2018 End of Year Book Survey

Happy New Year, everyone! Long time no see.

Every year, Jamie of The Perpetual Page Turner hosts the awesome End of Year Survey, which gives readers the chance to sum up and reflect on what they've read throughout the year. And every December when this post goes live, I, with my list-making, organization-loving personality, squeal with joy. So here's my recap of my most loved/most memorable reads of 2018. (To see the full list of what I read last year, check out my 2018 Goodreads Reading Challenge page.)

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not yet read Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas (or any of the series, for that matter) and do not want to be spoiled, come back later once you’ve finished. There are also spoilers for the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes.

2018 READING STATS

Number of books you read: 41
Number of re-reads: 7
Genre you read the most from: YA Fantasy

Best book you read In 2018:

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas. For me, 2018 was all about this book. It was my most-anticipated read of the year, and I was counting down the months to its release. At some point I'll probably write an embarrassingly geeky post about how much I loved it, but for now suffice to say that KOA did not disappoint.

Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn’t:

The Falling Kingdoms series. Here be spoilers, so read at your own risk. The characters were shallow and frustrating, and they constantly made incredibly stupid decisions that made want to fling whichever book I was reading across the room. And I absolutely could not stand the will-they-won’t-they nonsense between Magnus and Cleo. It went on for way too long, and by the fourth or fifth book, I was over it. There were also some "dramatic" plot twists that made little sense, like the king telling Magnus that the witch Sabina was his real mother but then later on saying “Nah, I lied about that” ... for no apparent reason. I really wanted to love this series, but it fell far short of my expectations.

Thats A No GIF from Simoncowell GIFs

Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read:

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold. WOW. I didn't really know what to expect from this one apart from people telling me it was dark (they were right). I was a little wary of it because, being a '90s baby, I grew up with fairy-tale movies, and for better or for worse, I like the romantic, happily ever after tropes. So I was totally surprised by how much I loved Damsel, even though it takes those tropes and rips them to shreds.

Book you "pushed” the most people to read (and they did):
The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, because I wanted my friends to suffer along with me.

Best series you started in 2018? Best Sequel of 2018? Best Series Ender of 2018?

Best series started: Wraith Kings by Grace Draven. I absolutely adored Radiance. It’s relatively short and felt a bit underdeveloped plotwise but I honestly didn’t even care because I enjoyed reading about the characters so much! 

Best sequel: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. This is my favorite book is the TOG series because it's a huge turning point for Celaena/Aelin, and she grows so much as a character. Also, we meet Rowan and Manon, who are both amazing.

Best series ender: I mean, it’s got to be Kingdom of Ash. I'm still recovering from the book hangover.

Favorite new author you discovered in 2018:

Grace Draven. Radiance was a delightful surprise, and I’ve already got several other books of hers on my TBR list that I hope to get to this year.

Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone:

Truthfully, I didn’t venture far outside my reading comfort zone in 2018. I guess the book that was most different from what I've been reading lately would be The Gentleman by Forrest Leo, which is a blend of historical fiction and parody. It's about a struggling poet who inadvertently sells his wife to the devil (or so he thinks) in exchange for an end to his writer’s block. It also wins the award for having one of the most relatable dialogue exchanges I've ever read:

"Do you mean to tell me, Simmons, that we haven't any money left?"
"I'm afraid not, sir."
"Where on earth has it gone?"
"I don't mean to be critical, sir, but you tend toward profligacy."
"Nonsense, Simmons. I don't buy anything except books. You cannot possibly tell me I've squandered by fortune upon books."
"Squander is not the word I would have used, sir. But it was the books that did it, I believe."

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year:

I know it’s so boring for me to keep choosing Kingdom of Ash, BUT THE TRUTH CANNOT BE DENIED. It was the most thrilling, unputdownable book of the year (although after the chapter about the Thirteen, I did have to put the book down and cry for a few hours collect myself before I could continue). 

Book you read in 2018 that you would be most likely to reread next year:

I am so ready for another TOG series reread ... even though I just did one this fall.

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2018:

Heir of Fire. Can I have Celaena/Aelin's wardrobe, please?


Most memorable character of 2018:

2018 was the year of Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius, y’all.

