End of Year Book Survey

Today I'm trying something new and filling out a bookish survey. This is from Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner and it's a survey of reading from the past year.

Number Of Books You Read: 88
Number of Re-Reads: 1
Genre You Read the Most Books From: Classics

Best In Books
1. Best book you read in 2015? Yikes, just one? I'm going to tentatively go with Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, but there are a lot of contenders for this spot!

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. I loved the movie and am a huge russophile, so I expected to adore the book, but truthfully found it underwhelming.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
The Saga series by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples. I read it because I was taking a class on graphic novels, but I wasn't expecting to get hooked!

4. Book you "pushed" the most people to read (and they did)?
Being Mortal by Dr. Atul Gawande. I have seriously told about half a dozen people to read this, including my parents, some classmates, and a librarian that I met doing a tour of a hospital library. I don't know how many of them have actually followed through, but I know my dad did!

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best sequel of 2015? Best series ender of 2015?
Best series: Saga again.
Best sequel: Messenger, the third book in The Giver series by Lois Lowry.
Best series ender: Champion by Marie Lu.

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2015? Joseph Boyden! I love his books.

7. Best book from a genre you don't typically read/was out of your comfort zone? I read Walk On Earth A Stranger by Rae Carson and loved it, despite the fact that I pretty much never read westerns.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

9. Book you read in 2015 that you are most likely to re-read next year? I don't re-read a lot, so probably none.

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2015? I read a lot of stuff on Kindle or OverDrive, so this is hard for me to stay. I really like the cover of The Orenda by Joseph Boyden because it looks like birch bark.

11. Most memorable character of 2015? Melanie from The Girl With All the Gifts.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015? Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2015? Most definitely Being Mortal by Dr. Atul Gawande. It made me think so much about end-of-life care and medical ethics.

14. Book you can't believe you waited until 2015 to finally read? Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

15. Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2015?
 "I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world."
Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane

16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2015?
Shortest: Night by Elie Wiesel - 115 pages (not counting some of the graphic novels)
Longest: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - 1006 pages

17. Book that shocked you the most? I don't know if anything really shocked me, but probably Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn since it had a few plot twists.

18. OTP of the year? Okay, so OTP stands for "one-true pairing", as in a couple you love from books. I don't really go for this kind of thing, but I did think that Lara Jean and Peter K from To All the Boys I've Loved Before were pretty adorable.

19. Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year? Lara Jean and her sisters in the above, and also in the sequel P.S. I Still Love You. 

20. Favourite book you read in 2015 from an author you've read previously? I'm going to nerd it out and choose Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie. I love his biographies.

21. Best book you read in 2015 that you read solely based on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure? Walk On Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson, which I read because of the review by Emily at The Book Geek in one of her videos.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015? I don't really do fictional crushes beyond Mr Darcy... I can't think of anyone.

23. Best 2015 debut you read? Overwhelm by Layla Messner.

24. Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting you read this year? The Legend series by Marie Lu, because to some extent, I could really see a lot of that happening in the future.

25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read? To All the Boys I've Loved Before and the sequel, P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han. I laughed so much.

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2015? I cry at everything, but I actually can't remember whether I cried over specific books this year. Probably After You by Jojo Moyes, because she always makes me cry!

27. Hidden gem of the year? Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay.

28. Book that crushed your soul? Night by Elie Wiesel

29. Most unique book you read in 2015? None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio, because it talked about an issue that is rarely brought up in fiction.

30. Book that made you the most mad? Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, because I couldn't understand the characters' motivation at all.

Looking Ahead
1. One book you didn't get to in 2015 but will be your number 1 priority in 2016? Probably The Bone Season because I meant to start this in December, but ended up being drawn into a few other reads.

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2016 (non-debut)? Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys. I have been fascinated by the Wilhelm Gustloff since reading Crabwalk by Günther Grass, and I'm excited that Sepetys is

3. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2016? I want to be more proactive about posting, instead of writing all my TTT posts at the last minute. I'd like to get back to writing on a variety of issues. In my reading life, I'd like to read more books on theology.

