December 27, 2011

2011 End Of Year Book Survey

It's time for Jamie @ The Perpetual Page-Turner's end of year survey! I've been looking forward to this so I can actually have a little discussion about books! :) Yay!

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?

I'm gonna separate this into genres like Jamie did.
YA Contemporary - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (best contemp I've read by far though Simone Elkeles Perfect Chemistry comes in at a close second)
Dystopian - Divergent by Veronica Roth
YA Paranormal - Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready (Thanks to April at Books4Juliet and practically all of my TBR Intervention friends for getting me to read it :D)
Adult - Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?

Shadowland by Alyson Noel. I found it so hard to get into and overall it was kinda boring. I finally made myself read it for a TBR Intervention to finally finish it. I loved Evermore and Blue Moon and I feel like Shadowland fell flat compared to them. I thought Evermore and Blue Moon were four or five star ratings and Shadowland fell to a two and a half three star. Though I still found one more book worse. Halo by Alexandra Adornetto. I really liked the concept behind the book. And I thought the writing was good. But I just found it boring (more boring than Shadowland) and I felt no connection to the characters whatsoever. At least with Shadowland I still felt connected to Ever and Damen. Halo only got maybe one and a half stars because I couldn't even finish it. 

3. Most Surprising (in a good way) Book Of 2011?

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I honestly didnt think I'd like this book. I thought it was just gonna be another Wolf book with the same things I've already read about but after reading it I found I was wrong. I enjoyed this book way more than I expected to and the wolf thing was in its way unique in Shiver. It definitely surprised me.

4. Book You Recommended To People Most In 2011?

Theres more than one. Lol. Lets see, the ones I've recommended most are Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Gallagher Girls books by Ally Carter, and any Cassandra Clare, L.J. Smith or Scott Westerfeld books.

5. Best Series You Discovered In 2011?

Um, I have two. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins & The Perfect Chemistry Series by Simone Elkeles! :D

6. Favorite New Authors You Discovered In 2011?

Suzanne Collins, Stephanie Perkins & Simone Elkeles. :D

7. Best Book That Was Out Of Your Comfort Zone Or Was A New Genre For You? 

The Host by Stephenie Meyer. It had some Sci-Fi in it. I didnt really read any books that had Sci-Fi in it until The Host. It was really cool though. I really enjoyed it and I'm definitely looking forward to pick up some more Sci-Fi like books.

8. Most Thrilling, Unputdownable Book In 2011?

For me it was Divergent by Veronica Roth. That books kept me sucked in until the very last page!

9. Book You Most Anticipated In 2011?

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. I was dying waiting for this to come out!

10. Favorite Cover Of A Book You Read In 2011?

I just absolutely love Le tour Eiffel in the background. :)

11. Most Memorable Character In 2011?

Étienne St. Claire!!!!!! Duh!

12. Most Beautifully Written Book Read In 2011?

Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr. It was so beautifully written especially for the ending of the Wicked Lovely series!

13. Book That Had The Greatest Impact On You In 2011?

It was definitely by far Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher! I was very connected to this book because in the past I dealt with depression and feeling like Hannah did. This book really hit home with me because I really understood what Hannah was going through.

14. Book You Can't Believe You Waited UNTIL 2011 To Finally Read?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! I seriously cant believe I waited so long to read this!!!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?

From Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare:
"Whatever you are physically," he said, "Male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy-all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. Whatever the color, the shape, the design of the shade that conceals it, the flame inside the lamp remains the same. You are that flame."

I absolutely love love love that quote! It is so amazing! 

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?

Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins! This book makes me so dang happy!

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Someone Else About It? (A WTF Moment, An Epic Revelation, A Steamy Kiss, etc. etc.) Be Careful of Spoilers!

Anna and the French Kiss (so many moments between Anna and Etienne), The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (The End, I was seriously looking at the page like WTF!), Passion by Lauren Kate (I was in awe of the ending, totally not what I saw coming and now I'm dying to know how it ends!) & Divergent (some Four & Tris moments! and a few moment just of Four. Lol.)

Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2011

1. New Favorite Book Blog You Discovered In 2011?

OMG! Its so hard to choose just one! I've discovered so many great blogs! Um, I'm gonna go with Book 4 Juliet. I forget when I discovered April's blog, I know it was a while ago when I was just starting to get into meme's. I think I discovered it when I started participating in WoW (Waiting On Wednesday). I absolutely love her blog. First of all, its so cute! Second of all me and her enjoy so many of the same books! And not to mention, she's been one of the people that's supported me and my blog since she discovered mine and she leaves awesome comments on a regular basis. :)

2. Favorite Review You Wrote In 2011?

I have two faves. First being Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - I think this was more gushing about the book more than an actual thorough review but I just had the best time ever writing it!

The second being Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare - The first half of this was gushing and insanity and all that stuff about the book more than a review. Lol. The second half was more reviewish but ya. Lol

I enjoyed writing those review so so so so much!

3. Best Discussion You Had On Your Blog?

Uh...... Hmm... I really dont know. I think my best discussions came from Book Blogger Appreciation Week. The questions I posted about that week definitely got some great feedback and caused some great discussions.

4. Most Thought-Provoking Review Or Discussion You Read On Somebody Else's Blog?

It would take me literally forever to find this to link it but It was a post on Parajunkees blog about commenting on other blogs and whether or not you like just general comments or well thought out comments. (Which if you all wanna know, I enjoy both. It just makes me happy that you took the time to actually comment on my blog.)

5. Best Event That You Participated In (Author Signings, Festivals, Virtual Events, Memes, etc.)?

Well. I actually enjoy participating in many memes (you all know which ones I participate in and who the credit goes to for them. Lol.). But I really enjoyed participating in The Broke and The Bookish's Secret Santa this year. It was so much fun. It wasn't the only secret santa I participated in but it was the one I enjoyed the most! My Secret Santa (Yani @ The Secret Life of an Avid Reader) got me one of the best presents I recieved this year! And I also enjoyed shopping for the person I was Secret Santa to (Magan @ Rather Be Reading). I really enjoyed this event (The giving and the recieving) and after the experience I had with it this year I will definitely participate in it again next year. :)

6. Best Moment Of Book Blogging In 2011?

I have two actually. The first one being the first time someone else featured my blog on theirs! Sam @ Books For All Seasons was the first person to ever feature my blog. It made me so incredibly happy that he liked my blog so much that he featured it on his blog! The second being hitting 200 followers before the year ended. I never thought that many people would be interested in my blog especially in just half a year! 

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (Whether It Be By Comments Or Views)?

Lets see, the most popular post by comments was my Waiting On Wednesday #5 post where I featured Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer. The most popular post by views is my Review of Passion by Lauren Kate. Ironically it has the most views but no comments. Lol.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I wish my reviews of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin and Nightshade by Andrea Cremer got a little more love. They feel a little left out like many of my earlier reviews. 

9.Best Bookish Discovery (Book Related Sites, Book Stores etc.)?

For me it was NetGalley. I had no idea it existed until I really got into blogging.

10. Did You Complete Any Reading Challenges Or Goals That You Had Set For Yourself At The Beginning Of The Year?

I completed my Goodreads goal of reading 50 books this year. (I surpassed it actually). I also surpassed my goal of reading 40 YA books this year for the 2011 YA Reading Challenge.

Looking Ahead...

1. One Book You Didnt Get To In 2011But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2012?

Dearly Departed by Lia Habel. My Secret Santa Yani got this for me but I just havent had the time to get to it this year! But I plan on it being one of the first books I read in 2012!!!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2012?

I have like 5 I'm anticipating. 

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2012?

I hope to start having GIVEAWAYS on the blog! :) :) :). I know many of you are excited to hear that. Lol. :)