We are almost halfway through January 2016, which means that I am hugely late on this 2015 End of Year survey hosted by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner… but we always have time to fangirl about books, right? It was tremendously hard to come up with answers for some of these, but…LET US COMMENCE. (Warning; You may expect some cheating on these questions… as per usual, oops.)
Number Of Books Read
Eeep, 176 books! I set my challenge to 150, so I’m happy I was able to surpass it! And I ended up enjoying most of the books I’ve read too, so that’s an extra plus.
Number of Re-Reads
I’m not quite sure.. I had several re-reads mostly at the beginning of 2015 but that was kind of it! Just not enough time to reread anymore, when there are so many other books to read.
Genre I Read The Most From
To be honest this year has been one of the firsts where I read so many different genres! (No one can be more surprised than me at the fact that I actually approached non-fiction books this year…) For this year, it looks like I read the most contemporary books, with fantasy closely following.
(The genre pie chart idea was totally stolen from Cait @ Paper Fury.)
1. Best Book You Read In 2015?
I’ll be skipping this question—but don’t worry, I’m currently in the process of making a post with the best books of 2015, so look out for that later on! 🙂 I’m really late on all these 2015 stuff, but it’ll be up soon, hopefully!
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Off the top of my head, I’m going to say Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley… I mean, I liked it, but… I just thought I would like it more, you know? You can find my review on it here.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
Perhaps this isn’t the ‘most’ surprising book I’ve read, but I was pretty surprised (in a bad way, unfortunately) with The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey. I’ve read several reviews on it from other people who tell me they really enjoyed it, etc etc. but to me, it really fell flat and I was quite surprised at how it turned out.
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
Well, I read this book pretty late into 2015 (it was released this September) but afterwards, I definitely recommended it to… basically everyone..?! Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo was so amazing and I fell in love with it. SO GO. READ IT. Then come back and fangirl with me.
5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?
-Eeep, I’m glad I started The Young Elites series by Marie Lu this year oops, I mean last year (though I probably should’ve waited till the series was completed to binge-read it)!! I read up to the second book and am anxiously waiting for the third.
-Ahh, best sequel of 2015…I’m not sure if this refers to the best sequel I read in 2015, or a best sequel that was published in 2015, but to be safe I’ll go with both; The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski is the sequel to The Winner’s Curse, and I loved it! I read it a while ago (early March 2015), but I can’t wait to take off where it ended with The Winner’s Kiss, releasing sometime in 2016.
-As for best series ender of 2015, I’ll have to go with Winter by Marissa Meyer, or Unspoken by C.C. Hunter! Winter just brought out all the feels, and I was quite satisfied with it, even if it was 100% perfect. (Then again, what books are?) Unspoken was a great one too, a series ender that may not be as known, but still fantastic!
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?
Ahem, I shall make a list, because ONE IS NEVER ENOUGH. (Of course, three isn’t enough either, but I will have to learn to cope..)
For further fabulous authors, you can check out this TTT list (for fabulous debuts) and this one for more fabulous new-to-me authors, and finally, some of my fabulous auto-buy authors. As you can see, I love authors. I am enormously envious and in awe of their writing abilities. I may have repeated some over here already, because… well, why not? Fabulousness is fabulousness. And yes, that is now a word.
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Well, I don’t jump for joy with most New Adult novels (just not my thing, to be honest) but Confess by Colleen Hoover was definitely one of the best I’ve read! (Of course, I haven’t read many NA novels, so there are probably other, better ones out there, but hush, child. Details, details.)
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
I think I’m going to go with Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas because even if it wasn’t completely flawless, it was definitely not lacking in the action department!
9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Well, basically any series that has a book being released next year is a possible choice for me to re-read… so, I don’t know? I may or may not decide to re-read The Wrath and the Dawn, but I may or may not decide to also re-read Queen of Shadows or A Court of Thorns and Roses??. So yeah, I’m pretty undecided on this one.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?
You guys all know my go-to choice for this one! I swear guys, A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray is too gorgeous for its own good. Cover designers, STAAAAHP. (On second thought, noooooooooooo. I need my pretty books!)
11. Most memorable character of 2015?
In an attempt to not choose a character from a book I’ve already listed (you see how I purposely torture myself..it’s not healthy), I’m going to go with Simon from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli; Simon is simply so adorable! I seriously wish he could just come to life, you know? He’d be a great friend to have around. 🙂 Not gonna forget him anytime soon, that’s for sure.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?
