6th Annual End Of Year Survey

The End-of-Year Survey is an annual survey hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

2015 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 82
Number of Re-Reads: 13+
Genre You Read The Most From: YA fantasy. 

Best in Books

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

(If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

Illuminae by Amie Koffman and Jay Kristoff. I adore this book so much, and I kind of want to gush about it to everyone ever. And I'm not generally very into gushing.

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

Anything from my "The Year in Disappointments" list, really. I was especially let down by The Sin-Eater's Daughter. 

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

The Silmarillion! I'm still a little surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It is very much outside of my usual novel choices, but I love exploring storytelling with this novel.

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

The Darkest Part of the Forest, I think?

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

Best (Full) Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater
Best Start to a Series: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Best Sequel: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
Best Conclusion: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson, maybe?

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

Probably Maria Dahvanna Headley or Jay Kristoff.

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

I already mentioned The Silmarillion, but I've also been getting more into popular science. I read At Water's Edge by Neil Shubin recently, and really enjoyed it.

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

ILLUMINAE. But since you're probably getting tired of hearing about that, I also really went through The Fixer.

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

A lot of them. I've discussed how I'm kind of an obsessive re-reader. But definitely The Darkest Part of the Forest and Six of Crows.

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

So many beautiful covers this year! But, because I have to mention it somewhere, I'm going to show off this one, because not only is the cover art beautiful, but there are illustration everywhere and they're all lovely.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Isabel Culpepper and Cole St. Clair from Sinner, probably. They're both very... raw? I guess.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley.

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

This is always a hard question for me... possibly Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater?

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

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. I read this lovely bind-up edition of these books. I didn't read them as a kid, but I really enjoyed them this year.

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

I'm stock on this one. Probably something from Sinner. That book is very quotable.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

Shortest: Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You by Holly Black and Tony DeTerlizzi
Longest: Winter by Marissa Meyer

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

Illuminae. The storytelling style made it GREAT for plot twists.

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

I had to think about this one a lot, actually. I decided to go with what immediately came to mind which was Cinder & Kai from The Lunar Chronicles. I think I mostly like them because, for all the chaos and drama in every other aspect of their lives, they're pretty low-drama as a couple.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

The Grace siblings from Spiderwick, maybe?

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

Probably The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black or Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater. Or Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

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

I first heard about The Martian through recommendation, and I quite enjoyed that.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

Another year, another complete lack of fictional crushes.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

The Wrath and the Dawn, I think, unless I can count Magonia.

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

Magonia is definitely up there, the setting is so bizarre and almost dream-like, but also very vivid.

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

The Fixer had its humourous moments, and The Scorpion Rules, despite having some pretty grim subject matter made me laugh as well. (Is it worrying that an amoral AI and I have a very similar sense of humour? Discuss.) Six of Crows had its moment too.

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

Illuminae was an emotional roller coaster for me.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Maybe The Nest by Kenneth Oppel? It is MG, but I think that its a read that could be enjoyed by more than just the 9-12 audience.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

See above comment about Illuminae being an emotional roller coaster.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

Since you're probably tired of hearing me go on and on about Magonia and Illuminae, I really liked returning to the world of Seraphina when I read Shadow Scale early in 2015.

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

Most recently Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Grey. That ending. I KNEW it was coming, but arg.

Bookish/ Blogging Life

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?

Hmm, what did I discover this year? I really should keep track of when I discovered what. Recently I've really liked Alexa Loves Books, but I've been following her for a while. Also Happy Indulgence, Bookish Serendipity, and Readers in Wonderland.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

I really enjoy writing reviews for books that I loved, so my review of Illuminae stands out to me.

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

The "I have a love-hate relationship with my Goodreads Challenge" post was a lot of fun for me to write. I was thinking about this the other day, because I didn't quite reach my challenge this year.

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

I went to the Book Blog Ontario Meet-up this year, which was a new and exciting thing for me. There aren't that many book events near where I live, and even fewer that I can get to in a reasonable amount of time (public transit in Ontario moves like a snail on a good day). It was fantastic, if a little overwhelming, and I'm really hoping that I get the chance to go next year, if they decide to do it again.

