Hello, everyone! Usually, around this time of year, I'd do a post featuring my top ten or so reads of the first half of the year . . . which I may still do sometime. But this year, I'm also doing something a little different. See, Deborah O'Carroll over at the
Page Dreamer has tagged me with the
Mid-Year Book Freak-Out Tag, which looks super fun. So, I'm going to do the tag, and if y'all still want to hear about my top ten books for the first half of the year, let me know in the comments and I'll either post them or tell you there. For now, though, on with the tag!
According to Goodreads, I've read about 69 books- the number may be a bit off because Goodreads still doesn't count rereads (unless, of course, you read the book before you got Goodreads). That means I have about 30 books left before I reach my completely arbitrary goal of 99 books. Those interested can see my full challenge, sorted by rating, over on
the Goodreads site.
Now, with that out of the way, time for questions!
1. Best book you've read so far in 2016:
Heh. You expect me to pick just one? Nooope. We're going to go with two (which are actually more or less tied for second-best book in 2016, because the
very best book is a sequel and therefore goes in the next question.
Shiloh by Helena Sorenson is absolutely gorgeous. A friend recommended it to me, saying that it reminded her of
Tales of Goldstone Wood. I would agree, but I'd say that it reminded me of other books as well:
The Wingfeather Saga,
The Auralia Thread, and even parts of
The Silimarillion, along with definitely original touches. All in all, it's a winning combination.
A Branch of Silver, a Branch of Gold by Anne Elisabeth Stengl is excellent. I mean, that was never really in question- one of my favorite
authors retells one of my favorite fairy tales; what's
not to like?- but still. It was a bit creepier than some of the
Tales of Goldstone Wood,
but not too much. And along with that creepiness came a more mysterious
feel than usual, which I quite enjoyed. There weren't a lot of familiar
characters or places, true (with the usual exceptions- Goldstone Wood
and Dame Imraldera chief among them)- but there is
one character
who I recognized and I don't know how many others did as well but I very
much look forward to seeing the rest of his story.
2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2016:
Not only the best sequel, but the best book overall:
Which shouldn't be a surprise, because, honestly? It's pretty much inevitable that if there's a new Sanderson novel out, it'll end up somewhere in the top 3-5 of my list. Seriously, though,
The Bands of Mourning is an
amazing book. And Steris is an
awesome character, ok? I know that in the first book, she's not that
likeable . . . but she really comes into her own in this book, and guys,
we need more characters like her. She's not a
hero-hero, not
action-y, not at all the sort of person you'd expect would be useful on
an adventure . . . and yet she's awesome in her own crazy-prepared,
insanely-organized way, and I'm pretty sure that without her, everything
would've fallen apart on multiple occasions. Also, the ending was
amazing, and we finally have . . . well, a few answers, at least.
Also amazing sequels:
3. New release you haven't read yet but want to:
I'm hoping to buy
Samara's Peril sometime in the next month or so (possibly the next week or so), but we'll see what happens.
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:
Ghostly Echoes! It's only a month away and I can hardly wait!
5. Biggest disappointment:
Despite its potential,
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton was the year's biggest disappointment.
It started off pretty good, with a great deal of potential, but midway through, a plot twist turned the whole thing towards a story I'd seen before.
Other disappointments:
The Princess Bride novelization wasn't half as funny as the movie,
unfortunately.
And
Whose Body? had me actually wishing for an excuse to put the book down, even as I plowed through hoping that it would get better later on.
6. Biggest surprise:
Alllllll the Maggie Stiefvater! I mean, I expected to enjoy her books, but not as much as I actually did. I loved
The Scorpio Races- somehow it has a bit of the taste of
Misty of Chincoteague, but wrapped up in magic and mist and danger. And then the
Raven Cycle was thoroughly addictive; my only complaints were the language and certain other content.
7. Favorite new-to-you author:
Helena Sorenson and Maggie Stiefvater are both amazing, if you haven't figured that out yet. And I'm quite enjoying Robert Jordan's books too, though not as much.
8. Newest fictional crush/ship:
Wax and Steris count, right? I mean, they're a ship that's existed for a few years now, but I didn't really
ship them until
Bands of Mourning.
No new fictional crushes, though. (Partially because everyone crush-worthy is already taken. Why does that
always happen?)
9. Newest favorite character:
Steris! She finally comes into her own in
The Bands of Mourning, and it's splendid. We need more characters like her. She's not a
hero-hero, not
action-y, not at all the sort of person you'd expect would be useful on
an adventure . . . and yet she's awesome in her own crazy-prepared,
insanely-organized way, and I'm pretty sure that without her, everything
would've fallen apart on multiple occasions.
Other new favorites would be Benedict (
A Branch of Silver, a Branch of Gold) and Trevn (
King's Folly).
10. A book that made you cry:
I don't really think there was one? But the ending to
Shiloh did make me sad for . . . certain reasons.
11. A book that made you happy:
The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye was quite a fun little read; highly enjoyable indeed. Not amazing, but delightful all the same.
12. Favorite book to film adaptation you've seen this year:
Um. The only movies I've watched this year are
Inside Out,
The Princess Bride (for the millionth time), and
The Force Awakens. So unless we count
The Princess Bride . . . yeah. I got nothing.
13. Favorite post you've done so far this year:
I'm really happy with all four of the writing posts I've done this year:
Book Title Poetry,
Black Letter,
Pi(e) Day, and
My Fault. I also really liked
Why I'm Not Self-Publishing and
If They Were Real.
14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year:
A Branch of Silver, a Branch of Gold . . . though I haven't bought that many books at all this year, only three or four.
15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
Soooo many books! I'm just going to try to hit the highlights (in no particular order):
Lady Dragon, Tela Du by Kendra E Ardnek (which I'm actually in the process of very slowly beta-reading)
And because "Mid-Year" is sort of slipping away at this point, I won't tag anyone . . . but, please, if you want to do this tag, I'd love to hear your answers! You can either make your own post, or just answer in the comments.
Thanks for reading!
-
Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)
