End of the Year - Book Survey
Here we are again with the annual End Of Year Book Survey, hosted by The Perpetual Page Turner. I had a lot of fun looking back at my reading in 2015 and answering these questions. I hope you enjoy reading about it and let me know your thoughts if you've also read some of the books I mention here!
2015 READING STATS
Number Of Books You Read: 59. A little less than last year, when I read 66 books, but considering how busy I've been, I'm quite satisfied!
Number of Re-Reads: Only 1,5/2 (I reread Lady Susan and The Watsons by Jane Austen, but they are both so short, I wonder if you can call it 2)
Genre You Read The Most From: Historical fiction/historical romance
BEST IN BOOKS
01. Best Book You Read In 2015? (If you have to cheat - you can break it down by genre if you want or 2015 release vs. backlist)
Sigh, let's tackle this most difficult question first! I'll just make a Top 5, but in no particular order!
1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
2. The Hero's Lot by Patrick W. Carr
3. Gouden Jaren by Annegreet van Bergen (Dutch)
4. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shafer
02. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
As I really loved all of Rainbow Rowell's books so far, I had hoped to like her Landline more, but I only thought it so-so.
03. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
I'm really hard to please when it comes to contemporary Christian fiction, so I didn't have very high hopes when I picked up Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate. But I really loved it, best book in this genre I've read in years! I should really pick up more of her books!
04. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
None comes to mind right now
05. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?
I don't read thát many series, but the Best Sequel definitely was The Hero's Lot by Patrick W. Carr. And I loved all three books in the Selection series by Kiera Cass (yes, I know there's a fourth book in the series, but it explores a different storyline)
06. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?
Kiera Cass, Carrie Turansky and Jenny Colgan
07. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
I didn't read a lot out of my comfort zone in 2015, but maybe I should mention Gouden Jaren by Annegreet Bergen. I don't read a lot of non-fiction nor a lot of originally Dutch books and this one was both and I adored it!
08. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Definitely The Hero's Lot by Patrick W. Carr.
09. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I don't think any, because I don't do a lot of re-reading. Where would I find the time for that? :-(
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?
Like a flower in bloom by Siri Mitchell is just very pretty and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is so quirky and cute and totally fits with the story.
11. Most memorable character of 2015?
Jerusha Abbott from Daddy Long-legs by Jean Webster, because of her quirks and her humor and how much I related to her.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?
If you find this letter by Hannah Bercher. Very poetic!
13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2015?
Saving Simon by Jon Katz. This book has some very important messages about animals, our relationship with them and the importance of every small creature on this planet.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?
Daddy Long-legs by Jean Webster or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shafer, both of which had been on my TBR for years. I'm so glad I finally read them because I adored them both!
Both of them, by the way, after I had read a review by Hamlette, so thanks!
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?
In our time, many people believe animals to be superior to human beings, and sometimes, watching the news, I think they make a good case.
Jon Katz - Saving Simon
Sometimes we don’t get stronger right when we want to. And sometimes an attitude change isn’t as simple as we think it can be. I think it’s more than okay to wake up some days and just be ‘okay’. Not amazing. Not having the best day of your life. Life is just hard sometimes. And people deserve more credit for even getting out of bed sometimes.
Hannah Bercher - If you find this letter
16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?
Longest: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens (801 pages)
Shortest: Lady Susan by Jane Austen (80 pages)
17. Book That Shocked You The Most (Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
Alice I have been by Melanie Benjamin, because of the implications which were made about the relationship between a child and an adult. Also, the twist at the end of A Special Delivery by Clare Dowling was really unexpected and turned the whole story upside down.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Cath and Levis from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Soooo adorable!
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Jon Katz and his donkey Simon from Saving Simon, haha! (No seriously, quite one of the most amazing human-animal relationships I've ever read about!)
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell or Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
I don't think I would ever have picked up The Selection series by Kiera Cass if I hadn't read so many enthusiastic blog and LiveJournal comments about it.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?
James MacDonald from Five Days in Skye by Carla Laureano. A handsome Scotsman who is an amazing cook and will show you around the amazing Scottish countryside!
23. Best 2015 debut you read?
Saving Simon by Jon Katz
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
The Hero's Lot by Patrick W. Carr for a fantasy world and Five days in Skye by Carla Laureano for a 'real-world' story
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Daddy Long-legs by Jean Webster. I laughted out loud quite a lot while reading this!
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. So sad and thát ending!
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
See answer to 26
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shafer is pretty unique as it's told completely through letters
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte! Such a maddening, frustrating book to read when all the characters are cruel or annoying or most often both. There's hardly anyone to root for, which made enjoying this book very very hard!
YOUR BLOGGING/BOOKISH LIFE
01. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?
I didn't add any new blogs to my list. I'm running behind in my blog reading enough as it is!
02. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?
My review of Our Mutual Friend, because I had enjoyed the book so much and had so much to say about it
03. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
The Bookshelf Tag, because I loved sharing my book collection with all you readers
04. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I did a giveaway for Ana of California!
05. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?Related to question 08, discovering audiobooks and listening to Our Mutual Friend. I even listened to it during tedious microscopy work!
06. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
I can't really check for LiveJournal, but on my blog, my The Way We Live Now review had the most views
07. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
None comes to mind
08. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Audiobooks and LibriVox! I'm really happy I've discovered these. I'll be honest, in my busy life I very often don't have time or concentration enough to read classic novels and I believe audiobooks are thé solution for me! They keep my attention and help me to make use of every bit of time (doing the dishes, gardening etc)
09. Did you complete any reading challenges or review goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I didn't join in any reading challenges this year, but I always set myself the goal to read all the books I own at the beginning of the year (and I always fail, unfortunately...)
LOOKING AHEAD…
01. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?
Winter by Marissa Meyer! (But first I probably need to reread the other books or at least Cress)
03. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I'm not really keeping up with all the debuts.
04. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?
I have some books from series I still have to read, but they were released in 2015 or before, nothing for 2016 comes to mind.
I am however looking forward to the new series by Patrick W. Carr, The Darkwater Saga.
05. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?
I really want to review more of the books that I read!
06. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
Nope, none