The Questions for the 2020 End of the Year Survey are posted by Jaime @ the Perpetual Page Turner, who created this survey as a personal reflection of her year of bookish wanderings and readings, and never thought it would turn into a book blogosphere yearly event! I am thankful she encourages us all to participate even though over the past five years I haven’t had the best track record of joining in on the community in which she’s curated to share a summation of our readerly lives.
*Please be Advised:*
This *End of the Year Survey* first landed on Jorie Loves A Story in [2016] whilst celebrating the previous year of [2015] and I made a determined effort to bring it back in [2017] except those plans are still in my Drafts folder for #JLASblog! Smiles. I have decided to create #timecapsule posts this Happy New Year 2021 to re-explore what my top favourites were as a book blogger for the *missing years!* of the Survey itself! Stay tuned for some bookish revelations,… whilst I have decided this year to bring back the Survey in its rightful place of cheerfully championing a signal of #booklove as one year exchanges itself for a new one – rather than withhold my responses til my next blogoversary as I had done in year’s past on the 31st of March.
As you already realise if you’re a ready reader + follower of Jorie Loves A Story – these posts become EPIC and MASSIVELY descriptive as I reveal my final thoughts, ruminations and musings about the STORIES which truly left the impressions this survey attempts to reveal about our past twelvemonths as a reader and inquistive book blogger.
This being said – this post is a full balance OF all the stories I’ve read and discovered giving a fuller scope of how I ended my 2020 as a reader who happily is blogging her life as a book blogger. As well bringing myself back to centre with my ruminations – allowing me the chance to re-think about the stories I’ve read and to put to rest the final thoughts I’ve had on behalf of the stories themselves.
Be sure to brew yourself a cuppa joy as you sit, read and ponder which of my #BestOf2020Reads need to seriously become added to your own #TBR!
If you’ve filled something out like this survey (OR this actual one!) – be sure to share your link to your post(s) in the *threads below this post so I can take a gander at which stories | authors | series | genres joyfully intrigued you throughout 2020! As I would like expand my own TBR with the stories you’ve read yourself which could be a wicked good fit for me.
REMEMBER: if a story wasn’t my cuppa it could be one better suited for you and vice versa if you had a story which you felt fell short of your own expectations and might resontate with me better. Reading is subjective to our individual experiences within the stories themselves and all our reactions are valid and important as they are markers of our readerly lives.
Let’s break this down a bit, shall we?
You can use this as a ‘preview guide’ of how to use my Story Vault. <— fully updated!
These awards are OPEN for nominations from the book blogger’s subscribers, friends, readers and other supportive mutuals who want to raise a signal flare about how much they LOVE & champion the content they are providing each week | month | year.
In keeping in step with my announcements about being a new influencer for #bookboxes & book subscription services, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the #unboxing photographs I took for my 2nd Crime Fiction Subscription Box as well as talk about my *excitement!* over which books were enclosed and why I think these are going to become wicked good reads for me as a reader who loves her journey into Cosy Crime & Crime Fiction narratives!
[ be sure to read my ANNOUNCEMENT to find out which niches of this genre
I prefer to read & which ones I am hoping to continue discovering! ]
I’ve had to sit on this news and this reveal ever since I first received the lovely #bookbox in the mail! I was able to release a vlog #unboxing video which I happily tweeted closer to the time the box arrived – however, life and tides, health afflictions and an inability to find the words to blog these past few months left this lovely post in my drafts queue to be published. I decided to create a new sub-feature of Jorie Loves A Story – to inspire me into diving back into Crime Fiction whilst at the same time, finding traction with how to blog, read and discuss the lovely #newtomeauthors the #CrimeFictionBox has delivered to my postbox!!
In case you’ve missed my first announcement –
here is what you can expect from receiving your very own #CrimeFictionBox:
→ One small switch from my first announcement: The #CrimeFictionBox NOW ships within a week of being ordered! No time delays for receiving your book box!
