Sum it up Sunday is a feature post we have been doing on the closing Sunday of each month. In these posts we’ve detailed various things that have excited or upset us over that month.
This is a very special Sum it up Sunday because it is our sum it up of the whole of 2016! Find out our favourite books of 2016, the things we hated about 2016 and the things we’ve learned through 2016.
If you’d like to join us in our summing up, please feel free! Just please, provide a link back to our blog. Thank you.
Favourite Book of 2016
Paein: It has to be The Rose and The Dagger by Renee Ahdieh – I’m both pleased and sad the series is over! Looking forward to her next book.
Ms4Tune: And I Darken by Kiersten White – wonderful book – can’t wait for the sequel next year
Least Favourite Book of 2016
Paein: This is hard…I’ve read good books and crappy kindle books this year…honestly I didn’t expect much from the kindle books so mostly they exceeded expectations and the books I read were all pretty good… Possibly Smitten by Patria Dunn-Rowe. I expected more from it.
Ms4Tune: Nerve by Jeanne Ryan – I think because I expected so much more from it. My other 1 star books were disappointing but not as significantly as this one and it put me off seeing the film.
Most Beautiful Addition to Your Collection in 2016
Paein: I’m going to choose Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets Illustrated Edition because the drawings are just stunning!
Ms4Tune: I think it just has to be A Gathering of Shadows by V E Schwab – It’s just so beautiful
How did Your Challenges go this Year?
Paein:
Popsugar Challenge: 22/40…well I got half way! Sort of…
Series Completion: 8! Even though half of them weren’t really on the list
Kindle clear out challenge: Oh boy! So pleased with this. It was one I set myself to do this year, Ms4Tune unofficially started it with her written out log. I made one too and decimated it! I need to make a new one.
Ms4Tune: Popsugar Challenge: 26/40
A-Z Authors Challenge: 20/26
Series Completion: 5
The Cons you faced while tackling the challenges.
Paein:
Reviews had to come before challenges as we’d committed to daily posts, which meant that when it was a challenge book vs a short book the short one won out. I also found it hard to find challenge books that I wanted to read. A lot of my completion was though fitting books I was reading into the categories! Ditto for the series books
Ms4Tune:
1. Some of the Popsugar questions were really specific and it made it hard to find a book I wanted to read for it. eg National Book Award Winner.
2. It’s really hard to find Authors with surnames beginning with X – Still haven’t found one I want to read.
3. Some of the series I really wanted to read aren’t complete yet so I have to wait for the final instalments – Have started plenty of great series though.
The Pros you discovered while tackling the challenges.
Paein:
I agree with Ms4Tune about new genres and I finally started to clear out books! It’s a scary thing but there’s not point keeping a hold of ones you don’t like or will never read
Ms4Tune:
1. The Popsugar Challenge helped me try some books/genres I wouldn’t have otherwise tried – Wild by Cheryl Strayed for example
2. I finally read some of those kindle books that have sat on my kindle for years!
3. I loved the feeling of accomplishment everytime I finished another series.
What will we be doing differently next year??
Paein:
No more daily posts. I’ve spent half the year exhausted trying to keep up the pace! Too many nights I’ve been up late reading a book to review it for the next day. You could argue that this is what I signed up for with a book blog – but not when it’s affecting the quality of the reviews I produce. So we’re going to be playing around with how we do things current thoughts are as follows:
Mondays will mostly be Musings with sporadic Make It’s
Tuesdays will be Top Ten’s as normal
Sundays will mostly be Book Stuffs or Sum it’s
and reviews will be posted when we have them (and hopefully mine will improve!)
Ms4Tune:
Probably not do any yearly challenges but try and set monthly goals that are more maintainable, flexible and do able!
Your Highlight of 2016
Paein:
Hmm, discovering book boxes was fantastic! Book candles just as much, though they hurt my bank balance… Connecting with authors and having them like our reviews and pictures have all been pretty fantastic moments too!
Ms4Tune:
Getting to know Mark Gelineau and Joe King and getting them to do a Top Ten Tuesday for us. That was really cool.
