Annual End Of Year Survey – 2015 Edition!!

So, I did this weeks ago and totally thought I posted it.  Oops! Better late than never!  Here is the 2015 End of Year Book Survey, hosted by The Perpetual Page Turner.

Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 38

Number of Re-Reads: 2

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy

2015 Questions

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

It’s a tie between Ruin and Rising and A Discovery of Witches

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

The Fangirls Guide to the Galaxy, I still enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it the way I thought I would.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Umm… Shatter Me and A Discover of Witches maybe?  I didn’t expect to enjoy the books as much as I did.

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

I don’t really “push” people to read books. I supposed the book I suggested most to read was Mockingjay, before the movie came out.

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

Starter: Wild Seed, by Octavia Butler, just amazing

Sequel: Siege and Storm, by Leigh Bardugo

Ender: Ruin and Rising, by Leigh Bardugo (a fantastic series)

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

Umm… A bunch?

Andrew Pyper

Deborah Harkness

Jasper Fforde

I don’t think I can pick between them.

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

Embroideries, by Marjane Satrapi.  It’s non-fiction, which I don’t read a lot of, but I want to read more.  I’ve actually read a couple non-fiction books this year, so yay!

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

A Discovery of Witches, which I may have already mentioned a few times (and we’re only on question #8)

 9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

None?  I don’t re-read much, and when I do it’s not something I just read the year before.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?

The Eyre Affair or the covers for The Grisha series.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Thursday Next

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

Northanger Abbey

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?

I don’t know about “life-changing”, but the most thought provoking books I read were Embroideries, The Flying Troutmans and Death of A Salesman

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?

Dawn of the Dreadfuls, I’ve had it forever and finally got around to reading it earlier this year.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

MacBeth had a lot of great quotes and here is just one:

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing." – Act V, Scene v

Depressing, but darkly beautiful.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

Shortest: MacBeth (I’m not including the Short Stories I read.)

Longest: A Discovery of Witches (by one page over The Diviners)

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

The Girl Who Played With Fire, I think.  It was a shocking, cliffhanger, ending.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Evie and Jericho, from The Diviners, even though I feel like Evie is going to end up with Sam, based on how I think the story will go, but if she ends up with Jericho, I would be so happy.

Also, I would have liked Thursday with Bowden in The Erye Affair. There’s lots of books left in the series, so who knows.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Hattie and her niece and nephew from The Flying Troutmans

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Wild Seed, by Octavia E. Butler

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

The Eyre Affair because of What Red Read.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

Matthew De Clermont from A Discovery of Witches. Also Nicolai from the Grisha Trilogy.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

I didn’t read any.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The world in the Grisha trilogy.  It just came to life.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Star Wars Jedi Academy: The Phantom Bully and Return of the Padawan, MG graphic novels that are just super cute.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?

The Flying Troutmans, the whole thing is just so tragic.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

The Demonologist, by Andrew Pyper

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I think it’s a tie between Ruin and Rising and A Discovery of Witches.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

The Waves, by Virginia Woolf.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

I think The Diviners, because I kept being frustrated by Evie’s decisions.

Book Blogging

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?

Seeking a Little Truth

http://cyberkittenspot.blogspot.ca/

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

Death of a Salesman

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

Can I Give Away Books I Haven’t Read Yet?

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

I heard Andrew Pyper speak about the process of writing.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?

Umm… all of them?

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

I got a new job. So, Yay! But also, it’s a lot of work and it has totally cut into my reading blogging time.  After spending 8 hours (minimum) a day staring at a computer screen, I don’t want to do that when I’m done working. I need a better blogging app for my phone or tablet.  Just finding a better work/life balance is what I need too.

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

I’m surprised, my most popular post this year has been my thoughts on Jane Austen’s classic, Northanger Abbey.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I don’t know…. Let’s just go with my most recent read, As Birds Bring Forth The Sun and Other Stories.

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

Better World Books!

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

I participated in the Classics Club Spin twice this year with The Waves and MacBeth.  I look forward to the next Spin too!

Looking Ahead – Books 2015

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?

Full Dark, No Stars, by Stephen King

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?

The Raven King, by Maggie Steifvater

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I don’t really keep up with debuts. I just go with whatever catches my eye or what others are talking about.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

The Raven King…. Should I find another answer to this question?

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?

Finally find a work/life(blogging life) balance that makes me happy.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

Not that lucky this year.  Maybe next year!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Annual End of Year Book Survey – 2014

Happy New Year! (Almost.)  For the past few years I've been doing the End of the Year Book Survey from Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.  I've always enjoyed the questions and felt that it is a real reflection on my reading for the past year.