Most beautifully written book read in 2018:

The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth. This was such a tragically beautiful book, and my heart ached the entire time I was reading it.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2018 to finally read:

Well, since most of the books I read in 2018 were new releases or rereads, I guess I'll say Tower of Dawn. I kept putting it off because—please don’t pelt me with tomatoes—Chaol is my least favorite character in the TOG series. I was always pretty meh about him, and Queen of Shadows turned that indifference into raging ball of hatred. Lol. So when Sarah J. Maas announced that there would be an entire novel about him, I was like …

I did enjoy Yrene’s POV, though, and, okay, fine, I guess Chaol kind of redeemed himself, and he and Yrene make a cute couple or whatever.

Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2018:

"For you, Fireheart. All of it is for you."
—Rowan Whitethorn Galathynius, Kingdom of Ash

I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING!

Shortest and longest book you read in 2018:

Shortest: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (32 pages, and I'm counting it because it's a children's classic I'd never read before, so there.)

Longest: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas (992 pages)

Book that shocked you the most:

Take a wild guess. (Spoiler alert: it’s Kingdom of Ash. It gave me like a hundred mini heart attacks.)

OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!):

Rowan and Aelin from Throne of Glass. I love them.

Favorite nonromantic relationship of the year:

Aelin and Fenrys. The blinking system they came up with in KOA BROKE ME.

Favorite book you read in 2018 from an author you’ve read previously:

Kingdom of Ash. Sorry not sorry.

Best book you read in 2018 that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure/bookstagram, etc.:

Paige of A Conjuring of Lit (who is awesome for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is our shared love for Patrick Star gifs) recommended Damsel to me, and it did not disappoint.

Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2018:

Brishen from the Wraith Kings series. I loved how gentle and patient he was with Ildiko; it endeared him to me right from the start.

Best 2018 debut you read:

The Light Between Worlds. Whoo, this one made me cry a lot.

Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting you read this year:

The Throne of Glass series. 

Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read?

A Court of Frost and Starlight. I know this one was pretty divisive among Sarah J. Maas fans; it seems like you either loved it or you hated it. I'm in the first camp. After all the hardships the Inner Circle went through in A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Wings and Ruin, it was nice to have a nice, fluffy read where (most of) the characters were happy and safe. I laughed at so many moments—Amren the snowball; Cassian and Feyre drunkenly decorating the townhouse; “Little Rhysie”; Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel having a snowball fight; and, of course, Rhys getting kicked out of the birchen. And I may have cried a little when Rhys and Feyre decided to start their family.

Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2018:

I think a better question would be which books didn't make me cry! All the Throne of Glass books made me cry, even the ones I reread. Honorable mentions include Daughter of Smoke and Bone (also a reread), Damsel, The Light Between Worlds, and ACOWAR (another reread).

Hidden gem of the year:

The Light Between Worlds. It's beautifully written and heart-wrenching, and I really appreciated how Weymouth made you understand both sisters' sides of the story and feel for them both.

Book that crushed your soul:

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas and Damsel by Elana K. Arnold. The end of EOS kills me every single time, even now that I've read KOA and know things turn out (mostly) fine. And Damsel ... Damsel is not a happy book, you guys, and wow, Arnold is good at making you feel the emptiness and hopelessness and anger that Ama feels.

Most unique book you read in 2018?

Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany by Jane Mount. I love Jane Mount's book stack paintings, so I swiped this book up and read it in about a day. It's a fun collection of her paintings, interesting facts about authors and indie bookstores, suggested reading lists, and lots of other random bits and pieces (hence miscellany).

Book that made you the most mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it):

The Falling Kingdoms series was so frustrating and didn't live up to my expectations. I was constantly screaming (in my head) at the characters. Queen of Shadows, which I love dearly, also got me riled up because Kale—er, that is, Chaol—is a bit of an asshat.

New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2018:

I found out about Book Roast via the Magical Readathon on Twitter, and I absolutely love her videos! (Those fairy lights on her bookshelves are GOALS!) I was too late to participate in the Magical Readathon in 2018, but I'm gonna try to join this year.

