My Year in Books: 2015 Reading Stats & Survey

Goodreads inspired me to make a short post about my reading stats for this year, but then I remembered Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner makes a book survey at the end of every year, so this is a culmination of my Goodreads reading stats, the 2015 book survey, and some other stuff I threw in. P.S. I've deleted a lot of the questions from the original 2015 book survey (linked above) because they didn't apply to my reading year. Share your answers with me in the comments!

Book Data:

Number of Books Read:

44

Ratings:
5 stars - 12
4 stars - 15
3 stars - 12
2 stars - 3
1 star - 1

Number of Re-reads: 1

Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

   First book started in 2015:

Started with a bang with Ask the Passengers by A.S. King.

Last book finished in 2015:

And ended with a bang with Puddle Jumping by Amber L. Johnson

Number of Pages Read: 

12,652

Shortest Book:

After the Bridge by Cassandra Clare

Longest Book:

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Average Book Length: 

309

Most Popular on GR: 

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Least Popular on GR:

Mussolin's Rome by Borden W. Painter, Jr.

Lol, no kidding.

My Average Rating:

3.70

My Most Read Genre:

Contemporary

Survey Questions | Books from 2015:

1. Favorite Book You Read:

Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher and Puddle Jumping by Amber L. Johnson - 
I'm sorry, I know it's supposed to be a singular answer 
but this is the worst question for a book addict!

2. Book You Didn't Love As Much As You Were Anticipating:

Confess by Colleen Hoover - Sad.

3. Book You Weren't Expecting To Enjoy As Much As You Did:

On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves  - 
I could have put so many books under this category. SO MANY. But. 
Just goes to show.

4. Most Surprising Plot (Good or Bad):

Never Never: Part One by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher - Seriously. What just happened?

5. Favorite New Author You Discovered:

Tarryn Fisher - I'm kind of addicted to her writing. 

And her as a person. #PLN4LIFE

6. Most Unputdownable Book:

Puddle Jumping by Amber L. Johnson - 
Seeing as how I read it basically in one sitting... 

7. Book You Read That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:

Titles and authors stated previously - I'm not trying to be unoriginal here, but I can't stop thinking about them!

8. Favorite Cover Of A Book You Read:

Because it is perfection.

9. Most Memorable Character:

Olivia from

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher - She is somethin.

10. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book:

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King.

11. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read:

"He stayed all winter." -Senna, Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher

12. Best Book From A Genre You Don't Typically Read/Out Of Your Comfort Zone:

Straight up poetry! I never read poetry books, but this was nice!

13. OTP Of The Year (You Will Go Down With This Ship!)

Olivia & Caleb from

Love Me With Lies series by Tarryn Fisher - 
They're so awful to each other, yet, so right for each other.

14. Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year:

Chloe & Will from

A Matter of Fate series by Heather Lyons - 
The BEST platonic girl-boy relationship ever! Love them so much!

15. Best Book That You Read SOLELY Because Someone Recommended It/Pressured You To Read It:

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen - I gave it 3 stars, 
but it was the only one someone convinced me to read. 
John Green made me do it. 

Survey Questions | Looking Ahead:

1. Top Books You Didn't Get To Read In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority In 2016:

  

Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer

Marrow by Tarryn Fisher

Thief by Tarryn Fisher

You by Caroline Kepnes

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut):

On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher (Not yet covered)

3. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016:

Never Never: Part Three by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

4. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life in 2016:

I hope to become more consistent with blogging! 
My 2016 Reading and Personal Goals will be up within the week :)

Puddle Jumping by Amber L. Johnson | Book Review

About the book: 

When it comes to love there’s no such thing as conventional. 

Everyone thinks Colton Neely is special. 

Lilly Evans just thinks he’s fascinating. 

Once friends when they were younger, their bond is cut short due to her accident prone nature and they go their separate ways. Years later, they meet again and Lilly learns that there is something special about the boy she once knew, but she has no idea what it all means. And she’s not sure if she’s ready to find out. 

When he walks through the corridor of her school the first day of her senior year, she knows that it’s time to get to know the real Colton Neely. The more she learns, the deeper she falls. 

Their friendship grows into love, even as Colton does not express it in words. But one decision threatens to break down the world that Lilly has tried so hard to integrate into and she must figure out if the relationship can survive if they are apart.

Genre: YA Contemporary/Romance
Pages: 121
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: June 29, 2014

My Rating: 

5 stars

Sale Alert: Puddle Jumping is 66% off it's original price until December 31, 2015 at 11:59PM! You need this beautiful story on your kindle (read my review for reassure) so seriously grab it now while it's on sale! Link to purchase on: Amazon Kindle

Spoiler-free Review:

"It begins with a boy. It begins with a boy and ends with a boy, but what story doesn't?"

After a slow reading year, fate has me ending 2015 with a bang. This incredible, heart-warming and -twisting bang of a story. Take one look at Puddle Jumping's official synopsis and you might have a guess as to what this book is about. A chapter into the story you might have a pretty good guess what makes Colton special. But you don't really know Lilly, Colton, and their stories until it all unravels...or blossoms or whatever you want to call it.

This story is so much more than just a love story, and yet, it's normalcy at its core. It's not a "disability" or a pity story and by no means is it romanticizing something that never should be. It's a story of the struggles and triumphs that come with the complexities of life and love. It's a story about how scary new waters are and no matter how ready you think you are, you cannot control the outcome. It's a story about people and understanding and not focusing on the differences.

"When you love someone, their differences fall away. 

I don't look at him and see anything but him."

Puddle Jumping hit me right where I needed it and then some. I needed the honesty, the raw pain and love it delivered. I needed the doses of selflessness, understanding, and reality that changed my heart on the topic of disability, and without being too forward, I would say others need these things too. By no means would I say I was prejudice or ignorant on this topic, nor am I implying that anyone else is, but the realness of this story put my prior understanding into even greater focus. Before, there was pity in my heart. Now, there is none. I look at this story and there's no "Oh, good for them" or "Bless her heart" about it. I look at Lilly and Colton and love this story for exactly what it is. As the Amber L. Johnson summed up, "It's a true story about a girl falling for a boy. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Although Puddle Jumping is her most well-read book, Amber L. Johnson isn't as well-known or highly-raved as so many of our favorite authors. So if you're hesitant about reading this book you haven't heard of from an author you're not familiar with, please let me reassure you: you need this book in your life. If you can't end 2015 with this incredible story, please start 2016 with it. It's a quick read (121 pages), which is not enough as much as it's just right. By any means, you won't regret it.