8th Annual End of Year Bookish Survey

I’m linking up with Jamie’s annual end of year bookish survey again this year.

I spent 11 months of this year without internet, so I’ve hardly reviewed any books, and posted about books rarely too. I also haven’t read much this year. It’s been a tough one. Jamie has a lot of questions, and I don’t have answers to them all, so I’ve actually left some of them out.

Number Of Books You Read: 46 – I’m hoping to reach 50 by year-end.

Number of Re-Reads: 1

Genre You Read The Most From: Do you guys keep painstaking record of this? Because I don’t. I think my reads are pretty eclectic actually.

1. Best Book You Read In 2017?

It’s a close one, but Collective Amnesia by Koleka Putuma takes the cake. It’s an anthology of poems by a young South African woman, and it took my breath away.

 

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

Front Lines by Michael Grant, about an alternative reality where young women went into combat in World War 2. I just didn’t think it really presented such a big difference to our reality. It did not live up to expectations.

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

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green – I was not planning on reading it, but got it on sale and then I crumbled. I was pleasantly surprised. The premise sounded boring, but for me, this was Green’s best book yet.

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

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli – I adored this book and wish I had been part of the kickstarter! I recommended it to everyone, including my friends with kids.

5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?

Series started: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Sequel: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Series-ender: All the series enders I read this year were terrible!

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

Jessice Khoury (The Forbidden Wish)

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

Refugee by Alan Gratz – I don’t typically read Middle Grade books, and even less typically will I listen to them in audio. It was incredible.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

The Lazarus Effect by H.J. Golakai – bonus points for being set in Cape Town, so I could clearly envision all the action.

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I really kind of don’t re-read books. Possibly Change Agent by Daniel Suarez because I feel like a lot of the “sciency” bits went over my head or I wasn’t paying attention. Don’t hold your breath, though.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church – I have a thing for periodic table variants. I just love it.

11. Most memorable character of 2017?

Starr from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – that girl is hardcore and I would have loved to be her friend.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – I have no idea how to describe her writing in this one, except that it transported me.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?

Period Pain by Kopano Matlwa – it struck a cord in my feminist, medical world. Nobody had ever written so truly what was in my head and my heart. It made me feel less alone.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

Talon by Julie Kagawa – dragons, unpredictable narrators, shiny covers… not bad!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

“I wanted to tell her that I was getting better, because that was supposed to be the narrative of illness: It was a hurdle you jumped over, or a battle you won. Illness is a story told in the past tense.” (Turtles All The Way Down, John Green)

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

Shortest: The Nightingales Are Drunk by Hafez (64 pages)

Longest: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (536 pages)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

The Power by Naomi Alderman… get it? (sorry) (but really)

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Voinjama and Chloe from The Score by H.J. Golakai – I love how they are friends despite massive differences. And it was good to see that they could fight and then make up.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Period Pain by Kopano Matlwa

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?

The midwife from The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

23. Best 2017 debut you read?

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

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

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein – I mean, it’s about a dog! And we know from the blurb that he is old and dying, so I didn’t get too sad. Enzo is goofy and fun.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?

Nope – my cold heart is still in tact! 😉

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta – I know it was popular abroad but I feel like it’s largely flown under the radar in South Africa.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?  

I went to the book launch of If I Stay Right Here by Chwayita Ngamlana, a book about a bisexual woman in Cape Town, who is in an abusive lesbian relationship. It was held at Scalabrini Centre (an NGO that works with refugees) and the conversation was wonderful and intense.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017?

When I spent a whole rainy day with two friends having coffee and brownies at The Book Lounge, my favourite bookshop in Cape Town.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

I hardly blogged because I had almost no internet access. I had to use the library internet access which is really slow, and not exactly secure either. Adjusting to living on my own and making some big decisions, along with some massive dips in my mental health, also meant that I did not get to read as much as I did in previous years.

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Bookout, an app that tracks reading speed and creates infographics (I love me some infographics). I think they’re still in the early stages and I hope to see more functionality in the future.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?    

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018?  

Enjoy reading more, and find the joy in blogging again.