2013 End of Year Book Survey

Sunday 29 December 2013

best books 2013 end of year survey
This fantastic survey was created by The Perpetual Page Turner

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 – Shift by Em Bailey or Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic – The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye by Robert Kirkman (graphic novels count, right?)

Historical Fiction – Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper (technically this was a re-read, so if that doesn't count, Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen)

Paranormal — Mystic by Alyson Noel

Science Fiction — Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Fantasy — A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, hands down (A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold or A Dance With Dragons: After the Feast if you want to get specific)

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

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? 
Probably City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I thought I was going to hate it so much, but I wound up actually enjoying it. Sure, it's not the best book but it was okay. 

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
I don't really recommend books to people, but I feel like I've mentioned a lot of Mary Hooper's historical fiction books a fair amount. I know I recommended The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath to a few people and A Song of Ice and Fire, so those I guess?

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
I can't say A Song of Ice and Fire again, can I? I'm going to go with The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black for this one.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Philip Pullman. I tried reading His Dark Materials years ago but couldn't get into it at all, but this year (after finding a gorgeous hardcover edition) something changed and I really enjoyed it. So I definitely want to check out some of his other work.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I don't normally read contemporary, romance or books about ill characters, so it was out of my comfort zone in that sense. But also in the sense that I wasn't comfortable reading it due to how little I enjoyed it and how close to home it hit.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. It was so much better than Clockwork Angel, and goddamn the cliffhanger ending!

9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
 A Song of Ice and Fire

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, The Disgrace of Kitty Grey by Mary Hooper and The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King.


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11. Most memorable character in 2013? 
Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead, Will Scarlet from Scarlet, Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices, Zoey Redbird from House of Night, Apophis from The Kane Chronicles. There are so many characters that stuck out to me this year, not all for the right reasons though.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013? 
I know I've already said Shift and Speak, but I'm going to say them again. Skinny by Ibi Kaslik and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld did as well, even though I felt a little disappointed by them.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read? 
The At the House of The Magician trilogy by Mary Hooper. I got those books years ago and I don't know why I put them off for so long because I did really enjoy them. They also got me back into historical fiction which is great, even if it means I have an entire to-read list for that genre now.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” 
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Quick note: I've excluded all the e-books I read this year, as Goodreads lists many of them as having 0 pages (what??) and, generally, the pages on my iPad don't match with the page count listed on Goodreads.

Longest - His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Shortest - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

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!
Basically the end of Joyland by Stephen King. I knew what was going to happen right at the very end, and who the killer was, but when I found out I was still... shocked, for lack of a better word.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Romance – Tessa and Jem from The Infernal Devices. I just... I need to read Clockwork Princess. Like, now.

Friendship – Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer from Pretty Little Liars

Familial — Jared, Simon and Mallory from The Spiderwick Chronicles. If I had brothers and sisters, I'd want them to be like them. 

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Either Joyland by Stephen King or Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper. Or maybe The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else
Again, probably Joyland by Stephen King. I know I keep mentioning the same books a lot, but I don't get book recommendations a lot, and I wasn't going to pick this one up because I'm not really a fan of books set in the past but not the past past, like historical fiction. Plus, all the other books I read based solely on recommendation were rubbish (*cough* Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, Thirteen Reasons Why, The Great Gatsby *cough*).

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
Definitely young adult. And within that, probably fantasy/dystopian/paranormal. Although I've read a fair amount of historical fiction as well.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
I don't really know, in all honesty. Can I just go with the Targaryen siblings from A Song of Ice and Fire

23. Best 2013 debut you read?
Now, I'm not sure if I've actually read any debut books this year, but I don't really pay attention to publishing dates, so who knows? (If someone does know if any of the books I've mentioned on my blog or on my Goodreads are debuts, please, let me know.)

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
Middle Earth from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring. While I didn't really enjoy it, I can't fault the description and overall world building.

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan were quick, fun reads.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
I don't really cry at books, but Clockwork Prince and Joyland definitely had me on the verge of tears.

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
Shift by Em Bailey. I started this survey with this book so I'm going to end with it. I just cannot sing it's praises enough. Everything about it was great, I've never read anything like it and I really enjoyed Olive as a character. I just think everyone should read it and then come talk to me about it, okay?

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