2014 End of Year Book Survey

Thank you so much to Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner for creating this survey every year.  It is one of the highlights of my blogging year!

 

Number Of Books You Read:

63

Number of Re-Reads:

2

Genre You Read The Most From:

General Fiction

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2014?

I’m going to limit myself to just one and say Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

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

I’m going to say Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.  It was totally up my alley in terms of neat worldbuilding, a female hero, and political intrigue, but the characters fell flat for me and it ended up being a bit of a dud as a result.

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

I’m going to go with After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  I saw some love for this book and figured it would be ok, but didn’t expect it to be so smart and so fresh and with such well-developed family relationships.

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

Probably Unsticky by Sarra Manning.  Or maybe Rainbow Rowell’s books.  I had success with the people I pushed those on.

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

Oh gosh, I read/started so many good series this year!  The best series I started was probably the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier.  The best sequel was probably The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith in the Cormoran Strike series.  And the best series ender goes to The Bitter Kingdom from the Fire and Thorns series by Rae Carson.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?

I’m going to go with Liane Moriarty here.  Loved all three of her books that I read this year.

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

This is a hard question this year as I mostly read within my comfort zone.  I guess I’ll have to go with Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty.  I don’t read a whole lot of non-fiction, and particularly didn’t this year (only 2).  But I really enjoyed this memoir about death and the funeral industry.

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

I’m going to go with Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas.  I raced through that book and it was a thriller, so yeah, it was thrilling.

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

Maybe It Felt Like a Kiss by Sarra Manning or Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close.  I will eventually reread Daughter of the Forest, but still have a book (books?) left in that series to finish out before I do that.

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

I can’t decide between these two covers, so I declare a tie between Nowhere But Home and Ask the Passengers.

    

11. Most memorable character of 2014?

Either Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest or Cormoran Strike from The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm.  I’m having a tough time choosing because I love them both.  Sorcha for her courage and resilience and hope and Strike for his intelligence and gruffness.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

I’m going to have to go with Benediction by Kent Haruf.  Love his bare, sparse writing style and how it reflects the setting and characters in his books.

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

This is a hard question… I think I will go with The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.  I think of it often when women’s reproductive rights come into the news.  It has cautioned me against taking certain freedoms for granted, I think.

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

Also The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood… I’ve been wanting to read it since my dystopia craze back in late 2011/early 2012.  And, of course, it was great!

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

I love that my Kindle Paperwhite saves all my “clippings” so I’ve actually got a few for this question this year!

“A Yankees hat, the only thing marring her golden beauty.” –Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins (because I totally agree that one cannot be beautiful in a Yankees cap)

“…we should live like we smoke–inhale the present and exhale the past.” –Faking It by Cora Carmack (because yes, we should live more like that)

“Motherhood is complicated, I decide.  You can tell a kid not to use ‘fuck’ all you want, but that doesn’t mean it will change anything, that he’ll actually listen.” –The Theory of Opposites by Allison Winn Scotch (because this is the scary truth about parenting)

“It didn’t matter where you were, if you were in a room full of books you were at least halfway home.” –The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (because, duh, books)

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest: Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose comes in at 133 pages or 3 hours and 38 minutes on audio

Longest: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin at a whopping 801 pages, 801 tedious painful neverending pages

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

I’m probably going to have to say Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas here.  It was a real twisty, turny book with an ending that left me with questions.

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

So, this means the best romantic relationship, right?  I’m going to go with Liadan and Bran from Son of the Shadows.  I liked the romance in that book quite a bit.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

I loved Lauren’s relationships with her mom and siblings in After I Do.

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

I’m going to go with It Felt Like a Kiss by Sarra Manning.  I really love her books!

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

I read Boomerang by Noelle August solely based on a Goodreads recommendation from Brandyn.  It was cute!

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

I’m not big on the fictional crushes, but I guess I will go with either Alex from Stay by Allie Larkin or Cormoran Strike.  Alex because of his awesome 90s shaggy hair and Strike because I always have a crush on the grumpy smart guy, ok?

23. Best 2014 debut you read?

The only 2014 debut I read this year was The Queen of the Tearling, but I actually liked it and have high hopes for the rest of the series, so I’m alright with calling it the best.

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

In terms of fantasy worldbuilding, I’m going to say Daughter of the Forest for its very vivid Irish fairytale feel.  In terms of vivid realistic settings, I’d say Benediction for its sparse, plains feel and also Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe for its desert setting.  Because I love both the plains and the desert… that makes me a total Texan, huh?

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

I’d have to say I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter.  It was just a fun, cute read.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?

I have a really hard time remembering this stuff.  I either cry a lot or never, based on my horrible memory for this question, but I’m pretty sure I teared up at One Plus One by Jojo Moyes.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

I’d have to say The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty.  This is one of her books that I haven’t heard much of anything about, but it has really stuck with me.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Oh gosh.  I think this is asking about a really emotional read?  Because I think A Game of Thrones crushed my soul, but more in the I can’t believe I’ve spent 800 pages reading this trash sort of way.  As for an emotionally crushing read, umm, maybe Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty?  It was pretty weighty in parts, but not relentlessly so.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?

I’m going to have to go with Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut.  Vonnegut is pretty unique and I haven’t read a whole lot of deconstructed narrative stuff in fiction.

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

Probably Outlander or maybe A Game of Thrones.  Both do the gratuitous sex and violence thing to the point of excess.  And both were REALLY long.  And it was frustrating that neither even came close to living up to the hype.

 

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014?

I’ve been awful at reading other blogs this year.  I don’t really have a good answer here.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014?

Probably my review of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

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

I didn’t post a whole lot of these this year, but I this that my Top Ten Tuesday about why I love reading and blogging was a good one for reflecting on why we read and why we blog.

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

How about my library’s book sale?  I had a lot of fun and found a ton of books this year.

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

Getting my mom to read books!  She’s never been a big reader, but I have lent her a few this year and she actually liked and finished them!  It always feels great to pair people with the right books for them.

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

By views, my most popular post written this year is my review of The Handmaid’s Tale.

7. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I’m going to say my review of Daughter of the Forest, but mostly because you should probably read this book.

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

Audible.  I have been doing audiobooks through the Overdrive app for a while, but my library’s selection leaves something to be desired.  I tried Audible this fall and love it.  The app is so much nicer than Overdrive’s, the selection of books is (of course) better, and the customer service was good (the time I contacted them).

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

No challenges, but some goals… to read 60 books (which I did) and to read at least 25 e-books or e-audiobooks (which I also did).  I also wanted to read 1 classic (which I did) and participate in Dewey’s Readathon, which unfortunately didn’t happen in 2014.

 

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

Hahaha, I have never actually read a book that I have answered in this question.  But hey, let’s just go along with the ruse that I’m totally going to get to that copy of Rebecca that’s been sitting on my shelf (and been the answer to this question in 2012 and 2013) in 2015.

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

I’m going to go with Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer.  It’s already getting good buzz, I have liked most of her past works, AND the plot sounds exactly like the sort of book I will like (a lady getting her life together on all fronts).

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I’m really horrible at reading debuts and I usually read them accidentally.  How about Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard?  That sounds interesting and up my alley fantasy-wise.

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

They haven’t released anything about the next Cormoran Strike novel, but if there is one in 2015 it will be that.  If not, I see the sequel to The Queen of the Tearling is coming out next summer.  So that.

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

Keep on keeping on!  I’ve been blogging for almost three years now… it has its ups and downs, but as long as I keep on reading, I’m happy.

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

None.  I don’t do ARCs, so I won’t be reading any 2015 releases until 2015!