2013 End of Year Book Survey

best-books-2013-1024x862
 
I don’t know how this year went by so fast, but 2013 is almost over. I can’t believe it! To end the year, I’ve decided to participate in the awesome 2013 End of Year Book Survey, hosted by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner. All questions and images belong to her! Thanks, Jamie!!

So, here we go!

1 best-teen-books-2013-1024x255
 
1. Best book you read in 2013? (If you have to cheat, you can break it down by genre)
It’s almost impossible to narrow that list down. But I’m going to say Splintered by A.G. Howard, Spellcaster by Claudia Gray, Shadowlands by Kate Brian, Crash Into You by Katie McGarry, A Matter of Truth by Heather Lyons and The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine. I can’t pick just one, but those are my Top Five!

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love, but didn’t?
Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz. I’ve loved all her books and it had such a great concept. But the writing and characters fell flat.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
All of Katie McGarry’s books, but especially Crash Into You. Before I started blogging, I never really liked contemporary and now I love it. And these books were amazing and made me cry!

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Probably Unhinged by A.G. Howard. It was soooo amazing!

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
Shadowlands by Kate Brian. The first book came out in January 2013 and the second book just released in October. The ending of Shadowlands was… Holy crap! I still need to read book two, but I’m so excited for it!

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Uhh… I discovered a LOT of new authors in 2013, thanks to blogging! I absolutely can’t pick one! A.G Howard, Heather Lyons, Rachel Harris, Amalie Howard, Katie McGarry, Beth Albright, Vivi Barnes, Robin Constantine, Jamie Grey, Romily Bernard – All of them are such amazing people! I love them all!!

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Rachel Harris’ Taste the Heat. It’s contemporary adult romance – something I NEVER read before Taste the Heat. I won it on Twitter and absolutely loved it! Now I read everything Rachel Harris writes!

8. Most thrilling, un-put-downable book in 2013?
Hm… I think I have to go with Shadowlands by Kate Brian. It was such a fun, interesting read and it kept me guessing until the very end.. And then I was mind blown! It’s been almost a year since it was published and I’m STILL mind blown by that ending!

9. Book in 2013 you are most likely to re-read next year?
I don’t do a lot of re-reads. But if I had to pick one… I think I’d re-read The Program by Suzanne Young. It was amazing and I’d love to re-read it so it’s fresh in my mind for when I read book two, The Treatment.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

Splintered These Broken Stars

11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Morpheus from Splintered by A.G. Howard – No contest!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
Definitely Splintered by A.G. Howard. Her writing is beautiful, vivid, descriptive, imaginative. It’s just gorgeous.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Shadowlands by Kate Brian really blew my mind.. I definitely had a Book Hangover from that one! Also, Sever by Lauren DeStefano. I pretty much had a heart attack while reading that book.. At least three heart attacks, to be exact.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to read?
Every single book Heather Lyons and Katie McGarry ever wrote. How did I survive without Kellan and Isaiah in my life?!?!?

15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2013?
All from Splintered by AG Howard:
“What happens in Wonderland stays in Wonderland”
“Thirty sprites touched your naked body?”
“I am a man in every way that counts!”

16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2013?
Shortest was… the Unnhinged (A.G. Howard) chapter sampler, which only had one chapter (maybe 20 pages?) in it. And I think the longest was probably Allegiant by Veronica Roth.

17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it?
The end of Shadowlands by Kate Brian!!! Mind. Blown.

18. Favorite relationship from a book you read in 2013?
Kaylee and Tod from Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers series. I love them together!!!

19. Favorite book you read in 2013 from an author that you’ve read previously?
Spellcaster by Claudia Gray. I’ve been reading her books for years and Spellcaster was amazing!

20. Best book you read in 2013 that you read based solely on a recommendation from someone else?
Someone recommended I read The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine, though I didn’t read a lot of contemporary at that time. But I loved it!!

21. Genre you read the most from in 2013?
Pretty sure I read a lot of Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic. But I always do, so that isn’t a surprise.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
Morpheus!!!! *Swoons* Also, Kellan and Isaiah!!

23. Best debut 2013 debut you read?
Definitely Splintered by A.G. Howard

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
No contest, it was Splintered by A.G. Howard (again)!!

25. Book that was the most fun to read in 2013?
Splintered by A.G. Howard. The writing just sucks you in and you can seriously picture yourself in Wonderland!

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2013?
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry made me cry SEVERAL times.

27. Book you read in 2013 that you think got overlooked this year or when it came out?
Hmmm. I think any book that released on the same day as Allegiant got overlooked. There was so much hype for Allegiant… And it didn’t even live up to expectations for most readers, unfortunately.

2 reading-life-2013-1024x255

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013?
That’s a totally unfair question because I started blogging in 2013 and that’s when discovered ALL the blogs I discovered. So.. that’s a lot of blogs! But I’ll narrow it down to my favorites:

Stacee @ Adventures of a Book Junkie – Stacee has been an amazing friend to me, and she is an amazing blogger. I love her epic posts, event recaps and giveaways! Plus, she spoils me with ARCs and I love her for it! <333333

Kayla @ The Bibliophilic Nerds – Kayla is like my blogging BFF. We DM so much, I’m surprised we haven’t landed in Twitter DM Jail! Her blog is gorgeous and she manages to read and review a LOT of books!

