2015 End of Year Book Survey

The first of January 2016 marks three years to the day since i started this little blog of mine. As with the previous two years, i’m marking the occasion with The Perpetual Page-Turner‘s annual End of Year Book Survey!

Now, there have always been a few questions i dislike, but instead of ranting about them in my answers, i’ve been proactive. I have deleted some entirely from my version of the survey, while others i have edited slightly to fit more with my own tastes.
2015 Reading Stats

Number of books read: 31.5
Number of re-reads: One
Genre most read: As usual, classic.

Best In Books

Best book read in 2015:
I gave three books five stars in 2015, and, though it’s very hard to choose, i’m going to say Animal Farm was the best.

Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love but didn’t:
Wytches. I was so looking forward it, but it was such a let down.

Most surprising book you read:
I was delightedly surprised by just how much I bloody loved Howl’s Moving Castle. I didn’t want that book to end.

Book you pushed most people to read:
I haven’t done a lot of book-pushing this year, actually. But this has reminded me that I said i’d lend Animal Farm to a friend, after she finished and loved Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Best series started in 2015:
I have to say Howl’s Moving Castle, because it’s the only series starter i gave five stars to.

Best sequel of 2015:
Got to be King of Thorns. According the my ratings, I enjoyed it more than the first book.

Best series ender of 2015:
Didn’t read one, but hope to this year. Watch this space in 2016?

Favourite new author discovered in 2015:
Edward Gorey. His whimsical horror, in words and art, are wonderful. I bought the second Amphigorey book soon after reading the first, and got his 2016 calendar for Christmas.

Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone:
I don’t think I read too far out of my comfort zone, this year. I’ll have to say The Little Book of Vegan Poems, because I don’t read loads of poetry.

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year:
Bedlam was pretty darn action packed all the way through. Also unputdownable in a way that I needed to keep reading and figure out what the hell was going on!

Book you read in 2015 that you’re most likely to re-read in 2016:
Honestly? None. I have far too many books i’ve not read to be going back to do re-reads.

Favourite cover of a book you read in 2015:
Ablutions: Notes for a Novel. Simple, striking colour, negative space. I’m all over this cover.

Most memorable character of 2015:
Definitely Kilgore Trout from Breakfast of Champions. He’s quite the unforgettable character.

Most beautifully written book of 2015:
I’ll choose Wanders of Time, because John Wyndham writes so perfectly, it’s always beautiful.

Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2015:
I read a few books that’d i’d put in the thought-provoking category, but i’m going to say The Female Man, because it addresses several topics that I think not enough people give enough (or any) consideration to.

Book you can’t believe you waited until 2015 to finally read:
It’s got to be King of Thorns. As soon as I was reading it, I was wondering why i’d waited a year and a half since finishing Price of Thorns to read it.

Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2015:

“He would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have no tail and no flies.”

– George Orwell, Animal Farm

Shortest and longest book you read in 2015:
Wytches is 30 pages
Swan Song is 856 pages

Book that shocked you the most:
Probably the Americosis series, because there are several threads to the story, and none of them are predictable; it’s been able to keep surprising me.

Favourite couple of 2015:
I’m going to say Howl and Sophie in Howl’s Moving Castle. Although we don’t see them as a couple for long, the way they interact, pushing and pulling at each other, and caring for each other. It’s all sorts of wonderful.

Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year:
The sibling relationship between Florence and Giles. The bond they share, and the lengths gone to to protect that. Despite its faults, I did love that story.

Favourite book from an author not read previously:
The Female Man by Joanna Russ. The concepts explored are reason enough alone to admire this book and its author.

Best book read in 2015 read solely on a recommendation from someone else:
Why are all these books “best”? The only book I read based solely on a recommendation was The Colour of Magic, but I really didn’t like it…

Best 2015 debut you read:
Ablutions: Notes for a Novel, which was Patrick deWitt’s first, and brilliant, novel.

Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting:
Lots of good world building in my books this year, but i’m going to go with We Have Always Lived in the Castle. For the world it builds inside and outside of the ‘castle’, as well as within the family, and within Merricat’s own mind.

Most fun book:
Has to be The BFG. The fun holds up, even for adults.

Book that made you cry:
I don’t know if one did, to be honest. But perhaps To Kill a Mockingbird, because despite the characters’ best efforts, they can’t save the day.

Hidden gem of the year:
I’m going to say The Paper Men, because I went in with little to no expectations (in fact, i’d only read pretty damning reviews), and I bloody loved it. I think the book’s merit and meaning are hidden gems, even from a lot of people who’ve read it.

Book that crushed your soul:
Really now, no book has ever crushed my soul. What does this even mean? Let’s say Metamorphosis and Other Stories, because I had such high hopes, but I was crushed with disappointment.

Most unique book read in 2015:
I’ll go with Lovers’ Lies, because there is something wonderfully unique about the Liars’ League short story collections. I think it’s a combination of the themed compilation, and that a lot of the authors are not well known names; they are amateurs who submitted their work, never expecting to be published.

Book that made you the most mad:
Hmm, this has to go to Rosemary’s Baby. I hated pretty much every aspect of that book, and wanted to throw it across the room on more than one occasion. It’s a testament to my patience that it remained in my hands and that I managed to finish it.

Your Blogging/Bookish Life

New favourite book blog you discovered in 2015:
Definitely Bitches with Books. Those ladies are intelligent, well read and have the best memes to steal.

Favourite review you wrote in 2015:
Probably The Maze Runner, because I had a lot to say. For a book I gave an average three stars to, it left me lots of thoughts I needed to express!

Best discussion/non-review on your blog:
There were some interesting exchanges and view points on my Books I’ll Never Read TTT.

Best event you participated in:
Erm, I don’t think there was any…

Best bookish/blogging moment in 2015:
There hasn’t really been a single moment. I generally just enjoying the entire reading and writing process, and am chuffed that i’ve kept it going for another year.

Most challenging thing about your blogging or reading life this year:
Time. It’s always time. I work full time, I have a partner, friends, family. I have a dozen other hobbies. And still I get myself reading goals, I write reviews within 24 hours of finishing a book, and I have ambitions to do more with this blog.

Most popular post on your blog this year:
By both comments and view it’s my Quitter TTT.

Post which you wished got a little more love:
ALL OF THEM! Is that a cheat?

Best bookish discovery:
Wordery. After the shit i’ve dealt with from amazon’s delivery service, I refuse to use them at all. I now buy all my books from Wordery. They have free delivery on everything (no minimum spend), they send bookmarks out with every order, they use the royal mail so i’ve had no delivery issues… and they have even been quite a bit cheaper than amazon on several occasions!

Any completed reading challenges or goals:
My 2015 goodreads reading challenge AND my 2015 bookish bingo! Woo hoo!

Looking Ahead

Book you didn’t get to in 2015 but will be priority in 2016:
I have been leant a couple of Charles Dickens books, including The Pickwick Papers, which is on my Classics Club list, so i’m planning to read and return that in the first half of the year.

Book you are most anticipating in 2016:
Despite the fact I haven’t read the previous release (i’m pacing myself!), it has to be Black Widow by Christopher Brookmyre, being released in January. I can never get enough Jack Parlabane in my life.

Series ending/sequel you are most anticipating in 2016:
I anticipate reading Emperor of Thorns. It’s already on the ‘to read’ shelf in my bedroom. I’m not going to drag my heels like I did with King of Thorns.

One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2016:
Same old, same old. Read books and review them. Have fun with it all.

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