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

I don't know? There were a lot of really great moments. I'm also blogging over at Paper Boulevard, which has been exciting and challenging.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

The intense bouts of apathy that I occasionally experience toward book blogging. Blogging at Paper Boulevard has been challenging, just because it puts another thing on my to do list.

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

Top Ten 2016 Debut Novels I Are Looking Forward To

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Maybe some of my reviews? They sometimes take a lot of time to write, so I'm always really grateful to get pageviews on them!

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

Book Outlet has resulted in even more overflowing bookshelves.

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

I didn't quite complete my Goodreads challenge this year (due to a combination of things... chief among which were school, rereading, and terrible time management).

I completed my reread challenge in the first couple months (turn out I reread a lot more than 10 books in a year).

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

Under a Painted Sky, for sure.

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

The Forbidden Orchid by Sarah Biggs Waller, about twenty others...

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Rebel of the Sands, or the Star-Touched Queen.

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater, The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski...

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

Get better at keeping a consistent schedule.

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

One day I will request more books and have an actual answer to this question...

- See more at: http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2015/12/6th-annual-end-of-year-survey-2015-edition.html#sthash.ZDOUYtIC.dpuf

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half of 2016

Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly feature created at The Broke and The Bookish.

1. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater: Because obviously.

2. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski: I've been waiting on that cliffhanger for a year!

3. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi: This debut has a pretty amazing premise.

4. The Forbidden Orchid by Sarah Biggs Waller: This has been on my list since I read A Mad, Wicked Folly.

5. The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins: Because monsters. Also, I like the colour pallet of the cover

6. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken: Time travel and the high seas!

7. The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig: Also time travel and the high seas! (Seriously these two seem to have a lot of shared elements in their premises, and I'm looking forward to see how they differ/ are similar.)

8. Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan: After how much I enjoyed Unspoken, I'm looking forward to revisiting her writing.

9. A Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood: Featuring a lot of my favourite authors, I've had my eye on this collection since is was Petticoats and Pistols.

10.  Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton: Mostly because desert.

Up and Down December

I generally REALLY like book blogging. Its something that I just keep coming back to. Though Wandering Through Books is my first book blog, it is not my first time blogging about books. They're a big part of my life, and something I really love talking about. But recently, I've been having some really mixed feelings toward book blogging.

Its like I'm either "IDEAS! EVERYWHERE! Must begin writing twelve posts ASAP!" or "you know what I'm just going to delete this thing and forget about it," and I'm not really sure why that is. Its like my blogging slumps are just super concentrated into phases of intense apathy. And right now, I'm in the apathy phase. Not toward everything, just toward book blogging. Like, I love books. They still excite me. But I'm just really meh toward blogging about them right now.

It kind of feels like I'm... stagnating? Going through the motions? And that's been really frustrating for me. I want this to be fun, dammit! But instead I've just got this pervasive feeling like I'm not really doing anything, which just hasn't gone away.

This is just a long way of saying that I'm sorry I'm not posting more, but inspiration has been a little thin on the ground. (And also sorry for the whining. Also that.)

Top Ten Books I'd Love as a Gift

Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly feature created at The Broke and The Bookish.

1. A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

2. Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

3. Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

4.  Slasher Girls and Monster Boys edited by April Genevieve Tucholke

5. The Next Together by Lauren James

6. Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

7. East by Edith Pattou

8. Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

9. The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

10. The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Year In Disappointments

This month is, in general, going to be a celebration of my favourites, and I'm really excited to be doing it, but I need to get this off my chest first. This post is going to be the books that just totally let me down this year (there had to be a few...). And some musings on why.

Mortal Danger

I was really not impressed with this book. I think the main reason was that I walked away going "But? That is not how mental illness works?" And I couldn't get past it... it might seem like a little thing, but, at the same time, it wasn't. Because suicide is a serious thing. Like, dead serious. And recovery from something like that is a process, not just something you switch off. Being suicidal is not just a plot point, it's a symptom of serious mental health concerns.