This year, I'm going to try not to repeat myself too much.  So, no matter how much I loved The Raven Cycle and Alias Grace, I will try not to only answer the questions with those books. 

Here we go!

Number Of Books You Read: 53

Number of Re-Reads: 1 (I don't re-read a lot.)

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy (of various forms)

 1. Best Book You Read In 2014?

Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood

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

It's a tie between Binu and the Great Wall, by Su Tong and The Killing Joke, by Alan Moore.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?

The Fall (The Strain #2), by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan - The ending was just.... whoa.

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

I  don't know if anyone actually read these books, but it's a toss-up between Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle books and Atwood's Alias Grace.

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

a) Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld

b) Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater.

c) Champion, by Marie Lu

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?

I couldn't pick just one! Scott Westerfeld, Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater

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

The Look of Love, by Bella Andre - A Romance novel.  I don't typically read romance novels, but this one was just so sweet and well written. I might read more by Andre in the future.

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

Lock In, by John Scalzi

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

I don't tend to re-read books I read just the year before, but if I were to pick one it would be, The Raven Cycle books.

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

Hollow City, by Ransom Riggs

11. Most memorable character of 2014?

Del Jordan, Blue Sargent, Fred the Mermaid...

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

Friend of My Youth, by Alice Munro

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

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I don't know if it changed my life, but it was definitely thought provoking.

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

It's a tie between Friend of My Youth, by Alice Munro and Animal Farm, by George Orwell

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

I don't typically record quotes/passages from books.  I get too lost in the story.  I did manage to write down the most famous quote from Animal Farm though:  "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others."

 

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest: UR, by Stephen King (61pgs)

Longest: City of Heavenly Fire, by Cassandra Clare (725pgs)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Requiem, by Lauren Oliver - The ending was just.... Bam! Then it was over.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

I'm so old... I had to look this one up. - Can I use my answer to #19? In general, though, I'm pretty happy with the pairings the authors created in the books I read this year... Though a couple of them cheated, in my opinion, using death instead of having the main character make a choice.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Adam and Ronan from The Raven Cycle.

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

Alias Grace (and Lock In.)

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

The Thousand Orcs, by R.A. Salvatore (My Hubby wants me to catch up to him with his favourite series.  I'm only about halfway there though.)

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

The Raven Boys, all of them.  They are so too young for me, but I just adore them.

23. Best 2014 debut you read?

I don't think I read any 2014 debuts.  They were either previously published authors or the book was published in 2013 and I just waited a long time before reading it.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Underwater Love (Fred the Mermaid 1-3), by MaryJanice Davidson

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I don't know if any books actually crushed my soul, but Champion, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and Requiem all came close.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?

A tie between Animal Farm, by George Orwell and Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

The Lone Drow, by R.A. Salvatore - Drizzt just refused to go the Mithral Hall. If he did that he would have saved himself a lot of brooding and heartache.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014?

Panels

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014?

I don't know.... randomly: Fool, by Christopher Moore

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

I think... Why Have I Read Only One Book By So Many Authors?

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

The Classics Club

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

Realizing the status of the diversity in my reading.

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

The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters had by far the most views.

Animal Farm had the most comments.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

There are two: A Look At Diversity and An eBook Conundrum.

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

Umm... that being unemployed means more reading time?

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

I set a modest Goodreads goal this year, which I surpassed, by a lot.  See previous question for why

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

The Diviners, by Libba Bray

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

The Raven Cycle #4, by Maggie Stiefvater

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Umm.... none?

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

The Raven Cycle #4, by Maggie Stiefvater

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?

Read more classics.

6. A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

None.  I wish I had something, but nope.

Thanks for stopping by my year in review!  It's been a great year in reading for me.  I can't wait to see what wonderful books 2015 brings!

- See more at:

http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2014/11/5th-annual-end-of-year-book-survey-2014-edition.html#sthash.Qfa2kXDY.dpufhttp://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2014/11/5th-annual-end-of-year-book-survey-2014-edition.html

Annual End of Year Book Survey – 2013 Edition!

This is the third time I’ve done Jamie’s End of Year Book Survey.  I really enjoy it.  I like looking back each year at my life in books. I've been above normal busy, so my answers might not be as long as normal, but it’s still fun.  If you do a survey, leave a message in the comments so I can come visit!  Make sure to visit Jamie's site, filled with links to more book surveys!

1. Best Book You Read In 2013?

This one is so difficult.  I read some amazing books in 2013.  I’m going to list five that I loved.... Redshirts, by John Scalzi; The Deception of Livvy Higgs, by Donna Morrissey; Prodigy, by Marie Lu; MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood; The Little Sisters of Eluria, by Stephen King.

