2016 End of the Year Book Survey

Hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner

Number Of Books You Read: 115, likely I will finish three more books before year's end.
Number of Re-Reads: 3
Genre You Read The Most From: YA

1. Best Book You Read In 2016?

• Best biography: West With the Night by Beryl Markham
• Best YA: The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
• Best Adult: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

•  The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
• Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (I love the Amazon Prime series but the book isn't really like the series. )
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I just had so much trouble with the format. I am not into reading plays.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Some books read in childhood shouldn't be reread. 

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

• Apparently, outside of my library recommendations made as part of my job, I have not pushed many books this year. I mentioned how much I liked West With the Night to a lot of people but I don't think many actually read it because of me.

 5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?

• Started: Rebel of the Sand by Alwyn Hamilton, #1 in the series
• Best Sequel: Winter by Marissa Meyer, #4 in the series (It really is the series ender but another book was published after it.)
• Series Ender: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater, #4 and last book of The Raven Cycle series

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?

•  Beryl Markham.  I spun off into an Africa phase of reading after reading about her in Circling the Sun by Paula McLain and then reading her biography West With the Night

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

•  Not exactly out of my comfort zone but this book falls into a category from which I have rarely read books, books on reading books: The Art of X-Ray Reading by Roy Peter Clark.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

•  Most unputdownable: My Lady Jane by Hand, Ashton, Meadows

9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

•  Ten Poems to Change Your Life by Roger Housden

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016?

•  Jazz Day by Roxane Orgill

11. Most memorable character of 2016?

•  Lady Jane Grey in My Lady Jane

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?

•  In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner and
• The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016?

•  Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

14. Books you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read? 

•  The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings and
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?

• “Passed years seem safe ones, vanquished ones, while the future lives in a cloud, formidable from a distance. The cloud clears as you enter it. I have learned this, but like everyone, I learned it late.” 
  ― Beryl Markham, West with the Night
• “From the time I was a baby, my mom took me to the library at least once a week. Librarians were like Mary Poppins to me. They always knew how to match a book to my mood or to whatever I was going through at the time. I could always find peace in books.” 
  ― Rachel Cohn, The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily

16. Shortest; Longest Book You Read In 2016?

• Shortest: Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena, 32 pages
• Longest: Winter by Marissa Meyer, 832 pages

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

• Girl at War by Sara Novic (about children fighting in the Bosnian conflict)
• Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron (about the Rwandan Genocide)

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

• Lady Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley (from My Lady Jane)
• Miel and Sam (from When the Moon Was Ours)

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

•  Dolssa and Botille (from The Passion of Dolssa)

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2016 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater 

21. Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

• The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen. It was recommended by a gal in book club.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016?

•  Cooper (from The Memory Book by Lara Avery)

23. Best 2016 debut you read?

• The Reader by Traci Chee
• The Serpent King by Jeff Zintner

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

•  Railhead by Philip Reeve

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

•  My Lady Jane by Hand, Ashton, and Meadows.  I am still smiling about this book.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?

•  In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
• The Memory Book by Lara Avery
• The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanathi
• Girl at War by Sara Novic

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

• Flannery by Lisa Moore (A wonderful coming-of-age tale, published by a small publisher in Canada. A true gem.)

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

•  Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?

•  Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2016?

•  Um. Once again. I can't remember names of other's blogs. Sorry.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2016? Here are a few:

• The Sympathizer
• The Raven King and Books in a Series
• A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories
• West With the Night
• Melancholy and Springtime
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
• The Yearling (if you only have time to red one, read this one)

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

•  Quotes that make me happy

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

•  The GKHS Mock Printz Workshop, an annual event; Jane Austen week; Poetry Out Loud Competition. 

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2016?

• When my blog attracted the attention of Julie Berry, the author of my favorite YA book of the year.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

• I fell into a writing slump in September and had a hard time pulling myself out. I went for about two months without reviewing any books. 

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

•  Based on comments, not traffic: Friday Quotes: Flight and Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set Outside the USA, tied at 28 comments.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

•  Thoughts on the Award Book Selections

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

• Book Riot Store
• Bookish Items on Esty

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

• Yes. I successfully completed all my 2016 reading challenges. Here is the post about them.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2016 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?

• Upcoming Book Club Selections: The Life We Bury (Ersken) and Big Rock Candy Mountain (Stegner)
• Potential Printz Award books: Rani Patel in Real Life (Patel); Girl Mans Up (Girard); The Female of the Species (McGinnis); Scythe (Shusterman); and The Sun Is Also A Star (Yoon)

 That pretty much sets my reading list for January!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2017 (non-debut)?

• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

3. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2017?

•  The second book in the Rebel in the Sands series.

4. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017?

•  Generate more discussion blogs...not just reviews and memes

What did 2016 look like for you in terms of reading and books.  Feel free to copy the questions, give credit to Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner, and fill out your survey.