Andrea's Book Nook: 12/2015

Full House Reading Challenge 2016

~~By author you wish was better known:~~ The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by: Rachel Joyce

~~Published in 2016:~~ Crooked Kingdom by: Leigh Bardugo

~~Book from a series you love:~~ Gemina by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (The Illuminae Files)

~~Debut novel:~~ An Ember in the Ashes by: Sabaa Tahir

~~Tho~~~~ught provoking book:~~ Bone Gap by: Laura Ruby

~~Had laugh out loud moment(s):~~ Women Are Scary by: Melanie Dale

~~Book club worthy:~~ The Icarus Girl by: Helen Oyeyemi

~~Color word in title:~~ Dragonfly in Amber by: Diana Gabaldon

Author's surname starts with same letter as yours:

~~You didn't want to put it down:~~ Illuminae by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Way out of comfort zone:

~~Family relationship word in title:~~ The Zookeeper's Wife by: Diane Ackerman

~~Book you bought:~~ The Name of the Wind by: Patrick Rothfuss

~~Setting begins with B:~~ The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by: Rachel Joyce (Britain)

~~Author outside own country:~~ Liane Moriarty (Australia)

~~Self challenge:~~ The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by: Joshua Hammer (Non-fiction)

Memoir:

~~First in a series:~~ Boneshaker by: Cherie Priest (The Clockwork Century)

~~You'd like to change the cover:~~ The Secret History by: Donna Tartt (it looks boring!)

~~A dominant color on cover:~~ The Nightingale by: Kristen Hannah

~~New author to you:~~ Ernest Cline (Ready Player One)

~~Would make a good movie:~~ Passenger by: Alexandra Brecken

~~Library book:~~ The 100 by: Kass Morgan

~~Published in 2015:~~ The Wrath and the Dawn by: Renee Ahdieh

~~Been on TBR "forever":~~ Ready Player One by: Ernest Cline (since August 2012)

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2015 Review

I'm going to do something a little different this year and participate in a survey by The Perpetual Page-Turner that looks like a lot of fun! I'm not doing much blog-wise, but maybe 2016 will be different? So the beginning of this post will be my usual end of year review questions that aren't in the survey, and then I'll include the survey answers.

Challenges in which I participated:
Full House Reading Challenge
What's in a Name? (finished 6 of 6)
R.I.P. X (finished 4 of 4)

# of books read:
52
(down from 58 in 2014, 60 in 2013, down from 75 in 2012, up from 39 in 2011, 30 in 2010, 28 in 2009, & up from 48 in 2008. Down from 81 in 2007.)

Least favorite:
The Alphabet House by: Jussi Adler-Olsen

# of non-fiction:
3

Repeated authors:
Stephen King (2)
Leigh Bardugo (4) (including The Grisha)
Sarah Addison Allen (2) (Waverly Family)

Number of books you read: 52

Number of re-reads: 1 (Cold Sassy Tree)

Genre you read the most: Fantasy and Young Adult

1. Best book you read in 2015: The Martian by: Andy Weir

Followed by:
Bird Box by: Josh Malerman
The Shining by: Stephen King
Six of Crows by: Leigh Bardugo

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't: The Little Paris Bookshop by: Nina George

I was looking forward to reading it because of the title and cover (I know, I know) and also the description, but it wasn't nearly as great as I was hoping. A second book that would fit in this category is Go Set a Watchman by: Harper Lee.

3. Most surprising (in a good or bad way) book you read: Life in Outer Space by: Melissa Keil

Surprised in a good way because I expected it to be a silly contemporary young adult novel and I ended up really enjoying the way it was written and the story line.

4. Book you "pushed" the most people to read (and they did): The Martian by: Andy Weir

My husband and mother-in-law read it after I recommended it and I gave a copy to my brother for Christmas, so he will probably read it soon as well.

