End of Year Survey 2014!

Another year wrapping up! I know some people like to do this survey early, but I like to leave it until the very last minute of the year (or the very first minutes of the new year) in case I managed to squeak in another read. And boy am I glad I waited this year!

2014 Reading Statistics

Books Read: 141

Number of Re-Reads: 8

Genre You Read the Most From: with 39 books, YA Fantasy wins. 

Best in Books

1. Best Book You Read in 2014?

This is such a hard question for me! I think I'm going to cheat a smidge and do categories. 

YA Fantasy: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

YA Contemporary: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Adult Fantasy: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Adult Contemporary: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

New Adult: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Nonfiction: The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin

Short Story Collection: My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

Graphic Novel: Hawkeye My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction

Middle Grade/ Transitional Novel: Alvin Ho by Lenore Look

2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going to Love More but Didn't?

The Magicians by Lev Grossman. If you've been reading my reviews, you'll know that I utterly despised that book. Biggest let-down of my entire life.

3. Most Surprising (in a Good Way or Bad Way) book you read in 2014? 

I think Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith wins this by default. I just had no idea what was happening the entire time I was reading.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?

I definitely pushed The Chaos Walking series like crazy. And I'll Give You the Sun. But weirdly, I think The Port Chicago 50 might win this one by default of I recommended it to one person and she definitely read it. 
 

 5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?

 The Lunar Chronicles is probably the best all-around series I started this year.
The Winner's Crime is probably the best sequel (but it technically doesn't come out until next year, sooo...I'm gonna leave that one up to you guys.)
Best Series Ender would have to be Monsters of Men. Incredible.

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?

 Oh man, I found so many good authors this year!! But I think I'll have to go with Patrick Ness. Simply because I've read the most of his works. Or Jandy Nelson (2/2). Or Marissa Meyer (3/3). 

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

 I don't read much adult fiction anymore, but I one that I didn't expect to like and looooved was The Color Purple by Alice Walker. No wonder it's on so many reading lists.

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

 This is a tricky question for me because I tend to read books in one sitting anyway. Especially the ones I read for class. But I think I'm going to go with The Knife of Never Letting Go because it's huuuge and I started reading it and didn't put it down until I stopped, sobbing, at two o'clock in the morning when I had to go to work at 8. 

 9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

 Weirdly, my answer for this is going to be one of the few adult books I read. Written in Red by Anne Bishop which I only read last week is a book that I'm already dying to read again. Definitely at the top of my re-read list. 

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?

Hm. I mean, I think that has to go to Level Up:

 11. Most memorable character of 2014?

 Most memorable character would probably have to be Meg Corbyn from the Others series. She's got secrets and powers and even though she's very innocent, she's really capable. Runner Ups are probably Todd (from the Chaos Walking series) and Alvin Ho (from the Alvin Ho series).

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

 I'll Give You the Sun. Oh my goodness gracious. I was trying to take down passages on like every other page. And I didn't end up putting many in my review, but I still think I put down more than any of my other reviews.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?

 Hm. I read a lot of thought-provoking books this year. I think Nothing but the Truth by Avi maybe wins because there are so many different ways you can use it to look at the world. 

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read? 

 I mean, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Scorpio Races, Locomotion, and Watership Down are all on this list. 

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?

Maybe we're accumulating these new selves all the time.' Hauling them in as we make choices, good and bad, as we screw up, step up, lose our minds, find our minds, fall apart, fall in love, as we grieve, grow, retreat from the world, dive into the world, as we make things, as we break things. (I'll Give You the Sun).

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Longest: Perfect by Ellen Hopkins at 622 pages
Shortest: The New World by Patrick Ness at 25 pages.
 

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

Oh my goodness. I think I have to go with The Winner's Crime for this one because I literally posted my review on Goodreads when I finished it as "Holy Shit."
 

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Ah! I have the hardest times with OTPs in books. I think Meg and Simon (Written in Red) are at the top right now. But I do love Cinder and Prince Kai (The Lunar Chronicles). And Lady Kestral and Arin (The Winner's Curse). Oh gosh and way too many more. I usually ship canonically with books.

 

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Noah and Jude! Phenomenal sibling relationship. (I'll Give You the Sun)

 

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Landline by Rainbow Rowell or Written in Red by Anne Bishop. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak was also fantastic.

 

21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

Don't Look Back by Jennifer Armentrout. This wasn't even on my radar until my good friend, Melissa made me read it. And it was really really good.

 

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?

Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Prince Kai (The Lunar Chronicles). Or Jaxon (Like No Other). Or Arin (The Winner's Curse). 

 
23. Best 2014 debut you read?

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavendar by Leslye Walton. Phenomenal. 
 
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Chaos Walking or The Lunar Chronicles or The Scorpio Races or Written in Red or The Winner's Curse. I read a lot of really well-built books this year.
 
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure was hilarious. I was in stitches half of the time.
 
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?

I mean I cried so hard reading The Knife of Never Letting Go that my cat had to come investigate the noise I was making. (Hint: It was desperate, gulping sobs.)
 
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

I mean, I feel like The Knife of Never Letting Go was a bit of a hidden gem since it came out in 2008, and I have yet to meet another person who has read it. But Like No Other was also a fantastic read.
 
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

A Monster Calls or The Knife of Never Letting Go. Patrick Ness: Soul Crusher.
 
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?

Probably The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. I've never read anything quite like it. 
 
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Still The Magicians. I JUST CANNOT LET IT GO. WHY WAS IT SO BAD? WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE IT? HOW HAS IT BECOME A THING??? UGHHHHHHHHH.

My Blogging / Bookish Life

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014? 

Hm. I've been following a pretty solid collection of blogs for the last year. The newest blog I started following is Read. Breathe. Relax. 

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014? 

I think my favorite review might be the one I wrote for Landline. It's totally different than my other reviews, but it means a lot to me. Check it out here. 

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

I mean, I wrote some pretty awesome discussion posts this year. Okay I wrote like 7 total, but they were all really good! I think my favorite though is this one about "Boy" books and "Girl" books. 

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

I went to the Boston Book Festival this year which was super interesting. But I think my favorite event was the Horn Book Awards Ceremony. I met Gene Luen Yang, and he signed my copy of Boxers-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?

Uhm. Probably meeting Gene Luen Yang and having him sign my book. But it was a pretty great year over all.

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

By comments: It's this Top Ten Tuesday post (with 7. My followers are silent people. Like The Gentlemen.)

By views: It's this Top Ten Tuesday post (with 58 views! My followers are also very few in number. Also like The Gentlemen). 

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Uhm. This post on Love Triangles? I mean, come on, that pun was dying to be made. 

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

Well, I moved. So that sucked. And I haven't really found any great book stores yet. But my mom did get me a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas. Which is great because then I hopefully won't have to drag a whole backpack's worth of books with me to classes. Also I can check out books from the library!

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

Boy, did I! The one I'm most excited about is I finally read over 100 books in a year! I've had that as my goal for like my entire life, and this year I managed it. Woot woot!

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?

Hmmm. I think maybe The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. It's been on my to-read list for quite a while. 

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?

Probably Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen. (Although I still haven't read The Moon and More, oops!)
 3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I honestly haven't been too aware of debut novels for 2015, but I think No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss looks pretty awesome.

  4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?

Fairest and Winter! I'm psyched to get two more books in the Lunar Chronicles!!
 5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?

I really want to start a weekly theme for myself. And get on a better blogging schedule.
 6. A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

I mean, The Winner's Crime. 

And that's it! My year in review! It's been a great one. I hope I read as many good books next year. What about you lovelies? What's the best book you've read this year? Comment with a book I need to read in 2015!!