My silly little survey I created for myself to highlight what I read in 2010 suddenly grew when a bunch of others jumped in and has turned into such a fun end of year event that I have LOVED hosting and has made my TBR list grow crazily! So without further ado: the 3rd annual End of Year Book Survey!

I know the year isn’t over yet but, as I said last year, this is the time I start reflecting on what I’ve read and start looking ahead because I NEVER get much reading done during December with the holidays and what not! I’ll be filling mine out within the next day or so but I’ll be revising if I happen to read something absolutely earth shattering that would need to be on here!

So feel to fill this out whenever you feel like it…whether that’s today or in January   — I know every body will want to reflect at different points! Feel free to link up with Mr. Linky and share your End of Year Books Survey and visit others on the list!

Note: The survey is for books you read and is not limited to just books that came out in 2012!!

NEW THIS YEAR: Anyone who links up by January 10th will be in the running to win a book of their choice that they saw on mine or somebody else’s list and want to read!!

Best In Books 2012

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want)

 I cheat at my own question every year. SUE ME.

One of my most favorite books, hands down, I read this year was Every Day by David Levithan (a 2012 release). I also want to say Just One Day by Gayle Forman, which comes out January 2013, and needs to be the first thing you read in the new year!! But since I can’t stop there:

Adult fiction: Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio (2012 release)
Contemporary YA: Looking For Alaska by John Green, The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Dystopian YA: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund, Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Sci-fi/supernatural/paranormal-ish (big lumping together): The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna (a 2012 release), The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Fantasy: The Girl of Fire & Thorns by Rae Carson

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

Eve & Adam by Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate — I was REALLY excited about this one and I just apparently did not get it. I’d also say The Innocents — though I’m curious to see if book 2 can redeem it considering I saw something promising towards the end.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012? 

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson — I just wasn’t expecting this book to be THIS good nor to make me cry. I just didn’t peg this book to give me an emotional response like it did. I also really was surprised by Bunheads by Sophie Flack — I was just curious by it but didn’t expect to really love it like I did.

 4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

I think there was a lot of me recommending Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard, all things John Green, Every Day by David Levithan and the Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi. I read the first book in that series in the beginning of the year and read Through The Ever Night (comes out early 2013) and I just cannot stop recommending it to dystopian YA lovers!

 5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi — for sure — especially after reading book 2 — Through The Ever Night. I also FINALLY read Shatter Me (OMG!) and FINALLY FINALLY The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han which WRECKED me at the end — SUCH a good contemp series! LOVED!

 6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

Sara Zarr (finally read my first book by her – Sweethearts), Robin Benway (Audrey, Wait! was SO SO good) and this was the year that I FINALLY read some of John Green’s non-collaborative works and OMG YOU KNOW HE IS MY FAVE!

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

I honestly don’t read a ton of fantasy so The Girl of Fire & Thorns by Rae Carson was such a win for me and SO out of my comfort zone but made me feel less nervous about reading fantasy so ANY fantasy recs you may have I would take!

 8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi — I read it ruthlessly until I finished at 4am. Also Legend by Marie Lu kept me turning the pages pretty quickly.

 9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:

Just One Day by Gayle Forman. No doubt. I passed my ARC along but I will be buying this when it comes out & re-reading the crap out of it.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

I FINALLY read this book but I remember always being drawn to this cover and loving it. It’s so simple yet so communicative in light of the story. I know it might be a boring pick but, out of all the books I read the year, this has just always been a favorite. Really enjoyed this book too!

11. Most memorable character in 2012? 

A from David  Levithan’s Every Day. Easily. And for some reason I couldn’t shake Sam or Riddle from I’ll Be  There by Holly Sloan Goldberg or Eva from The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna. And can I’m going to just keep cheating and say Roar from Veronica Rossi’s Under The Never Sky series.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson — I included a quote in the top quotes question of this survey. This book was just beautiful.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012? 

Just One Day by Gayle Forman — it really resonated in a deeply personal way. More than  I could ever explain in my review but there was just a lot of things in that book that were things I’ve been struggling with in my own life and, to be honest, this book helped me in some of my decisions and made me feel secure in others. I mean, it would have been an incredible book even if I hadn’t been having these same kind of thoughts and struggles but that just made it more impactful for me.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read? 

The Summer I Turned Pretty! My blogging besties have been pushing that one on me for FOREVER.

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012? 

Oh lord.

What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.”
― Paper Towns by John Green

I used this one as part of one of our wedding centerpieces–

“When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.”
― Paper Towns by John Green

AHHH AND THIS ONE from Just One  Day  (from the ARC)

And this:

“All her knowledge is gone now. Everything she ever learned, or heard, or saw. Her particular way of looking at Hamlet or daisies or thinking about love, all her private intricate thoughts, her inconsequential secret musings – they’re gone too. I heard this expression once: Each time someone dies, a library burns. I’m watching it burn right to the ground.”
― Jandy Nelson, The Sky Is Everywhere

 16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012? 

Longest — Nightshade by Andrea Cremer with 452 pages.  I was surprised because I really didn’t read any chunky books and honestly I thought  that The  Raven Boys was bigger for some reason.

Shortest — By The Time You Read This I’ll Be Dead by Julie  Ann Peters with 200 pages.  Wow! A lot of emotion in not too many pages.

 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 ending to Pandemonium in the Delirium series!!! I was like WHAT THE WHAT? Also, there was a certain kissing scene in Second Helpings that I was like OH MAMA I need to talk about. ALSO….Just One Day. The end. SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT BY THE END.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

I loved the relationship between Allyson & Willem in Just One  Day — there’s just something about sparks with a complete stranger and the way they learned so much about each other in such an untypical way. I don’t way to say too much. I just loved it and got completely caught up in it. ALSO, Aria & Perry in Under The Never Sky but also in Through The Ever Night I really loved the friendship that really blossomed between Aria & Roar. Oh Roar.

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously

I feel like a broken record but  Just One Day by Gayle Forman. I was obsessed every other year with If I Stay & Where She Went and this one completely tops my lists this year.

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

Either For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund (recommended to me by Anna) — I received this book for review but really wasn’t all that intrigued by it OR Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway (recommend to me by Carla) — it just never really got on my radar but Carla insisted!

 Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2012 (optional)

 

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2012? 

Sooo many amazing bloggers I’ve met this year! BUT hands down — Novel Sounds & Alexa Love Books. Not only are they great bloggers but they’ve become wonderful friends. ALSO Vegan YA Nerds & Hello Chelly! I haven’t gotten to know them as well as the other two ladies but these are two of my newest faves that I found this year.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2012? 

Either my review of Just One Day by Gayle Forman. (And it’s linked a million times above lol) or  Every Day by David Levithan (again, linked a zillion times above). I had  the  most fun fangirling with my review of Second Helpings by Megan Mccafferty or Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. Also still love my review of The Sky Is Everywhere.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

I had A TON of really great discussions on the blog this year (which I need to add to my master list of discussions) but one that I remember  loving having was during my bookish rant! It was nice to have others share their experience!

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

Oh lord. I need to start compiling a list of these to keep throughout the year. ALSO I wasn’t around as much because of the wedding planning so I really can’t think. BUT I’ll tell you my most favorite thing on someone else’s blog! My friend Jen over at Makeshift Bookmark started this series called book blogging woes and even though they are super funny and not serious — they are ALL things that we as bloggers can relate to in some way and be like HAHAHA I do that too!

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

I have to say that the Simon & Schuster blogger preview cocktail party at BEA this year was so incredibly fun — a  mix of pimping up coming books, cocktails, hanging out with AMAZING authors, meeting other bloggers and stuffing our faces because the waiters kept bringing us hor dourves. Also the Breathless Reads tour stop and Dark Days tours in my area were awesome!

Anna  & I with Jenny Han!!

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2012?

Finally getting to meet  my blogging bff (Jen from Makeshift Bookmark) and then getting to spend the weekend with her, Anna and Tara in Chicago for RT Con. ALSO..meeting John Green!!! OH AND MEETING STEPHANIE PERKINS!!

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

Oh lord. Well I had a Hunger Games post (a simple little list I had posted that I had originally made for a few friends who loved THG after I recommended it to them and they wanted more) and it went viral on Pinterest. Like broke my site and I was getting crazy insane traffic. Like 10,000 unique visitors a day for a month.  It’s  died down from that.

But in terms of actually popular amongst my readers (I’m excluding Top  Ten Tuesday’s though many of them got more comments & traffic than these)– WEIRDLY enough — the strangest posts I made were popular. My How Books are Making Me Fit & Productive post was popular and so was this SO RANDOM (like I posted it because I had nothing scheduled and just was kind of excited about it) post about How I combated car sickness. Totally a random post. I thought it would get a few “wooo hoo nice” or “I can’t read in the car either!”.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Hmm can I say all of them? Because who doesn’t want more love! But I would say maybe my Book Inspired Dates post? Or my a post in which (after I gave my list of 10 bookish confession) I gave my confessions as a blogger.  I don’t knowww. WHY DO I ASK SUCH HARD QUESTIONS? I might come back to this one!

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

Audiobooks while working  out!!

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

I didn’t really have any goals because I knew I was going to be planning my wedding until August 17th (wooo so glad it’s over) but I’m just really proud of myself for reading as much as I did nonetheless and somehow still keeping the blog going (while sparse at times). I totally failed at reading the HP series..which was about the only goal I had. lol. I DID, however, complete my goal of moving to WP. It wasn’t pain free but it’s so worth it. And it wasn’t THAT bad…minus losing most of my RSS subscribers.

Looking Ahead…

 

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?

Is it acceptable to have said Harry Potter like on every survey I’ve done?? lol. I need to. I just need to do this. MAKE ME, GUYS.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

I gave a whole list of most anticipated reads for 2013.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2013?

I just want to keep on keeping on and challenging myself with reading & blogging and keeping in check with my blogging manifesto & keep learning. I’m happy where I’m at and I love my readers and just have been beyond blessed by the openness and love I feel from this space between my reader and myself. I want to use this year to get back on a schedule that works for me since this year was more sporadic than I would have liked with wedding planning.  I’d also like to challenge myself to read genres I never read and ALSO get back to reading more adult fiction.

 

LINK UP!!