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best sequel of 2015? Best series ender of 2015?: Best series was Six of Crows...I think! I only read the first book in the series, but I enjoyed it most of all the series I started this year. The best sequel was Siege and Storm from The Grisha series by the same author (Leigh Bardugo). A new character was introduced in this book and I just loved him. The only series ender I read was Ruin and Rising from The Grisha and it was a good ending!

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015: Leigh Bardugo

7. Best book from a genre you don't typically read/was out of your comfort zone: The Devil in the White City by: Erik Larson

I typically don't read historical non-fiction/biography type books although I read two this year and enjoyed this title by Larson. I had no idea that the first world's fair in Chicago influenced our current society so much.

8. Most action packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year: Bird Box by: Josh Malerman

9. Book in 2015 that you are most likely to re-read next year: The Shining by: Stephen King is one that I would possibly re-read within a year. It would be interesting to read it after knowing the entire story and how it ends.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015: Illusions of Fate by: Kiersten White

11. Most memorable character of 2015: Mark in The Martian and Kaz in Six of Crows.

12. Most beautifully written book of 2015: The Buried Giant by: Kazuo Ishiguro

13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2015: House of Leaves by: Mark Z. Danielewski

14. Book you can't believe you waited until 2015 to finally read: The Shining

15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2015: "For some reason, I've been thinking more and more about my mother and the way her life failed her, humiliated her with impulses beyond her command, broke her with year after year of the same." -House of Leaves by: Mark Z. Danielewski

16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2015: A Dance with Dragons by: George R.R. Martin (1,125 pages) and The Little Prince by: Antoine de Saint Exupery (98 pages)

17. Book that shocked you the most: I can't think of anything in particular, but probably something in A Dance with Dragons!

18. OTP (one true pairing) of the year: Hook & Stella in Alias Hook by: Lisa Jensen or Nyx and Ignifex in Cruel Beauty by: Rosamund Hodge (I know it said ONE, but oh well!)

19. Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year: Willow's relationships with all of her friends in Counting by 7s by: Holly Goldberg Sloan

20. Favorite book you read in 2015 from an author you've read previously: The Shining

21. Best book you read in 2015 that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure: Bel Canto by: Ann Patchett (recommended by my mom)

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015: Nikolai from the second and third books in The Grisha.

23. Best 2015 debut novel you read: Serafina and the Black Cloak by: Robert Beatty

This story took place in my home state of North Carolina in an amazing house I've visited a couple of times (The Biltmore) and I thought it was a fun book. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for a child even though it's a children's book because it's a little scary.

24. Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting you read this year: The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo

25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read: Someday, Someday, Maybe by: Lauren Graham

This is written by the actress who played Lorelai in the TV series Gilmore Girls. It was such a fun book and I found myself laughing out loud a few times.

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2015: The Buried Giant by: Kazuo Ishiguro

27. Hidden gem of the year: Life in Outer Space by: Melissa Keil

28. Book that crushed your soul: If I Stay by: Gayle Forman

29. Most unique book you read in 2015: Sand by: Hugh Howey was very unique and I really wish he had developed the story more for this reason.

30. Book that made you the most mad (doesn't necessarily mean you didn't like it): Probably Go Set a Watchman by: Haper Lee. I was frustrated with both Atticus and Scout at different times throughout the book. I wish it had been different, but I understood where they were both coming from and am not letting this book taint my view of To Kill a Mockingbird. I honestly don't think that Watchman was meant to be published.

1. One book you didn't get to in 2015 but will be your number one priority in 2016: The Wrath and the Dawn by: Renee Ahdieh

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2016 (non-debut): The Thorn of Emberlain by: Scott Lynch (#4 in the Gentleman Bastard series)

3. 2016 debut you are most anticipating: I don't really keep up with debuting authors.

4. Series ending/a sequel you are most anticipating in 2016: The Thorn of Emberlain like I already mentioned and Crooked Kingdom by: Leigh Bardugo (the second book in the Six of Crows series)

5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2016: I hope I read more and blog more (I mean, even one review would be an improvement!)

6. A 2016 release you've already read and recommend to everyone: I haven't read any ARCs!