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

6th Annual End Of Year Survey – 2015 edition!!

December 2, 2015 by Jamie · 94 Comments

My silly little survey I created for myself to highlight what I read in 2010 suddenly grew when a bunch of others jumped in and has turned into such a fun end of year event that I have LOVED hosting and has made my TBR list grow crazily! Seriously, 360 people linked up last year and I know even more participated on their blogs and on Youtube!! So without further ado: the 6th annual End of Year Book Survey!
I know the year isn’t over yet but, as I said in year’s past, this is the time I start reflecting on what I’ve read and start looking ahead because I NEVER get much reading done during December with the holidays and what not! I’ll be filling mine out soon (I know I said that last year and never did but I have motivation this year…last year I was just DONE with all the things) but I’ll be revising if I happen to read something absolutely earth shattering that would need to be on here!
So feel to fill this out whenever you feel like it (please credit me!)…whether that’s today or in January   — I know everybody will want to reflect at different points! Feel free to link up and share your End of Year Book Survey and visit others on the list!

Note: The survey is for books you read throughout the year, no matter when they were published, and is not limited to just books that came out in 2014!!

Number Of Books You Read:
Number of Re-Reads:
Genre You Read The Most From:

- See more at: http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2015/12/6th-annual-end-of-year-survey-2015-edition.html#sthash.Xstpk5js.dpuf

6th Annual End Of Year Survey – 2015 edition!!

December 2, 2015 by Jamie · 94 Comments

My silly little survey I created for myself to highlight what I read in 2010 suddenly grew when a bunch of others jumped in and has turned into such a fun end of year event that I have LOVED hosting and has made my TBR list grow crazily! Seriously, 360 people linked up last year and I know even more participated on their blogs and on Youtube!! So without further ado: the 6th annual End of Year Book Survey!
I know the year isn’t over yet but, as I said in year’s past, this is the time I start reflecting on what I’ve read and start looking ahead because I NEVER get much reading done during December with the holidays and what not! I’ll be filling mine out soon (I know I said that last year and never did but I have motivation this year…last year I was just DONE with all the things) but I’ll be revising if I happen to read something absolutely earth shattering that would need to be on here!
So feel to fill this out whenever you feel like it (please credit me!)…whether that’s today or in January   — I know everybody will want to reflect at different points! Feel free to link up and share your End of Year Book Survey and visit others on the list!

Note: The survey is for books you read throughout the year, no matter when they were published, and is not limited to just books that came out in 2014!!

Number Of Books You Read:
Number of Re-Reads:
Genre You Read The Most From:

- See more at: http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2015/12/6th-annual-end-of-year-survey-2015-edition.html#sthash.Xstpk5js.dpuf

Come Read My Interview over at Amateur Nester!

Hi friends! I haven't been posting much lately because it's crunch time at school, but I'm just popping in with a brief update.

Recently, I participated in an interview with fellow blogger Lisa over at Amateur Nester about my infertility experience, and yesterday it was published. Come over and check it out!

It was a pleasure to take part in this experience and share some of my experience with others. In fact, having this interview out there pushed me to share with a few friends who did not know what we were going through, and everyone so far has been loving and supportive. It's a scary think to open up your soul about infertility, especially for those of us who have experienced some not-so-helpful comments, but I can say that it's also not good to go through it all alone.

Happy weekend!

Random Updates and Fun Stuff

As I mentioned before, I've been a lazy blogger lately.  It just felt like I'd run out of things to say.  I'm trying to remember that I don't have to write something deep and meaningful every time, so this post will just be a bunch of random thoughts and updates from our life.

Is anyone else tired of winter already?  I'm usually a winter person, but this year's ice storm, frigid temperatures (-30 wind chill??), and frequent snowfall has left me longing for spring.  We are off to a conference next week in Collingwood, and I'm looking forward to snowshoeing, skating, and getting my winter groove back.

