End of Year Book Survey 2016

This is my first time doing Perpetual Page Turner's brilliant bookish survey and it was a lot of fun! In it I look at my reading statistics, as well as some of the best and (the not-so-best) books of 2016, as well as what books I'm looking forward to this year.

Number of Books I Read: 78

Number of Re-Reads: 8

Genre I Read the Most: Fantasy

With these categories I aimed to list a different book for each and every one, to spread the love for as many books as I possibly could!

1. Best Standalone - A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Ness has a brilliant mind, and this book made me ugly cry, big time.

2. Thought I'd Love It But I Didn't - The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

I have loved every other Ness book, so it was a real shock I didn't enjoy this one.

3. Most Surprising - And I Darken by Kiersten White

I rarely read historical fiction, but this I loved. Gritty and gruesome with great siblings.

4. Book I Forced Everyone to Read - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I forced 5 friends read this series so they could understand my constant screeching.

5. Best Series Finale - Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

As much as TRK DESTROYED me, I had to give this title to CK's utter magnificence.

6. Favourite New Author - V.E. Schwab

It's hard to believe it was only a year ago I became obsessed with Schwab's writing.

7. Best Contemporary - Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Drop everything you're doing and go read this gem. I identified with it so much.

8. Most Un-Put-Downable - Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

I finished this in one go and went straight onto the sequel which was even better!

9. Likely to Re-Read - This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

I was in a slump when I read this, so I couldn't enjoy it as much as I think I would have.

10. Favourite Cover - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

You can't see it well in this image, but the faux leather penguin classics are stunning.

11. Favourite Character - Adam Parrish (The Raven Cycle)

I feel like Adam gets a lot of hate but he is really a precious cinnamon roll.

12. Beautifully Written - Aristotle and Dante by Benjamin Alire Saenz

This book's beauty is in it's simplistic writing and story.

13. Most Inspirational - I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Malala is a wonderful young woman and such an inspiring role model.

14. Why Did it Take Me So Long to Read This? - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

This was on my TBR for so long and now it's one of my favourites!

15. Favourite Quote

There are so many beautiful lines in TRK, but this was one that I read over and over.

16. Longest (Vanity Fair) and Shortest (Warm Up)

I don't know if I can count Vanity Fair here since I DNFed it (it was HUGEly boring).

17. Most Shocking - More Than This by Patrick Ness

Maybe shocking isn't the right word, but it was definitely most existential-crisis-y.

18. OTP of the Year - Pynch (The Raven Cycle)

This was hard to pick since I also ship Bluesy as well as every pairing in Six of Crows!

19. Best Friendships - Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Even though I want to be a part of Blue's gang, Kaz's crew is definitely #SquadGoals.

20. Favourite Book from an Author I've Read Before - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

I laughed and cried way too much to not add this to my favourites list. 

21. Peer Pressure Read - Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

This was a re-read, but Harry Potter was definitely a peer pressure read!

22. Fictional Crush - Rhy Maresh (A Gathering of Shadows)

I don't really have a crush but I'll pick Rhy because he is a precious flirty prince.

23. Best 2016 Debut - Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate

I requested this on a whim and it totally blew me away. The themes were so good.

24. Best World Building - A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

4 Londons! Magic! A man with an infinitely sided coat! An aspiring pirate! Clear winner.

25. Made Me Smile - Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Such a sweet read with a pair of very cute and lovable characters.

26. Made Me Tear Up - The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
This book is so full of regret and the ending was so sad in the most subtle of ways.

27. Hidden Gem - Pantomime by Laura Lam
People need to be talking about this book because it is SO GOOD I CRY.

28. Crushed My Soul - The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
I read it all in a day then cried and cried and cried. I was crying before I started tbh.

29. Most Unique - Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
For a Jane Eyre retelling this was nothing like Jane Eyre - and in the best way possible.

30. Most Maddening - The Selection by Kiera Cass
I was so frustrated with the pettiness of this book and wrote the angriest review.

Here are just a few things I'm looking forward to in 2017.

1. Priority Read - The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The release for this is soon so I need to read this ARC so I can get my review out!

2. Anticipated Release - False Hearts (UK Paperback Edition) by Laura Lam
I preordered the UK paperback of this because the premise sounds too good.

3. Anticipated Debut - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This is very likely to be the most important YA to be published this year.

4. Anticipated Finale - A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
I am obsessed with the Shades of Magic series and I don't quite want it to end.

5. Something I Aim to Accomplish...
I plan to keep on top of all my ARCs this year, but knowing me it is quite unlikely.

How was your 2016 reading year? Have you read any books on my survey? What did you think? Are there any you plan to read in 2017?