Last year, I'd hit a bit of a slump with my book reviews, finding I was suffering from Reviewing Ennui! Thus, I was delighted when I saw Janet had done a Books in 2015 overall post and thought this would be a good way to redress my neglect of books on this blog!!! It certainly worked as I have generally managed to post every month with what I had read. Thus, I've decided to do the Book review summary again, pinched her categories and will try to talk about them.
It's funny that I really get into a book and grieve when it is finished. But a year later, I can hardly remember all the details...
Best book you read in 2015:
I honestly thought Moriarty by Anthony Horrowitz was a genius book. Yes, I guessed what the ending was going to be but it was so fabulously written- I devoured it greedily.
Children's fiction:
The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting, plot and characters.
Crime fiction
OOOh, so difficult to choose! I really relished reading the 7 Ngaio Marsh books I read this year. Perhaps the favourite was 'Overture to death' by Ngaio Marsh- such an absurd method of killing- a pistol set up inside a piano so the victim was shot in the head as she played the first note of the Overture.
Classics:
I can't believe it took me this long to Rebecca and I really enjoyed it.
Non-fiction
As usual, my reading of Non-fiction was extremely sparse but I did thoroughly enjoy the biography of Queen Mary by James Pope-Hennessy which was in a Reader's Digest condensed novels omnibus. I found her such an interesting individual and didn't really feel like I was reading Non-fiction.
Dystopian fiction
When we travelled on holiday to France, I was incredibly anxious that I had not bought enough books with me. Luckily, the amazing house we stayed in had a whole bedroom full of children's and teen books and I discovered the Maze Runner series by James Dashner. The premise in this Dystopian series was that there were solar flares which devastated the Earth and then a deadly mutating virus was released onto the Earth that wiped out nations. Some teenagers/kids who were immune to the virus were put into an environment where they were monitored for their reactions to difficulties and the results, hopefully used to generate an antidote. These reminded me in a way of the Hunger Games but actually seemed a LOT darker than those. They were utterly compelling and I spent most of the holiday devouring them.
55. The Maze Runner - James Dashner
56. The Scorch trials - James Dashner
57. The Death Cure - James Dashner
58. The Kill Order-James Dashner
YA
I don't really read much YA but I really enjoyed 'The girl who circumnavigated fairyland' and 'Carry on' by Rainbow Rowell.
Most Surprising (In A Good Way) Book of 2016
I picked up the Reader's Digest condensed novels book from Grandad's house when we cleared it out, expecting to read it and then give it away but the four novels in it were brilliant. The Seven Days in May book' was so intriguing and exciting as was Star raker.
Book You Read In 2016 That You Recommended Most To Others
I've struggled to think of this. I've talked about books to people but not loads I've recommended as such. It would probably be Moriarty or the Daisy Dalrymple series.
Best Series You Discovered In 2016
The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Windspear was definitely a great find- I picked up two of the books in Oxfam and would definitely enjoy finding more!
Favourite New Author You Discovered in 2016
Hmmmm.... I really loved the Wolf Mankovitch book I read so I would like to read more of his work. I gained the sense you would really gain a lot of perspective about the specific time and community he lived in through many of his books!
Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love But Didn't
Heavenly Dates by Alexander McCall Smith. I DID enjoy it but I didn't get that usual frisson I get from reading one of his books.
I was excited to finally get on and read my Complete Franz Kafka short stories collection but found I absolutely hated them! I gave up eventually after finding them dull and weird!
Also, The World according to Anna by Jostein Gaarder was really preachy and ended abruptly. I loved all his previous books read and this one was not in their league.
Best Book That Was Out Of Your Comfort Zone Or Was A New Genre To You
Agent 6 was a book I found in the staffroom at school and it was rather a thriller which I generally don't enjoy, too much violence but it was good to try something different.
Book You Read In 2015 That You're Most Likely To Read Again In 2016
I would say I was SOOO excited to read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and I have alread reread HP book 1 this month so I intend to reread all the Harry Potter books this year and follow it with this!
Favourite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You've Read Previously
This is so hard to choose! I read certain authors habitually. I did think Good Omens by Terry Pratchett (plus Neil Garman) was genius!
Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else
I probably wouldn't have read the Jonas Jonasson books The Hundred year old man who climbed out of a window OR The Girl who saved the King of Sweden if it wasn't for a friend who thrust them upon me!
Favourite Cover Of A Book In 2015
It's a really simple cover but I loved the typography of A kid for two farthings- Wolf Mankovitch. Also Chambers Gigglossary had a brilliant squirrel illustration! Plus I ALWAYS love the Edward Marston Elizabethan covers.
Book That Had The Greatest Impact On You In 2015
The balloonist - James Long really made me think about all the unsung heroes who did mundane jobs or dangerous jobs in the wars but often get/got overlooked. I grieve for those people and characters.
Book You Can't BELIEVE You Waited Until 2015 To Read
There are two here:
Rebecca. I bought it from a Library sale about 9 years ago after I'd watched a BBC serialisation of it but it sat unloved for almost a decade. And I waited until the end of December to read it!
The other I can't believe it took me so long to read was The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett.
Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
Oh my goodness, I just wanted a conversation in real life about Harry Potter and the cursed child. Why oh why did no one I know in real life read it!??!?! That's about to me remedied as one of my colleagues and I had a massive Harry Potter chat the other day and I've lent it to him so I hope to talks sooon!
Favourite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2015 (be it romantic, friendship, etc)
It sounds bizarre but in The girl who circumnavigated fairyland in a vessel of her own making - Catherine M Valente the main character meets the North-Wind at the start of the story and he bestows upon her, a green velvet-smoking jacket. I really liked her relationship with the North-Wind and also the Green Smoking jacket which seems to have a personality of its own.
Most Memorable Character In A Book You Read In 2015
Definitely the 100 year old man who climbed out of a window! What a completely hilarious and intriguing character!!!
Genre You Read The Most From in 2015
As usual, I guess since I read a huge quantity of Murder-mysteries- historical crime fiction would be my most prolific choice. I also read quite a few Terry Pratchett books so I guess Comic Fantasy also featured quite highly...
Best 2016 Debut
The mystery of the Jewelled Moth by Catherine Woodfine was absolutely fabulous! I loved it!
Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2015
The Chambers Gigglossary was brilliant fun. So many witty definitions! Also, I found myself giggling and sniggering on so many occasions with Terry Pratchett books. Feet of Clay and Men at Arms particularly..
Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015
The book of lost and found by Lucy Foley was a Christmas gift from last year given to me by my sister-in-law I and it was SUCH a beautiful book that had me crying several times!
Book You Read in 2016 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out
Er- I don't think I read enough modern books to answer this really!
Total number of books read in 2016
99! I suspect I have actually forgotten to post about 1 or 2 books, I generally try to remember what I've read at the end of a month and often forget. In fact, I'm certain I read 'Unusual Uses for Olive Oil' earlier in the year but couldn't find it listed. 99 is better than last year's 81. I said at the start of the year, I'd like to aim for 100 again which I managed in 2009 and I guess I was almost successful!
*Edit- just noticed I've put Kafka twice- so 98!!
Here's the full list of what I read:
December:
91: Christmas at Tiffany's - Karen Swan
92 The Hogfather- Terry Pratchett
93.The world according to Humphrey - Betty G Burney
94. Black Ship (A Daisy Dalrymple mystery)- Carola Dunn
95.Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy -
96. Doctor Who and the Web of Fear -
97. The Twelve Days of Christmas - Trisha Ashley
98. Unusual use for Olive Oil - Alexander McCall Smith
99. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
November:
