2015 End-of-Year Survey

2015 End-of-the-Year Book Survey Results

Hosted at Perpetual Page Turner

Stats:

• Number of Books Read: 111 so far, it is likely I'll finish two more before year's end.
• Number of Re-Reads: 5
• Genre You Read the Most: YA
• My 2015 list of books read (hyperlinked)

Reading Survey:

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (reread)

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

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

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

• Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick...was quite different compared to the movie and I actually liked it less than the movie, which never happens. 

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

•  The Martian by Andy Weir...I told everyone to read this book and just about everyone did.

5. Best series you started in 2015? The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

Best Sequel of 2015? Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater, and 3rd book in the Raven Cycle series.

Best Series Ender of 2015? The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett, the fifth and final book in the Tiffany Aching series, a sub-series of the Discworld series.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

•  Anthony Doerr, author of my favorite book this year. 

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

•  I am a very eclectic reader, but I don't often read Science fiction, so The Martian was a double delight.

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

•  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I lived and breathed this book for a week.

9. Book You Read In 2015 Which You Are Most Likely To Re-read Next Year?

•  I rarely reread books but I am most likely to reread the books I reread this year: To Kill a Mockingbird; The Whistling Season; The Little Prince; Shipping News; and The Giving Tree.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?

•  The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

•  Isabelle in The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

•  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?

• What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey. I taught a Sunday School class using this book and curriculum and have been thinking about it ever since.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read? 

•  The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I loved this classic mystery written in the mid 1800s.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

• This really isn't my favorite, but I do think it is funny:
• “They come quietly—like a silent but deadly fart—and they get you before you can pinch your nose.” 
                                        ― Terry Pratchett, The Shepherd's Crown

16. Shortest and Longest Book You Read In 2015?

• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. 612 pages, longest
• Strong is You Hold by Galway Kinnell (Poetry.) 69 pages, shortest

 17. Book Which Shocked You The Most

• Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. This book blew my mind. It really got me thinking about people and wondering if it is really possible for humans to save our world from destruction we brought on ourselves.

18. O.T.P. of the Year (Romantic pairing)

• Finn and Priscilla in The Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of the Year

• Werner and Marie-Laure in All the Light You Cannot See.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 from an Author You’ve Read Previously

•  People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 Which Was Based SOLELY On a Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

•  None.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

•  Richard Gansey in the Raven Cycle series (Blue Lily, Lily Blue)

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

•  Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

24. Best World-building/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

• The Martian by Andy Weir. I could picture Mars and his whole operation there. 

25. Book Which Put a Smile on Your Face/Was the Most FUN to Read?

•  Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

26. Book Which Made You Cry or Nearly Cry in 2015?

•  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

27. Hidden Gem of the Year? There are several:

• The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten
• Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson
• The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage

28. Book Which Crushed Your Soul? 

•  I am not sure if any book could crush my soul but I did find myself very tender about The Shepherd's Crown because I knew the author, Terry Pratchett has just died so this will be his last book and that made me very sad to think about.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

•  I Crawl Through It by A.S. King---surrealism! (Need I say more?)

30. Book Which Made You Angry (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

• Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer 

31. One Book You Didn’t Read In 2015 but Will Be a Top Priority in 2016?

• Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Eric Larson…I have checked it out three times in 2015 and not gotten to it yet. I really do want to read it.
• Winter by Marissa Meyer. I even went to launch party and I still haven’t read it.

Blogging survey:

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?

This is embarrassing to admit, but I am terrible about remembering site names of blogs I visit.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

 All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

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

 A Literary Tribute to Sheri Story. Sheri died this year from breast cancer and this is my tribute to her and to her love reading.

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

 The Pierce County Reads finale event with the author of The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?

I really appreciate it when I hear from readers who say they enjoyed a book I recommended on my blog.  That is the best.

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

I have battled periods of apathy about writing my blog, especially the book reviews since it feels like I am just writing them for myself.

