2016 Bookish Recap Tag

I was nominated by my new friend Micaiah over at Adventures Beyond the Horizon for the 2016 Bookish Recap Tag!

 Rules:
1) Include the above button in your post.
2) Answer the 11 questions.
3) Use as many book covers as you like.
4) Tag 5-10 people and notify them that they have been tagged. (Probably not gonna tag THAT many, but I will get to a fe ;)

Questions:

1. How many books did you read in 2016?

I would have to approximate between 15-20. I AM a college student, so some of those were required reading.

2. What's five of your favorite books from 2016?



Star Wars: Ahsoka- Only people who have seen The Clone Wars tv series will really get this book. Yet, being a Star Wars fan since I was eight years old, and basically having The Clone Wars show to watch through middle school and I school, I LOVE the fact that there is a female Jedi character out there in the Star Wars universe (by the way, RIP Carrie Fisher).

Band of Brothers- This is a book about the unit who parachuted into France on D-Day. It is so good with how accurate it depicts the attack on D-day, and the brotherly comradeship felt among the unit. Word of warning though, it does depict war for what it is, which is why I think it was so good to begin with.

Why We Can't Wait- With all the turmoil and unrest going on today, it was helpful to see, or rather, read an explanation about the push for Civil Rights and why it happened the way it did.

Lincoln's Greatest Speech- This whole book is about Lincoln's second inaugural address. Being a Civil War buff and a writing nerd, this book does an excellent job at breaking down his speech and putting it into more of an overall historical contrast, which I found to be fascinating.

Heaven in Conflict- I know they professor who wrote this, and all I can say is if you know nothing and want to know something about Chinese history, Chinese religious history in particular, then you should read this book.

3. What's five of your least favorite books form 2016? I could only really come up with four, so here they are.



Mickey Mouse History- Overall just a collection of essays on how well certain organizations "did" history, including Walt Disney. Overall very dry, and not that great.

Surprised By Joy- This is basically an autobiography of Lewis's early years to when he turned from atheism to become a Christian. I have read better biographies about Lewis, and this was filled with unneeded detail that made the book boring.

Upon the Altar of a Nation- Very repetitive reading. You can honestly get the general theme of the book by reading the first section alone.

Allegiant- I LOVE Veronica Roth and LOVED Divergent and Insurgent. Allegiant is all right, and I would re-read it again for the sake of reading the first two, but aside from a major spoiler, it is not the best book of the trilogy. I really do not like the dueling perspectives Roth presents between the two main characters. The movie in my own opinion offered more of an exciting thrill than this book, and I even READ the book before seeing the movie.

4. What favorite author did you discover?

Steven Ambrose would be a new favorite author of mine. He has so much more written on the soldiers of WW2 that I have on my to be read list for next year. Again, I warn you that he can get graphic in his writings since it is of course warfare, so approach his books with that in mind.

5. What are your five favorite book covers this year?

This is slightly redundant, and I only have four, but here ya go.



A slightly older Ahsoka from the show is depicted here, with her new AWESOME WHITE LIGHTSABERS! This is also a good book if you want to learn about lightsaber lore and why there are different colors of lightsabers. Ahh I just love Ahsoka.



The cover really gives a good visual image of the brotherly comradeship depicted in the book.



I did not like the book, but I think the cover is an excellent example of how horrible the war was. It gets a really close up depiction that gives you chills.





I had to read this for C.S. lewis, and I love the cover! It really shows quite the contrast, with Aslan being the bigger "Jesus figure" and the Dawn Treader in his eye.

6. How many books did you purchase for yourself in 2016?

That I kept? Five, I believe.

7. What was the longest book you read in 2016?

Upon the Altar of A Nation at 576 pages.

8. What is the shortest book you read in 2016?

That would be The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe at 208 pages.

9. What is your reading goal for 2017?

The answer to THAT, my dear readers, is coming up in a future post :D

Now I tag EMILY MCCONNELL! You're it!!!

Hope you guys enjoyed this. Feel free to comment!