Friday, January 2, 2015

2014 End of Year Survey

This survey was created by Jamie at the Perpetual Page Turner.  This is my third time taking this survey! You'll have to forgive me for occasionally listing two or three answers when I can't choose. ;)

1. Best book you read in 2014? (You can break it down by genre)

Fantasy: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
Sci-fi: Cress by Marissa Meyer
Contemporary: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Historical: Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
Dystopian: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
Paranormal: Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?

Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry.  I LOVED her previous books and was sure I'd love this, but it just didn't click with me.  Too much drama for me to get into it.

3. Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2014?

Probably We Were Liars by E. Lockhart!  I picked up the book randomly at my library after hearing tons of hype about it.  I went in with fairly low expectations and was blown away.

4. Book you read in 2014 that you recommended the most to people in 2014?

Remnants by Lisa T. Bergren.

5. Best series you discovered in 2014?

The Hex Hall series, such a fun read!

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2014?

Rachel Hawkins, Katie Finn, Leah Cypess.  I didn't read from many new authors this year lol.

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

Maybe A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness?  I wouldn't really classify it as horror (after all it is a middle grade book) but it wasn't the type of book I'd usually read.  So fantastic, though!

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2014?

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi.

9. Book you read in 2013 that you are most likely to reread in 2014?

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han.  Such an amazing contemporary book that I can't wait to read again.

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


11. Most memorable character in 2014?

Celaena from Heir of Fire, St. Clair from Sinner, Isla from Isla and the Happily Ever After.

12. Most beautifully written book in 2014?

It's a tie between Ignite Me and We Were Liars!

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2014?

Again, so hard to choose...I think This Song Will Save Your Life and To All the Boys I've Loved Before are the winners though.  Both were super realistic and thought-provoking contemporaries.

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

Looking for Alaska.

15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2014?

"And we are quotation marks, inverted and upside down, clinging to one another at the end of this life sentence.  Trapped by lives we did not choose." - Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

"Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishments.  I get the same thing spending an hour with you." - We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2014?

Shortest - A Monster Calls (205 pages).  Longest - City of Heavenly Fire (725 pages).

17. Book that had a scene that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it?

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

18. Favorite relationship from a book you read in 2014?

I had many OTPs, but probably Isla and Josh from Isla and the Happily Ever After. #shippinit

19. Favorite book you read in 2014 from an author you've read previously?

Not necessarily my absolute favorite, but White Hot Kiss definitely deserves a shoutout.

20. Best book you read in 2014 based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else?

A Monster Calls.

21. Genre you read the most from in 2014?

Fantasy/paranormal.

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

Hmmm.  A lot of my fav crushes are from series I started before 2014...so, I guess it would be Josh from Isla and the Happily Ever After.

23. Best 2014 debut you read?

Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones.

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2014?

I'm in love with the descriptiveness of the 1920s and amazing historical detail in Anna Godbersen's Bright Young Things series.

25. Book that was the most fun to read in 2014?

The Art of Lainey and Biggest Flirts!

26. Book that made you cry in 2014?

Both City of Heavenly Fire and We Were Liars.

27. Book you read in 2014 that you think got overlooked when it came out?

On the Fence by Kasie West, it was such an adorable contemporary.

Looking ahead...

1. One book you didn't get to in 2014 but will be your number one priority in 2015?

Talon by Julie Kagawa - it's waiting for me on my Kindle. :)

2. Book you are most anticipating in 2015 (non-debut)?

Oh so many...The Trouble With Destiny, The Last Time We Say Good-Bye, Fairest, to name a few.

3. 2015 debut you are most anticipating?

A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas.  Sleeping Beauty retelling?  HECK YES GIVE IT TO ME.

4. Series ending you are most anticipating in 2015?

Definitely The Ruby Circle, the last book in the Bloodlines series.

5. One thing you hope to accomplish in your reading/blogging in 2015?

I slowed down my blogging a LOT this year after starting college.  So I hope to continue blogging at least a couple times a month.  I also want to be able to read books for pleasure without being overly critical - being in English major in college is kind of ruining that for me.  Lastly, I want to meet my reading challenge of 100 books.

Feel free to leave a comment if you did a reading survey!

~ Kaitlyn