Number of Books You Read: 100 exactly. Sigh, this number is going down steadily every year. I used to hit 150! At least I'm in the 100s.
Number of re-reads: 18, mostly thanks to Bex's awesome re-read-a-thons!
Genre you read most from: General fiction/literary, I think. Though I do have to note that I read considerably more non-fiction this year than in previous years, for whatever reason.
I'm going to go with My Real Children by Jo Walton. I totally fell in love with this book and it broke my heart. Between this and Among Others, Jo Walton has completely stolen me away, seriously.
2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?
Probably An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. It's not bad, but it didn't blow me away like his other books. It was kind of meh, actually.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
My Real Children, because I totally did not expect to love it like I did. Among Others is probably my favourite book ever, but the concept of this one didn't really grab me hugely so I was a bit hesitant... but I loved it so much.
4. Book you 'pushed' the most people to read (and they did)?
Honestly, I don't really push people to read books! Maybe my girlfriend, occasionally, since she's the only person I know IRL who reads extensively. But I haven't forced anything on her lately.
5. Best series you started in 2015? Best sequel of 2015? Best series ender of 2015?
I really don't read that many series, because I much prefer standalone novels. I did finally read Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood this year which is the first of a series, and I've got the next one ready to go which I'm excited about.
Sequel: Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith, the third Cormoran Strike book. I seriously love these books! I still like The Silkworm best of all but this was really great.
Ender: I don't seem to have read any this year!
6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2015?
Definitely new to me as opposed to new, but on the strength of Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, I really want to read more Audre Lorde. That book was fantastic.
7. Best book from a genre you don't read/was out of your comfort zone?
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo was both an audiobook and a self-help book, both things I generally steer away from. But I actually found that I can follow audiobooks better than I remembered I can, and the book itself was actually great. I read it in August, and I'm still using bits of her philosophy, like emptying my bag everyday. So it works!
8. Most action packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Probably Career of Evil. I basically couldn't rest until I found out who the murderer was and it sort of took over my thought processes for a few days.
9. Book you read in 2015 that you are most likely to reread next year?
I'm already thinking about rereading Adam by Ariel Schrag. I loved that book so much!
10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2015?
All my covers were pretty meh this year! Honestly guys, step it up :P I guess if I have to pick one...
Just because it's slightly creepy and sums up the book quiet nicely.
11. Most memorable character of 2015?
Gonna be lazy and stay on We Have Always Lived in the Castle- Merricat. If you've read the book you'll know what I'm talking about.
12. Most beautifully written book in 2015?
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng comes to mind. Maybe not typically beautiful writing, but damn good writing nonetheless.
13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2015?
I'm gonna go back to My Real Children, but it was really thought-provoking. Something about seeing someone's entire life, the good and the bad, really made me want to live the best life I can.
14. Book you can't believe you waited until 2015 to read?
There's probably a few... Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood has been on my radar for absolutely years, I can't believe I waited this long! Also that it took me so long to read any Shirley Jackson.
15. Favourite quote/passage from a book you read in 2015?
I'm probably in the minority in that I rarely write down/remember quotes... so I'm going to pass, unfortunately. Because I know there've been some good ones!
16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2015?
Longest is definitely going to be War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy... which was actually really good! I think my shortest is Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel. Which was also really good, but an entirely different ball game, obviously.
17. Book that shocked you the most
Injustice by Clive Stafford Smith, in a thinky-angry sort of way. It's non-fiction about the death penalty and how flawed the system is that makes it much, much easier than you'd like to think for people to be executed even though they're innocent. It was sort of terrifying, actually.
18. OTP of the year
I don't think I actually read that much in terms of ships to die for this year! Let's go with Beth and Lincoln in Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, because how can you not be rooting for them?
19. Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year
Again, I'm not sure. Let's just go with Cormoran and Robin in Career of Evil, because they're not romantic (at least not yet... potentially) and I'm really enjoying the development of their relationship in work and in their personal lives.
20. Favourite book you read in 2015 from an author you read previously
My Real Children, big surprise :P I'm even more anxious about reading her other books now, my expectations are so ridiculous.
21. Best book you read in 2015 that you read solely on a recommendation from someone else/peer pressure
I don't really do this! Books I read tend to be the result of multiple recommendations. I suppose the closest is The Monk which I read for Alice's read-a-long. It turned out to be kind of mad and kind of brilliant. Mostly mad.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?
Actually don't think there were any this year. Strange, I usually fall for at least one :P
23. Best 2015 debut you read?
Again, I got nothing for this. I rarely read books in the same year they're actually released, let alone debuts :P Let's cheat slightly- the best debut I read in 2015 was probably Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, although it was technically published in 2014. But ssh ;)
24. Best world-building/most vivid setting you read this year?
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I really need to read the other books in the series, it was awesome!
25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most fun to read?
Kind of unexpectedly, "The Art of Ingeniously Tormenting" by Jane Collier. It's an essay published in 1753 that I read for uni, and it's a sort of mock conduct manual about how to annoy people around you. 18th century satire, you are the best. I'm still smiling thinking about it and that's even after I wrote a painful essay about it, so I think that's a good sign.
26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2015?
Not to keep banging on about it, but My Real Children, oh my god. Obviously when you see someone's entire life laid out there's going to be some devastating moments. I'm still not over some of them.
27. Hidden gem of the year
Right, I'm going with My Real Children again, purely because I've never really heard it mentioned, now that I think about it, even when people talk about Jo Walton. And more people should read it.
28. Book that crushed your soul
Moby-Dick. And not in a good way. Seriously, I went off reading for an entire week just because of that book. Oh, well, I'm still glad I read it, as painful as it was.
29. Most unique book you read in 2015?
Definitely Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein. I don't even know how to categorize it- part memoir, part diatribe against gender roles, and there's even a play thrown in there too. Seriously good though.
30. Book that made you the most mad
Probably Austerity Bites by Mary O'Hara, a look at how 'austerity measures' and cuts have affected the UK. Some seriously rage-inducing stuff in there; I definitely recommend it if that sort of thing's your cup of tea.
And just to round it all off, my top ten (in alphabetical order, because I can't rank things) books of 2015!
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