I've been making a push to get more organized this year, especially in how I spend my time.  I've realized how many hours drift away while I'm online or reading, and then I get to the end of the week wondering why I never studied Chinese or cleaned the kitchen.  I've written down all the things I want to accomplish in the week (e.g., 30 minutes of Chinese, go to the gym three times) and have tried to allot it into a time slot.  Of course, it's anyone's guess how this works out in the weeks to come.

Speaking of Chinese, I've gotten so lazy about studying.  After failing my exam last year, I took on more hours at work and keeping up with study has slid onto the back burner.  I've gotten to a level where I'm past just reading textbooks, but not good enough to practice on newspapers, for example.  This month, I've been trying to read the first Harry Potter novel, borrowed from a friend, in simplified Chinese.  It's slow going so far (like a page a day), but at least I'm reading something familiar and dear to me!

Do you like reading and cats?  Please enjoy this post from Buzzfeed.  I seriously smile at it several times a day.

I love cheesy puns.  A few weeks ago, my siblings and I were emailing back and forth about who was bringing what food to a family brunch.  Since we needed someone to get the lox, this spun into a series of silly song references such as:
--What does the lox say?
--Who let the lox out?
--Loxxxxxxxannne.
Conclusion:  We are all big dorks.

Why Blog?

Welcome to the blog! I really struggled with starting a blog. It seemed like so many friends had them, but as I perused the offerings of many (and I do mean many) by people I knew, and some that I didn't, I struggled with the decision to start my own. I love writing, and my friends will probably attest that I also enjoy sharing my opinions.... sometimes too much so. On the other hand, I have made several attempts at regular journaling, and have seen that the activity can exacerbate my own tendency towards self-centredness and the mundane. There is nothing wrong with sharing snippets of every day life; indeed, God works through ordinary as well as through the extraordinary events; however, I am convinced that there are few people aside from my mother who would want to read a blog detailing minutiae of what I eat, watch, buy (or want to buy), etc.

So the question remains, why now? As I was preparing to leave the city that I love and embark on the great adventure called marriage, I was blown away by how many people I would miss. These are friends who have journeyed with me through the single years, who were there to ask me how I was holding up in the hardest moments. I started to realize that they will not be with me through this first year of marriage to ask what I am learning or how I am growing, or to advise me when I have done something stupid. I do hope this will help at least a little in connecting my dear friends with the life that I am living in Toronto. I also see a need to share how God inevitably changes me through these first months and years, and I hope that a (semi-)regular blog will spur me on to actually contemplate and put into words how I am feeling and how God is working through my life.

Some of you may wonder about the title. I am confident that there are a couple of you who right away noticed the reference, while others are scratching their heads. The reference is from the last few books of the Anne of Green Gables series. In the fifth book, Anne finally marries Gilbert and the couple moves to the village of Glen St. Mary, where Gilbert works as the local doctor. A local woman named Susan Baker moves in after their first baby has arrived, and continues to assist with cooking, cleaning, and childcare as Anne and Gilbert raise their growing family through the sixth through eighth books. Susan always addresses Anne as “Mrs. Dr. Dear”.

Last fall and winter, I re-read the last four books of the series and was surprised to see how much I identified with Anne as she falls into her role as a doctor's wife. I really felt for her while reading about Gilbert being pulled away from home time and time again to deal with medical emergencies. In a sense, I saw a picture of how my life would be (although I anticipate having electricity and, sadly, a much less vivid imagination). In addition, the title of “Mrs. Dr. Dear” seemed to encapsulate the profound change marriage has made for Anne. Who has more personality than Anne Shirley? In many ways, she was ahead of her time. As a girl, and then a woman, she stood up for herself in a society when women could not vote and married women could not work. She excelled at school, served as a community leader, went to college, worked as a teacher, wrote stories that were published in magazines, and dreamed of doing so much with her life. In Glen St. Mary, however, she will always in a sense be defined by her role as the doctor's wife. Yet this is not something she seems to resent, but rather relishes in this next stage of life. Would that I can do the same.

A note on names:

As my husband would prefer to remain anonymous, I determined that I would give him a false name for this blog. His initials didn't really work, so in the attempt to keep the Anne theme going, I will hereafter refer to him as “Gilbert”, or just “Gil.”