2016 End of Year Book Survey

It's time for the 2016 End of Year Book Survey hosted by The Perpetual Page-Turner!

Number Of Books You Read: 186
Number of Re-Reads: 9 novels (?? manga)
Genre You Read The Most From: YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy

1. Best Book You Read In 2016?

YOUNG ADULT: Starflight by Melissa Landers (review)
MIDDLE GRADE: The Scrivener's Bones [Alcatraz #2] by Brandon Sanderson
[NEW] ADULT: Imprudence by Gail Carriger
NON-FICTION: The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey
MANGA: Horimiya vol. 1 by Hero & Daisuke Hagiwara

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

The Continent by Keira Drake

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

Bad: Harry Potter & the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling (review)

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

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (review)

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

All three = Alcatraz Series by Brandon Sanderson

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?

Robison Wells: Dark Energy (review)

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

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand & Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

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

A Shadow Bright & Burning by Jessica Cluess

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

The Dark Talent [Alcatraz #5] by Brandon Sanderson (review)

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

Glitter by Aprilynne Pike

11. Most memorable character of 2016?

Bastille from the Alcatraz Series by Brandon Sanderson

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?

Railhead by Philip Reeve (review)

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

The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey

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

The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski

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

"Some people assume that authors write books because we have vivid imaginations and want to share our vision. Other people assume that authors write because we are bursting with stories, and therefore must scribble those stories down in moments of creative propondidty.

Both groups of people are completely wrong. Authors write books for one, and only one, reason: because we like to torture people."

--Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (review)

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016? 

SHORTEST: The End by David LaRochelle & Richard Egielski
LONGEST: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (re-read)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most (Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

The Dark Talent [Alcatraz #5] by Brandon Sanderson (review)

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) (OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Hori & Miyamura from Horimiya by Hero & Daisuke Hagiwara

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Crew of the Spotted Custard from The Custard Protocol series by Gail Carriger

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

Starflight by Melissa Landers (review)

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

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand & Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

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

Aoi from the So Cute It Hurts!! series by Go Ikeyamada

23. Best 2016 debut you read?

A Shadow Bright & Burning by Jessica Cluess

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

Railhead by Philip Reeve (review)

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

Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen

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

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan (review)

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Railhead by Philip Reeve (review)

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan (review)

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?

Railhead by Philip Reeve (review)

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

The Continent by Keira Drake

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

The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

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

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

3. 2017 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Traveler by L.E. DeLano

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

Starfall by Melissa Landers

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

Read more backlog!

6. A 2017 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

Shadow Run by AdriAnne Strickland & Michael Miller (review)

*          *          *

And that's it! Did you read any of these? What did you think of them? And if you filled out the survey as well, leave a link to your post in the Comments!

Holiday Hiatus

I've been swamped with the holidays and my reading progress has been really slow, so The #FridayReads Review is going on hiatus until the new year. Look for my 2016 End of Year Survey next week, and I hope to return to reviewing in January. Until then, happy holidays! 🎄

Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree

1. Defy the Stars (Claudia Gray) - (ARC) I swear Claudia wrote this book just for me, it is exactly my kind of story. Dying to get my hands on an ARC for immediate consumption!
2. By Your Side (Kasie West) - (ARC) A Kasie story set in a library? Be still my heart! Already have the paperback pre-ordered, but the sooner I can read it, the better! Also, my Kasie West collection requires an ARC.
3. Lucky in Love (Kasie West) - (ARC) Two books by my favorite writer in one year? 2017 is going to rock. Of course I need this ARC for my collection too, but since this story will be releasing in hardcover (and I only read softcovers) I need it to read as well!
4. Starfall (Melissa Landers) - (???) Starflight, the first book in this duology, was my favorite read this 2016, so of course I've been desperate to get my hands on the sequel! The problem: it will be releasing in hardcover, and there are no ARCs...save one currently up for giveaway. Dear Santa, how about a Christmas miracle, pretty please?
5. Dividing Eden (Joelle Charbonneau) - (ARC) I really enjoyed Joelle's Testing trilogy, so I'm excited to read her foray into fantasy!
6. The Perilous Sea (Sherry Thomas) - (ARC/PBK) I would prefer an ARC to complete my collection, but I really want to binge the series soon so I'll settle for a paperback if I have to, I can't wait much longer!
7. Revenger (Alastair Reynolds) - (ARC/PBK) I'm a sucker for sci-fi and this sounds like an interesting one!
8. Gamescape: Overworld (Emma Trevayne) - (ARC) Another thrilling story released in hardcover that I need the ARC to be able to read it anytime soon. *sigh*
9. Roar (Cora Carmack) - (ARC) Storm magic? Enough said.
10. Penguin Revolution vol. 7 (Kore Yamazaki) - (PBK) This is the final and only volume I don't have of this entertaining series, and of course it's out of print. But a little thing like that wouldn't be a problem for Santa, right? ;)

So what books do you want Santa to leave under your tree, and why? Have you read any of the titles on my list? If so, what did you think of them?

The #FridayReads Review (12/16/16)

Welcome to The #FridayReads Review, a regular Friday segment where I share what I've been reading the past week, and what I'm planning to read next! Want to join the Friday fun? Post your own #FridayReads Review and leave the link in the Comments below, or just Comment with what you've been reading!

>> CURRENTLY READING <<

Prophecy by Ellen Oh (PBK)
I haven't been feeling much like fiction this week, but this caught my eye so yesterday afternoon I just sat down and started it. The writing is a little hard to follow at times and the world a bit much to keep straight, but it's an interesting enough Asian fantasy so far.

The Library: An Illustrated History by Stuart A. P. Murray (HBK)
When my interest in fiction wanes, my interest in non-fiction grows. I love reading about books and libraries, so of course I immediately reached for this. It's rather heavy so it's been slow going (hardcovers, *sigh*), but so far so interesting! What I wouldn't give to have seen the Nineveh library...

>> JUST FINISHED <<

Yona of the Dawn vol. 2 by Mizuho Kusanagi (PBK)
3 Stars. While this volume was a little better than the first because of the action and the basic plot is interesting, Yona is just so bland a character and THE STORY NEEDS MAGIC. Might give the series one more volume if I see it at the library, but Yona had better start growing a personality. Or at least discover some magic.


>> [POSSIBLY] READING NEXT <<

(subject to change with my ever-shifting reading whims)

Noragami vol. 11 by Adachitoka (PBK)
I have 6 volumes of this backed up so it's time for a binge!

So what are you reading this week?

The #FridayReads Review (12/9/16)

Welcome to The #FridayReads Review, a regular Friday segment where I share what I've been reading the past week, and what I'm planning to read next! Want to join the Friday fun? Post your own #FridayReads Review and leave the link in the Comments below, or just Comment with what you've been reading!

>> CURRENTLY READING <<

Countdown by Michelle Rowen (PBK)
Finally picked this up as inspiration for Project P edits, but it turned out to be not quite what I expected. It was pretty interesting and engaging to start, but now halfway through I'm rather tired of the main character's slowly lowering intelligence in the face of her slowly elevating mental powers, which I had not anticipated and feel kind of ruin the thriller story. Currently struggling to maintain interest.

>> JUST FINISHED <<

The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski (ARC)
4 Stars. I wasn't impressed with Winner's Curse so I didn't expect much of this earlier work, but it was surprisingly quite good! Although it began with the extremely overused "girl who appears normal but has a dark secret is drawn to a new mysterious boy at school" opening, after some rather shocking violence and alternate world twists it turned out to be an exciting read with engaging intrigue and action and a really strong female lead. I even rather liked the romance, which is very rare for me. Review to come.

>> DNF <<

Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier (ARC)
DNF at Page 37. Opened with too much normal living (not even a hint of the magic to come) and too many character introductions (I couldn't keep anyone straight) for too long. The writing was a bit dense (which admittedly can happen with translations), the main character read younger than I believe she was supposed to be, I really can't stand selfish parents, and I just couldn't find enough interest in the story to keep going. Might just be my current mood, but I'm going to pass. Other dream fantasy lovers would probably really enjoy it though, if they don't mind a probably 50+ page wait for the fantasy part to begin. 

>> [POSSIBLY] READING NEXT <<

(subject to change with my ever-shifting reading whims)

Black Butler vol. 22 by Yana Toboso (PBK)
Finally got my hands on this! Hopefully this volume will finally finish up the latest plot arc.

So what are you reading this week?

The #FridayReads Review (12/2/16)

Welcome to The #FridayReads Review, a regular Friday segment where I share what I've been reading the past week, and what I'm planning to read next! Want to join the Friday fun? Post your own #FridayReads Review and leave the link in the Comments below, or just Comment with what you've been reading!

>> CURRENTLY READING <<

The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski (ARC)
Although it began with the extremely overused "girl who appears normal but has a dark secret is drawn to a new mysterious boy at school" opening, after some rather shocking violence and alternate world twists it has turned out to be a pretty good read with engaging intrigue and a strong female lead. Currently halfway through and quite enjoying it.

>> JUST FINISHED <<

Caraval by Stephanie Garber (ARC)
2 Stars. Although I did enjoy the world and game reminiscent of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, there was way too much description, Scarlett was too reluctant and overthought everything to the point of frustration, and I never truly felt the sisterly bond. While the mystery of Julian was intriguing, after way too many switchbacks I lost interest before the final conclusion, and while the end was satisfying for the most part it left me feeling disappointed and a little gypped. Review to come.


>> [POSSIBLY] READING NEXT <<

(subject to change with my ever-shifting reading whims)

The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins (ARC)
I have both books in the duology so I think I'll give it a try!

So what are you reading this week?