There are so many books I’m tempted to put down here, including the Shatter Me series (because Tahereh Mafi’s writing style is so beautifully unique) but I’m going to go with A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness because this book truly is something. ❤ The writing is so beautiful!
13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2015?
Truthfully, I can’t think of many for this one. I mean, sure, there are books that made me think a little, and books that I loved, but none really that I can say really changed my life or was the most thought-provoking book I’ve read.
But for the sake of answering this question I’ve decided to go with More Than This by Patrick Ness. I know, two Patrick Ness books in a row? But I kind of have to. While More Than This didn’t fully live up to the standards, of, say, A Monster Calls or the Chaos Walking trilogy, it still proved to be a thought-provoking read.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?
Ooh, I know this one!! Technically it’s a series (but who cares about the technical stuff?); Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. The last book was published 2014, or maybe even the year before that? I can’t believe I waited so long to read it, because the series is simply amazing.
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?
“I think a lot of people want to be someone, but we are scared that if we try, we won’t be as good as everyone imagines we could be.”
There are so many amazing quotes I’ve read in 2015, and if I could put them all here, I would! But alas, I can’t, and so I went with a great quote from Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira (which, by the way, although may not be one of my absolute favorite books, was still an okay read).
16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015
Shortest: I’m not quite sure, to be honest…? If novellas count, then it would be something like Destroy Me or Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi maybe, but if not… I don’t know. And I’m a bit too lazy to go searching on Goodreads or on my bookshelves.
Longest: Winter by Marissa Meyer, hands down! This book was a whopping 800-something pages, so.. yeah. Definitely the longest book I read this year. I don’t regret it one bit, of course!
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
I don’t know if this would be the book that shocked me the most, but this one certainly shocked me—more than once, at that. Don’t worry, no spoilers, but although it’s a very different read than most other books out there, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes definitely has some parts where you won’t be able to resist being shocked.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Nooooo I can’t just choose one! It’s too difficult. (AKA I’m too lazy to list them all.) I bet you guys probably know them all by now anyway, right? XD
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
I’m assuming this means a boy-girl friendship… oh, oh!! I know this one. Cinder and Captain Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer is perfect for this. Their banter and their friendship is absolutely marvelous, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! (Except if it meant that I could have Captain Thorne for myself, of course…)
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
I feel like I have so many choices for this one… but I’ll just go with the first one that popped into my head, which is A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I really enjoyed this one; Queen Sarah J. Maas strikes again!
21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure
Again, I feel like there’s a lot of other books I could choose for this (2015 was THE year for peer pressure, LOL) but I’ll go with Red Queen by Victoria Averyard. I feel like I got pressured to read this one the most out of the other books since this seemed to be literally everywhere! And although it did have its fair share of problems, I can definitely see why it’s so hyped—thankfully it didn’t turn out that bad for me either.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?
Shall I pull out my ground-length list? Just kidding, but the question might as well just ask me to do that, since I honestly cannot answer this question with only one name. Like, come on, let’s be real here. (Although we all know the fictional life is better.)
23. Best 2015 debut you read?
Oh god, you’ve got to be kidding me! I’ll list a few, but you guys have heard of them enough from me already..
–Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda
–The Wrath and the Dawn
–Everything Everything
It’s literally impossible to name them all. But you can check out my list of 2015 debut authors, in which I mention other debuts I really enjoyed. 🙂
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley will be my choice for this one! Even though I used it for the second question on this survey (I believe it was ‘a book you thought you’d like more but didn’t’) I’m going to use it for this one again since this book definitely has one of the most creative and most vivid settings I’ve read in a long time!
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Obviously, I couldn’t just choose one! I tried to choose some books that I didn’t previously choose yet in the survery, which was a tad more difficult, but I managed. 🙂 These 5 books were so much fun to read—you guys better go read them asap!
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?
You guys should all know that I don’t cry very easily when reading books (but I’m a very nice person, I swear!) so this one is kind of easy to choose from seeing how my choices were pretty limited. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes brought out the feels! If I remember correctly my eyes definitely turned misty-eyed, and I may have shed a tear or two. It’s a really good book, guys.
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
I’m assuming this means a lesser known book that was really good? In any case, What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi is definitely a book that I’m so glad I got the chance to read. It turned out to be a really worthwhile contemporary novel that combined two known tropes (cancer and teenage pregnancy) in a way that was both entertaining and different.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo because I NEED THE NEXT BOOK. AGH. Someone please help. I can’t wait a WHOLE YEAR, come on!!
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?
As what seems to be the common trend for me in this survey, I can’t say if it’s THE MOST unique book I read, but The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling definitely took a different spin on the classic Cinderella tale—and did it well, too!
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
I’m not sure if these ones made me mad, persay… I’m not exactly sure how to describe it, but I’d say more frustrated. Reawakened by Colleen Houck could’ve been such a great book, but my frustrations over its similarity to Tiger’s Curse and my annoyance with the main character made this such a difficult book to like.
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?
There are so many! I only started blogging in 2015, so… basically all the blogs?? LOL. Only half joking. I love all of your blogs so much!
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?
AHH I don’t know! It’s too hard to choose. And since it’s been a long time since I wrote a review anyway (oops)… I’ll skip this one.
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
I haven’t done as many discussion posts on my blog as I would’ve wanted, so… I guess I don’t know? However most recently I did a Things I Discovered About Americans which was a lot of fun to write, so I’ll go with that!
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I can’t say I participated in author signing, festivals or virtual events (*LOUDLY SNIFFLES* *Curls up in a ball and cries*), but I did (and still do) participate in several memes. Having said that, I’m not exactly sure which one to choose for that either! I suppose maybe Top Ten Tuesdays..? It’s always lots of fun to make lists (though of course enormously torturous to limit myself to only 10…) and it’s great seeing other bloggers’ lists too!
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?
Well, I consider this an all-time thing, but the best moment I would say is simply having you guys all read my posts and talk to me! Seriously, I love you guys so so so so so much, and you guys are such a big part of my life now that every moment you guys support me and stop by my blog is simply the best. GROUP HUG!!
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
Finding time to read and blog! This was by far the hardest problem for me this year, trying to balance school on top of my blog and the books I read. It’s the reason why I’m more MIA than usual, sadly. Too much work, too less time!
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
Uhhh I’m not sure… but whichever one it is, I shall give you ALL THE HUGS AND ALL THE LOVE because your support by commenting and visiting my blog means so much!! Seriously, you don’t even know the extent of how much.
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Again, I’m not sure.. So sorry I’m basically leaving so many of these questions blank, but unfortunately my brain is still half-dead—come on guys, it’s Monday. 😉
9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Guys, if you don’t know about Book Outlet, you’re missing out! There are tons of amazing sales on books—I always save so much compared to how much buying books would’ve been at our local bookstore like Indigo or something.
Also, BookBub is great for ebook deals! Pretty dangerous for my TBR, but hey, it’s not like my TBR is shrinking anytime soon, right?
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
Well, apart from my Goodreads reading goal, I had also been participating in the Popsugar reading challenge—which, I didn’t complete, sadly. I totally had the intention to, and was really close, but in the end I just couldn’t bring myself to read the books I had planned for the challenge. Being the perfectionist I am, it kind of grieves me that I didn’t complete it, but I’m trying not to dwell on it too much, haha.
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?
ALL THE BOOKS. Just kidding. Tomorrow’s TTT topic is along the lines of this though, so I’ll just leave this one blank for now.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard and Passenger by Alexandra Bracken are books I definitely can’t wait to read! (They’re already released, so now it’s just a matter of getting them!)
3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Well, I can’t remember ALL the 2016 debuts that caught my eye, but I’m really interested in these three being released this month:
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?
*Grabby hands* I NEED A COURT OF MIST AND FURY & THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER. Seriously, I absolutely can’t wait for these two books.
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?
Find a consistent blogging schedule and pattern! I’ve been totally out of whack when it comes to my blogging schedule, so I definitely want to find a good schedule that’s suitable for me.
6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
I’ve only read one 2016 release so far, but I wouldn’t exactly use it for this question seeing how I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. So… another blank space!
WOW, that was long. 🙂 I won’t blame you (too much) if you skipped most of it. But it was a lot of fun to write—and I’d love to hear your thoughts! How did your 2015 reading go? I know we’re.. what, 11 days past 2015, but details are details, am I right?! Let me know what you think of these books—which ones did you read from here? What were your thoughts on them? LET US TALK.
Hugs!
Book Snacks 