2012 End of Year Book Survey

This survey comes courtesy of Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner.  What a fun way to look back at my year of blogging/reading!

Best In Books 2012

1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want)

This question gives me hives.  Ok, not really, but I hate picking favorites so I think I will break it down a little.

Dystopia: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Adult Fiction: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Thriller: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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

When She Woke… I just finished this one recently and had really high hopes for it, but don’t know that there was much I ended up liking in it.

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

Gone Girl.  I expected good things and to be thrilled and twisted, but I don’t think there is any book that prepares you for the mindf*ck you’re in store for.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

Probably Unwind by Neal Shusterman.  You haven’t read it yet?  Well, you should.

 5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness or Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich… the first because it was really smart and the second because it is really fun!

 6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

Rainbow Rowell– I’m eagerly awaiting her next two books after reading her debut, Attachments.  She’s also pretty funny on the Twitter.

Erin McCarthy was the best romance author I discovered.  I’ll definitely return to her racecar series the next time I want to read romance.

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

I think I’ll go with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt.  Both are more “boy” books and I definitely have a preference for books by/for/about women and girls.

 8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

Gone Girl, for sure.

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

I hardly ever reread anything, but Attachments and On the Island are both on my shelves and one of them will probably call my name again at some point.

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

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay… it is a cover that fits the book so well!

11. Most memorable character in 2012?

Doug Swieteck from Okay for Now or Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

Oh gosh, this is a hard question… maybe The Magicians by Lev Grossman?  I read that nearly a year ago (early January), but I remember really enjoying the writing.

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

Probably Unwind.  That book is pretty unforgettable.

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

Anne of Green Gables.  I always passed it by as a kid, but finally read it this year!

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

I’m the worst at quotes.  Like I might highlight something, but it never makes its way from the page to my memory or even a bank of quotes or anything.  Here are a few I managed to write down at some point.

“Happiness is the most natural thing in the world when you have it, and the slowest, strangest, most impossible thing when you don’t.” –Partials by Dan Wells

“In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn’t a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.” –Unwind by Neal Shusterman

 16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012? 

Longest — Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness clocked in at 603 pages

Shortest — Back to Basics, a romance novella by Erin McCarthy, at 149 pages

 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!

Gone Girl.  The whole book was a WTF moment.  Luckily, Brandyn and I discussed this one over email!

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

Nick and Amy from Gone Girl for the dysfunctional category.

Nastya and Josh from The Sea of Tranquility for the romantic category.

Stephanie Plum and Lula from the Stephanie Plum series for the friendship category.

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

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.  I’ve actually read this book previously, but it was the best fit for this category.

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

I think I read both Unwind and Okay for Now based on reviews from Tara @ The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhh.  Gee, I guess I should listen to her more often.

Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2012 (optional)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2012?

All of them.  No, seriously, I didn’t discover book blogs until this year (or maybe late 2011, but that’s just a technicality.)

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2012?

After skimming through some of my old reviews, I think I’m going with my review of Simply From Scratch by Alicia Bessette.  It wasn’t my favorite book of the year, but I think I did a good job analyzing the highlights and flaws of a book I wish had been so much more!

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

I wrote a series of posts about dystopias back in March.  The one that I think was the best and got some really thoughtful feedback was my post on Violence and Dystopia.

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

I tend to enjoy Candice’s discussion posts, Talk Amongst Yourselves.

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

I took part in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon back in October.  I only made it until 11pm, but it was so much fun!

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2012?

I’d say the best part of book blogging has been getting to know other bloggers and seeing those friendships develop over time.  I love tweeting/emailing/chatting with all of you!

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

My Top Ten Tuesday posts always garner the most views and comments of any of my posts.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

There were only 5 views of my review for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  That was a great book and I talked about the awesome audio, too!

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

Book blogs.  Goodreads.  The spreadsheet I found to keep track of what I read.

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

My only year-long goal was to read 75 books.  It looks like I’m going to hit 100 by the end of the year, though!  Look at me being a little overachiever.

I’ve also been participating in Brittany’s Series Catch-Up, which has been going pretty well for me… I have almost completed all my goals halfway in!

Looking Ahead…

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

This question is a total curse for me.  As soon as I say I’m going to read a book, I end up getting distracted by something completely different.  But maybe Rebecca or The Book Thief… I dunno, I have a huge TBR stack at home that I should maybe read at some point.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

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

Well, I’m having a baby in April, so I am hoping to find a manageable balance between family, work, and reading/blogging in the coming year.  I am not setting my expectations too high because I have no idea what I’m in for with a newborn (besides a lot of work and excitement, of course).