Thursday, December 31, 2015

2015 End of the Year Book Survey


Hosted by The Perpetual Page Turner. You can find the survey here.

Number Of Books You Read: 93
Number of Re-Reads: 14
Genre You Read The Most From: YA Fantasy

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)

I DO have to cheat. My top 3 were Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and Winter by Marissa Meyer.


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


 Ash and Bramble by Sarah Prineas, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. They were all okay...

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


Seraphina. Most definitely GOOD.

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


 Tiger Lily!

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


 The Lunar Chronicles. Winter was a great series ender.

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?


 Erin Morgenstern.

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


 Stargirl. I don't read much Middle Grade.

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


 The Knight by Steven James.

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


 The Night Circus. I'm not much one for audiobooks but I think I'll have to give the audio version a try. It is narrated by Jim Dale.

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


 Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson. Amazing book, too.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?


 Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?


 The Night Circus.

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


 How God Became King by N.T. Wright.

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


 Seraphina by Rachel Hartman.

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


   “Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that... there are many kinds of magic, after all.”  

From The Night Circus.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?


 Paralyzed Dreams by C.B. Cook (shortest) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (longest).

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most.


Opening Moves by Steven James.

Um. Cannibalism.

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


Cress and Thorne from the Lunar Chronicles.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year


 Patrick Bowers and his step-daughter Tessa from The Patrick Bowers files.

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


 The Heir by Kiera Cass.  *shrugs* So I'm a sap.

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


 Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. And I'm glad I did!

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


 Meh.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?


 I read maybe 2 or 3 total... :( But, I enjoyed Before Beauty by Brittany Fichter!

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


 The Night Circus. I tell you, I was IN that circus.

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


 Enchanted by Alethea Kontis!


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


 None. I am a cold and unfeeling brick. But I guess Tiger Lily came closest?

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?


 Rebels by Jill Williamson!



28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?


 Um, my soul is still very much intact and healthy, thank you, but I guess I could say TIGER LILY. In the best way.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?


Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. Eesh.

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


Thorn in My Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs *sigh* It had some redeeming qualities, but unfortunately I did not like it.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?


 Ohh, there are so many! But I started my blog at the end of last year so I can't really remember when I discovered all of my favorites: 2014 or 2015. So I'm just going to list some of my very favorites: Paper Fury, Sometimes I'm a Story, Bookish Serendipity, Summer Snowflakes, A Writer's Faith. But, seriously, I have so many that I should stop now! If you want more, you should check out this post!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?


Mini Reviews of The Scarlet Pimpernel, Tarzan of the Apes, and The Mark of Zorro.
And my review of The Heir by Kiera Cass.

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



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


 I didn't go to anything, but participating in readathons has been fun.

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


JUST. ALL OF IT. :D

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


Making enough time. Since starting college in August it's been hard for me....

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


 Most commented on: New Discoveries Tag (This is one of my favorite posts! It's great to share blogs I love!)

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?


 Oh, I dunno...

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


I discovered a Hastings store close to where we live, so that's nice!

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


I completed the Fairy Tale Challenge! But not the Goodreads challenge, unfortunately. Life got busy.

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


 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.


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


The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows, Heartless by Marissa Meyer, and The Crown by Kiera Cass.

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?


 The Star-Touched Queen, Blackhearts, and The Girl from Everywhere all sound amazing!

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


The Mirror King and The Crown.

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


 I hope to blog more consistently and comment on more people's blogs.

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


I haven't read one!

That's my year in review! Currently, I'm reading The Wrath and The Dawn. Maybe I'll finish it before this year ends!

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Fairytale Challenge Completed!

The Daily Prophecy
The Fairytale Challenge is hosted by Mel at The Daily Prophecy. There were six different levels you could shoot for and I went for the Big Bad Wolf(10-15 books).

I completed the challenge by reading 15 fairytale retellings this year!
1. Fable by Chanda Hahn. (Not strictly a fairy tale retelling, but the whole series is about fairy tales and this one included Rumpelstiltskin.) Read Jan 3. My review.

2. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. (Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince). Read Jan 17. My review.

3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer. (Cinderella). Read Feb. 7.

4. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. (Red Riding Hood). Read Feb. 9.

5. Cress  by Marissa Meyer. (Rapunzel). Read Feb. 21.

6. Before Beauty by Brittany Fichter. (Beauty and the Beast). Read Mar. 26. My review

7. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. (Peter Pan). Read April 29. My review

8. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. (The Snow Child) Read June 16. My review

9. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. (Beauty and the Beast) Read June 28. My review

10. Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge. (Little Red Riding Hood and The Girl With No Hands) Read June 30. My review

11. Fairest by Marissa Meyer. (Sort of a prequel to Snow White) Read in May.

12. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. (The Frog Prince + others). Read in July.

13. Beauty and the Beast by Jenni James (Beauty and the Beast). Read in July.

14. Winter by Marissa Meyer (Snow White). Read in November.

15. Ash and Bramble by Sarah Prineas. (Cinderella). Read in December.

Did you read any fairytale retellings this year? Share your favorites!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Confessions of a Book Drunkard

Hi. My name is Ally Randolph, and I am a book drunkard. I have some confessions to make....

I stay up way past my bedtime.

source

I dog-ear pages. (But the bookmarks! They mysteriously disappear!)

It's a problem.

I have maybe....physically harmed some books.

source

At times I've read a whole book in one day.

source

I color- coordinated my bookshelf.

Ah, it's so pretty!!

I didn't want to get my driver's license because it meant I couldn't read in the car anymore.



Sometimes, I've been a bit forceful when it comes to making book recommendations....

READ IT. (source)

I read over a HUNDRED BOOKS PER YEAR.

(source) I DID. Before college....


I CANNOT get into audiobooks. They're tooooo sloooowww.



The majority of my money goes towards books.



I never pay full price for a book.

(Books are treasures, don't get me wrong, but $17.99?! I'll just go to the used bookstore, thank you very much.)



(Merry, Christmas everybody! I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday week!)


Saturday, December 5, 2015

Book Drunkards Get Book Hangovers

I was tagged by Sierra Faith over at 26 countless possibilities to share 5 books that gave me a book hangover in 2015!

1. 

2. 


3.


4.


5. 

These are the five that left me breathless and wanting more! What were your book hangovers of 2015?