85. To Davy Jones Below- Carola Dunn
86. The unexpected inheritance of Inspector Chopra - Vaseem Khan
87. The Merry Devils- Edward Marston
88. The Reluctant Rake- Edward Marston
89. Heavenly Date and other flirtations - Alexander McCall Smith
90. Out of the ashes- Michael Morpurgo.
October:
75. The girl who saved the King of Sweden -Jonas Jonasson
76. The Princess of Denmark- Edward Marston
77. Spring-heeled Jack- Philip Pullman
78. Death in a white tie - Ngaio Marsh
79. Feet of Clay- Terry Pratchett
80. Varjak Paw - S.F Said
81. A man lay dead- Ngaio Marsh
82. Enter a Murderer - Ngaio Marsh
83. The Nursing Home murder- Ngaio Marsh
84. Flying Fergus- Chris Hoy and
September:
68. Chambers Gigglossary
69. The woman who went to bed for a year Sue Townsend.
70. The Bloody tower (A Daisy Dalrymple mystery)- Carola Dunn
71. Roald Dahl- Song and Verse
72, The perks of being a wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
73. A kid for two farthings- Wolf Mankovitch
74. Men at arms- Terry Pratchett
August:
59. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts 1 & 2: JK Rowling,
60. The Servant Queen and the King she serves.
61. The Queen's Head- Edward Marston
62. The Hundred-year old man who climbed out a window and disappeared. Jonas Jonasson
63. Overture to Death- Ngaio Marsh
64. Wanton Angel- Edward Marston
65. Artists in Crime - Ngaio Marsh
66. How to train your dragon- The day of the dreader - Cressida Cowell
67. Pip Street -Joanna Simmons
July:
49. Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle
50. Longbourn - Jo Baker
51. 1633 - David Webber and Eric Flint
52. Small Gods- Terry Pratchett
53. Malevolent Comedy- Edward Marston
54. The House of Silk- Anthony Horowitz
55. The Maze Runner - James Dashner
56. The Scorch trials - James Dashner
57. The Death Cure - James Dashner
58. The Kill Order-James Dashner
June:
39. Maisie Dobbs- Jacqueline Windspear
40. Collected Short stories- Franz Kafka up to p99
41. On the banks of Plum Creek - Laura Ingalls Wilder
42. Birds of a feather- Jacqueline Windspear
43. The AB Guide to Music Theory Book 2 - Eric Taylor
44. Instrumentation and Orchestration - Alfred Blatter -Not-finished
45. Complete short stories- Franz Kafka Not-finished
46. Pyramids - Terry Pratchett
47. Unleashing Mr Darcy - Teri Wilson
48. Fall of a Philanderer (Daisy Dalrymple mystery) - Carola Dunn
May
30. Russian Roulette- Anthony Horrowitz
31. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Garmin
32. 1632 - Eric Flint
33. The President's hat- Antoine Poulain
34. The boy who lost his face - Louis Sachar
35. The composer and his judge -
36. Cakes and Ale - William Somerset Maughan
37. Jolly Foul Play -Robin Stevens
38. Carry On -Rainbow Rowell
April
21. Madame Pamplemousse and the Time Travelling Cafe - Rupert Kingfisher
22. A colourful death -Carola Dunn
23. Heirs of the body - Carola Dunn
24. The jewelled moth - Katherine Woodfine
25. The roaring boy- Edward Marston
26. Hamish and the never people - Danny Wallace
27. Moriarty - Anthony Horrowotz
28. Chocolatina - Erik Kraft
29. The pursuit of love - Nancy Mitford
March:
15. Doctor Who and the Auton invasion
16. Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters
17. The World according to Anna- Jostein Gaarder
18. A comfortable kindness- Miriam Toews
19. Jamaica Inn - Daphne Du Maurier
20. 84 Charing Cross Road- Helene Hanff
February:
7. Queen Mary - James Pope-Hennessy
8. Star raker - Donald Gordon
9. The girl who circumnavigated fairyland in a vessel of her own making - Catherine M Valente
10. Doctor Who and the Daleks - David Whittaker
11. Doctor Who and the Crusaders - David Whittaker
12. Doctor Who and the Cybermen - Gerry Davis
13. Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen - Terence Dicks
14. Agent 6 - Tom Rob Smith
January:
1.The book of lost and found - Lucy Foley
2. The balloonist - James Long
3. The lying carpet- David Lucas
4. The fried piper of Hamstring- Laurenc Anholt
5. A river ran out of Eden- James Vance Marshall
6. Seven Days in May - Fletcher Knebel and Charles W Bailey II.