Crystal @ Crystal in Bookland – Crystal has been such an awesome friend! And she’s an epic blogger! She’s come so far and accomplished some amazing milestones already! She writes great reviews, too!

Stacie @ The Shy Book Nerd – Stacie and I have been friends for a LONG time now. She’s been there for me throughout a lot of stuff and she’s amazingly sweet and has an awesome blog!

Christina @ Ensconced in Lit – I look up to Christina in so many ways. Her blog is so awesome and she’s an amazing writer! She also hosts some kick-ass Twitter parties!

Jessica @ Just A Book Lover – I don’t know where I’d be without Jessica! She has answered so many of my obnoxious questions, I’d be lost if she hadn’t been there! She’s helped me in so many ways, I can’t even begin to thank her for it!

Alyssa @ The Eater of Books – Alyssa just celebrated her 1-year Blogoverary! I can see her celebrating her 10th year, if she decides to keep going! She’s an amazing blogger and she’s answered SO MANY of my questions over the last few months. She really has learned a lot in the last year and she’s always willing to pass that knowledge and advice to others.

Nova @ Musings of a Book Blogder – Nova is so fun to talk to on Twitter! She’s constantly coming up with new designs, names and features for her blog, which I think is awesome!

I know that isn’t everyone. I’m not purposely forgetting people, I promise! But if I named everyone, this list would be 30 people long, at least!

2. Favorite review you wrote in 2013?
I don’t know if I have a favorite, but I definitely feel like I’m improved in my review writing, overall, and I’m proud of myself for that.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?
I haven’t done many discussion posts on my blog yet, but that’s one of my goals for 2014 – to have more discussions!

4. Most thought providing review or discussion you read on someone else’s blog?
That’s tough… I think there have been a number of bloggers who have thought-provoking discussions. There were a number of discussion posts about Blogging and ARCs, Goodreads and Twitter etiquette that I loved.

5. Best event that you participated in?
I got to attend a Harlequin Teen event in NYC, featuring Julie Kagawa and Jennifer L. Armentrout. I LOVE Julie Kagawa and this was the first big event I ever attended as a blogger, so that was incredible!

6. Best moment of your blogging/book life in 2013?
Hands down, when I requested Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano and actually received the ARC from the publisher!! I had only been blogging for about 3 months at that point, so it felt like such a huge milestone for me!

7. Most popular post this year on your blog (whether by views or comments)?
I think my Best of 2013 Blog Hop giveaway. I had a LOT of views and entries from that post, and I gained a lot of new followers, too. It was such a fun blog hop to participate in, but it was so hard to narrow down my favorite books of 2013!

8. Post you wished got a little more love?
I thought my Re-Read/Review of The Hunger Games would get more attention, since it’s such a huge franchise, but only one or two people commented on it. I was more surprised than disappointed, though.

9. Best bookish discovery?
Honestly? Definitely discovering Inkslinger PR. They were the first to really take a chance on me and let me participate in eARC reviews, cover reveals and release-day activities.

10. Did you set any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of the year?
I didn’t, actually. Which is just as well, because I used to be a fast reader and blogging has slowed me down – that’s something I’m going to work on in 2014! And I’m definitely considering doing a challenge for 2014! Maybe I’ll start low, with 50 books or maybe I’ll push myself and go for 100 books!

3 2014-books-1024x255

1. One book that you didn’t get to in 2013, but will be your number one priority in 2014?
*Dies laughing* Soooooo many…. I guess first up will be Under the Never Sky and Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi because I have an eARC of Into the Still Blue.

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2014 (non-debut)?
Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. It’s been described as Buffy with a southern twist. Needs no further explanation!

3. 2014 debut you are most anticipating?
There are so many amazing 2014 debuts coming out.. I’ve had the privilege of interviewing nineteen of those authors for a feature I’m doing for YA Interrobang and I don’t think I could pick just one.. I really don’t.

4. Series ending you are most anticipating in 2014?
Umm… I really don’t know O.o I haven’t been keeping track because so many of my favorite series’ ended in 2013. There aren’t many left that are ending in 2014 that I’m desperately dying for..

5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging in 2014?
I have so many goals I want to accomplish in the next few months! I used to be a fast reader and I’ve slowed down, so I want to pick up the pace again. I want to have more discussion posts on my blog and I want to come up with more creative and original content. I want to become a better reviewer – sometimes I feel like I’m too lenient in my reviews, or too unprofessional, so I want to work on that. Mostly, though, I just want to have fun. The last six months of my life have been the absolute best. I’ve met so many people and done so many amazing things – I just want that to continue!

—-

Hope you guys enjoyed the survey! I know I had a lot of fun answering the questions – some of which really forced me to stop and think! Don’t forget to head over to the Perpetual Page Turner to see the linky list of all the other blogs who participated. And of course, feel free to leave a comment with a link to your best of 2013 survey or just answer a few of the questions!

And have a great New Year’s eve and New Year’s day!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *