2015 READING STATS
AMBER
NUMBER OF BOOKS YOU READ: 101. This is the least I’ve read in about five years. But at least I met my goal.
NUMBER OF REREADS: 4. Ha.
GENRE YOU READ THE MOST FROM: Contemporary! Followed by fantasy.
TATUM
NUMBER OF BOOKS YOU READ: 109 because I am a disgrace. I actually had to adjust down my goal because I’m so busy all the time now. It’s shameful, I am ashamed.
NUMBER OF REREADS: lol I wish
GENRE YOU READ THE MOST FROM: Probably fantasy but I don’t care, I’m having a different answer this time! HORROR! Thank you, Stephen King, for providing me with a less boring response this year.
BEST IN BOOKS
BEST BOOK YOU READ IN 2015
AMBER: THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, closely followed by The Martian. Please see below.
TATUM: I really tried to limit the number of books I answered with but as it turns out, I just couldn’t. I just really enjoyed these books way too much to not yell about them. So, obvious fave of the entire year which I’m sure Amber will yell about too (~~~) is The Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch. The Lies of Locke Lamora is AMAZING and also criminally underrated so can you all go and read this series plz and thank you. Secondly, out of all King’s books that I’ve pretty much devoured this year I have to say that Bag of Bones is honestly peak Stephen King (and none for The Shining bye). It’s eerie and unsettling and so compelling as a novel. FINALLY, IN A STUNNING DISPLAY OF MATURITY AND ALSO I’M PRETTY SURE HYPNOSIS, I REALLY, REALLY LOVED SIX OF CROWS. It’s about heists, and romance, and persecution! Also miles better than the Grisha series of stupid nonsensical flop endings.
BOOK YOU WERE EXCITED ABOUT & THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO LOVE MORE BUT DIDN’T?
AMBER: Ashes to Ashes. Fuck that nonsense.
TATUM: Everything after Finnikin of the Rock is a disappointment and I should receive compensation for the trauma the sequels put me through. They were bloody terrible.
MOST SURPRISING (IN A GOOD WAY OR BAD WAY) BOOK YOU READ?
AMBER: Probably The Girl in 6E, because it’s so different from my normal reading tastes. It was actually pretty awesome! I didn’t like Steelheart, even though I was expecting to. And I was surprised that Scarlet features such an abusive ship that everyone apparently roots for. (???)
TATUM: Six of Crows because I really did not expect to love, or even remotely tolerate, anything by Leigh Bardugo after the complete disaster that was Ruin & Rising. It really feels like Six of Crows is the series Bardugo was preparing to write; it’s so much more accomplished and far more compelling with a much more adult tone. The characters are also so layered and complicated and I just can’t believe I’m gushing about a book by an author I had resolved to bitterly hate for the rest of my days. In a bad way… *stares at Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn*
BOOK YOU PUSHED THE MOST PEOPLE TO READ (AND THEY DID)?
AMBER: The Martian. Please see below.
TATUM: I…have no idea? A lot of people have been reading The Martian this year but that’s mostly because I bullied Amber into reading it and she bullied everyone else.
BEST SERIES YOU STARTED IN 2015? BEST SEQUEL OF 2015? BEST SERIES ENDER OF 2015?
AMBER: Gentleman Bastard series. Always. And the best sequel HAS to be Queen of Shadows. It’s my favourite SJM book to date.
TATUM: *screams about The Gentlemen Bastard series for all of time* ALSO. Six of Crows (again) aaaaaaaaand A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab.
FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR YOU DISCOVERED IN 2015?
AMBER: Scott Lynch and Tom Rob Smith. <3
TATUM: SCOTT LYNCH WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE
BEST BOOK FROM A GENRE YOU DON’T TYPICALLY READ/WAS OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE?
AMBER: The Girl in 6E, because I don’t typically read erotic suspense.
TATUM: I read A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James and let me tell you that was an experience. I didn’t like it much though which kind of spoils my answer but whatever whatever I tried.
MOST ACTION-PACKED/THRILLING/UNPUTDOWNABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR?
AMBER: QUEEN OF SHADOWS. I read it in a few hours.
