2015 End of Year Bookish Survey!

December 31, 2015 / 5 Comments / Blogging Life, Book Events, Book Extras, Book List, Diversity, Favorites, Personal, Wrap-Up

2015 End of Year Bookish SurveyHi all, happy 2016! I’m a little late with the 2015 End of Year Bookish Survey because I’ve been at Disney World with my family. I’m actually still there, but every year I attempt to get Jamie @ The Perpetual Page-Turner‘s End of Year Bookish Survey done and every year I fail. Not this year! I’m doing it from FLORIDA! Read on for my stats and favourites – and let me know if yours correlate.

2015 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 83 plus some novellas and short stories
Number of Re-Reads: 10. I’m not very good at tracking re-reads, but this is my best guess.
Genre You Read The Most From: Please…YA contemporary =)

Best in Books

Best Books of 2015 Mostly YA Lit
1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

YA: Mosquitoland by David Arnold

New Adult/Adult: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

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

I really LIKED I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios, but I can’t say I LOVED it like I loved her debut, Something Real. I know, I know, I’m totally the outlier here.illmeetyouthere

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

First & Then by Emma Mills. I expected to like it, I didn’t expect to love it – and love it more every time I thought about it.

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

I think The Royal We. Or A Thousand Pieces of You. Or Open Road Summer.

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

Series Started: The Ivy Years by Sarina Bowen. WOW did I love this new adult romance series!

Sequel: It’s not from 2015, but Scarlet by Marissa Meyer completely upped the game! For 2015, maybe Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray?

Series Ender: Winter by Marissa Meyer. HOLY COW that was a good series ender.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

David Arnold is a gem. So are Julie Murphy and Emma Mills.

omegacity7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Omega City by Diana Peterfreund. Middle-grade sci-fi, but I really liked it.

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

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I could barely eat, sleep, or breathe while reading.

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

The Royal We. I can’t stop re-reading it.

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

Cover of Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray
Cover of Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

So hard! I really loved Ten Thousand Skies Above You – the colours are just as gorgeous as the first book,

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Willowdean from Dumplin by Julie Murphy. She’s perfection – every thought, every line out of her mouth.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb. The writing just spoke to me.

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

This one was really, really hard for me. I think it’s an even split between Dumplin, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, and The Royal We. Each of them made me think about different aspects of myself, how I want to live, and how to manage friendships and relationships.

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

The whole Lunar Chronicles series. What was I thinking?!

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

“In friendship we are all debtors. We all owe each other for a thousand small kindnesses, for little moments of grace in the chaos.” – The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

theprincessinblackShortest: The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale. 90 pages with pictures.

Longest: Winter by Marissa Meyer. 827 pages. Ten days of really solid reading.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Illuminae. I was on the edge of my seat, stressed out the entire time. SO violent. So effective.

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

Seriously? How can I choose this?!?!? Either Cress and Thorne, or Cinder and Kai (or Scarlet and Wolf, or Winter and Jacin). Basically, ALL OF THE CHARACTERS in The Lunar Chronicles.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Devon and Foster’s found sibling relationship in First & Then or Mim & Walt’s friendship in Mosquitoland.

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

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. The last two books were good, but this one was GREAT.

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

It wasn’t SOLELY, but I don’t think I really would have picked up Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli if it hadn’t been for everyone fawning over it. And I’m SO glad I did!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?Just Visiting Book Cover

Dev from Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler, Ezra from First & Then, and Max from The Start of Me and You.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

Mosquitoland by David Arnold.

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

Luna from Winter. SO glad we finally got to see it and how people lived there!

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

YA: Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda. SO CUTE.

Other: Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare – so funny and bookish, but also incredibly sexy.

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

So many, but the ones that really got me were Dumplin, More Happy Than Not, Illuminae, and The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

thewrongsideofrightThe Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne – please, people, pick this one up!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Illuminae. Holy. Crap.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

It’s between Mosquitoland and Illuminae.

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

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio – I was just so damn angry at everyone who dismissed or couldn’t accept Kristin!

Book Blogging

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?screencap blog ciao bella

Ciao, Bella – I think she’s doing really good things, and she’s an incredible writer! I wish I had that talent and precociousness in high school.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

My favorite reviews tend to be the non-traditional ones. My letter to Gayle Forman about I Was Here just sort of came out of me after reading, and I’m so glad it was well-received. My not-quite review of Open Road Summer by Emery Lord took me so long to put together, but I’m very very proud of it.

