2017 End of Year Book Survey

It's that time of year again--the end of one year and the beginning of another! I didn't participate in the End of Year Book Survey last year--actually, I never finished putting it together--because I couldn't pick my number one book of the year. (Also, does it take anyone else hours to put this together?!) I tried not to repeat the same books over and over (and somewhat succeeded) and didn't include non-2016 releases for certain categories, but huzzah! Here it is!

Number Of Books You Read: 103

Number of Re-Reads: 15 (or 17ish if you include some short stories)

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy, with contemporary not far behind.

1. Best Book You Read In 2016?

I used to be able to read a book and just know it would be the best of the year, but I missed that feeling in 2015 and 2016. So instead I have to really pick my favorites and it's unbelievably stressful. For number one I'm going with the book that gave me the most everything in 2016, the book that failed to leave my mind and left me with a constant to urge to reread.

Number One: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Runner Up: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

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

Not including 2017 releases (*cough Wintersong cough*):

Number One: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Runner Up: The Martian by Andy Weir

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

Honestly I didn't expect to super duper like these as much as I did--especially the first one--but I DID.

Number One: Undead by Kirsty McKay

Runner Up: Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

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

I have no idea what to put here because it goes like this. Person: "Which of these should I read?" Me: "THAT ONE THAT ONE THAT ONE." Most recently that's happened a lot with The Hating Game, but also Sarah J. Maas's books (of course).

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

This is tough because any series I did read fell into two categories: rereads or series I didn't love or like enough to mention here. But I'll try!

Series Starter: Parasite by Mira Grant

Sequel: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Finale: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?

Number One: Sally Thorne, The Hating Game

Runner Up: Mira Grant, Parasitology

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

I don't usually read much sci-fi, and I certainly rarely ever read any adult, but voila! The winner is sci-fi and adult and one of my best bookish discoveries of the year. The runner up is something I read for school and that was good. (I could've also put some adult contemporaries here, and some poetry. But I decided to feature these two.)

Number One: Parasitology by Mira Grant

Runner Up: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

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

If we're just talking unputdownable, I could mention The Hating Game (because putting that down was physically painful) or The Lovely Reckless (which is getting like no mentions on this survey and it should!), but I'm going to instead focus on action and thrills!

Number One: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Runner Up: Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

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

Number One: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Runner Up: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

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

Number One: This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston

Runner Up: Dreamology by Lucy Keating

11. Most memorable character of 2016?

To help really narrow this down, I'm going with characters I wasn't introduced to (or, in the runner up's case, somehow can't remember) until this year.

Number One: Smitty, Undead and Unfed by Kirsty McKay

Runner Up: Dorian Ingle, The Doorway and the Deep by K.E. Ormsbee

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?

I would like to note that I feel like there's a difference between good writing and beautiful writing, and if I was including poetry then number one would probably be When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Diaz.

Number One: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Runner Up: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

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

Number One: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Runner Up: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

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

Number One: Parasitology by Mira Grant

Runner Up: Undead and Unfed by Kirsty McKay

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

I always hate questions like this because I'm wretched at keeping track of quotes and the ones I do remember are the mainstream ones. But I do remember--and love--this one from Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. (And I don't think it's very spoilery except to hint at romance.)

"I love you. Today, tomorrow, covered in blood, haunted and waking up in the middle of the night of the night screaming--I love you...and I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016?

Short Story: "The Crown and the Arrow" by Renee Ahdieh (11 pages)

Shortest Book: Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell (62 pages)

Longest Book: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (693 pages)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

I read a number of books this year with a number of twists, but these two in particular had something happen that literally had me like WHAT. (Or, in the winner's case, imitating a potato bug.) I'm going for one specific moment here rather than an overall feel of shock for a book.

Number One: This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston

Runner Up: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

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

Just ALL THE SARAH J. MAAS SHIPS FROM ACOMAF AND EOS OKAY.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

It's too damn easy to mention the obvious--the squads in Sarah J. Maas's and Leigh Bardugo's books--so I'll go with something different (and neither are 2017 releases whoops, so if I did have one of those it'd be Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys).

Number One: Sean Kendrick and Corr, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Runner Up: Wild Boy and Sasquatch, The Shadows We Know By Heart by Jennifer Park

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

I'm skipping Sarah J. Maas again, but I'm going with number one because I didn't expect to like it so damn much (and I just liked okay the only other book of hers I've read) and the runner up because it's good to be back.

Number One: The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia

Runner Up: Midnight Bites by Rachel Caine

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

Number One: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Runner Up: Undead by Kirsty McKay

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

Here, let me just NARROW IT DOWN.

Number One: Rhysand, A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Runner Up: Smitty, Undead and Unfed by Kirsty McKay

23. Best 2016 debut you read?

Slightly cheating with the runner up (I didn't read/really like that many debuts SORRY) buuut it's a debut for one of the authors!