Favorite post you wrote in 2018:

If you've visited my blog before, it's no secret that I've, uh, not done a great job at keeping up with it over the years. When I first started my blog, I wasn't working yet, so I had much more free time to focus on reading and blogging. Naturally, that free time went away once I started working, and most days the last thing I want to do after spending eight hours in front of a computer is spend more time in front of a computer. That being said, I don't have a lot of posts to choose from for 2018, but I did have an awful lot of fun writing my Top Ten Favorite ACOTAR Moments post in April.

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

I always love participating in the OTSP Secret Sister project, and it's led to some great friendships! In fact, sign-ups for the next round go live TODAY, so check out Alyssa's (Books Take You Places) FAQ post if you're interested in participating.

Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2018:

Holding Kingdom of Ash in my hands for the first time after two long, long years of waiting.

Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year:

Well, obviously I struggled with the motivation to blog (again). I also have a serious problem with spending too much time on social media talking about books and not enough time actually reading books. I'm hoping to be better about that this year.

Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year:
I started off 2018 with a goal to read 100 books, but I cut that down to 50 in the summer. I still fell 9 books short. BUT I'm not letting that stop me from trying again. My Goodreads challenge goal is set back to 100, and I'm going to do my best to make it.

One book you didn’t get to in 2018 but will be your number 1 priority in 2019:

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor. I was so excited for this one, but I wanted to reread Strange the Dreamer before starting it. But in October I was deep into my reread of Throne of Glass and so immersed in that world that I didn’t want to get distracted by anything else. The trouble with reading so much fantasy, or multi-book series in general, is that it gets hard to juggle them all and keep the worlds and characters straight so they don’t all blend together.

Book you are most anticipating for 2019 (non-debut)?

Crescent City and The World of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. She’s basically an auto-buy author me at this point. I'm also SUPER excited for The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.

2019 debut you are most anticipating?

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan. I was lucky enough to receive an e-ARC of this, and I can't wait to read it!

Series ending/a sequel you are most anticipating in 2019?

World of Throne of Glass. Rumor has it that we get a glimpse ten years into the future, and even though KOA has only been out for three months, I am READY for more. I need to know how all of my preciouses are faring.

One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2019?

I’ve got to get to 100 books this year, you guys. One, because I need to spend less time mindlessly scrolling through social media, and two, because my bookshelves are insane and need culling, or else there's a very real possibility one of them might fall over and crush me.

Well, that's a wrap on 2018! What were some of your favorite books last year?

2017 Year-End Statistics Survey

A random fact you may not know about me is that I love making lists, filling out questionnaires, and taking surveys. When I was a kid, I used to get all those "about me" journals that had you answer questions like "What's your favorite color?" "What are your favorite movies?" and on and on, and I'd have a field day filling them out with my array of glittery gel pens. I actually still do pick up books like this from time to time (the Listography journals, anyone?), whenever I find one that looks fun to fill out. So, naturally, I had to do the Year-End Statistics Survey hosted by Brittany of The Book Addict's Guide and Andi of Andi's ABCs. I also plan on doing Jamie's (The Perpetual Page Turner) End of the Year survey too, so watch out for that later this week!

Without further ado, here are my 2017 reading stats. If you want to fill out the survey yourself, just click on the above links to Brittany's or Andi's blogs for a blank version with all the questions.

Number of books read…

• Under 250 pages (not including novellas): 10
• Between 400-449 pages: 5
• Between 450-499 pages: 1
• Over 500 pages: 4
• Over 1000 pages: 0

Number of…

• Audiobooks: 4
• Rereads: 5
• DNFs (did not finish): I didn't keep track of my DNFs this year, but I'm sure the total number's probably more than I would've liked. 

Number of books rated…

• Five Stars: 7
• One/Two Stars: 1
• Number of authors met in 2017: 0
• Number of book events attended in 2017: 1 
• Number of books you read in one day: It just occurred to me I could answer this question in two ways: the number of books I read in a single day, or the number of books I completed in one day, but on separate days. If it's the first, there were about nine books I read throughout the year that I completed in one day. Not entirely positive that's accurate, but it's my best guess. As for the total number of books I ever read in one single day, I think the most would've been two.
• Number of books that made you cry: Only 4, surprisingly!
• Number of 2017 books you have on preorder: 1. I only preordered A Court of Wings and Ruin. 

