YA and Beyond discussion

For 2016, I'd like to:

1. Read each of the Hidden Gems books.

2. Read a series I haven't read before.

3. Read something outside of my comfort zone.

Finally, I'd like to read a total of 30 books I haven't read before. :)

Good start!

Nice goals, Elora! :D

Hidden Gems:

Jan: Erebos 5 epic stars
Feb: Bone Gap 5 stars--Loved it!
Mar: Wolf By Wolf 5 stars of awesomesauce
Apr: Tithe DNF
May: Free read month
June: Slayers 3 stars
July:
Aug:
Sept:
Oct:
Nov:
Dec:

Read a series I haven't read before: DONE

1. Illusive
2. Deceptive

1. Daughter of Smoke & Bone
2.Days of Blood & Starlight
3.Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Graceling (see DNFs below)

Read something outside of my comfort zone: DONE
1. Heist Society
2. Uncommon Criminals
3. Perfect Scoundrels

Read a total of 36 books I haven't read before:

1. Flip
2. Illusive
3. Deceptive
4. Bone Gap
5. Daughter of Smoke & Bone
6. Beastly Bones
7. The Rest of Us Just Live Here
8. Days of Blood & Starlight
9. Dreams of Gods & Monsters
10. Strings
11. Red Rising
12. The Knife of Never Letting Go
13. The Ask and the Answer
14. A Monster Calls
15. Monsters of Men
16. Heist Society
17. Uncommon Criminals
18. Perfect Scoundrels
19. Holes
20. Wolf By Wolf
21. Golden Son
22. Unwind
23. The Raven King
24. Morning Star
25. Illuminae
26. UnWholly
27. UnSouled
28. UnDivided
29. Anna and the French Kiss
30. All Fall Down
31. See How They Run
32. Ready Player One
33. A Court of Mist and Fury
34. The Girl Who Chased the Moon
35.
36.

Rereads of 2016:

Erebos
Horde
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

DNFs of 2016:

Graceling
I really wanted to love this one. (cover alone is awesome) It started out so fantastic, but the love story in the middle bogged me down, and I couldn't continue.

The Lies of Locke Lamora
This is definitely a case of "It's me, not you." Only 20 pages in and I had to put it down. The writing is superb, the action is fierce, but the constant opening paragraph and then retelling of what happened (from multiple points of view) wore on me hard. The opening points to a stellar novel and fun read, but I don't have the time to invest right now in a book that I keep rereading what has happened and have to remember whose point of view I'm reading.

Tithe
I just can't.

Awesome goals Elora!

Thanks, guys!

Still on track :)

Great job! I'm so glad you liked Bone Gap :)

I'm so glad you recommended it. I never would have given it a second glance. :)

Added the series and

Added and

Yay!

Nice choices, Elora! Hows Red Rising?

It was good but not great. The MC is a know it all, who's great at everything, which was tiring. Other than that, though, it was full of action and discussed a lot about society and class.

thanks. I've been meaning to pick it up, just been procrastinating!

finished and

Elora wrote: "finished and "

Such excellent reads back to back! I loved the Ask The Answer so much.

Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "Elora wrote: "finished and "

Such excellent reads back to back! I loved the Ask The Answer so much."

Me too! The character development in it was fantastic. (view spoiler)[ And Davy dying was so sad to me, something I never thought I would say. (hide spoiler)]

Uggh I agree! That part is so sad. :'(

I didn't notice this thread before. What an awesome idea. I'm following it now.

Elora I totally agree with your spoiler! Who ever thought you would think that way when you started the book??? I certainly didn't.

I finished
It was sooo much better than the first book. Can't wait to see what Brown brings for the third!

I want to read that trilogy, I just haven't had the chance to grab the book.

Finished and

*b*l*u*e*m*o*o*n* wrote: "I want to read that trilogy, I just haven't had the chance to grab the book."

It's really good!

