2013 End of Year Survey

Jamie over at The Perpetual Page-Turner is doing another end of year survey this year! I'm excited to do this, because for the past two years I've watched others participate in it but I didn't have a blog until this year. But now that I have one, I'm able to participate this year! Yay! I just love answering surveys, don't you? :)

1. Best Book You Read in 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

This is a really, really hard question! So, yes I will break it down by genre! :)

Best Fantasy: It would have to be Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (This is a really awesome MG book, you all NEED to try it!) or Wednesday's in the Tower by Jessica Day George (A really good sequel to Tuesday's at the Castle.)

Best Thriller: United We Spy by Ally Carter (*sobs* The GG series is now over. It was really, really good.)

Best Contemporary: The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller (Loved this book!)

Best Paranormal: Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger (I really enjoyed this book! I wasn't sure I would, but I did!)

Best Fairytale Retelling: Ever After High by Shannon Hale (I loved this book a lot more than I was expecting too!)

Best Graphic Novel: Play Ball by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, and Jackie Lewis. (This was an unexpected hit for me! I thought I'd like it, but I ended up loving it!)

Best New Manga Series: Strobe Edge Vol. 1 by Io Sakisaka (I'm really enjoying this series and I'm excited for more volumes next year!)

Best Volume of a Manga: Kimi Ni Todoke Vol. 17 by Karuho Shiina (I had to pick this one because of a certain scene that anyone who has read this book will remember. A scene that we waited 17 volumes for. (;)

Okay, I may have listed a little too many books...

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Frogged by Vivian Van Velde (It was enjoyable enough. I just expected to love it. It was just okay, and I was hoping for more.)

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? 

Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger (I didn't really pay any attention to this book when it released, then I read her MG book, and loved that one. I figured since the library had her YA one, I might as well try it. I'm glad I did! It's a really good book.)

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (Here, I'll recommend it again. To YOU reading this. It is  really good! If you like MG Fantasy, read it! Go. Put it on hold at the library. I'll wait. Did you? Good. (:)

 5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

I have two for this question. For the first one, the Keeper series by Shannon Messenger. For the second one, The Immortals series by Tamora Pierce. Technically I discovered that one years ago, but was younger and for some reason never continued the series. So I'm going with I discovered it this year. I still need to read the last one, though. I'm kinda scared to finish it, because that means it'll be over. :(

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

Shannon Messenger. You all knew I was going to say that, didn't you? :)

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

I don't remember reading any books that were out of my comfort zone this year. No new genres either. That's kind of sad, isn't it?

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

I'm going to say Exile by Shannon Messenger. (The sequel to Keeper of the Lost Cities and yes, I mentioned that book again.)

 9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Hmmm, that's a tough one. I re-read books pretty often, so any of them are up for that. Most likely though, Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce. That was actually a re-read for me this year, but since I first read it when I was about ten and remembered next to nothing about it, I count this year as my first time reading it. I actually read it about a month ago again. So, to answer this question (FINALLY! I'm sure you're all thinking.) Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce.

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

 A tie between:

The Chaos of Stars by Keirsten White

and:
This is What Happy Looks like by Jennifer E. Smith

11. Most memorable character in 2013?

At first I couldn't think of a answer for this question, but then I thought of Madeline Hatter from Ever After High! A very fun, memorable character in a book. I would love to read a book all about her!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White (If you haven't read this book yet, I definitely recommend it!)

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?

I'm not answering this question in the way I think I'm supposed to, but I'm allowed to answer this anyway I like, right? The book that had the most impact on me this year was probably Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. I was in a really bad reading slump, I mean I wasn't finishing ANY books. That book pulled me out of it and made me want to find good books again.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read? 

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce (I waited that long to read a Tamora Pierce book? Really?)

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

This is from Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

I also have a favorite quote from United We Spy, but I was afraid it might be a little too spoilery.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Longest book: Exile by Shannon Messenger at 576 pages.
Shortest book: Gone Fishing by Tamera Will Wissinger at 128 pages.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? Be careful of spoilers!

United We Spy by Ally Carter. (When I finished it, I wanted to talk to someone very badly about it!)

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

I think I'm going to have to break this down into family, friendship, and romantic. Because it's to hard to compare all of them!