TATUM: Queen of Shadows was such a fun ride from start to finish but also The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies, because obviously.
BOOK YOU READ IN 2015 THAT YOU ARE MOST LIKELY TO RE-READ NEXT YEAR?
AMBER: I’m determined to reread the Throne of Glass series, so QOS. And I’d also love to reread Gentleman Bastard but I doubt that’ll happen.
TATUM: lmao let’s not make promises we can’t keep
FAVORITE COVER OF A BOOK YOU READ IN 2015?
AMBER:
TATUM:
MOST MEMORABLE CHARACTER OF 2015?
AMBER: My husband Mark Watney.
TATUM: Pennywise from Stephen King’s It.
Also, Locke Lamora because duh and Nina and Kaz from Six of Crows.
MOST BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN BOOK READ IN 2015?
AMBER: Probably Station Eleven. I didn’t love the book but the writing was awesome.
TATUM: All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr <3 Uprooted by Naomi Novik was also gorgeously written.
MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING/ LIFE-CHANGING BOOK OF 2015?
AMBER: My reread of The Final Empire ruined my life further.
TATUM: I didn’t read anything particularly life-changing but in terms of books that made me think, A History of Loneliness by John Boyne really had me staring at the ceiling for a while. It’s about the abuse of power by priests in Ireland who sexually abused the children in their care; it’s a very grim book based on real life events. I also loved Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo because what a realistic, bittersweet depiction of childhood crushes and romance.
BOOK YOU CAN’T BELIEVE YOU WAITED UNTIL 2015 TO FINALLY READ?
AMBER: Child 44, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
TATUM: Every book by Stephen King that I’ve read this year, basically.
FAVORITE PASSAGE/QUOTE FROM A BOOK YOU READ IN 2015?
AMBER:
“Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.” – The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
“I’m fit and I’m angry, and I’m obviously crazy. Anything could happen.” – The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
“Aedion grinned at his queen as the entire world went to hell.” – Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
“If you’re a monster, I’m a monster.” – Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
“But really, they did it because every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out. It might not seem that way sometimes, but it’s true.” – The Martian by Andy Weir
“”Difficult” and “impossible” are cousins often mistaken for one another, with very little in common.” – Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
TATUM:
No London is truly without magic. – A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
However you praise the Lord, be it Baptist, Methodist, or Catholic, the true religion of Texas is football. – Nowhere but Home by Liza Palmer
“Baby,” she whispered. “My Max, my baby brother, please, please stay.” – City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
“You are more dangerous than daybreak.” – The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
“You intolerable lunatic,” he snarled at me, and then he caught my face between his hands and kissed me. – Uprooted by Naomi Novik
“Life,” said Yrael, who was more Mogget than it ever knew. “Fish and fowl, warm sun and shady trees, the field mice in the wheat, under the cool light of the moon.” – Abhorsen by Garth Nix
“I only steal because my dear old family needs the money to live!”
Locke Lamora made this proclamation with his wine glass held high; he and the other Gentlemen Bastards were seated at the old witchwood table…the others began to jeer.
“Liar!” they chorused.
“I only steal because this wicked world won’t let me work an honest trade!” Calo cried, hoisting his own glass.
“LIAR!”
“I only steal,” said Jean, “because I’ve temporarily fallen in with bad company.”
“LIAR!”
At last the ritual came to Bug; the boy raised his glass a bit shakily and yelled, “I only steal because it’s heaps of fucking fun!”
“BASTARD!“
SHORTEST & LONGEST BOOK YOU READ IN 2015?
AMBER: My shortest book was a comic, probably A-Force, and the longest was Winter by Marissa Meyer which was nearly 900 pages long.
TATUM: My shortest book, at 88 pages, was Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. My longest book, at 1376 pages, was It by Stephen King.
BOOK THAT SHOCKED YOU THE MOST
AMBER: The Republic of Thieves because I was shocked by how much I hated Sabetha. No plot twists really shocked me this year. Sad times.
TATUM: A History of Loneliness didn’t shock me exactly but it was still a bit of an eye opener, especially with the final twist.
