2015 End Of Year Survey

It’s time to wrap up 2015! It was another amazing year in terms of reading (and making bookish friends! the thing I’ll cherish the most when looking back at 2015) and even though I can’t believe it’s over already, I’m also very excited to start a new year (new spreadsheets and awesome releases for the win!).
This year I’ll make it easy for myself and participate in Jamie’s End of Year Survey. I mostly limited myself to books that I read for the first time this year, or I would answer every question with one out of my few all-time favorites.

 

Reading Stats:

Number Of Books You Read: 142

Number of Re-Reads: 32 (really proud of this number and want it to be even higher in 2016)

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy (with SciFi close 2nd)

 

Best in Books:

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

Usually I would have a problem with choosing just one book, but I re-read so much this year and overall less than the few previous years so that it is a lot easier to choose. There are a few books that I loved almost as much, but A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab was definitely my favorite of the year.

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

I was really excited that the sequel to The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig was finally out but I didn’t actually enjoy The Hellsblood Bride a lot.

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

Call me stupid for doubting if I would love The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, but I really wasn’t so sure if I would BUT I DID! 

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

There are a few books that I pushed quite a lot this year but when it comes to 2015 releases, I think it was A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.

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

I’m just going to answer this question with just one series: The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta. This series was so painful, it completely wrecked me and I loved it.

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

Melina Marchetta! I wish she would write more Fantasy though because I’m out of books to read and I’m not sure when I’ll be in the mood to read her Contemporaries.

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

I don’t usually read Contemporary anymore, but sometimes you have to make an exception, especially when it’s Patrick Ness. The Rest of Us Just Live Here wasn’t 100% Contemporary but definitely a book I wouldn’t have read if it had been written by somebody else.

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

Is anyone not going to answer that question with Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff? 

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

I’m going to re-read a lot of books in 2016 but the book I’ll definitely re-read multiple times next year is This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab.

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

The cover of Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel is STUNNING and I can’t wait to get a finished copy.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

August, my precious little monster, from This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Lady, you need to write more books! Pronto!

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

Definitely The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. I love its message, that not everyone has to be the Chosen one, but that we are all important.

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

There are a lot of childrens’s classics that I haven’t read but I’ve been meaning to read Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie for SO long, it was about time I finally did.

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

“It was a cruel trick of the universe, that he felt human only after doing something monstrous.”
from This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

The shortest I read was Leave the Window Open by Victoria Schwab (<3) and the longest was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Definitely Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta. After two book one might think the third in a series can’t shock anymore but the things that happened to Quintana… 

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

Pynch excluded as TRC was only a reread, I’ll go with Scarlet and Wolf from Winter by Marissa Meyer.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

The friendship between Cinder and Iko in Winter by Marissa Meyer.

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

No surprise here: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.

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

I don’t think I would have read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern anytime soon if it weren’t for certain people telling me to read it.

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

I don’t really have fictional crushes but a few characters that I call “my precious boys”. One of them was Jared from The Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

I absolutely loved Updraft by Fran Wilde. Such a unique setting. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

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

Nothing can beat multiple Londons: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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

Gail Carriger’s books always make me laugh out loud and Manners & Mutiny put a smile on my face with its perfect ending for this series.

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

I cried over a lot of books but the one that made me cry the most was definitely Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about Bone Gap by Laura Ruby even though it is such a beautiful story and definitely needs more attention.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. One should be used to getting your soul crushed by Schwab but THIS. BOOK.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, a book that is told in files and interviews and such and IS. SO. GOOD.

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

I think I’ve never been as angry as I’ve been while reading Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta.

 

Looking Ahead

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

I’ve wanted to read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr since it came out but wanted to wait until the PB comes out ad then didn’t get to read it when it finally did. Top priority in 2016!

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

No contest: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I’m really excited about Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee.

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

My most anticipated sequel is definitely A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab.

5. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone?

I’ve already mentioned two 2016 releases that I already read and loved in other answers, one of them being This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab.