Writability: 2015

Showing posts with label 2015. Show all posts

End of Year Countdown: 5 Top Fives of 2015

Photo credit: derekskey on Flickr

It's 2016! Except I ran out of post days to post this annual tradition, so I'm squeezing it in here, on the first day of the new year. YAY 2016!

So here we go! My top fives of 2015. :)

Top 5 Most Popular Posts (On Writability)

As per usual, these are calculated with blogger’s page view counts. Like last year, the list is the same as the year before, with a little rearranging.

*Technically this is more than five but it was close-ish so I added a bonus post. Because kissing.

Top 5 Most Active Commenters

As explained every year, I use Disqus’s very nice widget on my sidebar to keep track of how many comments every lovely commenter makes. The system isn’t perfect and only keeps track of accounts, so if you comment on multiple accounts, it thinks you’re more than one person, but regardless, these five fabulous readers are the most active commenters of the Writability community—thank you!

Note: Those with two asterisks have been on the top five list for two years, and those with three asterisks were on the top five list the year before that! All the thank yous!

Top 5 Favorite (Writerly) Tumblr Blogs of the Year

Over time, tumblr has become one of my favorite social media sites. I’ve learned a ridiculous amount from the incredible finds posted there, and I’ve also really enjoyed the nerdy randomness that frequently appears on my feed.

These are my top five favorite writerly/bookish tumblr blogs, as calculated by tumblr based off which blogs get the most reblogs and likes from me.

Corinne Duyvis
Bibliogato
YA Highway
English Major Humor
VESchwab, LBardugo, It's a Writer Thing & Nimble's Notebooks (4-way tie)

Top 5 Favorite Books of the Year

So in previous years, this used to be favorite blogs, but I really haven't been keeping up with my blogs this year, so I decided to do books instead. Not-so coincidentally I reviewed all of these or in the case of the 2016 books, I have reviews on the way. :) So! Here are my favorite reads of the year, in no particular order:

Focus on Me by Megan Erickson (Review)
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (Review)
Half Wild by Sally Green (Review)
Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie
The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Top 5 Favorite Twitter Accounts

Twitter remains my favorite favorite. And these Twitter peoples are amazing, uplifting, and insightful in topics like writing, marginalizations, publishing and more. (Again, in no particular order):

So those are my top fives of 2015—do you have any favorites of the year you’d like to share?

Also, Happy New Year, everyone!

Writer @Ava_Jae shares her top fives of 2015—what are some of your favorite writing resources of last year? (Click to tweet)

2015 Year in Review

Photo credit: grand Yann on Flickr

So last year I started this year in review thing, which I thought was really fun and I’d like to make it an annual thing here. So! 2015 in review, here we go.

January and February was a sub-zero blur where I walked outside around my campus more than I care to think about with blistering winds and a wind chill of -20 to -30 degrees (and that’s not an exaggeration). I also took 18 credits that semester and the work load was…um…fun…sure.

February I also officially declared my major (English!) so that was a cool thing.

March through June was pretty uneventful. I worked hard on revisions for other WIPs, finished my semester at school, and started getting glimpses of Beyond the Red's cover, which was pretty cool. May also marked the beginning of my last summer break, which was kind of bittersweet.

In July I was able to finally reveal Beyond the Red's cover to the world, on YA Books Central! It was so amazing, and fun, and exciting and the whole author thing slowly started feeling more real.

August I had my author photos taken, which was simultaneously nerve-wracking, surreal, and exciting. And in the same month I also went to Chicago for the first time and attended Chapter One Young Writer's Conference as an author/speaker and had my first (swag) signing and hung out with Kat Zhang, Karen Bao, Kaye M and a bunch of young writers and wow. I wrote about that day here. It was absolutely incredible.

That same month I also met two of my CPs in person, which was so fun! August was an unusually social month for me. It was awesome.

September and October was back to school time and I started my second to last semester of college. It was busy and really tiring at times but I powered through school, Beyond the Red edits and revisions on my YA Fantasy WIP.