Added:

Elora wrote: "Added: "

YAY!! <3

Hidden Gems:

Jan: Erebos 5 epic stars
Feb: Bone Gap 5 stars--Loved it!
Mar: Wolf By Wolf 5 stars of awesomesauce
Apr: Tithe DNF
May: Free read month
June: Slayers 3 stars
July: The School for Good and Evil
Aug: Alive
Sept: Born Wicked
Oct: Promise of the Wolves
Nov: Front Lines
Dec:

Read a series I haven't read before: DONE

1. Illusive
2. Deceptive

1. Daughter of Smoke & Bone
2.Days of Blood & Starlight
3.Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Graceling (see DNFs below)

Read something outside of my comfort zone: DONE
1. Heist Society
2. Uncommon Criminals
3. Perfect Scoundrels

Read a total of 36 books I haven't read before:

1. Flip
2. Illusive
3. Deceptive
4. Bone Gap
5. Daughter of Smoke & Bone
6. Beastly Bones
7. The Rest of Us Just Live Here
8. Days of Blood & Starlight
9. Dreams of Gods & Monsters
10. Strings
11. Red Rising
12. The Knife of Never Letting Go
13. The Ask and the Answer
14. A Monster Calls
15. Monsters of Men
16. Heist Society
17. Uncommon Criminals
18. Perfect Scoundrels
19. Holes
20. Wolf By Wolf
21. Golden Son
22. Unwind
23. The Raven King
24. Morning Star
25. Illuminae
26. UnWholly
27. UnSouled
28. UnDivided
29. Anna and the French Kiss
30. All Fall Down
31. See How They Run
32. Ready Player One
33. A Court of Mist and Fury
34. The Girl Who Chased the Moon
35. Slayers
36. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
37. Magonia
38. The Last Leaves Falling
39: The Last Star
40. Ice Like Fire
41. Snow Like Ashes
42. The Monstrumologist
43. Eon: Dragoneye Reborn
44. The Moon Dwellers
45. The Hidden Oracle
46. The Killing Woods
47. The School for Good and Evil
48. Imposter
49. Riders
50. Look Into My Eyes
51. Dark Eyes
52. The Girl on the Train
53. Dread Locks
54. Alive
55. The Night Circus
56. Out of the Easy
57. Between Shades of Gray
58. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2
59. The Martian
60. Once We Were Brothers
61. Salt to the Sea
62. Poison
63. Soulless
64. Changeless
65. Blameless
66. Ghostly Echoes
67. Promise of the Wolves
68. My Lady Jane
69. Crooked Kingdom
70. The Book of Ivy
71. The Revolution of Ivy
72. Rook
73. Heartless
74. Timeless
75. The Female of the Species
76. An Ember in the Ashes
77. Blood For Blood



Rereads of 2016:

Erebos
Horde
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

DNFs of 2016:

Graceling
I really wanted to love this one. (cover alone is awesome) It started out so fantastic, but the love story in the middle bogged me down, and I couldn't continue.

The Lies of Locke Lamora
This is definitely a case of "It's me, not you." Only 20 pages in and I had to put it down. The writing is superb, the action is fierce, but the constant opening paragraph and then retelling of what happened (from multiple points of view) wore on me hard. The opening points to a stellar novel and fun read, but I don't have the time to invest right now in a book that I keep rereading what has happened and have to remember whose point of view I'm reading.

Tithe
I just can't.

Watership Down
I really wanted to like this one, but I think I don't like books with animals as the characters. I don't know why.

Aerie
This one held none of the magic of the first and became an angsty high school drama.

V for Vendetta
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the movie! I found out with this that I don't like graphic novels. :(

Hex Hall
nope.

Angelfall
nope.

A Thousand Pieces of You
This is another one that everyone is raving about, but I just couldn't feel it.

Whew....that was quite the update since I haven't done it since....June. lol.
Next year, I will definitely give monthly updates instead!
:)

Wow! That is a lot of reads Elora!

Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "Wow! That is a lot of reads Elora!"

