End of the Year Survey

Jamie over at Perpetual Page Turner has created a phenomenal survey to look back over the year at some of my highest (and lowest) book related moments. 

2016 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 243

Number of Re-Reads: 3 (need to work on this for next year!)

Genre You Read The Most From: It was contemporary (again), but looking at last year's chart, it seems like I did read more of a variety of genres this year.

And most of what I read was young adult. I would like to read more adult fiction next year.

Ratings Statistics: Looks like I had more four star ratings than anything else. Very happy that the one and two star numbers are so low! I read a lot of great books this year.

Number of female authors read: 201

Number of male authors read: 39 (**there were also three books that were written by male and female author combo. I feel like I should read more male authors next year)

Best In Books

1. Best Book You Read In 2016?

This is a really hard question. If you want my entire best of the year list, you can go here. But really, the best books I read this year were the books in the Harry Potter series. I read it for the first time this year and I totally fell in love.

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

Midnight Star (Young Elites #3) by Marie Lu . . . I may be in the minority with this one. I just didn't love it as much as the first two.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  
The subject of Whisper to Me really surprised me. I didn't realize that it was a book about mental illness. It was also very well done. And science fiction is not usually my favorite, but Ready Player One was a phenomenal read that I just could not put down.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read?

5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?

It should go without saying that the entire Harry Potter series could definitely fit the answer to this question. But since I have already used it as an answer to other questions on this survey, I decided to give some love to a few other series!

Best series started

Best sequel 

Best series ending 

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?

I discovered three incredibly talented women this year: Meg Ellison, Taylor Jenkins Reid and VE Schwab.

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

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

 9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I am really hoping to be better about rereads in 2017. This is a series that I could see myself rereading every year. 

10. Most memorable character of 2016?

The character of Jack from Room

11. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?

12. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016?

I think every single book by Taylor Jenkins Reid is thought provoking. This one really made me think about my own marriage and how important it is to communicate. I absolutely adored this book.

13. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read? 

14. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?

15. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016?

Longest - Gone with the Wind (1057 pages)
Shortest - The Heir Apparent (Internment Chronicles #2.5) by Lauren DeStefano (16 pages)

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

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Kady and Ezra from Illuminae

17. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Hannah and Gabby from Maybe in Another Life

I read this one at the beginning of the year and it is still one of my favorite friendships of the year . . . possibly one of my favorite literary friendships ever.

18. Favorite Book You Read in 2016 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

19. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016?

Crosbie from Undecided

20. Best 2016 debut you read?

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

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

23. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?

I had to edit this one a bit. I am a very easy crier. If I listed all the books that nearly made me cry, I would be listing most of the books I have read this year. These are books that caused me to have tears running down my face.

24. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

25. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

26. Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?

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

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2016 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2017 (non-debut)?

These are just a few of the books I am looking forward to in 2017.

3. 2017 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2017?

There are so many sequels coming out next year!

So that's it for my 2016 survey. Hope everyone has a wonderful new year! Tell me how your reading has gone in 2016. What books are you looking forward to most in 2017?

Bout of Books and Discussion Challenge Sign Up

It's that time of year again . . . time for another Bout of Books AND it's time for me to recommit myself to posting as many discussion posts as I can over the next year!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.

Here are a few of the books that I plan on reading over the week.

I am also excited for another round of the Discussion Challenge.

Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction & Shannon at It Starts at Midnight are hosting the 2017 Book Blog Discussion Challenge. The aim is to write the number of discussion posts on your blog from your chosen level. I'm choosing Chatty Kathy: 21-30. 

I have some great discussion ideas so I hope I can keep up with this challenge. The challenge is a great incentive for me to post things other than reviews and top ten posts.

Are you participating in any challenges? Are you going to join in on this round of Bout of Books?

Top Ten Tuesday - Best of 2016

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They feature a different top ten list every week. This week's topic is best books of 2016.

Did you really think I could stop with ten?

Including all the books in the Harry Potter series, I have nineteen on this list. Considering the fact that I have read well over two hundred books this year (240 and counting), I think that is a pretty good number.

What are a few of your favorite books that you read in 2016? Have you read any on this list?

DISCUSSION: Pros and Cons of Using An Ereader

I am a HUGE Kindle fan. There was a time when I was one of those pretentious people who looked down on others who used it. Yes, I called physical books "real books" and I told people there was no way I could ever make the switch to using an ereader. Then I got my first taste of the Kindle.

And now I can't imagine my life without it.

But I still read physical books. If the format makes using an ereader a bit more difficult (I'm looking at you, Illuminae) or if I win a giveaway or if the book catches my eye at a bookstore or if I want to have my favorite book as a physical book in case of apocalypse (yes, I do that) or if the book I want just doesn't come in Kindle form (makes me mad, but yes this happens). So basically, as much as I adore my Kindle, I will never fully give up physical books.

So what are the pros and cons of using an ereader?

Pros

1. Hundreds of books at my fingertips.

I am a speed reader. And I travel a lot. On a nine hour flight from Italy to the United States, it is not uncommon for me to get through at least two novels. Then there are the books I read while I am there. Then there are the books I read on the flight back. Can you imagine the weight of my suitcase if I had to pack physical books for my trips? I wouldn't have room for my clothes!

I also love that I can read on my phone. I pretty much have books loaded on my phone at all times. You never know when there may be a long wait time at the grocery store and I like to be prepared. 

2. Has a Light

I have to read before bed. Can I do that with a physical book? NO.

My husband typically goes to sleep before me and I would have to leave the light on if I read a physical book. The back light on my Kindle Fire rocks so hard.

3. Convenience 

I am so impatient.

I absolutely love the fact that I can have a book on my Kindle seconds after I hit that sweet, sweet "buy" button.

4. Cost 

More often than not, ebooks are just cheaper than physical books. And they go on sale way more often that physical books do. I keep an eye on Amazon price drops for that very reason. I love it when the cost of one of the books on my wish list goes from $10.99 to $1.99. And let's not forget about the many, many, many classics you can get for free through Amazon.

And the more money I save on books, the more money I have to spend on . . . more books.

Cons

1. No books to show off 

Reading makes me feel smarter. And when people come over to my house, do I have piles and piles of books to show off just how smart I am? No!

2. No Physical Outlet for Frustration 

There have been so many books that frustrate me to the point of wanting to throw the damn book across the room. But if I did that, how would I read all of my other books?

3. No pretty covers

I love looking at pretty covers and touching them and admiring them. That is so hard to do on a screen.

4. Can't loan out ebooks

If I absolutely adore a book, I can't share it with as many people as possible! I hate not being able to share my favorite books.

5. No electricity = no books

This is probably my least favorite aspect of the ereader. I was reading my Kindle once when the power went out. The power was out all day long. I kept watching the battery power get lower and lower and lower . . .

The power finally came on when my Kindle was at about 12%. Talk about anxious.

Even with the cons, I do still prefer my ebooks. Which do you prefer: ereader or physical books?