7. Most Popular Post This Year on Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)? The Literary Tribute to Sheri Story

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Two reviews, two similar yet dissimilar books (The Game of Love and Death/Black Dove and White Raven)

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

UncommonGoods---Reading Gifts.

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

·         Goodreads goals—my goal of reading 100 books was met; I’ve read 111.

·         R.I.P. Challenge--- to read one horror book during October was met; I read three.

·        Austen in August Challenge---I read a book about the meaning behind Jane Austen’s words.

·         Classics Spin---I participated in two spins and finished both books, The Woman in White by Collins and Great Expectations by Dickens.

·        Read all the ALA Youth Media Award winners of 2015---I am one book short of accomplishing this challenge.

·         Read all the Printz Award winners of 2015 (award and honor books), done!

·        Books I Should Have Read in School…But Didn’t. My goal was to read three, I read four!

It was an odd year for reading. Most of my favorite books were nonfiction and many of my fiction selections were fairly forgettable. Come back later this week for a list of my favorite book club selections of the year and several other end-of-year lists.

Sunday Salon, December 20th

BELIEVE. Photo by D. Gorman, used with permission.

Weather: Dark and rainy. The snow level is at 2000 feet. That means lots of snow on the mountain passes between Western and Eastern Washington. The Washington DOT is predicting the snow level will fall to 200 feet for Christmas Day. Hmm. Could be interesting for us, but I won't hold my breath. It rarely snows in the Puget Sound area.

Fourth Sunday of Advent: It is hard to believe we are only five days away from Christmas Day. Today our choir sang a Christmas Cantata for the whole service. Don and both of our daughters are in the choir. Don said he was treasuring up the experience because it is unlikely that all three of them will be in a choir together again.

Where Are You Christmas? Have a listen while you are reading the blog post. I love this arrangement.

Visitors from afar: Wednesday I had two Christmas parties to attend. The first in downtown Puyallup with librarians, the second with staff members in Graham. As I swung by home between the two parties there was a van in our driveway which I didn't recognize. As it turned out it was friends Jean and Chrissy from Ontario, Canada. Needless to say, I never made it to the second party. I had a lovely visit with Jean (Tez), a friend from high school, and her partner even though it wasn't planned. They made an unplanned trip up from Oregon because an aunt had died and Jean wanted to bring her mom up to visit her other sister. They hadn't decided to make the trip until that morning and just dropped by in hopes of catching us.

School is out for the year (2015): It felt a little like running a marathon getting to this point in the school year. Time for two weeks of R and R around all the holiday celebrations.

Carly's birthday party: My youngest turned 24 years old on Friday. After a fun dinner at a favorite local restaurant, we came home for the typical cake and gifts. We played a fun game and got very silly. It felt like parties of old where laughter and games were common.

Book Club here: Sixteen of us from the SOTH book club were here for a discussion of The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. Don rigged up a movie screen out of a bed sheet so I could show a brief video of the Sarajevo Haggaduh, the prayer book which inspired the book. I asked the gals to tell me which of the 12 books we read in 2015 they enjoyed the most. The results: 1. The Boys in the Boat; 2. A Light Between Oceans; 3. The Invention of Wings. I wanted their input for my blog post on favorite book club selections. Stay tuned, I will get that written soon.

Christmas poem: 
Turn your heart to Christmas, come in from the night.
Gentle hope embrace you, find the promised light.
Give yourself to worship, reach for things above.
Turn your heart to Christmas, know that you are loved.
                                                          (Joseph Martin)

Currently reading:

• The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings...this is my Classics Club selection. I finally got started reading this delightful classic.
• El Deafo by CeCe Bell...a graphic novel about growing up deaf.

Finished this week:

• MARTians by Blythe Woolston...a short, little dystopian novel about a world transfixed on shopping and little else.
• The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett...the last novel by the author, who died in March. It is also the last of his marvelous Discworld series. It was as delightful as I expected.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

I AM IN THE MIDST OF CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS. Photo by D. Gorman, used with permission.

