2015 End of the Year Book Survey

Posted January 7, 2016 in BOOKS, Uncategorized / 0 Comments

I always enjoy completing the annual end of year book survey hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. It’s a good chance to reflect on the books I’ve read throughout the year and see which books other bloggers are raving about. This year is the 6th edition.

If you’d like to take part, visit the sign up post to add your link.

Keep reading to see my response to the survey.

2015 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 9
Number of Re-Reads: 0
Genre You Read The Most From: YA dystopian

Best in Books

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor. A truly breathtaking conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series and everything I hoped it would be.

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

Allegiant by Veronica Roth. I enjoyed the book but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. You can read my review here.

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

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would and it turned out to be a different kind of story to what I was expecting.

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

Probably Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

I only started one new series but wasn’t that impressed with it. The best sequel I read was Fever by Lauren DeStefano and the best series ender was Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2015?

E. K Johnston, author of A Thousand Nights.

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

The Good Birth Companion by Nicole Croft. I don’t often read non-fiction, but needs must. I actually really enjoyed this one. It was very interesting and informative.

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

Vitro by Jessica Khoury. So many twists and turns!

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

I don’t tend to do re-reads, or at least not for a long time.

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

I love the colour of the sky!

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Lux from Vitro. A very interesting character who definitely left and impression on me.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

Either A Thousand Nights or Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

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

The Good Birth Companion. It made me think completely differently about the psychology and physiology of labour and made me feel much more relaxed and confident in the run up to my delivery date.

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

Allegiant. I’m sure I was the last person to read it. Sadly I had already seen spoilers by the time I got around to it 🙁

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

I narrowed it down to three favourite quotes:

From Allegiant:

“I fell in love with him. But I don’t just stay with him by default as if there’s no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.”

From The Body Electric:

“The sea is a dangerous place because it makes you believe in forever.”

From Dreams of Gods and Monsters:

“Happiness wasn’t a mystical place to be reached or won–some bright terrain beyond the boundary of misery, a paradise waiting for them to find it–but something to carry doggedly with you through everything, as humble and ordinary as your gear and supplies.”

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

The shortest was The Good Birth Companion at 288 pages and the longest was Dreams of Gods and Monsters at 624 pages.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Vanishing Girls. My jaw dropped at the conclusion and I had to go back and re-read it straight away to make sense of it all.

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

Karou and Akiva from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series.

19. Favourite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Karou and her best friend Zuzanna from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series.

20. Favourite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

My favourite standalone from an author I’d read previously was The Body Electric.

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

I don’t really read books based solely on recommendations or peer pressure. I tend to stick with authors I know or go for books that I discover on Goodreads based on my favourite genres.

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

Jim Julien from Vitro.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

Meritropolis by Joel Ohman.

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

Tie between A Thousand Nights, which was filled was beautiful, rich imagery and Dreams of Gods and Monsters–set in a world I could really disappear into.

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

Actually, I’d say that this year none of the books I read were really ‘fun’. They were all enjoyable reads, but mostly on pretty heavy and dramatic topics instead of anything light hearted.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?

Allegiant and Vanishing Girls. The endings to both books were truly heart-wrenching.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Vanishing Girls. It started off kind of slow and I wasn’t sure if I could get into it, but then-Wow.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Allegiant. The reason will be obvious for those who’ve read it.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

A Thousand Nights. I haven’t really read anything with a setting like this before.

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

Allegiant. I was so frustrated with some of Tris’ decisions.

Your Blogging/Bookish Life

1. New favourite book blog you discovered in 2015?

This is so hard as there are so many fantastic blogs I started following last year. Some of my favourites are:

The Little Book Pixie

Dreaming About Other Worlds

I Heart Reading

Naomi’s Reading Palace

2. Favourite review that you wrote in 2015?

The Body Electric.

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

Thoughts on the casting of Hermione: does the race of an actor really matter?

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

The 2015 Blogging A-Z Challenge.

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

Taking part in the 2015 Blogging A-Z Challenge. This is always the highlight of my blogging year as I make so many new blogging buddies and really challenge myself to produce interesting daily content. It’s a great creativity boost.

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

Finding the time to read and blog in my busy schedule of full-time work, self-employment, social events and preparing for my new baby.

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

V is for Violet.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Thoughts on the casting of Hermione: does the race of an actor really matter?

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

Hmm, I can’t think of an answer to this one. I tend to visit the same old book-related sites-mostly Goodreads, Amazon and Netgalley. The shops I frequent are WH Smiths and Waterstones. I don’t recall finding any new sites or book stores this year.

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

The 2015 Women Authors Reading Challenge hosted by Valentina at Peek a BooK.

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?

The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury. I love all Khoury’s books.

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

There are so many debuts I’m looking forward to, but the one I’m most desperate to read is The Reader by Traci Chee. It’s set in a world where books are banned and sounds right up my street.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

Although it was released a while ago, I’m looking forward to reading Sever by Lauren DeStefano this year. I’m interested to see how this series ends.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?

I’m not setting myself too many goals this year as obviously my priority will be looking after my new baby. But I hope to write more discussion posts rather than memes, complete more book reviews and comment on more book blogs.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

I haven’t read any 2016 releases yet.

What were your favourite and least favourite reads of 2015? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Feel free to link to your own survey response in the comments.