2016 was a pretty awful year for me, in both my personal and reading lives. However, I did write a few review posts which was better than the previous year! I'll do the same thing I did last year and participate in the survey by
The Perpetual Page-Turner as well as my general overview.
Challenges in which I particpated:
Full House Reading Challenge 2016 (finished 22 of 25)
Ultimate Reading Challenge 2016
What's in a Name? 2016 (finished 2 of 6)
R.I.P. XI (finished 4 of 4)
# of books read:
35
(down from 52 in
2015, 58 in 2014, 60 in 2013, 75 in 2012, 39 in 2011. Up from 30 in 2010 & 28 in 2009. Down from 48 in 2008 and 81 in 2007.)
Favorites (in order read):
The 100 by: Kass Morgan (young adult, sci-fi, #1 in series)
Illuminae by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (young adult, sci-fi, series)
Bone Gap by: Laura Ruby (young adult, magical realism)
Ready Player One by: Ernest Cline (young adult, sci-fi, post apocalyptic)
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by: Rachel Joyce (adult fiction)
Black-Eyed Susans by: Julia Heaberlin (adult fiction, mystery, suspense)
Crooked Kingdom by: Leigh Bardugo (young adult, fantasy, #2 in series)
Gemina by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (young adult, sci-fi, #2 in series)
Least favorite:
Nothing was awful this year, but my lowest rated were:
The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by: Katie Alender
The Zookeeper's Wife by: Diane Ackerman
# of non-fiction:
4
Repeated authors:
Patrick Rothfuss (2) (The Kingkiller Chronicle)
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (2) (The Illuminae Files)
Number of books you read: 35
Number of re-reads: 0
Genre you read the most from: Adult fiction, young adult, fantasy
1. Best book you read in 2016:
Young Adult: Illuminae by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Adult: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by: Rachel Joyce
2. Book you were excited about and thought you would love more, but didn't:
The Wrath & the Dawn by: Renee Ahdieh
3. Most surprising (in a good or bad way) book you read:
The Wonder by: Emma Donoghue - I didn't expect it to be so engrossing. It sounds like a fairly tame story, but I couldn't put it down. It was a great book!
4. Book you "pushed" the most people to read (and they did):
Illuminae by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
5. Best series you started in 2016? Best sequel of 2016? Best series ender of 2016?:
Best I started: The Illuminae Files by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Best sequel: Crooked Kingdom by: Leigh Bardugo (this could also be considered the end of the series since Bardugo called this "series" a "duology".
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016:
This is a hard one since I read so many great things by authors I'd never read before. But the two that were completely new to me (I had never even heard their names before) were Laura Ruby (Bone Gap) and Rachel Joyce (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry).
7. Best book from a genre you don't typically read/was out of your comfort zone:
Shadows and Monsters by: Grace A. Dow - short stories. Books of short stories don't normally hold my attention so I don't read them very often. I also tend to read them at the same time I'm reading novels so they are kind of squished between my regular reading. Grace is a good friend of mine and so I read this for the annual R.I.P. Challenge. There were a few stories in particular I loved and that have stuck with me, just like novels do.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year:
Illuminae by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
9. Book you read in 2016 that you are most likely to re-read next year:
I don't usually re-read, but if I did re-read one, it would probably be Bone Gap by: Laura Ruby
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016:
11. Most memorable character of 2016:
Harold Fry from The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016:
The Wonder by: Emma Donoghue or Bone Gap by: Laura Ruby
13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2016:
Bone Gap
14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read:
Ready Player One by: Ernest Cline and
The Name of the Wind by: Patrick Rothfuss
15. Favorite passage/quote:
"She said, 'Do you love me yet?'
He recoiled from her, from the look of her. 'You don't love me because you can't see me,' she said. 'Look! Look! I am beautiful now.
I am beautiful.'" -
Bone Gap by: Laura Ruby
16. Shortest & longest books you read:
Shortest:
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by: Alice Dagliesh (64 pages)
Longest:
The Wise Man's Fear by: Patrick Rothfuss (994 pages)
17. Book that shocked you the most:
There was a pretty shocking moment in
Gemina by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff.
18. OTP (one true pairing) of the year (you will go down with this ship!):
Nik & Hanna in
Gemina
19. Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year:
Parcival & Aech in
Ready Player One by: Ernest Cline
20. Favorite book you reading 2016 by an author you've read previously:
Crooked Kingdom by: Leigh Bardugo
21. Best book you read in 2016 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from someone else/peer pressure:
Frozen Heat by: Richard Castle
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016:
My crushes on Jamie from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and Kaz from the Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo were just further cemented in the second books I read this year.
23. Best 2016 debut you read:
I don't think I read any debuts.
24. Best world building/most vivid setting you read this year:
Ready Player One or
Crooked Kingdom
25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read:
Bone Gap
26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry:
The Nightingale by: Kristen Hannah
27. Hidden gem of the year:
Bone Gap
28. Book that crushed your soul:
The Nightingale by: Kristen Hannah
29. Most unique book you read:
You by: Caroline Kepnes
30. Book that made you the most mad (doesn't necessarily mean you didn't like it):
The Nightingale by: Kristen Hannah just because it's about the German occupation of France during WWII and how helpless the whole situation was.
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2016:
none
2. Favorite review you wrote:
3. Best discussion/non-review post:
none
4. Best event you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events. etc):
none
5. Best moment of booking/blogging life in 2016:
I actually posted 4 reviews!
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year:
I went through a very hard time personally over the summer and it really stalled my reading for pleasure. Also, I started (and then gave up) a lot of self-help books that really didn't help at all.
7. Most popular post this year on your blog (either comments or views):
8. Post you wished got a little more love:
My Bone Gap review
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc):
10. Did you complete any any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of the year?:
I completed one challenge (R.I.P. XI), and didn't finish the others. I definitely didn't complete my overall goal of reading 60 books!
1. One book you didn't get to in 2016 that will be your number one priority in 2017:
Nothing in particular.
2. Book you are most anticipating in 2017 (non-debut):
The third book in the Illuminae Files and The Thorn of Emberlain by: Scott Lynch (#4 in the Gentleman Bastard series)
3. 2017 debut you are most anticipating:
None
4. Series ending/a sequel you are most anticipating:
I don't know if one of my answers to question 2 will be a series ender.
5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2017:
Read more (my goal is 50 booiks) and blog more than 4 reviews.
6. A 2017 release you've already read and recommend to everyone:
None
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