Thanks! It was one of those things that didn't seem like it at the time, until I waited so many months to enter them all.

Wow Elora! Are you planning on reading the Custard Protocol books? I'm looking forward to those, probably in the new year.

And I would like to submit for your consideration Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft (horror, if you're into that), The Complete Maus and Blue is the Warmest Color in the graphic novel category -- I really enjoyed V for Vendetta but the art was really different from others I've read and with all the blacks/grays everything kind of blended together to where I wasn't looking at the panels so much as reading the dialogue just to get through it. Graphic novels aren't for everyone but there are better options out there!

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Wow Elora! Are you planning on reading the Custard Protocol books? I'm looking forward to those, probably in the new year.

And I would like to submit for your consideration [book:Locke & Key, Vol..."

Thanks for the recommendations! I was kicking around the idea of the Custard Protocol....next year sounds great--maybe a buddy read?
I'll have to check out those other books as well!

Sure, a BR sounds great! My friend Piper and I have been reading the Parasol Protectorate books in the MacHalo group, but it seems like we're the only ones for now-- everyone else quit after the ending in Changeless.

Well that's a bummer! Let me know when you guys plan to start! :)

Thought I'd add this here as a recap of the year. It was one with a fantastic amount of reads!

My thanks to Ashley and Kat Stark for the numbered list…

Number of Books You Read in 2016: 93

Number of Re-Reads: 4

Genre You Read The Most From:
I actually don’t think I had any one genre stand out this year.

1. Best Book You Read In 2016?

I think I’ll have to go with


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



3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2016?

Good surprise:

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2016?



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

Started:

Sequel:

Series Ender:

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?

Ruta Sepetys
I had never read anything of hers before, but once I picked up the first book, I devoured the rest over the course of about three days. Her books are well-written, well-thought-out, and pure magic.

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

For me, this would have to be the
I don’t usually delve into the romance-y genre, but I feel this one is mis-labed. It should be in the action-packed, one-of-the-funniest, saddest, deepest-fluff-series-you’ll-ever-read genre.

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’m not sure on this one yet. I’ll definitely reread, but that was a late 2015 read for me.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016?

This book was a DNF for me.

11. Most memorable character of 2016?

Mark Watney from
For those of you who’ve read the book, I need not explain why.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?



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

I have to go with two on this one: and

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

I didn’t even know this book existed until this year.

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

Too many to list. Several of Watney’s remarks in and most of the journal entries from

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016?

Shortest:

Longest:

17. Book That Shocked You The Most?

I wasn't expecting it to be that good.

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

Kaz and Inej from

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year?

Lord Akeldama and Alexia from

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



21. Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure?



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

Crushing on characters really isn’t my thing.

23. Best 2016 debut you read?

It wasn’t published in 2016, but I have to go with

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

I just fell into that world.

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



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

A Monster Calls

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?



28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?



29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?

The story was fantastic, but it was the format for this one that really made it stand out.

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

Even though I liked it, I will definitely say

I love a lot of the books you picked as well. Monster Calls, The Martian and Unwind are all great picks!

Nice reading year Elora!

Holy crap YES to the Scythe journal entries! And I can definitely agree with Female of the Species angering me the most. Great list, Elora!

Great list Elora - I like how positive it was (best instead of worst :)

*b*l*u*e*m*o*o*n* wrote: "I love a lot of the books you picked as well. Monster Calls, The Martian and Unwind are all great picks!"

Yes! Those were such good reads!

Jenny wrote: "Nice reading year Elora!"

Thanks, Jenny!

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Holy crap YES to the Scythe journal entries! And I can definitely agree with Female of the Species angering me the most. Great list, Elora!"

Thanks, Ashley! Yes!! I was totally blown away by the journal entries. They could have been a book by themselves...

Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "Greta list Elora - I like how positive it was (best instead of worst :)"

Thanks, Heidi! Yes, the positivity is what drew me to this list in the first place. :)