"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

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 MarkhamWest 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 CohnThe 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:

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

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)?

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

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

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


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.


17 comments:

  1. I am struggling with the Stegner and may not finish it. A first for me. I agree with you completely on #2!

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    1. Well, I haven't started the Stegner yet because I haven't located a copy of it and I don't want to spend money on it. It's a pity if you don't like it since he is such a good writer usually.

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  2. I will definitely have to do this tag, too. I'm going to say my longest book was probably Winter too - and I wouldn't have minded if it was longer. :)

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    1. Winter didn't seem like 800+ pages, it read so fast. But starting an 800 page book is daunting. Maybe that is why it took me a year to get to it.

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  3. I'm currently putting my post together for this survey as well. 115 books is ridiculously amazing, great job! I loved The Raven King a lot and glad you did as well. I hope you get to The Sun Is Also a Star in the new year, I thought it was fantastic.

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    1. I agonized over my answers, which really slowed down the process then, about half way, I decided it didn't really matter if I put down this book or that since the list is mainly for me. Ha!

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  4. I read The Yearling just a couple years ago and loved it. It was truly beautifully written. And Then There Were None is one of my favorites too!

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  5. Congrats on a great reading year. I'm still wrapping up a few reads and will wait until next week to post my favorites of 2016 in case I find any other titles to add to the list. I'll be curious to read your thoughts on Sun is Also a Star. I wasn't a big fan like everyone else but I didn't hate it either.

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  6. Love this survey for finding out more about bloggers and their reading choices. You seem to have had an interesting reading year!

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  7. It's always sad when you go back to read a favorite from childhood and it doesn't live up to the memories. Probably why I've avoided reading any of the books that were favorites when I was in middle school and grade school. Didn't do a lot of leisure reading in high school, too many books that were required reading, and I was kind of a slow reader back then.
    Happy Reading!
    Thank you for visiting my blog Marie @ Pages to Explore

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  8. Fantastic survey! You read a lot of books-- great job! You also featured many books that I didn't get a chance to read this year like Lady Jane and Passion of Dolssa. I will definitely have to check out both books!

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  9. Interesting stuff! I don't do my round-up until right at the end of the year JUST IN CASE, and one of my top ten has often come in the bit between Christmas and New Year!

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  10. I love that you read a wide range of genres too! Thankfully a lot of the books you mentioned are already on my TBR shelves (because why should the fact that I don't have enough time factor into my book purchases?), and I hope to get to them in 2017- especially My Lady Jane, Breath Becomes Air, The Serpent King, The Passion of Dolssa (how awesome Julie Berry found your blog!!!!) and The Reader... among others, because I also have The Underground Railroad, Scythe, The Female of the Species and Rebel in the Sands on my shelves. We need time-turners! Hope 2017 is even a better Book Year!

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  11. What a wonderful list of books for 2016! I do love these posts that look back over the year and need to get going on my own. You've inspired me

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  12. I'm glad that you seem to have enjoyed Winter and The Raven King as much as me :) Now, as for your top YA book of the year, The Passion of Dollsa - I'm feeling a bit ashamed here because I've never even heard of it. I'll have to look into it! Also, My Lady Jane is one that I wanted to read this year, but never got to, so I'll have to move it up the TBR for next year.

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  13. You've read so many books this year, wow! I really want to read My Lady Jane as I've heard so many people rave about it!

    Kyra @ Blog of a Bookaholic
    My End of Year Survey!

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  14. I completely agree with you about The Broken Wheels Reccommend. It was really boring and not at all what I thought it'd be -TheBookThiefWithoutWord (for some reason it won't let me comment using my wordpress account)

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