2013 End of Year Book Survey

*Hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner*

I had so much fun doing this last year, I started anticipating this years survey in the early fall. I love recapping my favorite books  and I especially love doing surveys 😛 This years survey has taken me FAR too long to complete, I read a ton more books than I did last year so I had so much to choose from!

1. Best Book You Read In 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

Contemporary YA – Hopeless by Colleen Hoover, If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch, Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins, How to Love by Katie Cutogno

Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic – Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi. Pawn by Aimee Carter

Historical Fiction – The Infernal Devices, The Beautiful and the Cursed

Paranormal — Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Science Fiction — Pivot Point by Kasie West

Fantasy — Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Horror — Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Definitely Requiem by Lauren Oliver. While I didn’t dislike it like a lot of people did, I wanted to feel the same way I did reading it that I did Delirium. And I just didn’t get that 🙁 Also Golden by Jessi Kirby. I had heard so many amazing things about this, and perhaps the hype ruined it for me but it was just a “good” book for me, certainly not outstanding like I expected it to be!

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?

I’m going to have to go with How to Love by Katie Cotugno. I adored this book, and I totally did not expect to. I’m not sure why I didn’t expect to LOVE it, but contemporary’s are not always my favorite and this is definitely one of my favorites. I also read a ton of great self published novels, that surprised me a ton! I also need to say Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I thought I would hate it. Yes, I said it, HATE IT… and alas, I loved it!

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?

No contest, Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins. After I read this (and during!) I tweeted SO MUCH… I have never book pushed a book like this one. Just read it. DO IT 😀

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. It’s now one of my favorite series ever, and I’m so glad I gave it a chance… despite it being historical fiction!

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

Kasie West. THIS LADY! Oh my god, Pivot Point is one of my favorites of the year and The Distance Between Us was also amazing! If you haven’t read her books, get to it! She has two more coming out in 2014 😀

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

I think 70 percent of the books I read were a new genre or out of my comfort zone this year! First of all, I tried SO MUCH contemporary! And I’m a paranormal girl! I also got hooked on paranormal historical fiction, my new love! I’m going to say Under the Never Sky & Through the Ever Night. I like dystopian, but science fiction (wasn’t) really my thing so I thought I would hate the combination of the two! Well… needless to say, I adore this series and Veronica Rossi is now an auto buy author!

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

Hands down, Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins. I’ve never been like this reading a book, not that I can recall. I was sneaking bathroom breaks at work just to read a few pages!! Win!

9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Bahaha, If I’m cheating… Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 🙂 BUT, I will say Anna and the French Kiss. I listened to the audio book and I’d love to reread this one in print.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

The Beautiful and the Cursed or The Chaos in Our Stars. Both of these covers are STUNNING, and the stories are great as well!!

11. Most memorable character in 2013?

 Annaliese from Another Little Piece. Seriously? How could anyone forget her? WEIRD! Also Caymen from The Distance Between Us, I just loved her!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

Despite my faults with it Golden by Jessi Kirby, as well as Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell; for different reasons. I adore Rainbow Rowell’s hilarious writing and Jessi Kirby writes like music sounds.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?

How to Love by Katie Cotugno. This was a personal read for me, and for reasons that no one would guess or imagine and I didn’t really touch on but I cried, and cried reading this book and it just… stunned me. I almost didn’t know how to write a review on it!

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?

The Giver by Lois Lowry. Somehow I missed the boat on this one in high school and didn’t end up reading it even though every other individual I grew up with did! Ah well, loved it all the same!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

There are too many, just too many but… this was made me laugh SO hard, and stands out in my mind:

“But you’re so helpless sometimes. It’s like watching a kitten with its head trapped in a Kleenex box.”
― Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest– Origins: The Fire by Debra Driza (novella) and The Giver by Lois Lowry (book)

Longest — Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Clockwork Princess! I read this with Cass & Raquel, and I got quite a bit ahead and was DYING for them to catch up! That whole book was WTFery for me…

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

 Carey and Jenessa from If You Find Me (Sisterly) and Julian and Cami from Stir Me Up (romantic). Love both of those relationships!