The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett

Today I finished listening to the audiobook The Shepherd's Crown. It is and will be Terry Pratchett's last novel. You see, this funny, wonderful, imaginative author died in March of this year from Alzheimer's Disease. Even though he was very sick and was losing himself to this tragic disease Pratchett still wrote this marvelous little novel to finish the Tiffany Aching series, a subset of the greater Discworld series. Actually, after the time of his diagnosis with Alzheimer's in 2007, Pratchett published five novels, some to critical acclaim like Dodger which won a Printz Honor in 2012. It is really amazing to think about. How did he do it?

As I listened to this wonderful story, a continuation of Tiffany Aching's story, I found myself laughing one moment and then crying the next. Laughter for Pratchett's funny and imaginative characters who say and think the funniest things, or who at least have humorous names. Followed by tears because it would hit me how the world would no longer get a new book from this master author. Actually one day I found myself listening and weeping as I was driving to work. I was thinking very sad and dark thoughts when it suddenly hit me how I still haven't read over 35+ of his Discworld novels. Reading them should keep me busy for years. This new thought brought me back to laughter.

Tim Wilkins, in the book's Afterward, said Terry liked to start his stories somewhere and would write the bits he could see clearly until finally he organized all the bits into a whole, like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. I like the way he described Pratchett as "telling himself a story as he wrote." Often he would start a new story even though he wasn't finished with his current book. In this way The Shepherd's Crown came to life while he was finishing the novel, Raising Steam. If he had had more time Wilkins is sure Pratchett would have written more and done more with The Shepherd's Crown. "There are things we all wish we knew more about. But what we have is a remarkable book. Terry's final book, and anything you wish to know about in here, you are welcome to imagine yourself." Aren't the best stories those which require us to use our imaginations? I think so.

This one, The Shepherd's Crown, set my imagination humming.

And while I am handing out praise, I need to give a shout-out to Stephen Briggs. He did an absolutely brilliant job reading for the audiobook version. What a treat listening to a whole book read aloud by him.

Rating 5 of 5 stars.

HarperCollins Publishers and Blackstone Audio, Sept. 15, 2015.

Friday Quotes, December 18

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from the book.
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56.

Check out the links for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Participants don't select their favorite, coolest, or most intellectual books, they just use the one they are currently reading. This is the book I'm reading right now:

Book Title:

Book Beginnings:

Friday 56:

Comments: I've heard such good things about El Deafo by Cece Bell. I saw it today at the public library as I was walking through after returning other books. On an impulse I picked it up. I hadn't realized it was a graphic novel. The text is hard to read on these small photos so let me summarize. The girl is just a regular kid who loves to sing and wear her bathing suit. She gets meningitis and loses her hearing. (Pages 1-11). On page 56 she is debating whether she should continue her friendship with Laura, a bully who accepts her hearing aids but makes her feel bad about herself. I am looking forward to reading more.

TTT: My favorite books read in 2015

Broke and Bookish

Top Ten Tuesday...My favorite books of 2015

It was a strange reading year for me. I read LOTS of YA novels yet few distinguished themselves.

On the other hand this list, my 2015 list is dominated by nonfiction titles. The books are listed in alphabetical order by title rather than numerical order.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
(Historical Fiction, adult)

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
(Narrative Nonfiction)

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
(YA fiction)

The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage
(Informational and historical nonfiction)

The Martian by Andy Weir
(Science Fiction, adult)

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin
(Biography and historical nonfiction, YA)

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
(Historical fiction, adult)

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege on Leningrad by M.T. Anderson
(Biography and historical nonfiction)

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
(Mystery, classic, adult)

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
(Collected biography)

Plus these rereads...

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

The Little Prince by Antonie de Saint-Exupery
(Fiction)

Sunday Salon, Dec. 13th, Late Edition.

Grinch hors d'oeuvres made for a holiday party this week.