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

This one is actually more difficult than the first question.  I loved everything I read this year.  I was surprised by a lot of books, but none of them disappointed me.  You can check out my Goodreads list for 2013.  All except one book is four or five stars.

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

I was surprised by how much I loved Soak, by Kerri Cull.  It’s a short book of poetry, and it had a coherence I didn’t expect.

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

I’m going to do a three-way tie for this one: Redshirts, by John Scalzi; The Deception of Livvy Higgs, by Donna Morrissey; Horns, by Joe Hill

 5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

Legend, by Marie Lu.  I just got a copy of Champion and I can’t wait to read it!

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

I’m cheating again: Marie Lu, John Scalzi & Morgan Rhodes.

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

The poetry I read this year was out of my comfort zone, Sonnets From The Portuguese, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Soak, by Kerri Cull.  Both have really encouraged me to read more poetry.  The God Box, by Mary Lou Quinlan was also out of my comfort zone as I don’t read a lot of non-fiction or religious material, but I found the feminist angle in the second half of the book interesting.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

I’m going to echo Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner and say Prodigy, by Marie Lu (and Legend too!)... and Redshirts... and All The Wrong Questions.... and The Cuckoo’s Calling ... I’ll stop now.

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

I don’t re-read a lot, but if I did I’d read... Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel, by Seth Grahme-Smith

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

Everything’s Eventual, by Stephen King

11. Most memorable character in 2013?

June, from the Legend series

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

The Deception of Livvy Higgs, by Donna Morrissey & Villette, by Charlotte Bronte

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

All of them?

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

Emma, by Jane Austen

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

“…as the online world became more and more pre-edited and slicked up, and as even its so-called reality sites raised questions about authenticity in the minds of the viewers, the rough, unpolished physical world was taking on a mystic allure.” (pg 169, MaddAddam)

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest: The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams

Longest: Villette, by Charlotte Bronte

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Allegiant, by Veronica Roth – ‘nuff said.

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

Livvy Higgs & Gen from The Deception of Livvy Higgs

Toby & Blackbeard from MaddAddam

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

MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood & Carrie, by Stephen King

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

Falling Kingdoms, by Morgan Rhodes

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

I think fantasy, in one form or another.  YA, Adult, Urban, High....

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

I don’t think I have a new fictional crush.  All my loves are still the same...

23. Best 2013 debut you read?

The Cuckoo’s Calling, by Robert Galbraith.

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

Newfoundland & Nova Scotia during WWII in The Deception of Livvy Higgs.

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

Redshirts!!

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

And The Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseinni

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

Falling Kingdoms, by Morgan Rhodes.   I just didn’t get the same level of buzz about it as some other YA novels.

2014-books

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

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

Since I just read When Did You See Her Last?, I think I’m focused on the next book in the All The Wrong Questions series.

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I don’t know... none? All?

 4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?

Ignite Me, by Taherah Mafi

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

I hope to find a better reading/writing/life balance.

Thanks for making it through the whole survey!  What are your answers to these very important questions? Let me know if you’ve completed this survey or have any other end-of-year posts.  Happy Holidays!

End of Year Book Survey.

I'm so excited to be doing Jamie's End of the Year Book Survey.  I enjoyed it last year.  I find it a nice way to reflect back on a year of reading, as well as other stuff that happened, that you might have blogged about.  Do you agree/disagree with any of my answers?  Please leave a comment!  Also, let me know if you've done the survey too.  Happy Holidays!

1. Best Book You Read In 2012?

I decided to go with Jamie’s suggestion (cheat) of breaking it down by genre. I read some really great books this year. This list isn’t even half of them.

Best Children’s Book – Go Away, Big Green Monster, by Ed Emberly
Best Zombie Book – World War Z, by Max Brooks
Best Non-Fiction – How To Be A Woman, by Caitlin Moran
Best Classic – Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Best Short Story Collection – Forty Stories, edited by Cal Morgan
Best Literary/General Fiction – Canada, by Richard Ford
Best Fantasy – The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis
Best Science-Fiction – Insurgent, by Veronica Roth

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

Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling – It was slow to begin with, but it did pick up. In the end, I did enjoy it, but I didn’t love it. You can read my thoughts here.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?

I knew I would probably like Night of the Living Trekkies, but I didn’t know how much I would love it. I loved every single quirky, geeky reference. It was so much fun!

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

For people who like literary fiction, I probably recommended Canada, by Richard Ford.
For genre lovers, I recommended Night of the Living Trekkies and Divergent…. and maybe World War Z.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

Divergent! I can’t wait until the third book is out.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

Is this new to me - like the Top Ten list I did recently - or new as in first book? For new-to-me, check out my Top Ten list from December 11th.

If it’s first books, then I really enjoyed The Maladjusted, by Derek Hayes. Also Darcy Pattison’s non-fiction picture book, Wisdom, the Midway Albatross.