Part of it might have been that I didn't totally know what I was signing up for when I started this one. I didn't realise that our main character was going to be suicidal at the beginning. In general, I tend not to read books that have suicide as an element, just as a matter of personal preference. So this was part "I didn't know we were talking about suicide" and part "but if we were going to go there, this isn't how to do it."

The Sin Eater's Daughter

The good parts of this book began and ended with the cover. Seriously. The cover's beautiful, the title is amazing, and then everything just kind of flops.

I did review this one, but it mostly makes this list because I was so hoping I would like it, and I really didn't. It turned out to be contrived, flat, and the relationships actually kind of disgusted me in how the main character was treated. While I often find love triangles kind of annoying, this one was toxic. The main character's feelings are consistently ignored by both boys, they manipulate her, and generally treat her pretty terribly, and yet I was supposed to find it romantic?

Winterspell

Again, I did review this. My lack of being impressed was, like with The Sin Eater's Daughter, at least in part due to fact that I found all of the romance to be deeply, deeply creepy. Like, weird and abusive and controlling kind of creepy. Maybe I missed something, but I just didn't find any of how either of the romantic interests treated Clara to be romantic. The story was all over the place, and the writing just didn't work for me. The colour scheme of the cover is quite lovely, but the book didn't live up to it for me.

Brokenhearted

A. K. A. How did this book survive the editorial process in the form I read it in? This was another one where I was confused by the lack of attention to how medicine actually works. You are not on your feet within hours after a heart transplant, much less an experimental procedure involving a completely artificial organ. If you want me to buy something like that, you have to give me some sort of reasoning. This book completely lacked reason. Her elevated heart rate somehow made her able to fly because hummingbirds also have rapid heart rates? That makes absolutely no sense. The rest of the story was just lackluster and poor storytelling. Love the cover, though.

Forbidden

My review for this one is reasonably recent. I was just incredibly unimpressed by this novel. It promised a vivid portrayal of a fascinating and complex culture, and it utterly failed to deliver. The romance was best described as bland, and the story itself lacked flow.

It felt like the idea for a novel, all sketched out before the author did any research on what she was writing about. The characters were one dimensional, the setting and culture were simplified to the point where they approached non-existence, and the message of the story overall didn't work for me. I had a hard time getting through this one, and I really doubt I'll be reading the sequel.

So that was my year in books that just didn't work for me. Really, given the number of books that I've read this year, it isn't a bad turnaround. Obviously, if would be fantastic if we all loved every book we read, but there are always going to be ones that just don't work for every reader.

Onward to 2016!

Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015

Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly feature created at The Broke and The Bookish.

1. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: I LOVED this book. I had to take time off before writing my review because otherwise it would just been loud flailing.

2. Magonia by  Maria Dahvanna Headley: This is such a beautiful, strange little book, and I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel.

3. The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: Her books read like a fast-paced television show, and I really enjoyed reading this one.

4. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black: Faeries and a creepy little town are two things that really delight me. I love the feel of this book so much.

5. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: Heist stories! Criminal masterminds! Magic! Moral ambiguity!

6. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski: This one raised the tension and the stakes, ending on a cliffhanger, and I'm really looking forward to reading the finale next year.

7. The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow: Despite the bumps around the way, I really enjoyed the premise of it.

8. The Nest by Kenneth Oppel: This was such a unique read, especially in its protagonist.

9. The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi: I didn't read Spiderwick when I was a child, but I really enjoyed reading it this year.

10. The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien: I was surprised by how much a enjoyed this one. It was interesting to explore storytelling.

Cover Change: The Winner's Curse

Here we go again...

So earlier today, the news dropped that The Winner's Curse is getting a cover change. I'm not generally opposed to cover changes as a concept except where they:

1) Happen in the middle of a series, therefore ensuring that my books will NEVER MATCH

2) Take a pretty cover and make it less so.