Weather: We have been living in the middle of five different rainstorms which have been evenly spaced about 48 hours apart. The weatherman on the TV news called them "atmospheric rivers." that should give you a pretty good idea how wet it has been around here lately.

Unexpected day off of school: In conjunction with storm #2 (or was it #3?) there was quite a bit of wind. Many of the buildings in my school district lost electrical power Wednesday morning so the school day was cancelled. It was like a snow day without the snow. But just like a snow day, it was a bonus day for me. Without other plans or responsibilities I was able to finish the Christmas decorating AND, this is the biggest deal, I was able to finish my audiobook, The Nightingale, all four hours I still needed to listen to before it was automatically returned to the library on Thursday.

Decorating the house is done for the season. Finally.

Darkest day since 2006: This is a weird statistic but the headline of the newspaper reported that our weather was making even our daylight times seem darker than usual and so we hit a weird record---the darkest day in the past ten years. Can you tell the weather has been a big topic of conversation lately? Wait, I'm not done.

Worst fire drill, ever: During lunchtime on Thursday, in the midst of storm #4 (or whatever number, all I know is it was pouring down rain), some bozo kid pulled the fire alarm and we all had to tromp out of the building and stand in the pounding rainstorm for 15 minutes while they got things sorted inside. 15 minutes! Every single person was soaking wet even if they had an umbrella or raincoat. Then coming back in the building we were expected to just go back to teaching as usual as if we weren't completely soggy. One teacher said she sat down for a bite to eat and when she stood up she noticed the puddle she had created on the chair. Ugh.

Christmas Programs: I remember the days when my daughters were in public schools and involved in out-of-school musical/dance groups December would be almost laughable how many programs we had to attend. Once Don and I had to split up so he could attend one program with one daughter while I attended another program with the other. Those days are long gone now. And I miss all the lovely Christmas music. Well, this week I did something about it. Tuesday we went to here the Puyallup Valley Band play their Christmas program at the local Elks Club.  They are a rag tag bunch of musicians with hearts as big as they come. What they lack in talent they make up for with enthusiasm. Thursday evening I attended my school's annual Christmas program where every choir and orchestra plays at least one piece with several combined pieces.

Christmas Cantata: Every December our church choir takes the annual Christmas Cantata on the road to sing at a tiny little church up in the mountains near Mt. Rainier. It always feels a little like a Courier and Ives Christmas card when we arrive at the little white church in the tiny village of Mineral. But the music was wonderful and so uplifting. Afterwards we had dinner with our daughter and son-in-law at their home nearby. We just got home (hence, the late edition.)

Don, Carly, and Erin are singing Christmas carols to a player piano.
Notice Erin's hands aren't on the keys but the keys are down.

Books finished this week:

• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks---all three of us finished this audiobook at different times this week. It is our SOTH book club selection for the month which meets at my house this coming Tuesday.
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah---set in France during WWII, about French resistance. I was able to finish this audiobook because of the unexpected day off of school.

Currently reading:

• MARTians by Blythe Woolston---dystopian where everything revolves around hardship employment in the Allmart store. It is alternating funny and disturbing. Progress 75%.
• The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett---Part of the Discworld series, and the Tiffany Aching series. This is the last book by this master storyteller since Pratchett died this past year. Audiobook, read by Stephen Briggs. He is a master himself. Progress 50%.

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent: Have a listen to this lovely rendition of Grown Up Christmas List by Evynne Hollens.

Friday Quotes, December 10th.

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from the book.
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56.

Check out the links for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Participants don't select their favorite, coolest, or most intellectual books, they just use the one they are currently reading. This is the book I'm reading right now:

Book Title: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Book Beginnings:

I might as well say it, right from the jump: it wasn't my usual kind of job.

Friday 56: 

Isak pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Maybe what you say is true for the Jews in Germany. We all hear troubling news from there. But not here. Anti-semitism has never been a part of lives here in Sarajevo."

