Monday, December 22, 2014

2014 End of the Year Book Survey!


Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner posted her 5th annual End of the Year Survey at the beginning of the month, and I thought I would jump in. Now, there is still about two weeks until the end of the year, and I'm hoping to do a fair amount of reading in that time, so if I read anything life changing, I may have to alter my answers. I read some really great book this year that will probably pop up on the list multiple times so be prepared.

Reading Stats:
Number of Books Read: 98 so far 
Number of Rereads: Seven, and I'm currently working on number eight
Most Read Genre: Young Adult was big with me this year.

Best in Books: 
Best Book You Read in 2014:  You can see my top ten books of the year here, because there is no way I could pick just one!

I Thought I Would Love This, But I Didn't: 
It was okay, but I expected to be head-over-heels about it.
Most Surprising Read:
Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson
I went into this with no expectations and was blown away.
Book I Recommended the Most:
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS
Best Series I Started:
Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas
Love this series- I need #4
Best Sequel:
It's Not summer Without You, Jenny Han
I devoured this trilogy in three days. 
Best Series Finale:
Clockwork Princess, Cassandra Clare
So Good! So many feels!
Favorite New Author:
 Marcus Sedgwick

Andrew Smith
Best Book From a Genre I Don't Typically Read:
Why We Broke Up, David Handler- Contemporary

Most Action-Packed Book:
Crown of Midnight, Sarah J. Maas

Most Likely to Reread Next Year:
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
It's already on my list for the 2015 Reread Challenge

Favorite Cover:
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte 

The Assassin's Blade, Sarah J. Maas

Most Memorable Character:
Bridget Jones from Bridget Jones' Diary

Most Beautifully Written:

On The Road, Jack Kerouac

Most Thought Provoking:
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

I Can't Believe I Waited This Long to Read:
David Levithan! I loved reading him this year for
the first time.

Favorite Quote:
Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road." - Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Shortest Book I Read: 

The Sign of Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- 129 pages

Longest Book I read: 
City of Heavenly Fire, Cassandra Clare- 725 pages

Most Shocking Book:
The Virgin Suicides, Jeffery Eudenides
The plot was not shocking, but the themes and how
true they are was shocking. 

OTP of the Year:
Tarver and Lilac  
These Broken Stars, Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

Favorite Non-Romance Relationship:
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Jem and Will
(What can I say? I love a good bromance)


Favorite Book from a Familiar Author:
Flappers and Philosophers, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Best Book I Read Based on Recommendations:
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Everyone and their mother recommended me this! 

Newest Fictional Crush:
Chaol Westfall!!!

Best Debut:
Shadow and Bone, Leigh Bardugo

Best World Building:
The Winner's Curse, Marie Rutkoski 

Book that Made Me Smile:

Book That Made Me Cry:
Clockwork Princess, Cassandra Clare

Hidden Gem: 

The Name of the Star, Maureen Johson
So funny and creepy at the same time

Book That Crushed My Soul:
A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness
So beautiful!

Most Unique Book of the Year:
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
Please read this!

Book That Made Me Angry:
Ruin and Rising, Leigh Bardugo
Most anti-climatic battle scene ever!


Blogging and Bookish Life: 
New Favorite Book Blog: This was the first year I really started reading blogs, so I discovered so many! All of the blogs are my favorite!
Favorite Review I Wrote: I loved reviewing the classics I read this year. For example Dracula, Jane Eyre and The Bell Jar Reread are a few of my favorites.
Best Discussion/ Non-review Post: This one where I discuss life slumps and reading slumps.
Best Event I Participated In: I loved joining into blog memes this year. It has been a great way to discover new blogs, and many of them involve making lists, which is a hobby of mine.
Best Moment of Blogging/Bookish Life: I was nominated for The Liebster Award- which was awesome! 
Most Popular Post: Hot Authors and Top Ten Books of 2014
Post That Needs More Love: Literary Look: The Beatnik Generation and Literary Look: The Harlem Renaissance I love putting posts in this series together!  
Best Bookish Discovery: This year I really discovered the comfort and happiness that book shopping and browsing brings me, and I discovered how much I love my local independent bookstore when I moved away from it. 
Reading Challenges I Completed: My Rereads and Classics List for 2014 Well almost... I'm reading my final reread from this list currently, but I know I will be finished with it by the end of the year. 

Looking Ahead: 
Number One Priority of 2015:  

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Books I'm Anticipating in 2015: Check out my top ten list here.
One Goal For Blogging:  I would love to continue posting in depth thoughts of the classics I read, and continue my Literary Look series here on the blog. 
One Goal For Reading: My two big reading goals for 2105 are to reread more, and read more classics. I took a bit of break from classics this year so my pile of classics I need to read has really grown.

Phew! That was a long post and a lot of difficult decisions! Which books did you choose for your favorites list this year? 

8 comments:

  1. You seem to have had a great reading year! I loved discovering Throne of Glass this year. A Little Something Different was great! :-) Thanks for stopping by my survey!

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    1. This year was a pretty great reading year!
      thanks for stopping by!

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  2. What a terrific reading year, and what a wonderful range of books and genres! And I love the idea of a year-end book survey. I wish I had time to do one, but I've got a huge freelance project due on Jan. 2, so I doubt I'll be able to squeeze it in.

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    Replies
    1. I did enjoy reading from multiple genres in 2014!
      thanks for stopping by, hope your project went well!

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  3. Finally someone else who loves the Handmaid's Tale. I took a class on Margaret Atwood's writing and this is one of the books I read and is my favourite by her by far. It was the first dystopian book I had read and really got me into the genre.

    Here is my survey if you wish to read it :)
    http://theirishbookworm.blogspot.ie/2014/12/5th-annual-end-of-year-book-survey-2014.html

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    Replies
    1. I would LOVE a class on Margaret Atwood!
      thanks for stopping by!

      Delete