The change to The Winners Curse did not just one, but both. Let's examine:

Original: The best of the girls in dresses covers I've seen. There was a bit of a change in the typography between the first book and the following ones, but the theme is clearly consistent. (Curse is my favourite typography-wise.)

These are covers that make Kestrel looks strong, without making her look like she's planning on going out and physically fighting someone, and they make her look calculating. It accentuates that there is both combat (the weaponry) and court/ political drama (the dresses, Kestrel's overall appearance).

New: The original is just so much better than what they've done now. The new covers are honestly kind of silly looking? They look like a bunch of stock photos arbitrarily forced together. Why is the sky pink in the first one? They make these books look like something that they just aren't. These are stock YA high fantasy covers that you slap on a high fantasy with an assassin or something as the heroine, and magic figuring in. Which can be totally great, but that isn't The Winner's Curse.

These are not covers for a book like The Winner's Curse. Suddenly they have these stupid by-line things? You can's even really see the "The" on The Winner's Kiss. The worst part? They make Kestrel into someone she isn't, attempting to replace her brand of mental combat with some sort of stock variety "girl who fights things with knives." Also, Winner's Kiss cover? That is not how people look after they've been enslaved in a mine, nor even how they look after fighting their way out, if that's what you're going for.

To me, the new covers seem like a transparent attempt to appeal to a different audience. What I don't understand is why you would try to make this fantastic trilogy look like something it isn't. It seems like its more likely to disappoint readers who are drawn in by the cover, expecting a certain kind of story with a certain kind of lead. I love Kestrel, but she is primarily cerebral, and is less gifted with weapons. Her thing is cleverness and manipulation, not stabbing. This also ins't a world with magic in it, so I'm not sure about the random glow-y bits showing up randomly. So I'm a bit weirded out from a branding standpoint. If anyone in marketing understands why this happened, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Will I still buy and read the books? Yes. I'm not going to punish the author and myself to make a point that the publisher isn't going to get anyway. Am I unimpressed and a little confused? Definitely.

Audiobook Review: Salt and Storm

Title: Salt and Storm
Author: Kendall Kulper
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang
Series: Salt and Storm (with a spin-off)
Volume: 1
Goodreads

A Quick Introduction: All Avery Roe has ever wanted is to take over for her grandmother as the witch of Prince Island. When she was twelve, her mother took her from her grandmother's cottage, and, ever since, Avery has railed against her mother's attempts to turn her into a proper lady. When she has a nightmare predicting her own murder, she grows more desperate to find her way out of the spell her mother has used to trap her and become her grandmother's successor. Because, as everyone on the island knows, no one can kill a Roe witch.

Out of Ten: 7/10

Review at a Glance: Full of complex familial relationships and an amazing, grim atmosphere, the only place this novel didn't work for me was the romance.

Review: This was overall an enjoyable read. I listened to it as an audiobook mainly because I have a lot to do right now, and I needed my hands free, but I'm glad that I did go this route. Lauren Fortganag overall does a good job with the narration (though I'm a little unsure about some of the accents). I think my favourite part of her narration was that she puts a lot of emotion into the character of Avery, which fit the character well.

Avery is such a hard-edged character in a lot of ways- she's fierce in her convictions, even when her convictions are wrong. She goes on a very interesting journey of coming to understand that things might not be exactly what she's always believed them to be. Her relationships with her mother, grandmother, and island all evolve over the course of the story, and I found that very engaging.

The point where this novel sort of fell down for me was the romance- I just somehow didn't end up all that invested in it. It didn't ruin the book for me, because most of the rest of the story was fairly strong, but it was meant to be a fairly key element of the story. Love and loss are meant to be something very key to the Roe witches.

The setting was vivid and the atmosphere of this novel really stood out to me. Its rough-edged and grim, and I really liked what it added to the reading/listening experience. It makes everything feel like its constantly on edge, waiting. The overarching plot fit well with the atmosphere, and was refreshing in that the author took the story places I wasn't expecting.

I really enjoyed listening to this one, and I'm really considering picking up the companion novel, especially if it has a similar atmosphere.