Tag Archives: Novels

2016 Reading Superlatives

Posted in Fun, Life, Novels by

  1. Number Of Books You Read: 54 (58 if you count individual short stories)
  2. Number of Re-Reads: 4 (The Cask of Amontillado, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, and The Choice)
  3. Genre You Read The Most From: I read 13 Classic novels/short stories this year and 21 Young Adult books (divided into contemporary, sci-fi, and fantasy categories)

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  1. Best Book You Read In 2016?: THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! If I have to pick just one, excluding rereads, it would have to be Time’s Edge, because I kept thinking about that book for weeks afterwards.
  2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?: Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid. I didn’t even finish it…
  3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?: The Husband Secret by Liane Moriarty. I was totally expecting some dark mystery novel and it was really a romance novel with some suspense. I read it with my book club and I think we were all disappointed. Some of us didn’t even finish it.
  4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?: I got at least 2 friends to read Timeline by Michael Crichton :)
  5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?: The Chronos Files series by Rysa Walker has become a new favorite of mine! I devoured all three books (plus most of the novellas). Winter by Marissa Meyer was a fantastic series ender, as well.
  6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?: Probably Rysa Walker.
  7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?: I read a lot of high fantasy this year, which was sort of new for me. Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake were intriguing.
  8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?: I guess I’d have to say And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I read the whole book in a day because I had to know “whodunnit?”.
  9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?: It’s a toss up between Timebound by Rysa Walker and Winter by Marissa Meyer. Although Pride and Prejudice is a book I could reread every year.
  10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016?: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. Look at it!
    three-dark-crowns
  11. Most memorable character of 2016?: Demelza Poldark! New role model for me :)
  12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?: The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman. It will pull on your heartstrings. (Honorable mention: Graceling by Kristin Cashore has a very beautifully written love scene, despite the fact that I thought the majority of the book was written very bluntly).
  13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016?: I read some very good books this year, but none that I would define as “life-changing”; however, the Poldark books introduced me to two amazing female characters (Demelza and Verity) who I would now consider as fictional role models.
  14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read?: Timebound! Ugh, why didn’t I read it when I bought it back in 2014??
  15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?: I’ve been so bad at writing down favorite quotes! Here’s one of my favorites from The Secret Garden that really spoke to the Anne Shirley side of me:

    “I’ve seen the spring now and I’m going to see the summer. I’m going to see everything grow here. I’m going to grow here myself.”

  16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016?: Shortest: 2092 by Rysa Walker (48 pages), although The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe is only a few pages long, but I read it as part of a collection of his work. Longest: Winter by Marissa Meyer (832 pages).
  17. Book That Shocked You The Most: The ending to Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake really surprised me (in a good way). It’s probably the only reason I’ll read the sequel.
  18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!): I was a huge Kate/Kiernan shipper while reading The Chronos Files series.
  19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year: Cinder and Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles Series.
  20. Favorite Book You Read in 2016 From An Author You’ve Read Previously: Timeline by Michael Crichton. I read that book and then read two others by him because his writing is fantastic.
  21. Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure: There were several, but Graceling is probably the one I enjoyed the most.
  22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016?: Kiernan Dunne from The Chronos Files. He’s Irish and from the early 1900s so double win.
  23. Best 2016 debut you read?: I didn’t read any 2016 debuts (I don’t usually)!
  24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?: I hate repeating myself so many times, but I loved all the time travel in The Chronos Files. So well researched.
  25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?: Happy Again by Jennifer E. Smith was a fun novella! I love her writing.
  26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?: Speaking of Jennifer E. Smith, her book, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight had me crying at one point. There’s a sweet moment between the main character and her father that was really touching.
  27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?: Civil War: The Amazing Spider-Man. One of two 5-star rated reads I haven’t mentioned yet! (The other is also a graphic novel: Out of the Past (Once Upon a Time #3). I love Spider-Man, and I really liked Captain America: Civil War, so I shouldn’t have been surprised at how great this comic book was. It was just a collection of the Spider-Man Civil War editions, but it’s by far the best comic book/graphic novel I’ve read since I started reading comics and graphic novels a few years ago. I couldn’t put it down and my mouth was literally hanging open after the cliff hanger at the end. SO good.
  28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?: The Light Between Oceans, as expected. I wonder if I would have felt the same way had I read this book before I became a parent.
  29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?: The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, not because I enjoyed it a lot, but because it was one of the first (if not THE first) detective stories ever written.
  30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?: Hmm…it didn’t make me extremely mad, but Forbidden by Ted Dekker had a really stupid death it that I haven’t entirely gotten over. Maybe that’s why I haven’t finished the series, yet.

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  1. One Book You Didn’t Get to In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer! I’ve already started it :)
  2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2017 (non-debut): I really want to read the Time Trial graphic novel (part of The Chronos Files universe).
  3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017?: Write a book! I’ve had a couple of stories rolling around in my mind, and I think 2017 is the year I’m finally going to stop being afraid of not getting them right and just write one of them already. I’m also taking a few online writing classes which I’m excited about. In my reading life, I plan on branching out of my comfort zone by reading more non-fiction and literary books. Last year I read a lot of YA, so I think I’d like to read more books directed towards adult readers.