(Survey questions created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner)
The Books of 2013
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It was so beautifully written and such an emotional roller coaster. I finished reading it at three in the morning and just lay in bed, unable to go to sleep because I couldn't stop crying over that ending.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. I was so thrilled when I got an e-book copy through NetGalley back in the summer. After hearing all the praise surrounding it and the comparisons to J.K. Rowling, you can bet that I was itching to get my hands on it. It was an enjoyable read for sure, but it didn't live up to my expectations (you can read my review here).
3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I had my doubts about it for the first couple of chapters, but then HOLY WOW! It got so good! It's made it onto my list of favorites for sure!
4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. For a whole weekend in January, all I did was lay on the couch and devour this book. After I finished it, I went around recommending it to everybody because I wanted so badly to talk about it and hear what my friends and family thought of it. Such a crazy read!
5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
Definitely the Chaos Walking trilogy. I'd tried reading The Knife of Never Letting Go in the past, but was put off by the strange formatting and, to be totally honest, the banter between Todd and Manchee on the first few pages. But when Pretty Books hosted the #readchaos campaign on tumblr, I finally decided to give the books another chance. Oh, my gosh, am I so glad I did! It is such a brilliant, funny, horrifying, heart-wrenching series. I can't believe it took me so long to realize what I was missing out on!
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Rainbow Rowell. I read both Eleanor & Park and Fangirl and now I can't wait for her next book! She is so great at writing characters who are real and relatable (seriously, if I were a fictional character, I would probably be Cather Avery from Fangirl).
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Now, hold on! Give me a minute to explain. I don't know about you guys, but I have horrific memories of slogging through this book in high school. It was agonizingly boring and just an all-around unpleasant experience. So when I saw it on the syllabus for my Literary Theory class, I (and everyone else in the class, it seemed) was filled with dread. But, as I started to reread it on my own and discuss it in class, the more I found myself...if not enjoying it, then at least reading it with a much better understanding of what it was about and why it is such an important book. I'm not saying I'm going to be adding it to my list of favorites, but I am glad to have read it again at an age and in a setting that made it much more fulfilling.
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
I'm going to cheat a bit and say it's a three-way tie between Gone Girl, the Chaos Walking series, and Night Film. All of these books had me on the edge of my seat.
9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Probably The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I need to refresh my memory before I can start The Dream Thieves.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
Throne of Glass, because Celaena looks so badass! For a while you couldn't even get this cover in the US, and I wanted it so badly that I almost ordered it from The Book Depository just so I could have that specific cover.
11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Cather Avery of Fangirl. I absolutely loved her because I could relate so well to her personality and her struggles with college life.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Again, The Book Thief. It's such a profound and moving story.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
The Chaos Walking series (sorry that so many of these answers are repeats! I'm so boring with my choices!).
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?
Oh man. It's going to be so hard to pick just one! But...I think I'm going to have to go with this short conversation between Levi and Cath in Fangirl:
"It's okay if you're crazy," he said softly.
"You don't even know-"
"I don't have to know," he said. "I'm rooting for you."
16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Longest: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness at 603 pages
Shortest: Briar Rose by Robert Coover at 96 pages
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. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
The ending of The Knife of Never Letting Go. I must have sat there forever with my jaw gaping, staring at the last page in horror.
18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Todd Hewitt and Viola Eade from Chaos Walking. I fangirled so hard over them!
19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Hmm...well, I didn't read too many books from authors I've read before. So I think I'm going to have to go with City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (I reread it right before the movie came out).
20. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
YA (encompassing paranormal romance, fantasy, contemporary, and historical fiction).
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre.
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Night Film. It was so utterly creepy and strange. I had so much fun reading it, despite being disappointed with the ending.
24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
The Book Thief (again! I'm sorry!)
25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
Fangirl. It was like reliving the summer that Deathly Hallows came out and my freshman year of college all at once.
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
Fangirl, The Book Thief, The Fault in Our Stars and Jane Eyre.
Looking Ahead
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?
Oh, gosh, there are so many books I didn't make it to this year, so many that I can't possibly say which one will be my first priority. Mainly because, even when I do plan on reading a certain book, I usually end up going onto Goodreads or seeing a review from another blogger or Booktuber and get all excited over an entirely different book. My problem really isn't that I don't have the time to read; I just have so many options of what to read that I can never decide on one.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?
Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor!
3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Eva Lavender by Leslye Walton. I mentioned this book in my TTT post this week; I can't wait to read it! But why, oh, why does it not come out until March? :(
4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare.
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?
My major goal for this blog in 2014 is to be consistent. I'm pretty faithful about updating my tumblr, but I really didn't accomplish much on this blog this year. I'm currently brainstorming different features/memes for the blog and I would love it if I could come up with something that other bloggers and readers could join in on. We'll just have to see. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for me, don't be shy! I'd love to hear your feedback and learn what you'd like to see more (or less) of! As for my reading, well, the goal is somewhat the same. 2013 was a bumpy year for me, what with all the stresses of finishing my last semester of college, graduating, and trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. All of that combined left me little time for reading. But even when I did have time, I always seemed to find something else to do, like infinitely scrolling through my tumblr dash, or playing endless rounds of Bejeweled on my iPod, or catching up on TV recordings. In 2014, I really want to get rid of all the distractions and make time for reading. I don't want to make it feel like a chore, like something I have to do even when I don't want to do it, but I do want to make it a greater priority in my life. There are just too many good books out there that I want to read and so little time to read them. Why waste the time I could be reading a great book on playing some mindless game or constantly refreshing my tumblr page?
Well, that about wraps it up! Here's to looking forward to more great books in 2014!
Hi! I'm so glad to see love for The Chaos Walking trilogy. Those books were recommended to me as a good read after The Hunger Games (before Divergent even came out) and I love them so much! Patrick Ness is a great writer! I also loved FANGIRL. Reading your quote makes me want to go reread it. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi there! Oh my gosh, I am SO glad I read them! They are truly awesome books. And, yes, Fangirl is definitely one I'll have to reread, too! :)
DeleteEveryone keeps talking about The Book Thief – gah!! So need to read it. I think your answers are very diversified and less repetitive than mine
ReplyDeleteIt really is a great book. And thanks! I tried to answer with different books for each question but in the end I just couldn't get past those select few books!
DeleteI need to read Gone Girl... everyone is always talking about it and I just haven't made the time for it yet. Hope you are able to make more time for your blog. It is hard to be consistent and come up with new and interesting topics that will make people want to follow you. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteAngie
My End of Year Survey
I loved Gone Girl and The Book Thief. I was also somewhat disappointed with The Bone Season. I expected so much more from it. Great answers!
ReplyDeleteI loved The Knife of Never Letting Go when I read it, took me a few chapters to get into it as well :) I can't believe I still haven't read any Rainbow Rowell, this is something I need to do this year!
ReplyDeleteI really struggle with being consistent as far as blogging goes too. I find it really difficult if I have a rough week or I'm working loads. Sometimes I'm up till the early hours of the morning trying to get the posts finished and end up suffering through the next day at work. Plus I need to concentrate more time on reading, I've watched all nine seasons of The Office in the last month or two - twice... Netflix is stealing precious reading time from me. Hopefully we both get the hang of this next year! :)
My End of Year Survey
Yes, you really do! She's a great writer! :)
DeleteHaha, I can definitely relate! With TV and tumblr and YouTube all competing for my attention, it's hard to find time to read. I really need to make it a priority.