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

I read a lot of genres, but something I don’t read a lot of is non-fiction and I actually read three this year!  My favourite was How To Be A Woman, by Caitlin Moran. So fantastic.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

I read a few unputdownable books this year including: Divergent, Insurgent, How to be a Woman and Night of the Living Trekkies.

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:

I don’t re-read a lot. If I do, it’s likely not a book that I only read a year before. But to answer the question, of all the books, I’d most likely re-read Night of the Living Trekkies.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

I can’t decide between:

Insurgent and World War Z.

11. Most memorable character in 2012?

Frankenstein’s creature from Frankenstein.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

Canada, by Richard Ford

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?

Greatest impact? How To Be A Woman and maybe The Causal Vacancy.  They dealt with social issues, that continue to resonate with me.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited until 2012 to finally read?

The Garden Party and Other Stories, by Katherine Mansfield.  She was the only writer Virginia Woolf said she was jealous off.  How did I wait so long to read her?

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?

"Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot?" 
- Dr. Van Helsing from Dracula, by Bram Stoker.

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?

By Page Count:
Longest: 541 – City of Glass, The Mortal Instruments #3, by Cassandra Clare
Shortest: 16 – I Love You, Stinky Face, by Lisa McCourt (Children's Book) OR 112 – Matchless, by Gregory Maguire

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling… so many WTF scenes.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

For very different reasons: 

Jim Pike & Leia, from Night of the Living Trekkies
Mina and Van Helsing, from Dracula
Sukvinder and Gaia, from The Causal Vacancy

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously

Blockade Billy, by Stephen King
Fever, by Lauren DeStefano

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

Like I said previously, I don’t read a lot of non-fiction. If I wasn’t recommended How To Be A Woman by a few bloggers I like and respect, as well as one of my real-life friends, whose reading tastes are very similar to mine, I don’t know if I would have picked it up.

Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2012 

1. New favourite book blog you discovered in 2012?

Probably Bridget’s Books.  I only just started following this contributor to The Broke and The Bookish. She has an entire reading project about Stephen King! So awesome.


2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2012?

If I have to pick one, I’d say, Forty Stories, edited by Cal Morgan. I did Twitter sized reviews. It was fun.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

The best discussions/comments I had this year weren't on posts about books.  There were on my posts: Image Use, where I talked about copyright and someone getting sued for using images on their website and I Am Without Job, where I talked about getting laid off this year.

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?

I read the blog, Feminist Philosophers a lot.  It's not a book blogs, though they discuss books sometimes.  I always find myself diving into their posts about genderized products.  I especially enjoyed reading about the new "BiC for Her" pen.  It's so awful.  Ellen even made a video about it on her show a few months back.  

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

I don’t get a lot of event in my neck of the woods. I’d have to drive an hour to go to any bookish events and with the little ones, that’s not happening.  I do enjoy Short Story Monday and Top Ten Tuesday.  I participate in them as often as I can, but it's been a while since I did Short Story Monday.  There's a story I plan on reading this week...

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2012?

Even though it’s not bookish, it happened because I blog about books -I appreciate all the support I got when I posted about losing my job. Thank you again, everyone.

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

By views, my most popular post was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! Such a great book.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

This one is a little difficult. I feel pretty loved. My posts get an okay amount of views (okay to me, I guess). In general, I’d like more comments and more discussions about the books (or whatever) I’ve posted about. But there isn’t one post that’s fallen by the wayside. So thanks for the love everyone!

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

I just started using Goodreads this year. It’s a little addictive. I love scanning books with the Goodreads app. I like tracking my progress through a book; I find it encouraging.

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

I don’t join challenges, but I set myself a personal goal of reading 26 books (one every two weeks), which I decided to track on Goodreads since joining this year. I’m at 32 right now. I might get to 33 or 34 before the end of 2012.

Looking Ahead…

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?

Hmm… Number 1 Priority?? I plan on reading His Dark Materials next. However, I did buy The Raven Boys a couple months ago and didn’t read it right away. I don’t want to let it sit on my shelf too long like some other books I have.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

Though I’m excited for Dead Ever After (I'm loving the cover) and Divergent #3, the book I’m most looking forward to in 2013 is Sever, by Lauren DeStefano. I loved Wither and Fever had me longing for more. Just a couple more months until February!

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2013?

I want to read more. I’d like to decrease the number of books I’ve owned for years and haven’t read yet. I’d especially like to read more Stephen King and Margaret Atwood and catch up on the Legend of Drizzt, by R. A. Salvatore.

I guess that’s it for the survey. Thanks to everyone who made it all the way to the end. See you in the blogosphere!