Number One: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Runner Up: The Way Back to You by Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott

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

Number One: The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash

Runner Up: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

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

Number one nearly broke my face from all the smiling, so.

Number One: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Runner Up: Undead and Unfed by Kirsty McKay

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

Number One: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Runner Up: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Number One: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Runner Up: The Way Back to You by Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Number One: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Runner Up: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?

Number One: The Shadows We Know By Heart by Jennifer Park

Runner Up: Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad?

Number One: The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Runner Up: TheHandmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2016?

One thing I need to really work on in 2017 is actually reading other blogs, which only seems fair--after all, people take their time to read my blog, and I should do the same. All that said, I'm wretched at reading and really "following" blogs (aside from clicking "follow"), but I'm much more likely to stay up to date with someone if I follow them on some form of social networking. So this year my favorite blog that I've discovered is really just a shit-ton of bookstagrams. If I had to go with one? I'd go with fromlibrarywithlove, because her account is one of my most favorites and I love all her photos and I don't understand why she doesn't have more followers.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2016?

SURPRISE, I'm going with A Court of Mist and Fury since I get super duper flaily. 

But I also do another kind of review--Ninety Second Novel, where I review ARCs I actually read early, and do so in a ninety-second review on YouTube. My favorite of those is for This Is Our Story.

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

There are a few I'd like to put here, but I'm going with my discussion on The Nonfictional Mourning of Fiction. For something a bit lighter? Can Books, Like, Not? (which honestly could be added on to since I forgot things) or Puppies + Books.

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

I got to volunteer at Cavalcade of Authors West again this year (and be Heidi Schulz's assistant for the day!), which was super duper fun--as soon as it's over I'm ready to do it again. I'm fortunate to live near somewhere that gets a lot of book signings, and I went to quite a few this year, with the best probably being one of my favorite authors: Sarah J. Maas (ooh, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes was finally here)! For virtual events, I hosted and put together Get Up Offa That Slump: A Blogging Extravaganza on my blog, and it was great!

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

Can I just say bookstagram in general? I really got into it this year and have built myself up on it, and I love love love it. Books, creativity, and friends--does it get any better than that?

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

I've had struggles with actually posting on the blog, and my content was like twelve posts a month that were just memes and reviews (which isn't a bad thing--just not what I want my blog to be). Then a few months ago I started The Weekly Forecast, and why I don't know that there's an improvement stats-wise, I'm much more pleased with it--and that's what matters.

In terms of reading--ha! I actually read "well" this year; I read more than just YA and I exceeded my Goodreads goal. But my big reading challenge has been loving books. I've had a rough, rough time with hyped books this past year and I so very rarely understand the hype. It was the year of the black sheep. And being a mood reader has been a bit of a pain in the ass, too.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog?

My most viewed post was Introducing Get Up Offa That Slump: A Blogging Extravaganza (which has my second-highest number of comments), then The Special Edition followed closely by The Various Editions of Empire of Storms. Most comments goes to It's My Birthday and I'll Have a Giveaway If I Want To.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

It feels to cheesy to say all of them, doesn't it? I always appreciate when someone takes time out of their day to read and comment on something I wrote. That said, I always wish reviews--very, very much including Ninety Second Novel--got some more love. And discussion posts! Those all take some work and heart to put together. 

9. Best bookish discovery?

I legitimately have no idea. NONE. Bookstagram accounts and amazing fanart, maybe?

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

I don't do well with specific reading challenges (but maybe I'll try one in 2017!), but I did reach my Goodreads goal of 100 books--and I read 103!

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

Definitely The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which I've technically read part of...before I had to return it to the library.

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

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia because OH MY GOSH everything about this looks and sounds amazing. I'm also very much looking forward to Jacqueline Carey's Miranda and Caliban. It sounds super fantastic but also THAT COVER IS ART.

3. 2017 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I've actually already my most anticipated debut of 2017 and one of my most anticipated books in the history of ever, Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones--and it didn't go too well. I was also very much excited for The Shadows We Know by Heart, which did go well. I have no idea which debut is my most anticipated now--I'm drawing a complete and utter blank--but I am looking forward to Katy Upperman's Kissing Max Holden since I KNOW HER!

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

These are SEQUELS because the term "finale" is legally not allowed to be in the same sentence as them, but A Court of Wings and Ruin and the sixth Throne of Glass novel DUH.

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

Blog more, read more, and keep up with bookstagram! Also, work on my time management and respond to messages and the like in a timely manner. That's my main resolution. 

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

The Shadows We Know by Heart by Jennifer Park! Don't be turned off by the promise of Sasquatch (yes, you read that right). It so totally works.