Comments: I just finished this marvelous and complex novel by Geraldine Brooks. I've liked everything I've read by her. This book chronicles the history of a very special book, an illuminated Jewish prayer book thought to have been created in the mid 1400s. It not only talks about the book but the people whose lives were touched by the book over the ages. Very clever and interesting and, I might add, timely since it deals with Christians, Muslims, and Jews and their interconnected religions. I read this for an upcoming book club and I look forward to the discussion.

A few thoughts on The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

I finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah after a four-hour marathon listening session today. Let me explain how that was possible. This morning school was cancelled due to a large number of our school district buildings being without power. My unexpected day off of school gave me an opportunity to finish the audiobook which was due back to the library in two days even though I still had hours of listening left to go. I cued up my iPod and listened while I cleaned the kitchen, while I finished putting out the Christmas decorations, and while I played a few computer games. Four hours later I was finished with the book and determined to write down a few of my thoughts while they were fresh.

• In case you don't know, The Nightingale is set in France during WWII, focusing mainly on two sisters, Isabelle and Vianne. They both get involved in the French resistance. Isabelle helps save downed Allied airmen by leading them to safety in Spain. Vianne helps save Jewish children from the slaughter of the Holocaust. Both are compelling and complex characters.
• The writing was strong but I found myself feeling a bit frustrated by two things. The first was many of the details seemed so cliche, especially in the opening chapters. For example, Vianne walks through her house in the French countryside which is decorated in a sort of shabby chic style, with bunches of lavender and other herbs hanging from the ceiling. she tucks a picnic into a basket of grapes, a baguette, hard cheese, and wine. Secondly, I would catch the author in her inconsistencies. Vianne would spend all morning queuing for food and come away with nothing. She would trudge home sadly empty handed then would do to the basement to retrieve sausage and potatoes for dinner. Her chickens were mentioned several times but eating the eggs never was. Picky, picky. I know.
• The scope of the book was massive. It dealt with so many aspects related to WWII it was almost overwhelming: French resistance; deportation of  Jews by the French in compliance with the German directives; differences of life in the country and in the city, Paris, under German occupation; concentration camps; and the deprivations and horrors inflicted on the French people at the hands of the German. 
• As I read (listened) to the story I wondered if Isabelle's story was based on facts. Indeed it was. Kristin Hannah said she got the idea for this book while doing research for another book when she came upon the story of a Belgian teenager who helped save downed Allied airmen by guiding them through a series of safe houses, over the Pyrenees, to safety in Spain. Her name was Andree de Jongh. She seemed to be quite a remarkable woman. I'd like to read more about her life.
• I know this statement will sound strange to you but I can think of one good thing about Hitler: Hitler and Nazi's have sure given us plenty of material to use for writing compelling books. This is my seventh book of the year which focused, or partially focused on WWII. It amazes me there are still topics which seem fresh and interesting. The other six books I read about WWII this year are:
• Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege on Leningrad by M.T. Anderson (WWII in Russia and the Siege on Leningrad, specifically; nonfiction.)
• Black Dove and White Raven by Elizabeth Wein (Italo-Ethiopian War, set in Ethiopia in 1935-36, Mussolini attacks Ethiopia as a precursor to WWII; historical fiction.)
• The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (a portion of the story is set in Bosnia during WWII.)
• The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones (a portion of the book is set on a South Pacific island during WWII; fiction.)
• The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Petersen and the Churchill Boys by Philip Hoose (WWII resistance by Danish teens; nonfiction.)
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (WWII in Germany and in the France; fiction.)
• Even though I have read lots of WWII books this year and I found inconsistencies in the story, I still liked The Nightingale quite a lot. The last fourth of the book made me quite weepy thinking about loss and love and sad memories. I also learned that the author, Kristin Hannah, is from Washington state. Who knows? Maybe I will run into her sometime. That would be cool.
• Quote: In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are.

• My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
• Macmillan Audio , 2015.