2013 End-of-the-Year Book Survey

Hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner.

I read a lot, a lot, a lot of new books in 2013, probably more new books than I've ever read before.  This is thanks in part to joining the book blogger community.  A whole new world has been opened up, and I've found tons of new favorites (blogs and books).

 1. Best Book I Read in 2013

Oh, gosh, gonna have to break this down by genre.

Contemporary- either Just One Day or This Song Will Save Your Life.  Or Going Vintage.  Or Fifteenth Summer.  Or United We Spy.  Or Perfect Scoundrels. Maybe The Naturals.  Oh, gosh, I can't forget The Fault In Our Stars or Time Between Us.  Clearly, I'm bad at making decisions and I also like contemporary fiction.

Dystopian- Divergent trilogy, without a doubt.  The Testing was good, too.

Historical fiction- Margot, Cinders & Sapphires, and Grave Mercy

Fantasy/sci-fi- Scarlet.

2. Book I Was Excited About But Didn't End Up Loving

Starstruck by Rachel Shukert
Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

3. Most Surprising Read

I'd have to say This Song Will Save Your Life or Just One Day.  I thought I'd probably like them, but I LOVED them.

4. Book I Recommended Most

Hmm...well, based on my Top Ten Tuesday lists, I'd probably say The Lunar Chronicles or anything by Ally Carter.

5. Best Series I Discovered in 2013

Without a doubt, The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. (I'm still getting over the fact that I didn't get a Cress ARC.  February is too far away.)

6. Favorite Author I Discovered in 2013

Hmm... probably Elizabeth Eulberg or Marissa Meyer.  I'm basing this on their books and Twitter interactions, and they are all-around nice ladies with good books.

7. Best Book out of My Comfort Zone

Cinder, probably.  I'm not a sci-fi fan, so the fact that I loved it so much was surprising.

8. Most Thrilling, Unputdownable Read

United We Spy by Ally Carter

9. Book That I'm Most Likely to Reread

Um... most of them?  Unless I absolutely hated a book, it's likely I'll check it out of the library again or buy it.  When I buy a book, I'll reread it time and time again.

10. Favorite Book Cover

I'm leaning towards Going Vintage.  I just love the whimsy of it.  Plus, it's fun to read in a '50s-style malt shop...

11. Most Memorable Character

Oh, gravy.  There are so many!  Scarlet and Carswell Thorne, Mallory, Tris, Hazel and Augustus, Allyson...

12. Most Beautifully-Written Book

I'd have to say Just One Day.

13. Book That Had the Greatest Impact on Me

The Fault In Our Stars

14. Book I Can't Believe I Waited Until 2013 to Read

Divergent.  It took me ages to read it, even after Kelly recommended it 5 dozen times and I checked it out of the library 7 times.

15. Favorite Quote From a Book

I have a lot, but the one that sticks with me the most, that I have written down, is...

16. Shortest and Longest Books I Read

Shortest is OCD, the Dude, and Me (234 pages)

Longest is The House of Hades (597 pages)

17. Book That Had a Scene That Sent Me Reeling, and I Was Dying to Talk to Someone About It

Allegiant (let's be honest: everyone's going to say this book, right?)

18. Favorite Relationship (Romantic or Otherwise)

Romantic- Zach and Cammie from United We Spy

Friendship- Cinder and Iko from Cinder/Scarlet

Familial- Hazel and her parents from The Fault In Our Stars

19. Favorite Book From an Author I've Previously Read

United We Spy

20. Best Book I Read Based on Recommendation Alone

I'd say probably Grave Mercy. I mean, I read the Goodreads synopsis, but other than that, it was basically Shae who got me to read it.

21. Genre I Read the Most From

I'm not going to count, but it has to be contemporary.

22. Newest Fictional Crush

Well I don't exactly have fictional crushes...maybe Augustus Waters (The Fault In Our Stars)?

23. Best 2013 Debut

Probably Prep School Confidential.

24. Most Vivid Book World

Divergent (It didn't hurt that I've gone to Chicago more times than I can count...)

25. Most Fun Book to Read

Fifteenth Summer

26. Books That Made Me Cry

Allegiant and The Fault In Our Stars

27. Book I Read That I Think Got Overlooked

The Naturals, definitely. I didn't see a lot of people in the blogger community getting excited for it.

1. New Favorite Book Blog

...Just one?  Well, I absolutely adore Blue Sky Bookshelf and Shae Has Left the Room.  I basically just started following book blogs this year.  The Broke and the Bookish is awesome, too.

2. Favorite Review I Wrote

I'm going to say the review I did for Allegiant, just because I'm still proud of the rant I had before the review.

3. Best Discussion on My Blog 

Does RBWL count?  It was on Twitter, but I had a blog post about it that sparked some discussion, too.

4. Most Thought-Provoking Review/Discussion On Someone Else's Blog

Probably this one: Hi, Shae!

5. Best Event You Participated In

Easily RBWL (Reader/Blogger WishList) on Twitter.  I wasn't even planning to, since I didn't think I'd have time, but that was an amazing day!  I have a notebook full of ideas to prove it.

6. Best Moment of My Book Life in 2013

Going to Ally Carter's signing for United We Spy.  She's just so amazing in so many ways. (I fangirled over her in this post.)

7. Most Popular Post on My Blog

As of writing this post, it was my interview with Heather Vogel Frederick.

8. Post I Wish Got a Little More Love

Probably my review of Relic.  Really, I think a lot of my reviews could've used some more attention.

9. Best Bookish Discovery

Goodreads, without a doubt.

10. Completion of Any Reading Goals/Challenges

I didn't set any, but if I had, I probably would've said to read more new books, which I've certainly achieved.

1. A Book I Plan to Get to in 2014

I hope to finally read The Lord of the Rings.  I keep meaning to, but there are other shorter books I need to read first.

2. Most-Anticipated Book of 2014 (Non-Debut)

Cress!  I have a lot, but that one consistently tops my list.

3. Most-Anticipated Debuts of 2014

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman, Amy Zhang's book, which now has a title and release date (!!!; it's titled Falling into Place), and Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

4. Most-Anticipated Series Enders

The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus)

The One (The Selection)

5. Something I Hope to Accomplish In My Reading or Blogging in 2014

I'd love to make it to BEA, but I'm not sure that'll happen.  I'd love to gain more followers and recognition.  I don't need to have 1,000 followers, but 100 would be nice.  I'd also love to interview some more authors.