Welcome to the  4th annual End of Year Book Survey hosted and created by Jaime over at The Perpetual Page Turner.

I participated last year (see my 2012 End of Year Book Survey) and had a lot of fun reflecting on my bookish ways for the last year. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to take part in Jaime’s survey on their own blogs. IF you do fill in the survey on your blogs – please leave me a link in the comments. I love seeing what other people thought about books. 

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)

Contemporary YA – The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson; Slammed by Colleen Hoover; Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan; Wild Awake by Hilary T Smith; Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic – Pawn by Aimee Carter

Paranormal — Daughter of Smoke and Bone & Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, Endless Knight by Kresley Cole

Science Fiction — All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill;

Fantasy — Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Non YA — Grace Grows by Shelle Sumners;

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

Beautiful Creatures and Looking for Alaska

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

Pawn by Aimee Carter. I’d read her Goddess Test series and enjoyed it but I wasn’t expecting her to wow me like she did with Pawn.

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

I think that was probably Every Breath by Ellie Marney. I love getting people to read Aussie authors and this was a great contemporary murder mystery with a gorgeous romance too.

 5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

Ambelin Kwaymullina’s The Tribe series (which I only read a few weeks ago but it still counts!) and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Both amazing stories that are beautifully written.

 6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2013?

Cristin Terrill or Laini Taylor.

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

I don’t read a lot of translated fiction but I’ve read two in the past few months. The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol was originally written in French and Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier was originally in German. They’re both so very different from each other and not quite what I usually read but I enjoyed both. The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles is a more adult novel and it was a great romantic ensemble comedy with some out there characters.

 8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill – this was my cereal for dinner book. The kind where instead of stopping to make and eat dinner you just pour a bowl of cereal with one hand and keep holding the book with the other! I also read Allegiant by Veronica Roth in a matter of hours.

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

I don’t do a lot of rereads. I tend to prefer to read a new book than one I’ve read before but it’s highly likely I’ll re-read Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins or This is what Happy Looks like by Jennifer E Smith. 

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

Angelfall by Susan Ee or These Broken Stars.

11. Most memorable character in 2013? 

Alaska Young from Looking for Alaska by John Green or Mangus Bane from City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

I really enjoyed the writing in Wild Awake by Hilary T Smith. I also thought Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan was beautifully written. Same goes for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

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

This is such a hard question. I think I would have to say Easy by Tammara Webber. I was on the verge of giving up on New Adult altogether but really liked this one.

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

Looking for Alaska or City of Bones. They’ve both been around for a LONG time and are constantly mentioned on blogs I read. Well I got there! I finally get all the references!

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

“There once was a girl who found herself dead.
She peered over the ledge of heaven
and saw that back on earth
her sister missed her too much,
was way too sad,
so she crossed some paths
that would not have crossed,
took some moments in her hand
shook them up
and spilled them like dice
over the living world.
It worked.
The boy with the guitar collided
with her sister.
“There you go, Len,” she whispered. “The rest is up to you.”
― The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

“He’s on the verge of it–we can tell. He is on the verge of finding that very hard truth–that it will never be complete, or feel complete. This is usually something you only have to learn once–that just like there is no such thing as forever, there is no such thing as total. When you’re in the thrall of your first love, this discovery feels like the breaking of all momentum, the undermining of all promise. For the past year, Neil has assumed that love was like a liquid pouring into a vessel, and that the longer you loved, the more full the vessel became, until it was entirely full. The truth is that over time, the vessel expands as well. You grow. Your life wides. And you can’t expect your partner’s love alone to fill you. There will always be space for other things. And that space isn’t empty as much as it’s filled by another element. Even though the liquid is easier to see, you have to learn to appreciate the air.”
– Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

“People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.”
– Wild Awake by Hilary T Smith

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

The shortest was a novella – Blood Phantom by Rhiannon Hart at only 15 pages. The longest was Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia.

 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 Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead. Yep – this is one of those books that gave me all the ‘feels’ that people talk about. I actually put it down because I wasn’t sure I could cope… turned out to be only one page from the end because the rest of the book was just the first chapter of Vampire Academy. But still… Oh. My.

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

I loved the friendship between Zuzanna and Karou in Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

The romance between Rachel and Mycroft in Every Breath is great. I also enjoyed the love between Lennie and Joe in The Sky is everywhere.

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

Feeling Sorry for Ceila by Jaclyn Moriarty was a fantastic Aussie contemporary novel. I quite liked Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins too. And – if I’m including series then anything from Richelle Mead is on the list.

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

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. It’s… there aren’t words. It’s just… one of the best books I’ve read. People have been telling me for SO LONG to read it and I think because of that I was very intimidated. But I finally read it (just finished this morning) and loved it.

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy. But I did read the entire Weather Warden’s series by Rachel Caine and reread the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole.

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

Death from Endless Knight by Kresley Cole. Sam from Hooked by Liz Fichera. Finn from All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill. And I know it’s not a new crush but I still adore Adrian from the Bloodlines series.

23. Best 2013 debut you read?

I want to say The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. I know I didn’t give it five stars and I did for other debuts but I was astounded by the author – it was so well researched and she was only 19 when it was published!

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

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. And also These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

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

How To Keep A Boy From Kissing You by Tara Eglington was fun. So was Finding Cassie Crazy by Jaclyn Moriarty and Mad about the Boy by Helen Fielding

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

On the Jellicoe Road made me tear up  – and I’m not one who often cries during books.

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

The First Third by Will Kostakis. This is a great book. One that I started reading on the way home the day I bought it and I haven’t pushed it onto enough people.

 

(optional)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013? 

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2013? 

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

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

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

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

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

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

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

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

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

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

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

 4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?

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