To end my first year as a book blogger I wanted to do something extra special so I was super excited when I found The Perpetual Page Turner's 5th Annual End of Year Book Survey! Okay, so it's not actually the end of the year, but it's getting pretty close and I don't foresee many more books in the next few days considering the madness that is already upon us. And what better time to post an end-of-year post than Christmas day?! So here it is! My first end of year survey! Here's hoping there are many more to come!
2014 Reading Stats
Number Of Books You Read: 63, according to Goodreads! I realize it's not many compared to a lot of my fellow bloggers, but considering I only started seriously reading, tracking, and blogging around June, I'm pretty happy with it ;)
Number of Re-Reads: 3 (I'm not big on re-reads)
Genre You Read The Most From: YA Dystopian for sure. I really realized that I am totally in love with the young adult genre! Before starting this blog, I had a misconception that I was only smart (or something) if I was reading "adult" books. I felt guilty about reading YA! Since then I've decided to read what I love, and that seems to be YA on most days!
Best in Books
1. Best Book You Read In 2014?
Favorite YA book (series) was Splintered by A.G. Howard and favorite "adult" book was Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Suspicion by Alexandra Monir. I was so excited when I was approved on Netgalley, but it was kind of a total let down.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?
The Selection by Kiera Cass. I first read it when it was released and made it about two chapters in before putting it down. I picked it up again this year just to see and I absolutely loved it!
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?
Splintered. I'm pretty sure everyone already knows how much I love it because I've bugged the crap out of every person who has commented on my blog! Haha! But several broke down and read it and also enjoyed it (I'm still waiting on one more...).
5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?
Series: Splintered; Sequel: Unhinged; Series Ender: The Retribution of Mara Dyer
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?
Do I really need to say it? A.G. Howard. Although there were a few others I discovered and fell in love with this year as well.
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan. I rarely read high fantasy, but I've really enjoyed The Wheel of Time series so far.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
The entire Mara Dyer series
9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I doubt I'll re-read anything, but Splintered is high on my list, as is Bound by Duty (since I'm hoping for a sequel)
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?
Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman had an amazing cover!
11. Most memorable character of 2014?
Morpheus from Splintered. I LOVED every second of him!
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?
Splintered... Guys, I'm just going to autofill Splintered for every question.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?
I loved a lot of books this year, but I really wouldn't say any of them were particularly life-changing. Maybe this is what happens when you read mostly YA.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?
The Selection. Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking.
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?
"Love is beautiful fear" - America, The Elite. A simple quote, maybe a little silly to some, but it's so true. At least in my experience.
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Shortest: The Story of Her Holding an Orange (73 pages); Longest: Fires of Heaven (989 pages, but I cheated via audiobook)
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
The Retribution of Mara Dyer - the bad guy... what?
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)
Alyssa and Morpheus (the WILL end up together!), Splintered
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
America and Kriss, The Selection
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
The Selection. I saw it on probably a hundred lists this year and finally decided to give it another try. Best decision EVER!
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?
Morpheus. But you probably could have guessed that by now.
23. Best 2014 debut you read?
Bound by Duty by Stormy Smith. I'm dying to read part two!
24. Best World building/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
...Splintered. I loved A.G. Howard's Wonderland!
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
I'm Dreaming of an Undead Christmas. I don't read a lot of humor, but this quick Christmas read really put me in the Christmas spirit!
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?
I really don't cry about books. Like, ever. But I did come close with Acheron.
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Bound by Duty. I feel like not enough people know about it. Read it!
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
The Song of Achilles. If you know the story of Achilles, I'm sure you understand why.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?
Probably The Merciless. I love horror and I've never read one exactly like this. Maybe because it might be offensive? I enjoyed it a lot!
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
The Evolution of Mara Dyer. I feel like everyone in this book other than Mara and Noah needed to be slapped.
My Blogging/Bookish Life
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014?
This Is My Soul Called Life. I love Claudia's unique take on basically every post she makes!
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014?
Splintered review! First review using gifs and it made me giggle.
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
Why TV shows are almost as good as books. Mostly because Hook was there.
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
The Ho-Ho-Ho Holiday Read-a-thon! It was my first ever read-a-thon as a blogger and I had so much fun!
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?
Winning my first giveaway over at Readers Live A Thousand Lives!
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
There was some kind of glitch with my 8th Top Ten Tuesday post and it came away with 2177 views, so I'm going to say that one won :P
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Spire In The Woods interview. Spine Tingling Saturday was a meme I played around with when my blog was brand new and I eventually kind of stopped doing it, but I do wish more people had seen this post just so more people could read my favorite scary story on Reddit!
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Book Outlet! While the shipping time sucked on my first order, I just can't pass up super cheap books!
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
Yes! I technically completed all of them since none of them required a specific number. The challenges I participated in this year were the Horror Challenge, Dystopia Challenge, Audiobook Challenge, Witches & Witchcraft Challenge, Series Challenge, and Holiday Read-a-thon.
Looking Ahead
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?
Cress by Marissa Myer
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?
The Heir by Kiera Cass
3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?
Ensnared by A.G. Howard!!
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?
Double my reading goal!
6. A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
I haven't finished it, but Broken Skies by Theresa Kay is amazing so far!
