (cough! and sob...), and not all of the questions were easy to respond to -- but here are the questions, and a few answers from me. (Links for books I've read go to my reviews on this blog -- the most recent review, in the case of re-reads. Links for books I've yet to read go to their Goodreads page.) If you decide to answer any of these yourself, I'd love to read your responses!

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MMD Questions: 

1. Fav fiction book you’ve read so far this year.
2. Fav nonfiction book you’ve read so far this year.
3. Fav sequel you’ve read so far this year.
4. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to.
5. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
6. Biggest disappointment.
7. Biggest surprise.
8. Favorite new author (debut or new to you).
9. Newest fictional crush.
10. Newest favorite character.
12. Book that made you cry.
13. Book that made you happy.

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My responses:  

1. Fav fiction book you’ve read so far this year.

In terms of new fiction I've read (i.e., not a re-read), that would be "The Queen Who Came in From the Cold" by S.J. Bennett. As I said in my review, "Queen Elizabeth is gone now, but long may she reign in these delightful books. :) "  I also wound up enjoying "The Mitford Affair" by Marie Benedict a lot. 

2. Fav nonfiction book you’ve read so far this year.

I haven't read much non-fiction so far this year, or in recent years generally (I used to read more non-fiction than fiction!), but I very much enjoyed the one non-fiction book I have read so far: "Gimme a Crisis" by Howard Green, about the Canadian bank and CEO I used to work for. 

3. Fav sequel you’ve read so far this year.

That would also be "The Queen Who Came in From the Cold." 

4. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to.

"London Falling" by Patrick Radden Keefe (which I've actually just started!). "Say Nothing" was mind-blowingly good, and has stuck with me in the 7 (!!) years since I first read it. I still recommend it all the time. (I have a couple of his other books in my TBR pile too.) 

(ETA:  I drafted this post in advance, and actually just finished this one this morning! -- review to come!) 

5. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

Looking forward to "We Chase Shadows," the next "We Solve Murders" mystery by Richard Osman, coming out this fall, and "Death on the Royal Yacht," the sixth book in the "Her Majesty the Queen Investigates" series by S.J. Bennett, also publishing this fall. 

6. Biggest disappointment.

Not exactly a disappointment, because I didn't have any great expectations going in, but "The Hacienda" by Isabel Canas is not something I would have picked up on my own if it wasn't a book club read.  Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised by a book club pick -- but reading this one confirmed that -- although it wasn't necessarily badly written (and it did keep me turning the pages!) -- it just wasn't really my kind of book. 

7. Biggest surprise.

Probably "Regeneration" by Pat Barker. It sounded interesting, but I didn't expect to find such well-drawn female characters in it too. Also the presence of several of the best-known WWI poets (Sassoon, Owen, Graves) was a pleasant surprise. The group I was reading the book with checked out some of their poetry as a "tangent," and it still packs a wallop, 100+ years later. 

8. Favorite new author (debut or new to you).

Pat Barker was new to me, and I would definitely like to read the other two books in the "Regeneration" trilogy, as well as some of her other work. 

9. Newest fictional crush.

It's from a re-read, but that would definitely be Commander Graham Gore, the hero/love interest of "The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley.  :)  

10. Newest favorite character.

Not new, because it was a re-read, but William Single in "The Four Graces" is many D.E. Stevenson fans' favourite male character, and he would definitely be a runner-up to Graham Gore as a fictional crush for me.  

12. Book that made you cry.

"In Memoriam" by Alice Winn, especially at the end (even though I'd read it before). 

13. Book that made you happy.

Couldn't pick just one (all re-reads): "You Are Here" by David Nicholls, "The Ministry of Time," and "The Four Graces."