Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016: A Year in Surveys

Happy New Year book lovers! It's always an exciting time, the last day of the year, where I decide if I can read one more book before midnight and to determine how many books I read this year. There were some amazing ones, some from my favourite authors and many new authors I've added to my must buy list. There are some great surveys going around this time of year, so I thought I'd answer some questions as well! This is a bit of a mix from Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner‘s End of the Year Survey ;  Andi @ Andi’s ABCs & Brittany @ The Book Addict’s Guide’s Statistics Survey, and Erica & Christy @ Novel Reads’ Countdown Survey. Here goes!

2015 Reading Stats

 

Number of Books You Read: 138
Number of Re-Reads:
Genre You Read the Most From: YA Contemporary

Best in Books

 

Best book you read in 2015: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Book you were excited about and thought you'd love more but didn't: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
Best series you started in 2015: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Best sequel of 2015: Every Word by Ellie Marney
Best series ender of 2015: Winter by Marissa Meyer
Best book from a genre you don't typically read/out of your comfort zone: The Martian by Andy Weir

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year: Liars Inc. by Paula Stokes
Favourite cover of a book you read in 2015: I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
Most beautifully written book read in 2015: The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2015: All the Rage by Courtney Summers
Book you can't believe you waited until 2015 to read: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
OTP of the year: Cress and Thorne (Winter by Marissa Meyer)

Book that put a smile on your face/was the most fun to read: Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Book that made you cry in 2015: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
Hidden gem of the year: First & Then by Emma Mills

Book that crushed your soul: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Read on a recommendation: Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Book that became an instant go-to recommendation: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

Book you wanted to hug after finishing: Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Book you wanted to throw across the room: Towering by Alex Flinn

Shortest and longest book read: Shortest: Happy Again by Jennifer E. Smith (84 pages) Longest: Winter by Marissa Meyer (824 pages)
One book you didn't get to in 2015 but will be your number one priority in 2016: This Shattered World by Meagan Spooner/Amie Kaufman

 All in all, this was a great year of books for me. I read a lot of NA as well, but that alone could take up an entire survey so I'll leave that for another time. Here's hoping 2016 is even better, and let's see if I can beat my record! Happy New Year guys, and happy reading!

Best Stand Alones of 2012

This year is quickly coming to an end. This means some great things: the holidays are upon us and life is filled with joy and family an we get to snuggle up together by the fire to keep warm. I'm sure we all can't wait to countdown to midnight on December 31st and ring in 2013.

This also means that our Pledges of almost over. Hopefully most of us have reached or will reach our goals before the year is through so that we can start all over again on January 1st!

Closer to the end of the year, I'm going to do the hardest thing ever: pick my top ten books of 2012. But for now, I'm going to list my favourite stand alones that I read this year. Stand alones seem like fish out of water these days. Most every book I pick up is the beginning of a series. Don't get me wrong, I love series. They give you a chance to really connect with the characters, but stand alones are a nice change. You don't have to wonder what will happen next, you get to make that up all on your own in your head. So here's my list for 2012:




This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

By far my favourite zombie book. Sloane is suicidal while zombies roam free and she must decide if she's ready to end her life or ready to fight for hers and others around her. Summers has rapidly become one of my favourite authors and I can't wait to see what else she has in store.

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

In a world where rumours rule, it's nice to see a book that captures it perfectly. After letting out a brutal secret, Chelsea decides to take a vow of silence so she won't hurt anyone again. She learns a lot more than planned. I plan on reading Saving June soon because Harrington really impressed me with this novel.





The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Do I really have to say anything about this book? It hit every mark. It made me laugh, cry and want to throw it across the room. Green is an incredible author and his characters are so real it hurts way too much when bad things happen to them. This book will live on forever, just like Hazel and Augustus.





The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

This book had one of the most interesting takes on death that I've seen. Each chapter was titled after a song and we watched as Brie tries to move on from her tragic death. Captured perfectly, it is definitely a book worth reading.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

This was the most hilarious book I read all year. Beauty queens stranded on a desert island - too funny. Each character had such a unique voice that I couldn't help falling in love with all of them. Especially Taylor though, because she was just too ridiculous words and everything she went through really showed her strength.




I know there are a lot of other stand alones that came out, but it seems I didn't read too many. any suggestions?