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Dare You To & Crash Into You by Katie McGarry… HELLO?!?! Is this even a contest?!?!?

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas – recommended by Estelle! I can’t remember what, but Estelle commented on one of my posts and recommended this to me; I hadn’t even heard of it! And while it didn’t thrill me like others (clearly, I have a warped mind because I seen that twist coming a mile away!) I still really enjoyed the story!!

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

BIG SURPRISE (no sarcasm)… Contemporary!! I’m almost certain its contemporary YA! Which is soo soo weird, but I loved so many contemps this year!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

Isaiah from Crash Into You… well I always loved him but A WHOLE BOOK about him 🙂 AND Julian from Stir Me Up. Sorry ladies, he’s mine. Back away slowly…

23. Best 2013 debut you read?

I cannot, cannot break this tie… it’s impossible,I’ve tried rationalizing it and it doesn’t work so: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch, Pivot Point by Kasie West and How to Love by Katie Cutogno.

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?

The Infernal Devices series. Loved the world!

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?

Fangirl, despite me thinking that I would HATE it… it was the funnest book to read for sure!

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

Would it be easier to list the books that didn’t make me cry? Yes… I am a crier. A happy one, sad one… you name it. However, Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover had me near hyperventilation so… we’ll go with that one!

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

If You Find Me. I know a lot of people love it, but I just feel like screaming it from the rooftops how much I love it! and… *whistles* Stir Me Up… 😛

 

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013?

I don’t really like this question 😛 I always, always feel like I will leave someone out and because it’s hard for me to remember whether I’ve been subscribed for them prior to 2013! So I’m going to go with these two … Book Rock Betty & A Bookish Heart. They started in 2013 so I know I hadn’t encountered them before, and plus they are both fabulous ladies and incredibly creative!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2013?

Another hard question for me. Reviews are tedious work for me, I am extremely picky and self-critical so sometimes that takes the fun out of it for me. I did love writing my review for Dark Places by Gillian Flynn and strangely enough, Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma (I couldn’t STAND this book, but writing out my rant review was fun!).

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

Well, I’m trying to do discussion posts. My problem is the same as above, I’m very critical of myself so sometimes I will write an entire post and then scrap it because I feel it’s not as eloquently written or fun. Issue, I know. Out of the two that I did (HAH!) based on comments and views alone, Lose Time Chatting: When Good Books Go Back. I loved seeing that other people had this library issue as well, and had so much fun chatting with people!

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?

Those Annoying Meme Comments at The Novel Hermit. I LOVED this discussion and it really struck a cord with me!

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

Fan Expo. I didn’t attend any book specific events but Fan Expo does have a pretty good book culture there as well. I got to meet Eve Silver & Linda Poitevin!! It’s always fun, but this year was probably my favorite of all 🙂

6. Best moment of book blogging/your book life in 2013?

Well, like above, I loved meeting those two ladies! I also interacted with so many amazing authors on Twitter, which I fangirl over every. single. time. I discovered so many awesome bloggers and became friends with so many others! I just loved it all 😀

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

No competition on this at all, How to Organize Your Reviews Using Excel. This was a Bloggiesta challenge and I still get a TON of page views on it, and I had a blast doing it!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Not any individual post really, but just my reviews in general.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Oh, definitely the Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin! I would die without this, seriously. What did I do before?

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I completed my Goodreads challenge of 115 books (I read 123!!) as well as the Debut Author Challenge; I wanted to read 16 and I read 19!!

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?  

Shadow and Bone. This is getting ridiculous… Hi Cass… *waves*.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?

Split Second by Kasie West!!! I’ve spoken about this enough for it not to be a surprise by now 😛

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano! I CANNOT wait for this.

4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. Two years I will have waited for this, TWO YEARS!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?

Become more organized in scheduling overall. I’m ok at it, but I just want to be better. I want to be organized enough that I have time to comment daily instead of weekly/biweekly!!!

And there! It’s done! I’m exhausted, and kudos to you if you stuck through it 🙂 Did you complete the survey? Link up!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!