• Book read furthest away from home (vacation reads?): I didn't go on vacation this year, and since I moved, I guess the books I read in my new home state don't exactly count as being read far away from home (even though it sort of feels that way).
• Book that took you the longest to read: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova took me a couple of months. 
• Book that you personally connected with the most: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. 
• Book that made you love the villain: I guess Rhys in ACOTAR? Lol! That's sort of a cheat answer though because it was a reread, so I already knew he wasn't really a villain. 
• Book you said you’d come back to but still haven’t picked up again: Caraval. The beginning was a bit slow, and I went into a reading slump and set it aside. I definitely do want to come back to it though!
• Book you read on your birthday: I can't believe it, but I don't think I read anything on or around my birthday!
• Book you weren’t entirely truthful about when rating (Fluff up any ratings? Rated even though you didn’t finish?): I totally rated The Unthinkable without finishing it. It was nonfiction, and I ended up skimming it through to the end because I got bored. 
• Book you read in 2017 but already want to reread: A Court of Wings and Ruin, for sure!
• Book you wish you could go back and read for the first time again: Also A Court of Wings and Ruin. It was my most anticipated book, and I love this series so much that I wish I could experience it all over again!
• Most books read by one author this year: Three by Sarah J. Maas: Empire of Storms, A Court of Wings and Ruin, and A Court of Thorns and Roses. 

Happiest & saddest

• Happiest: Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor
• Saddest: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Longest & shortest…

• By page number: 
• Longest: A Court of Wings and Ruin (704 pages)
• Shortest: To Kiss in the Shadows by Lynn Kurland (86 pages)
• By title:
• Longest: The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why
• Shortest: Wintersong and Hunted
• From buying to reading:
• Longest: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I originally bought it/started reading it nine years ago in high school, but I didn't finish it until this December.
• Shortest: To Kiss in the Shadows and Snowed Over by Angie Stanton. Finished both of these within a couple hours of downloading the e-books.

Best & worst…

• Average rating on Goodreads: 3
• Books you read/your rating: 
• Best (5 stars): The Historian, Night of Cake and Puppets, Strange the Dreamer, Empire of Storms, The Bird and the Sword, Big Mushy Happy Lump, and Hunted.
• Worst (2 stars): The Edge of Everything

First & last…

• Reads of 2017:
• First: I Work at a Public Library by Gina Sheridan
• Last: Snowed Over by Angie Stanton
• Books on your bookcase (1st book on the top left and last book on the bottom right):
• First: Dreamology by Lucy Keating
• Last: The Black Jewels trilogy anthology by Anne Bishop
• Most disappointing & biggest pleasant surprise:
• Most disappointing: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
• Biggest Pleasant Surprise: The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon
• Fandom you joined & one you abandoned:
• Joined: Strange the Dreamer
• Abandoned: None. I stuck to all my fandoms this year.
• Series you picked up & series you quit:
• Picked up: The de Piaget series by Lynn Kurland
• Quit: I didn't quit any series this year.
• Most lenient & harshest ratings:
• Most lenient: An Enchantment of Ravens. I gave it a 3 on Goodreads, but it's really more of a 2.5 to me.
• Harshest: The Edge of Everything. This was my lowest rating of the year (2).
• Most hyped & furthest under the radar that you read:
• Most hyped: Definitely A Court of Wings and Ruin
• Furthest under the radar: Probably Snowed Over.

• Book you read that is red: A Court of Thorns and Roses (reread)
• Starts with X, Y, or Z: None, but I did have two that started with W: Wintersong and The Wood.
• Book you hugged when you finished it: Probably A Court of Wings and Ruin, haha!
• Book you wanted to throw across a room: Empire of Storms. But not in a "I hate this book" way. More like a "I hate this book, but I also love it so much and I need the next one right now because I can't believe SJM made my poor fictional children suffer so much" kind of way.
• Food you craved while/after reading a certain book: I definitely wanted cake while reading A Night of Cake and Puppets!
• Book that became an instant go-to recommendation: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (seriously, if you haven't read this yet, RETHINK YOUR LIFE CHOICES). :P
• Furthest out of your comfort zone: Mm...maybe Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel? It's science fiction, which I don't normally read, but the premise was so interesting, and the audiobook was phenomenal!
• Read on a recommendation (that you may not have picked up yourself): The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon, though it wasn't exactly a recommendation that made me pick it up. I saw some fan art for it that was absolutely gorgeous, and that made me want to read it.
• Forced yourself to finish: The Edge of Everything, Wintersong, and The Wood.
• Series or author’s works you binged (whether all at once or throughout the year): Sarah J. Maas throughout the year, and then Naoko Takeuchi in December.