Family: I LOVE the family relationship in the Casson Family books by Hilary McKay! These books were released before 2013, but I just got around to reading past the first book this year. I love the relationship between the family members in these books! If you're looking for a book where the family plays a major role in the story I would definitely recommend these books to you!

Friendship: United We Spy by Ally Carter. The friendship between the Gallagher Girls (Cammie, Bex, Liz, and Macey.) in the GG series is one of the best female friendships I've ever read in books. It shows that girls can be friends without being catty and mean to each other. That's something that I don't see as much of in YA as I would like.

Romantic: This is a tie (By now you should all know I have a hard time with narrowing things down.) between Vane and Audra in Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger, and Maddie and Logan from The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller. I'm not going to type anything else about these couples because I think you should all read the books yourself to understand why I picked them. :)

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Oh, this is hard! Okay, if I can only pick one. United We Spy by Ally Carter. Last book in the GG series and I was not disappointed. Love it.

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

Graphic Novels count, right? Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell. I went to the library one day and the librarian told me I needed to try it because it was really fun! I really liked it! I had never heard of it before she told me about it.

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

I think it's pretty much a tie between Contemporary YA and MG Fantasy. Pretty much what it usually is for me! Oh, and Manga. Lots of Manga.  :)

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

Logan from The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller, and Vane from Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger.

23. Best 2013 debut you read?

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger.

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?

The Casson Family books that I read this year (I haven't read all of them yet.) and Applewhites at Wit's End by Stephanie S. Tolan.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

United We Spy by Ally Carter.

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
This is a tough question! I think Let the Sky Fall got overlooked when it released. Also, The Summer I Became a Nerd.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013?
I discovered A LOT of new blogs this year! Enough that I would have to do a new post to list them all. I'm only going to list a few here, but just know that I discovered way more than just these.

Read Books and Live Green
Blue Sky Bookshelf
Shae Has Left the Room
Secrets and Sharing Soda
Litup Review

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2013? 

That's actually a really hard question for me to answer. Hmm, I guess I have a few, Keeper of the Lost Cities because it was my first review on my blog,  United We Spy because it was nice to get my feelings about that book out, and Ever After High because it was actually one of the easiest reviews to write that I've written.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

I have not had many discussions on my blog (That's something I want to work on next year.), but my favorite was probably What Do YOU Think? Favorite Books When You Were Younger, because I had A LOT of fun writing that post and it was nice to hear peoples responses on it! I love hearing about what books people read when they were younger! :)

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?
I feel bad that I don't remember one. I know I read a lot of great ones, but my memory is horrible. :(

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

I didn't get to go to any bookish events this year. :( But I have to admit participating in Top Ten Tuesday this year has been a lot of fun! I've gotten to know a lot more about you all through that! Oh, and I saw someone else mention #RBWL! That was a lot of fun. :)

6. Best moment of book blogging/your book life in 2013?

Getting to meet so many amazing bloggers online! You all are wonderful people! :)

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

My most viewed post was a TTT, Top Ten Books I'm Dying to Read in 2014.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Any of my reviews, I guess. They don't get very many comments, but I guess people don't feel the need to comment on reviews? As much as memes and discussions? And another post that I wished got more love was my This is What MY Happy Looks Like! post that I did after reading This is What Happy Looks Like, the post is not that well done, though. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the amount of love my other posts got! It's really a great feeling when someone comments on a post, even if you only get one, it's nice to know that at least one person read your post! :)

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

Tea Time with Epic Reads! I love watching it every week! And learning about new books because of it. :)

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
My only goal was to read at least twelve books and twelve Graphic Novels this year, and I did! :) (I know that doesn't sound like many, but I'm proud of it!)

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?
I don't usually set goals like this, but I would like to finish the Casson Family series next year! And I would really like to finally read a Jane Austen book next year!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?

Just take your pick from this list:  :)

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

My Faire Lady by Laura Wettersten! Honestly though, I'm looking forward to a lot. :)

4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?

Moonkind by Sarah Prineas, it's the last book in the Winterling trilogy.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?

Just to have fun! :) Though, I would love to get into a better routine with my blog, too.

That was fun! Though, I probably wrote a little too much! Thank you Jamie for making this! Did you do the end of year survey? Tell me! I would love to read yours! If you haven't are you going to? Tell me! I think you've realized by now that I love to talk. ;)