→ Remember: if a customer emails and asks for specific authors and/or types of stories not to be included they will do their best to fulfill those requests. They’re a small outfit so it’s not an issue.
→ If someone has a bad experience with the books, we just add an additional book the following month. No returns on books received.
→ They offer monthly, yearly and a bookcase option on their Boxes Page! You can choose from receiving 2x books per month (ie. Main Box) OR 3x books per month (ie. Big Box). Those subscriptions are also calculated for yearly subscriptions vs monthly installments. There is also a Large Print #bookbox option for both!
→ One aspect of this subscription service I *loved!* most is that they champion #CanLit Authors! You can request to receive Canadian Authors in your boxes and for me that is the best component of the box itself because I’ve been wanting to source and read more #CanLit Authors for such a long time!
→ In regards to the Crime Fiction novelists being featured in the #CrimeFictionBox: I had a curious itch to know the answer to this question as I read and follow so many who write these kinds of stories – I know some might visit my post out of curiosity… the answer was a sweet one: #CrimeFictionBox is OPEN to featuring world-wide authors of Crime!! Isn’t that beyond fab!?!
→ Shipping is FREE for North America. Seriously. I think that’s a game changer for most considering how steep shipping and handling fees are these days!
→ Before you ask – there aren’t ‘extras’ or swag or other inclusions right now currently in the boxes. There are plans being developed towards that end – however, wait til you read my REVEAL post and realise how *fab!* these boxes are even without some of the ‘extras’ you might be familiar with in other subscription boxes. REMEMBER these are tailored to your readerly interests and thereby not the traditional subscription box service.
→ Father’s Day Special: 3x month subscription, 2x books per month!
(*) Due Note: I am a promotional #partner and/or Influencer with Crime Fiction Subscription Box but similar to how I receive books from publishers, authors & publicists or early review programs – I am not being monetarily compensated for sharing my experiences, impressions, reviews or the links to their website on my blog Jorie Loves A Story nor on my feeds on Twitter (@joriestory). Nor for the coupon code which is a discount for new subscribers to the Crime Fiction Subscription Box service.
IF you’d like to order your own Crime Fiction Subscription box,
you can use my coupon code → 25%JORIE
→ *This applies to your first order only.
And, reflects ONLY on the Main Box & Big Box Monthly subscriptions.*
As you can see – a NEW year of #WyrdAndWonder is upon us – as Imyril, Lisa & Jorie help fill your life with more Fantasy than you can dive into in a singular month – giving you even more reasons why you love disappearing into realms of fantastical delight! This is the singular month which is anchoured to our love of Science Fiction (ie. celebrated during @SciFiMonth) wherein we get to bring everyone together to dip into the waters of Speculative Fiction which tackle thematics, subniches of genre & unique storylines threading through Fantasy.
These stories are generally focused on our readerly lives – as book bloggers Wyrd And Wonder started off as a book blogosphere celebration explosion of #Fantasy Lit love – however, in the ensuing years since we first began this fantastical adventure in [2018] we’ve happily encouraged our participants to celebrate Fantasy wherever they can find it – in walkabout graffiti (see also tweet), in the world of Dungeons & Dragons (see also post) – which are a few examples of this year’s revelations or in any of the numerous motion pictures, television series, sound for motion picture or television, graphic novels, audiobooks, fashion and/or an eclectic mix of artistic expressions, styles and mediums.
And, this of course is only the tip of the iceberg!
Fantasy truly is much more than a genre – it is an exploration of hidden worlds & themes which are universally appealling to a wide audience – crossing through all boundaries and uniting everyone together who finds a niche of Fantasy their jam. This is why we wanted to create a happy space to celebrate this wicked wonderful section of Speculative Fiction – to find the joy in what others are finding for themselves & uniting together to highlight every which way to Sunday Fantasy gives us a burst of #randomJOY and lifts our souls!
This #WyrdAndWonder – I have a key sub-focus on interest in pursuing #dragonfiction & celebrating the #dragons – past & present I’ve either come to love and/or desire to meet & greet in the near future! I am contemplating hosting a readalong for two different novels of dragon fiction as well – whilst I’ll be making my final announcement about this on Monday, 4th May – this weekend, I’m musefully lost in my #WyrdAndWonder TBR!
I have stories leftover from Years One & Two whilst I have a few new additions for Year Three. I’ve been stalked (thanks for the brilliant way of referencing this, Imyril) by my chronic migraines throughout the years and months of Wyrd And Wonder – never letting that stop me from participating – it has had a few wrinkles of angst where I couldn’t always finish the stories and/or posts I had in queue. Last year was quite awful with a high yield of 5x but although this Wyrd And Wonder started off on a two day migraine & severe Spring pollen allergies attacking me head – I’m walking into the event with a chin held high. I mean, alternatively who wants to abandon the joy at this point? Not I. Never! I mean – seriously, migraines & Spring allergies are a part of my life and although they drive me batty I refuse to abort my plans – which is why I’m a diehard Wyrd And Wonder’er every year! Laughs.
I’m taking my cues from this lovely dishy post about ALL the ways in which you can read FANTASY (thanks again to my co-hosts Imyril & Lisa for finding it) – in order to map out my 2020 Wyrd And Wonder TBR! Won’t you join me? Let’s go on a walkabout of fantastical proportions and see where #JorieReads this Wyrd And Wonder as the 3rd Year kicks-off!
Imyril, Lisa and I have delightfully planned a wicked #awesomesauce month of FANTASY celebration for you! This marks our 3rd Year co-hosting #WyrdAndWonder and we couldn’t be happier knowing we have more participants this 3rd Year as well as renewed interest in the events we’ve planned.
Before I share with you what I’ll be reading this lovely Wyrd And Wonder – I wanted to take a moment to tell you which lovely authors I’ll be hosting on my blog and/or through my chat @SatBookChat! This year, I wanted to reach out to authors I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading but am happily discovering through the Indie Publisher @OdysseyBooks (visit their website) – whilst I have the opportunity to read two of their authors and host them during Wyrd And Wonder!
Per my tradition during #WyrdAndWonder – I love to give Indie Fantasy Authors a chance to have their stories showcased – either through my readings of their stories and/or via guest features or chats during #SatBooKChat. This year, I happily am carrying on the tradition whilst giving my heart an uplift as I wasn’t sure until recently if I could pull this part of my plans off! I am so dearly grateful to Odyssey Books and their lovely authors who have been responding to my emails.
The authors by this publisher you’ll happily see on my blog this year are as follows:
One author you’ve might have already caught sharing some of his own fantastical interests via our #WyrdAndWonder feeds is Owen Crane. He reached out to me via my Review Request page directly and this set me on a course to receive his novel to read & review but I’ve also selected him as one of my Fantasy Indie Authors to host during #SatBooKChat! You can follow his feeds via @owencrane.
For those of you who haven’t yet visited with me on Saturdays – I host a Romance & Women’s Fiction book chat called #SatBookChat – we meet-up @ 11a NYC | 4p UK/Ireland | 8a West Coast USA | 1a Australia – wherein this New Year 2020 I decided to enlarge our focus to all stories within all genres which feature strong female characters and/or have a presence within Feminist Fiction. Speculative Fiction is one category next to INSPY I’ve been wanting to grow via @SatBookChat and this 3rd Year of Wyrd And Wonder – I am very close to announcing my schedule for when you’ll be able to interact with the 3x authors I’ve selected to be featured this May!
I am awaiting confirmations on dates – look for a special announcement post & s/o via my Twitter feeds this coming week – as our first guest will be on Saturday, the 9th! What you need to know is to stalk the tag #SatBookChat before your time zone collides with NYC (11a) EST and once the chatter starts to begin – kindly contribute your own questions & happily join the discussion by adding our tag #SatBookChat to your tweets. Unlike in past years, I am not going to have us *thread the convo via #WyrdAndWonder’s tag as it was a bit harder to add both tags into the convo & have the discussion feel uncluttered. I will be archiving the chats again this month – so if you miss the chats as they run, you will have a chance to ‘re-read’ through the archived edition wherein you can respond with the tag to the author and/or the other participants who took part in the chat itself.
