2016 End of the Year Book Survey

2016 End of the Year Book Survey

I found this post on Thrice Reads blog. I really love these blog posts. It’s interesting to see what everyone read and wrote throughout the year. I recommed this survey to you and if you do write it, please comment your link so I can read yours! Enjoy!

2016 End of Year Book Survey

Overview

# of Books Read

31 middle school books and 57 books total

# of Books Reread

10-Harry Potter series (7), Holes, The Giver, and The Tales From The Odyssey Part 1

Most Read Genre

Fantasy (not surprising!)

Best In Books

  1. Best book read in 2016?

    Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhaa Lai

  2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more, but didn’t?

    This one is tough. I am going to say Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, however I did love it. I just wasn’t as obsessed as I thought I would be.

  3. Most suprising book you read?

    The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. I was surprised both by the genre (sports) and that I enjoyed it as well as the ending. It left me very unsettled.

  4. Book you “pushed” the most people to read (and they did)?

    Harry Potter series. Finally! About ten of my 40 students have embraced Harry Potter (or at least attempted) and I am more than excited about this! Also, Crossover was another hit. I read two pages aloud and had about half of my students hooked.

  5. Best series you started in 2016? Best sequal? Best series ender?

    The best (new to me) series I started (and finished) in 2016 was The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. The best series ender is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Even though I want more, I feel like she did a great job with the ending. There have been worse series endings!

  6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?

    Kwame Alexander.

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

    The Crossover. This book was written in poetry-verse format (that read like a rap in most places) and was about basketball. I am not a sports fan and poetry is always a little intimidating for me. However, this book is one of my all-time favs.

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

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I couldn’t put this book down!

  9. Book you read in 2016 that you are most likely to reread next year?

    Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It’s an easy read and was enjoyable.

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

    Inside Out and Back Again. This book went on sale on Amazon as a Daily Deal. The cover jumped out at me and I immediately clicked on it to read the summary and bought it. I still like looking at this cover and wouldn’t mind a hard copy so that I can properly display it in my classroom.

    What an amazing cover. It grabbed my attention!

  11. Most memorable character of 2016?

    Serafina from Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. I loved her curious little character!

  12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?

    Inside Out and Back Again was so beautiful and so vivid. I loved the descriptions and the verse-style it was written in.

  13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2016?

    Hands-down Wonder by RJ Palacio. Always a good read-aloud to my students to discuss bullying and empathy and being kind.

  14. Book you can’t believe you waited until 2016 to FINALLY read?

    Tales From the Odyssey Part 2 by Mary Osborne Pope. I had read part 1 to my class last year, but never read the second. I finally read the second to my class this year and it was so good!

  15. Favorite passage or quote from a book you read in 2016?

    From Wonder: “Always be a little kinder than necessary.” (JM Barrie)

  16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2016?

    Shortest: Sisters by Raina Telgemeier (224 pages). Longest: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (870 pages).

  17. Book that shocked you the most?

    Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (book 1) by Ransom Riggs. This book’s pictures are shocking and unsettling.

  18. OTP of the year?

    The One True Pairing (OTP) of the year is Ron and Hermione.

  19. Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year?

    Ivan and Ruby from One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

  20. Favorite book you read in 2016 from an author you’ve read previously?

    There is really only one book I’ve read from an author I had read previously: Tales from the Odyssey Part 2.

  21. Best book you read in 2016 that you read based solely on a recommendation from someone else?

    There are two books that fit for this: The Crossover (recommended by my instructional coach) and The One and Only Ivan (recommended by a student).

  22. Best 2016 debut you read?

    I only read one book published in 2016, but I am not sure it is a debut novel. So, I’ll change the question to best book published in 2016 and that would be Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

  23. Best world-building/ most vivid setting you read this year?

    The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. I loved the descriptions of all of places they traveled through.

  24. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most fun to read?

    Wonder. I love reading to my students and this is the first book I read to them this year.

  25. Book that made you cry in 2016?

    I really don’t cry too often when I read, however the saddest books I read were Wonder and Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan.

  26. Hidden gem of the year?

    Serafina and the Black Cloak. I had not heard of it before I bought it to read.

  27. Book that crushed your soul?

    Counting By 7s. That book had so many ups and downs and it was difficult to tell what would happen!

  28. Most unique book you read in 2016?

    Inside Out and Back Again. I don’t normally read books in verse, but this year I read three of them. I loved all three. Inside Out and Back Again was unique because of the story she told of her life as a refugee from Vietnam and her struggles growing up in America. It was eye-opening and I loved her figures of speech.

  29. Book that made you the most mad?

    I have several-Counting By 7s, Brown Girl Dreaming, The War That Saved My Life, and Wonder all had moments that made me so mad-mad that some people really go through these terrible things.

Your Blogging/Bookish Life

  1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2016?

    All of my students’ blogs! You can find them here: Student Blogs

  2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2016?

    Counting By 7’s was my favorite review. I could have written about this book and it’s themes forever. This was a beautifully crafted book.

  3. Best discussion or non-review post you had on your blog?

    HP: The Series I Grew Up With This was one of my first blog posts, and one of my favorites. It’s so much fun, and fairly easy, to write about your personal life.

  4. Best event that you participated in?

    I didn’t participate in any events.

  5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2016?

    Having an author comment on one of my student’s book reviews! You can see it here: Half Upon A Time My students and I freaked out just a little bit!

  6. Most difficult thing in your blogging or reading life this year?

    Balancing it all. Balancing my family, my teaching/classroom, reading, blogging, and everything in between!

  7. Most popular post on your blog this year?

    A student review on Half Upon A Time.

  8. Post you wished got a little more love?

    All of them-I am working on getting my blog out there. One I really love is Blogging Tips because I want feedback from others on how to keep with all of this! Tricks of the trade.

  9. Best bookish discovery?

    Bookstagram and blogs! All of this is new to me and I am loving it all!

  10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of the year?

    I had a goal of reading 40 books and read 57!

Looking Ahead

  1.  One book you didn’t get to in 2016 but will be a priority in 2017?

    Booked by Kwame Alexander

  2. Book you are most anticipating in 2017? (Non-debut)

    Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan

  3. 2017 debut you are most anticipating?

    I;m not sure of any debut novels released next year for middle school level.

  4. Series ending or sequel you are most anticipating for 2017?

    It’s not being released in 2017, but I am looking forward to reading the sequal to Serafina and the Black Cloak.

  5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2017?

    I hope to find more balance while reading more and writing more posts.

I am a middle school teacher who loves to read ALL KINDS of books. I am part of the ARC-sharing group LitReviewCrew, a co-creator for the YouTube Channel Legit KidLit and the Podcast Read to Write KidLit. Check out my Linktree for more: https://linktr.ee/Mrsbookdragon

There are 2 comments for this article
  1. Jenn at 12:28 am

    I’m so glad you did this survey. You had some really great answers. I’m glad you mentioned The Crossover I’ve been wanting to read it. I think it may be a good fit for my students. I loved your survey!

    Jenn

    • Mrs. Book Dragon at 2:15 am

      What ages are your students? I read the first two pages to my sixth grade students and had them fighting over my copy! Thanks for reading!

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