OTP OF THE YEAR
AMBER: Locke and Jean, Rowan and Aelin, and Mark Watney and me. They’re all beautiful and heartbreaking and I want to die. AND KELL/RHY!
TATUM: LOCKE AND JEAN from The Gentlemen Bastards series are just so good – they have the banter, the friendship, the emotionally traumatising moments…if they aren’t canon I will just give up life, frankly. ALSO The Dragon and Agnieszka from Uprooted for the most epic kiss and shirtless hugging scenes. I died and have not yet recovered. Finally, Matthias and Nina from Six of Crows ruined me.
FAVORITE NON-ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP OF THE YEAR
AMBER: I don’t know what Tatum is talking about below because they’re clearly romantic, but I’m gonna go with Dorian and Aelin.
TATUM: Manon and Aelin in Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas 😀 😀 😀 Although if I had my way they would have SO.MUCH.SEX. Anyway. Platonic. Yes.
FAVORITE BOOK YOU READ IN 2015 FROM AN AUTHOR YOU’VE READ PREVIOUSLY
AMBER: Queen of Shadows, The Final Empire (rereads count!), A Darker Shade of Magic, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
TATUM: Umm, a lot? Definitely Queen of Shadows because that series just gets better with each book, Six of Crows and A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab because I wasn’t a fan of their respective authors’ previous works but really enjoyed both books, Visions by Kelley Armstrong, The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness…the list goes on and on.
BEST BOOK YOU READ IN 2015 THAT YOU READ BASED SOLELY ON A RECOMMENDATION FROM SOMEBODY ELSE/PEER PRESSURE
AMBER: The Martian? I guess?
TATUM: Nothing! I was strong and Amber didn’t force me to read stuff this year.
NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH FROM A BOOK YOU READ IN 2015
AMBER:
TATUM: Aelin and Manon because HELLO QUEENS OF MY HEART and Kaz Brekker because I am weak and he is a thief with a troubled past. I mean I am only human.
BEST 2015 DEBUT YOU READ
AMBER: ….. DID I READ ANY?!?!?!
TATUM: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman, which is one of the most heartbreakingly honest books I’ve ever read.
BEST WORLDBUILDING/MOST VIVID SETTING YOU READ THIS YEAR
AMBER: Gentleman Bastard series for giving excellent worldbuilding info. The Martian for being set on fucking Mars. Child 44 for Russia. And The Demon King for being fab.
TATUM: The Lies of Locke Lamora for introducing such a vivid, well thought out world and A Darker Shade of Magic because while it was also interesting and fun… LONDONS. SO MANY LONDONS.
BOOK THAT PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE/WAS THE MOST FUN TO READ
AMBER: Geek Girl! It was hilarious.
TATUM: I had a great time reading The Gentlemen Bastards series as well as Queen of Shadows because that was some good shit.
BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY OR NEARLY CRY IN 2015
AMBER: Me? I don’t cry. Ever……. HAAAAAAAAA. The Martian made me WEEP at the end. On the train. I hate Tatum for it (Tatum: she was lying in my bed and YELLING at me. It was great.) And The Final Empire, always.
TATUM: If I rated a book four stars or above I 100% wept at least once while reading it. What can I say, emotional trauma is my jam.
HIDDEN GEM OF THE YEAR
AMBER: Academy 7 is quite good, you know.
TATUM: I didn’t read any books that went under the radar this year. I was MAINSTREAM.
BOOK THAT CRUSHED YOUR SOUL
AMBER: What soul (Tatum: lmao Ambifer rises)
TATUM: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick and not in a ‘oh my god this book was SO GOOD’ way, in a ‘I can’t believe this absolute drivel was allowed to be published who will answer to Jesus for this atrocity to literature, feminism and basic human decency’ way. Quite possibly the worst book I have ever read, and that is bloody saying something.
MOST UNIQUE BOOK YOU READ IN 2015?
AMBER: Crank. I’d never read anything written in verse before. I didn’t really enjoy the experience.