Then November came around and I really wanted to do NaNo, but decided I needed a break. And good thing too, because I had a major fatigue flare for basically the first half of November and had little to no energy for two weeks. But then a really cool thing happened, namely Beyond the Red became a book-shaped (ARC) thing and I held my book in my hands for the first time. :D

December I finished up this semester and dropped most of my dietary restrictions on a trial basis except for sugar, to see if all those foods I'd been restricting affected my health as much as everyone said they would. Results have been inconclusive so far, which means probably not, but we'll see. Now I'm trying to relax a little before starting over again in January. Because 2016 is nearly here, which means a ton of author awesomeness, and also graduation, and also hopefully other book things.

2015 has been a year of transition. 2016 will be the start of a whole new chapter in my life, and as scary as it sometimes is, I'm here to welcome it.

How did 2015 treat you?

Twitter-sized bite:

.@Ava_Jae shares her 2015 year in review. Did you make any big changes in 2015? (Click to tweet)

A 2015 Diversity Reading Analysis

So a little while back I saw this post from Shaun Hutchinson where he examined the books he'd read in 2015 to try to determine how many diverse books he'd been reading. I thought it might be constructive to do the same, given that the year is ending and I'll soon be making goals for next year's reading challenge.

So of the 53 books I've read so far this year, 33 of them included some sort of marginalized representation, and 20 did not. I've been making a concerted effort to read more books with marginalized characters this year, so I was pretty happy to see that ultimately, it looks like my efforts mostly paid off.

Of the diverse narratives, 8 included mental illness representation, 11 had major QUILTBAG characters, 21 had major characters of marginalized races, and only 2 had physical disability representation. You'll notice that if you add the 20 that don't have representation in, I have more than 53, and that's because many of the books fit more than one category, and so were counted more than once.

I was kind of pleasantly surprised to see how many books I read with characters of marginalized races and ethnicities. A good chunk of those (9) were assigned readings for a Contemporary Muslim Literature class I took last semester, which in retrospect was an excellent choice of class, both to help with my reading goals and just because it was a great class.

I was disappointed to see how few books I came across with physical disabilities, but I can't say I was particularly surprised, given that they're not the easiest to find. I'd definitely like to make more of an effort to look for them specifically in the future, though, so something to keep in mind for next year.

Now looking at the authors, I read 36 books written by women, 14 written by men, and 3 written by non-binary authors.

Based off of what I know of the authors, 25 books I read were written by marginalized authors, and 28 were not. There may be some variation here, because again, this is just based off of what I know and/or was able to find about the authors.

Next year, ideally, I'd like to read more books written by marginalized authors than not, but I think my trend here is overall headed in the right direction, which is encouraging.

My takeaway here, I think, is that next year I'll continue to search out books with representation of some kind, focus more on finding narratives that include physical disability representation, and try to continue to seek out books written by marginalized authors. I know I've got quite a few books on my TBR list already that fit into some of those categories, so it'll be more a matter of paying attention to what books I prioritize in terms of buying first.

What sorts of reading goals did you aim for this year? Any idea what you'll be focusing on next?

Twitter-sized bite:

.@Ava_Jae breaks down books she's read in 2015 in terms of representation. What 2015 reading goals did you have? (Click to tweet)

Top 10 Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2015

2015 is an incredible year for books. My TBR list has all but exploded and every post like this one puts new amazing reads on my Goodreads’s shelf.

There are a ridiculous amount of incredible books coming out this year that I'm looking forward to, but I've narrowed it down to my top ten. It wasn't easy. But here they are with their Goodreads summaries (in chronological order by release date):

Photo credit: Goodreads

Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson (March 17)

“With his college graduation gown expertly pitched into the trash, Justin Akron is ready for the road trip he planned with his best friend Landry— and ready for one last summer of escape from his mother’s controlling grip. Climbing into the Winnebago his father left him, they set out across America in search of the sites his father had captured through the lens of his Nikon.

As an aspiring photographer, Justin can think of no better way to honor his father’s memory than to scatter his father’s ashes at the sites he held sacred. And there’s no one he’d rather share the experience with more than Landry.

But Justin knows he can’t escape forever. Eventually he’ll have to return home and join his mother’s Senate campaign. Nor can he escape the truth of who he is, and fact that he’s in love with his out-and-proud travel companion.

Admitting what he wants could hurt his mother’s conservative political career. But with every click of his shutter and every sprinkle of ash, Justin can’t resist Landry’s pull. And when the truth comes into focus, neither is prepared for the secrets the other is hiding.”