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

Capeside Revisited: Dawson's Creek Appreciation Week, hosted by HelloChelly.comThis is just best to me personally, but I really loved my longform essay “On Dawson’s Creek and Love Triangles” – it’s something I’ve been meaning to say about love triangles for a long time.

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

Book Expo America 2015 was amazing, not least because I got to hang out with some of my favorite book bloggers. I also had such a fun time at the Fierce Reads tour stop in Toronto.

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

2015 BEA Blogger Dinner and Drinks
2015 BEA Blogger Dinner and Drinks – loved this event!

Any time I got to see or collaborate with other bloggers…2015 was definitely the year when I strengthened my blogger friendships and I’m super happy about that. As weird as it sounds, my best bookish moment was lying on my BEA hotel bed talking about ARCs we got, Being Erica, and other fun stuff with Sarah from You Should Read This on the last night of BEA.

In terms of an actual blogging moment, Gayle Forman retweeting my review of I Was Here was like…*speechless*

6. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?blogoversary3

My giveaways are usually the most popular posts, but I was surprised and a little teary at how much love I got for my three year blogoversary and redesign.

7. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Review:  The Royal We – I think I pointed out a few things that I haven’t seen in other reviews, so I was sad that it didn’t get a few more reads!

Non-Review: My That One Book post was one that just came to me and I couldn’t stop myself from writing it.

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

BookBub – getting ebook deals in my inbox everyday, gathered and curated for me, is really helpful.

Jen @ YA Romantics – I’m cheating a bit because I’ve been stalking her Goodreads reviews for ages, but finding out that we had 100% compatibility and chatting about it?

hallelujah

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

Definitely completed the YA Contemporary Challenge. I don’t know if there was a challenge that I formally set for myself with the Diversity Dive Challenge, but I read 27 books that I would consider diverse, whether in portraying non-heteronormative orientations, ethnicity, body issues, or socioeconomic conditions. I hope that trend continues.

Looking Ahead

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

I have two: Under A Painted Sky by Stacey Lee and Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. Yeah, I know.

theunexpectedeverything2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson – thank goodness I have an eARC! Look out for my early thoughts soon.

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I have a couple but I think the one that has caught my eye and heart completely is The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood.

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater book cover4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. THE END of the Raven Cycle, holy cow.

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

-A few more weeklong theme weeks: I had such an amazing time putting together The Start of Em and You week and I’m glad it was so successful!

More collaborations with other bloggers: I got to work with a lot of other bloggers this year, and I couldn’t be more pleased with this – I hope I get to do more with some of my blogging friends next year!

whenwecollided6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

I’ve only read two, but I guarantee that you guys are going to LOVE When We Collided by Emery Lord.

What were your favorite books of 2015? What surprised you? Did you get any good books for your holiday presents? If you’re a blogger or reviewer, what were your big achievements this year? Let me know in the comments – and leave me a link if you’ve done the 2015 End of Year Bookish Survey so I can stop by!


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5 responses to “2015 End of Year Bookish Survey!

  1. I got Illuminae for Christmas, so I’m glad to see it pop up so many times on your survey! I love the dust jacket design and it sounds like the story inside is just as amazing.

  2. Ok so I am reading Winter now (finally) and other than if I need a smaller book afterwards to cleanse my pallet, I will be jumping straight into Illuminae! 😀 Again, it was fantastic to see you again and BEA and I still wish we could have made it to your supper and drinks event! ALSO: HOW WILL WE SURVIVE RAVEN KING and the end of the Raven Cycle O.O Looks like you had a fantastic 2015 Tiff – here’s hoping 2016 will be just as awesome for you ♥ Happy New Year xxx

  3. Wow — what a great year for you!!! I still have to read Winter, but I’m so excited knowing how many people loved it! The Unexpected Everything and When We Collided are my most anticipated releases of next year (plus Sarah J Maas’ new books!)

  4. Great post. This survey takes so much time to do every year, I feel we should all be awarded a medal for completing it. I got Illuminae at Christmas and only got to it in January, but it has now become one of my favourite books. It was soooo good. I have heard so many good things about The Royal We, I think I might have to read that one myself. I have to hurry up and read Cress, so that I can finish this series. I am excited for The Unexpected Everything, I love her books.

    Great answers! I hope you have a great reading year in 2016! 🙂 Here’s my survey if you want to check it out.

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