End of Year Book Survey 2013

This end of year book survey was created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. It's the first year I've ever done it, and it looks like a lot of fun.

1. Best Book You Read In 2013?

I'm going to cheat a little and say two. I have an "all time favorites" list on Goodreads, and I added two books to that this year.
The Reluctant King by Rachel Higginson (This is the fifth book in the Star-Crossed series that was originally going to be four books. I was surprised and beyond thrilled when I learned about this one earlier in the year.)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
There are a couple, but a recent one would be Forbidden: Discover the Legend by Tina Smiths. (I've filmed a review for it, but it isn't up yet.)

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
4 to 16 Characters by Kelly Hourihan. The premise sounded interesting, but I didn't think it was going to be as deep as it was. It was definitely an amazing surprise.

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
There are a handful that I wish everyone would read, but I'm going to go with 4 to 16 Characters again. I really liked the issues explored in that book, and I wish more people got to see that point of view.

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I've become rather obsessed. I've read the first two now, and my mom has hinted that she's getting me the rest for Christmas. I'm going to have a hard time reading anything else for a while if that happens.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
I really didn't read more than one book by any author in 2013 except for some series. I'm going to go with H.O. Charles. I read City of Blaze back in August, but I haven't gotten to the rest of that series yet. I fell in love with the first book though, so I'm extremely excited for the rest.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
I'm going to repeat again and say City of Blaze. I've always loved the idea of high fantasy, but I've really read very little of it. What I have read was always young adult, which isn't surprising since the majority of everything I read is young adult. I read City of Blaze because it was free for Kindle, but reading an adult high fantasy was new for me. I'm very glad I checked it out though because I loved it, and it's only made me want to read more high fantasy in the future.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
I'm going to say the Mortal Instruments series again. I've become very drawn into that world, and I was constantly wanting to read them while I was in the middle of those books.

9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I really don't re-read books that often, even my absolute favorites. I re-read two this year, but that was only because it was for a class. I'd say Harry Potter, since I've read it more than anything else and it's been too long, but I didn't read that in 2013. I honestly don't have an answer.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
I really like The Reluctant King's cover.

11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Magnus Bane from the Mortal Instruments series. I thought every character in that series was very memorable. I said this in one of my reviews, but I feel like that's one of Cassandra Clare's strengths as a writer.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
I'm going to go with Hamlet by Shakespeare. I mean, it's Shakespeare. I also didn't review this one because, like I said, it's Shakespeare.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
I'd say 4 to 16 Characters did. I relate to the main character in a lot of ways, and it was probably the book I connected to emotionally the most out of what I read in 2013.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
There are quite a few. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was one that I'd been planning to read for years and only got around to this part year.

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

“This above all: to thine own self be true, 

And it must follow, as the night the day, 

Thou canst not then be false to any man.” 

― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

I'm sure I could find something else if I really searched, but finding this one quote took long enough.

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
I honestly had no idea what I'd get for this before I looked at Goodreads, but I should be surprised that The Illiad was the longest book I read this year. The shortest is a bit harder, since some of the books that I read this year have "unknown" or a lower page number that I know is wrong. The best I can tell it's How to Make Money Blogging - Earning Your First $1000 Online by Nick S. Buchanan.

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!
Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 9 by Bisco Hatori. I haven't gotten to Volume 10 yet, but Volume 9 finally started moving towards what I've been waiting for since Volume 1. I'm really excited to get around to Volume 10 and see what comes from it.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood from the Mortal Instruments series. Like I said, Magnus was my most memorable character from a book this year, so that might have something to do with it. They were definitely my favorite couple in the series. I just really enjoy their dynamic. (Plus, I'm just now realizing looking back that I really didn't read too many books with a significant romance this year, which is odd for me.)

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
I mostly read books by authors I hadn't read before this year, but I did manage to read two books by Rachel Higginson this year. As I said before, her Star-Crossed series is in my all time favorites, so I'm going to go with The Reluctant King.

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Being assigned it in class counts as a recommendation right? I highly doubt I would have picked it up otherwise.

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
That's hard to say since I read a pretty good mixture. There's definitely a lot of young adult, since I took a young adult class and typically prefer it anyway, but that's not a genre.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
I'm really not one of those people who gets fictional crushes that often, although it definitely happens. Plus, like I said earlier, I really didn't read that much romance this year. I think my biggest fictional crush this year has been on television instead of in a book. I really can't think of one.

23. Best 2013 debut you read?
I'm going back to 4 to 16 Characters again.

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
City of Blaze again. As I said before, I've always loved the idea of high fantasy but found it somewhat intimidating. I loved the world Charles created, and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series and going back to it.

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
This was definitely the Mortal Instruments series for me.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
4 to 16 Characters yet again. If you haven't noticed yet, this book was pretty awesome. I highly recommend checking it out.

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
4 to 16 Characters. I know I'm using this for everything, but it's true. I didn't hear anything about it, and I only knew about it because I came across it on Netgalley.

BOOK BLOGGING/READING LIFE 2013

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013?
I didn't really find any new book blogs at the beginning of the year, and then several months ago I found quite a few at once. The Perpetual Page Turner was one of those, but I really love all of the ones I found.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2013?
This is hard for me since I don't typically think about my reviews after I write them. I know that some turn out better than others, but I don't even know where to start with choosing one of them over all of the others.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?
I wish I had discussions on my blog. If you ever want to comment, please do. It's very rare that I actually get a comment on a post, and I'm absolutely thrilled when I see that I have.

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?
I've seen several posts on diversity in YA over the past year. I don't have links to any of them, and I can't even remember which blog to search for them at. I really enjoy those sorts of discussions though because I think things like that are important to discuss.

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
Does my adolescent literature class count? I had a lot of fun discussing young adult books with the others in that class, and it was nice to be in a class with a professor who really respected young adult literature.

6. Best moment of book blogging/your book life in 2013?
I'm going to go with exploring my plans for the book I'm currently writing with my adolescent literature class and getting feedback from my professor on the first chapter. I know that's writing as opposed to reading, but it was nice to hear that my idea wasn't complete crap to other people. Plus, it happened recently, so it's on the forefront of my mind.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
Apparently it was my book review for Humble Orthodoxy by Joshua Harris. I'm actually surprised at just how many page views it has. I'm not entirely sure where they all came from because it's a pretty significant amount compared to what my posts usually get.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
I wish all of them got more comment, since they never get any. I really don't pay attention to page views, so I'm not really sure which ones have gotten more than others.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
I really don't know of any bookish discoveries that I made this year.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
Yes, I had a goal to read 50 books this year, and I'm currently in the 70s. I'm pretty proud of myself because I can't remember the last time I read this many books in a year. Of course, being an English major and in literature classes helps.

LOOKING AHEAD…

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?
The sequel to City of Blaze as well as the rest of the Mortal Instruments series. (I feel like I should have picked books I actually own already though. Whoops.)

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?
I don't really pay good attention to book releases until right before the release. I'll be keeping an eye out for any new books by my favorite authors though.

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I don't know of any debuts that are coming out at the moment. I'm sure I'll hear of some good ones during the year though.

4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?
I think the Star-Crossed series by Rachel Higginson is set to end in 2014. That means two more books! I'm excited for it.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?
I don't think there's anything major. I'm pretty happy with this past year, especially with how many books I managed to get through. I tend to make new year's resolutions with my blog and/or reading every year (and I almost always manage to keep them), but this year I really haven't thought of anything. It may be the first time in years that I start the year with no new resolutions.