In keeping in step with my announcements about being a new influencer for #bookboxes & book subscription services, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the #unboxing photographs I took for my 1st Crime Fiction Subscription Box as well as talk about my *excitement!* over which books were enclosed and why I think these are going to become wicked good reads for me as a reader who loves her journey into Cosy Crime & Crime Fiction narratives!
[ be sure to read my ANNOUNCEMENT to find out which niches of this genre
I prefer to read & which ones I am hoping to continue discovering! ]
I’ve had to sit on this news for a weekend as I had a difficult week and by the time the weekend came along, I admit, I was beyond exhausted and taxed by the week’s events. I even began a journalled post about everything but had to fob that off to finish until this week began as I honestly was simply drained of energy and focus! Thankfully, however, this begins a NEW week and thereby, it is the best time to share the giddiness I had *opening!* my first #CrimeFictionBox and the joy of discovering the authors who were awaiting me inside!
In case you’ve missed my first announcement –
here is what you can expect from receiving your very own #CrimeFictionBox:
→ One small switch from my first announcement: The #CrimeFictionBox NOW ships within a week of being ordered! No time delays for receiving your book box!
→ Remember: if a customer emails and asks for specific authors and/or types of stories not to be included they will do their best to fulfill those requests. They’re a small outfit so it’s not an issue.
→ If someone has a bad experience with the books, we just add an additional book the following month. No returns on books received.
→ They offer monthly, yearly and a bookcase option on their Boxes Page! You can choose from receiving 2x books per month OR 5x books per month. Those subscriptions are also calculated for yearly subscriptions vs monthly installments. The bookcase feature is a lovely idea – a small wooden bookcase filled with 5x books of Crime Fiction!
→ One aspect of this subscription service I *loved!* most is that they champion #CanLit Authors! You can request to receive Canadian Authors in your boxes and for me that is the best component of the box itself because I’ve been wanting to source and read more #CanLit Authors for such a long time!
→ In regards to the Crime Fiction novelists being featured in the #CrimeFictionBox: I had a curious itch to know the answer to this question as I read and follow so many who write these kinds of stories – I know some might visit my post out of curiosity… the answer was a sweet one: #CrimeFictionBox is OPEN to featuring world-wide authors of Crime!! Isn’t that beyond fab!?!
→ Shipping is FREE for North America. Seriously. I think that’s a game changer for most considering how steep shipping and handling fees are these days!
→ Before you ask – there aren’t ‘extras’ or swag or other inclusions right now currently in the boxes. There are plans being developed towards that end – however, wait til you read my REVEAL post and realise how *fab!* these boxes are even without some of the ‘extras’ you might be familiar with in other subscription boxes. REMEMBER these are tailored to your readerly interests and thereby not the traditional subscription box service.
→ SPECIAL FOR APRIL: Instead of receiving 2x novels, you’ll receive 3x!
(*) Due Note: I am a promotional #partner and/or Influencer with Crime Fiction Subscription Box but similar to how I receive books from publishers, authors & publicists or early review programs – I am not being monetarily compensated for sharing my experiences, impressions, reviews or the links to their website on my blog Jorie Loves A Story nor on my feeds on Twitter (@joriestory). Nor for the coupon code which is a discount for new subscribers to the Crime Fiction Subscription Box service.
IF you’d like to order your own Crime Fiction Subscription box,
you can use my coupon code → 25%JORIE
→ *This applies to your first order only.
And, reflects ONLY on the Main Box & Big Box Monthly subscriptions.*
![End of the Year [2020] badge created by Jorie in Canva. Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven and used with permission.](https://i2.wp.com/jorielovesastory.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/73/2021/01/2020_EndOfYearSurvey.png?resize=336%2C470&ssl=1)