Why I’m excited: Firstly, I love Megan because her voice is just so fun and so NA perfect. Secondly, m/m NA. Do I need to say more? (I don’t need to say more.)

Photo credit: Goodreads

Half Wild (Half Bad Trilogy, #2) by Sally Green (March 24)

“‘You will have a powerful Gift, but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad.’

In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted. Now, Nathan has come into his own unique magical Gift, and he's on the run--but the Hunters are close behind, and they will stop at nothing until they have captured Nathan and destroyed his father.”

Why I’m excited: Half Bad, the first in the trilogy, was my favorite read of 2014 and my favorite book about wizards since Harry Potter. I’ve never loved a book as quickly as I did Half Bad and I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequel. Plus there’s a ship I really want to see sail…

Photo credit: Goodreads

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (April 7)

“Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.”

Why I’m excited: I’ve been making a point to read more diverse books, and this one just sounds really excellent. Plus I keep hearing from people who have read it how amazing it is, which is a bonus.

Photo credit: Goodreads

The Death Code (The Murder Complex, #2) by Lindsay Cummings (April 21)

“With short, fast-paced, alternating point-of-view chapters, The Death Code starts several weeks after The Murder Complex ended. Zephyr keeps the secret about Meadow close—that if she dies, The Murder Complex will be destroyed, too. Meadow, desperate to find her brother, father, and little sister, is determined to fearlessly fight to the end, even if it means sacrificing herself and her friends, new and old. The Death Code introduces a memorable cast of secondary characters and delivers a vivid and scary thrill ride read.”

Why I’m excited: The Murder Complex was a really fast-paced, exciting, bloody read, and the cliffhanger definitely has me looking forward to this sequel.

Photo credit: Goodreads

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (April 28)

“LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.”

Why I’m excited: Besides the stunning cover, this fantasy sounds super exciting and I have a sneaking suspicion the worldbuilding is going to be excellent.

Photo credit: Goodreads

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (May 19)

“Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.”

Why I’m excited: Basically I’ve wanted to read this since Chessie’s book sold forever ago, and since then I’ve had no less than a million people rave about its amazingness, and I really just need it in my hands right now okay? (Also: mental illness representation! In YA! GIVE IT TO ME.)

Photo credit: Goodreads

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera (June 16)

“Happiness shouldn't be this hard…

The Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-relief procedure seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto -- miracle cure-alls don't tend to pop up in the Bronx projects. But Aaron can't forget how he's grown up poor or how his friends aren't always there for him. Like after his father committed suicide in their one bedroom apartment. Aaron has the support of his patient girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but it's not enough.

Then Thomas shows up. He has a sweet movie-watching setup on his roof, and he doesn't mind Aaron's obsession with a popular fantasy series. There are nicknames, inside jokes. Most importantly, Thomas doesn't mind talking about Aaron's past. But Aaron's newfound happiness isn't welcome on his block. Since he's can't stay away from Thomas or suddenly stop being gay, Aaron must turn to Leteo to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he is.

Adam Silvera's extraordinary debut novel offers a unique confrontation of race, class and sexuality during one charged near-future summer in the Bronx.”

Why I’m excited: This is another one I’ve heard a lot of good things about, plus the premise sounds excellent, plus I’m always happy to diversify my bookshelf.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (October 6)

(No cover yet.)

“Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.”

Why I’m excited: Once upon a time I finished reading Fangirl and tweeted that if Rainbow Rowell ever wrote a gay vampire/wizard book, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Less than a month later, Carry On was announced and I nearly died of excitement.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (October 8)

(No cover yet.)

“Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.”

Why I’m excited: More Bardugo + more Grisha = INSTAYES. (Also, this sounds pretty darn awesome.)

Prom Bitch by Ami Allen-Vath (November)

(No cover yet.)

“A high school senior navigating prom season amidst panic attacks, a new boyfriend, & a suicide letter from the class outcast.”

Why I’m excited: With a title like that, how could I not be excited? In all seriousness, this sounds great and I’m particularly curious about the mental illness representation.

Others (because the list was getting too long!): Heartsick by Caitlin Sinead, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas, None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, What We Left Behind by Robin Talley, and Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout.

What 2015 releases are you looking forward to?

Twitter-sized bite:

.@Ava_Jae shares ten books she's looking forward to in 2015. Are these excellent 2015 releases on your TBR list? (Click to tweet)