TATUM: A Brief History of Seven Killings has entire passages written in patois, which was a large part of the reason I read it. It was super different and I really admire Marlon James for his writing talent. It’s not his fault that I always seem to dislike experimental literature. Speaking of, Blindness by Jose Saramago has like, no punctuation at all. That was…fun.
BOOK THAT MADE YOU THE MOST MAD
AMBER: Ashes to Ashes for fucking over one of my favourite characters. Scarlet for having an abusive relationship that no one is talking about. Legacy of Kings for just being heteronormative and awful.
TATUM: Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn. Both books just gave me the creeps in the way they approach things and I don’t get the almost universal praise this series gets.
Looking Ahead
ONE BOOK YOU DIDN’T GET TO IN 2015 BUT WILL BE YOUR NUMBER 1 PRIORITY IN 2016
AMBER:
TATUM: who knows man we’ll see what happens
BOOK YOU ARE MOST ANTICIPATING FOR 2016 (NON-DEBUT)
AMBER:
TATUM: The Raven King (do you think Ronan and Adam are gonna kiss while Gansey’s dying somewhere ahhhh the CW drama this series gives me), TOG 5 (The One Where Aelin and Rowan Get Married) aaaaaand CROOKED KINGDOM.
2016 DEBUT YOU ARE MOST ANTICIPATING
AMBER:
TATUM: dunno man I am bad at this debut lark
SERIES ENDING/A SEQUEL YOU ARE MOST ANTICIPATING IN 2016
AMBER:
TATUM: WHAT AMBER SAID PLS GOD LET THIS BOOK BE PUBLISHED SOON.
ONE THING YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH OR DO IN YOUR READING/BLOGGING LIFE IN 2016
AMBER: Read.
TATUM: lmao legit.
2016 RELEASE YOU’VE ALREADY READ & RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE
AMBER:
TATUM: ??? ??? ??? Read The Lies of Locke Lamora, people.
So, I take it I need to read the Martian then… I bought it for my dad a couple of years ago so I may to have borrow his copy as I did see the film and really enjoyed it.
I have quite a few of these (Queen of Shadows, A Brief History of Seven Killings, Six Of Crows) on my tbr and I’m looking forward to them even more now.
And yes, my target this year is to read (and to actually you know, write the review afterwards)
Lucy
YES, YES YOU DO.
I have books 2 and 3 of the Gentleman Bastard series for a REALLY long time now but I got my copy of the first book just this December and darn it I’m picking it up as soon as I get home tomorrow. How many times did you guys mention this series in this post? That’s right. A LOT. My excitement level just reached its peak.
Because it’s amazing! Did you pick it up? 😀
I did! Although I’m not very far into it yet. I’m really looking forward to one or two whole days of just reading this baby.
Aaah I’m glad you found Scott Lynch! Although once again I have not caught up with the series, but I’m planning on it for the release of The Thorn of Emberlain. Trying to decide whether I should re-read Locke Lamora or just go straight for Red Seas…
Also, loving the repeated use of the Mark Watney GIF 😛 I STILL HAVEN’T SEEN THE FILM THOUGH.
So are we! Haha. I want to reread so badly but TIME AND THINGS. The Thorn of Emberlain had better be epic after all of this pain. DEFINITELY RE-READ LOCKE LAMORA WHY IS THAT A QUESTION
MARK WATNEY IS EVERTHING.
Great post. This survey takes so much time to do every year, I feel we should all be awarded a medal for completing it. 101 and 109 are both very great numbers to read, you definitely shouldn’t be ashamed of those numbers. Six of Crows was one of my top reads of the year, such a great book. I was surprised how much I loved it, as I was one of the few people who wasn’t really a fan of the Grisha series. I adore The Martian, was such a wonderful read and Mark Watney is the best male protag I have ever come across.
Great answers! I hope you have a great reading year in 2016! 🙂 Here’s my survey if you want to check it out.
Haha, a lot of effort goes into it!
I’m REALLY excited to get to Six of Crows. I’ve been convinced. I didn’t like Ruin & Rising, and Tatum was never completely sold on Grisha, so for you guys to love it gives me hope!
Vincent van Gogh Gallery – Oil Painting Reproductions