Mid year freak out book tag

I have read 32 books (9202 pages) so far this year. I have crossed my yearly goal of atleast reading 25-30 books this year.

1. Best book you have read so far in 2016 – Vicious by V.E. Schwab. It is one of the best books I have ever read so it is the best I have read this year, if we don’t count rereads. If we do count rereads, then it will be The Lord of the Rings which I reread this year. 

1. Best sequel you have read so far – I am currently reading the Mortal Instruments and I think all the sequels have been good so far, especially The city of glass (3rd book in the series).

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2. New release you haven’t read this year, but want to – This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab – I heard there is no romance in this novel and I am sold just because of that. Also she is my new favorite author so I want to read everything written by her soon. I am also interested in Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel which is supposed to be a science fiction. 
3. Most anticipated release for second half of this year – Harry Potter and the cursed child by J. K . Rowling. A new Harry Potter book and how can I not be excited. I wish she had written a proper book instead of a play though. And it is co-authored by many other people so I am not sure how good it is going to be. I also wish she would stop releasing new material about Harry Potter and instead write a new fantasy series.
4. Biggest disappointment – The Magicians by Lev Grossman and Childhood’s end by Arthur C. Clarke – I saw the first episode of The Magicians TV series and loved it. I read this book only to find it extremely boring. It is a rip-off of Harry Potter and Narnia and just to make it different, the author has added plenty of adult scenes. Childhood’s end was also boring. Considering how much I liked the other book by this same author (2001 A space odyssey), I can’t believe this book was that bad.
5. Biggest surprise – The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Amazing book with some amazing illustrations. I had no idea it was this good else I would have read it much earlier.
6. Favorite new author – I discovered two good authors this year – Victoria Schwab (author of Vicious) and Cassandra Clare (author of the Mortal Instruments series). After hearing so many bad reviews about the Mortal Instruments series, I was not inclined to read it. But since it is such a famous series, I still wanted to give it a try. I downloaded the kindle book and after I read 40% of the first book, I knew I would end up loving this series. So I got the entire box-set and I am really liking this series. I don’t care if people think it is not original or a great piece of literature, it is fun to read. I will definitely read more books by this author.
7. Newest fictional crush – Jace and Simon from Mortal Instruments series. For the first time, I read a series where both the heroes were equally good and I could not decide with whom the female protagonist should end up with at the end.
8. Newest favorite character – Kelsier from Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson – This man was amazing and he was the sole reason for liking the book I guess. He had the courage to stand up against a ruler who is much feared by everyone. Great guy. 
9. Book that made you cry – Short story Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu did bring tears in my eyes. I am yet to read the other short stories but the most popular one in this book was great.
10. Book that made me happy – None. I read mostly serious or depressing reads so far this year. But City of Bones did make me chuckle few times as it had plenty of funny lines.
11. Most beautiful book you have bought this year – The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick for having the most beautiful cover.
12. What books do you need to read before the end of the year – I am planning to finish the rest of the books in the Mortal Instruments series and start with Infernal Devices series.