First…

• Post of 2017: My entry for the Flights of Fantasy reading challenge hosted by Alexa Loves Books and Hello, Chelly.
• Review of 2017: The Wood

Last…

• Post of 2017: Day 2 of my Countdown to Christmas series, which I unfortunately didn't get to finish because I got super sick that week. :(
• Review of 2017: An Enchantment of Ravens

• Number of posts in 2017: Ha! 17 posts in 2017!
• Number of reviews posted this year: This is super embarrassing ... I only posted 2 reviews this year! Yikes! Must do better in 2018!
• Post with the most views (posted in 2017): The House Cup Reading Challenge sign-up information post
• Post you wish you could rewrite: Either of my reviews. I am so terrible at writing reviews, which is probably why I only posted two this year, haha! No matter how I feel about the book, I always find it incredibly hard to sum up and put those feelings into words.

Well, there you have it! It's really cool to look back on the year and see what I accomplished in my reading life and what I want to improve on this year. I definitely want to up my reviewing game, which was seriously lacking in 2017, and I want to hit my Goodreads reading challenge goal, which I'm being even more ambitious about this year (100 books!). 2018 is going to be a year of finally getting around to the books that have been gathering dust of my shelves; it's time I made reading a priority again! In fact, I think I'll go start right now ... or as soon as I can decide on which one I really want to read. Haha!

What about you all? Did you meet, exceed, or fall short of your reading goals for 2017? What are your new goals for 2018? Let me know in the comments! And if you filled out this survey, gimme your links so I can check them out! :)

Bookish Resolutions

Well, it's a new year which means it's time to make some resolutions of the bookish variety.

1. Read 100 books by December 31. You can start your own 2014 reading challenge here on Goodreads!

2. A week ago I found these really cool printable calendars designed by nerdfighter, Karen Kavett. They're called Don't Break the Chain and at the top of each calendar there is space for you write what activity you want to track and how long you want to do that activity each day. The idea is that once you start tracking your chosen activity, you won't want to stop, or "break the chain." I'm using mine to track my reading and have made it my goal to read at least 30 minutes every day!

2. Participate in the 2014 Book Memories Challenge, created by Grown Up Fangirl.

3. Complete these Reading Bingo sheets:

 

I've printed them off to hang on my bookshelf so I can track my progress!

4. Read more of the classics. Ever since graduating from college, I haven't really pushed myself to read anything outside my comfort zone (YA and contemporary adult fiction). I have a shelf filled with nothing but classics, some of which I read in school and others that I've been meaning to read for a long time. Even though I'm sure I won't make it through all of them, I'm going to make it a priority to read Nicholas Nickleby and Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the ones which have been on my shelf the longest.

What are your bookish resolutions? :)

Friday Fun: A Book Survey

Kelly at The Broke and the Bookish posted a short book survey earlier today and invited others to join in on the fun, so I'm doing just that! Feel free to comment with your own answers or a link to your blog post.

1. The book I'm currently reading:
I'm actually reading two books at the moment: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness and City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (a re-read). I'm reading Monsters as part of the #readchaos project started by prettybooks on tumblr and I am so glad I decided to do it; the Chaos Walking trilogy is amazing!

2. The last book I finished:
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness. I can't even. Please just go and read this series if you haven't already.

3. The next book I want to read:
Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn. This has been on my to-read shelf for a while and I finally got a copy from the library.

4. The last book I bought:
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Ever since reading The Handmaid's Tale, I've been wanting to read more of Atwood's work. Oryx and Crake sounds like it'll be a sufficiently creepy dystopian/sci-fi tale.

5. The last book I was given:
I don't really receive books too often - if anything I usually get a bookstore gift card so I can pick out whatever I want. I think the last book I received as a gift was The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.