End of Year Survey: 2017

LORDY THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG SO I'M SKIPPING AN INTRODUCTION. As always, link to Jamie's original post here, and yay team! We survived 2017! *collapses in exhaustion*

New Year's Bookish Resolutions

I have never been a New Year's resolve-y sort of person (possibly because I'm far too lazy to have much resolve in the first place). I don't have the discipline for diets or exercise, and my favorite hobbies are eating baked goods and sitting down with a book until my spine curves into a c-shape and my muscles dissolve into pudding. I never do hard numbers for reading goals (see why here). I go with the flow, man. Peace and love and baked goods.

But this year, for the first time in my whole life, I FEEL RESOLVE-Y.

My Favorite Reads of 2016

2016 was a complete wash of a year in so very many ways, but at least the books were great, and these in particular! Enjoy my highly biased and highly subjective list of my most loved reads of 2016.

Introducing: The Shippy Awards!

WOOO! So it's no small secret that I love ships. I go bananas for them. 90% of my favorite books have ships in them #bookmath. It's not that I don't like or want books without them; it's just that the books that have them make me so deliciously happy. They're my jam. And bread is always better with jam, ya feel?

Anyway, another thing I love is end of year superlatives. Also awards and awards shows. Also WINNERS and LOSERS and DEATH AT THE CORNUCOPIA and so I decided to throw all those things in a blender and come up with THE SHIPPY AWARDS. Like a year ago, I thought of this mad idea and brainstormed it with Meg and Christina, but nothing came of it because I am incurably lazy. Well...apparently not incurably, because here I am, finally doing it. There are a lot of bloggy awards for best books, or best cover design, and those are all legit, but here on my nonsense blog, we're doing ships. Because ships are life.

SO YES. Here, if you want, you can vote on your favorite ships of 2015, and the winning ships will get crowns and capes and romantic honeymoons to private islands off the coast of Brazil where they can snorkel and sparkle and procreate if they want, idk, to each their shippy own.

Only books published within the 2015 calendar year count. Also, you're allowed to nominate as many ships as you life, but you're only allowed to nominate each one once PER CATEGORY. It makes it a lot harder for me to tally up the results. Edit: just realized I have no way of tracking this, so honor code, please? Don't spam my form with nonstop voting for one ship por favor!

The top three to five ish (#bookmath) ships in each category will then move onto the VOTING ROUND two weeks from now, aka the round of bloodshed, where good ships die and the strongest ships rise triumphant. The winning ships will earn one of THESE:

A SHIPPY! Why yes, that is a drawing of a trophy that does not exist. IT IS THE MOST COVETED MADE UP TROPHY IN THE UNIVERSE. All the ships are ready to do battle over it.

Without further ado, the categories:

Best of 2014: Contemporary Classics and Historical Highlights

It's the last of my Best of 2014 round ups! We're closing it out with my fave real world books of 2014, aka historicals and contemporaries, aka "things that could have happened but sadly did not but LET'S PRETEND OTHERWISE"!

Best of 2014: Paranormal Perfection and Sci Fi Superlatives

HOW ARE WE SO CLOSE TO 2015? Je refuse. Je demande a redo. Fetch me my Time Turner and TWIST. But then, there were a lot of great reads in 2014, and I would hate to go back in time and un-read them.

My favorite paranormal reads of 2014:

Best of 2014: Debut Darlings Giveaway

One of my favorite benefits of being a book blogger--and therefore being pretty well tuned into what books are coming out when/why/how/who/huh--is getting to read and promote debut authors. Debuting is hard, y'all. A debut author (who shall remain nameless) once told me that debuting in YA felt a lot like showing up in a packed auditorium packed to the rafters with loud chattering people with microphones and megaphones or just really carrying voices and shouting "I AM HERE!!"

Well, the cool thing about being a blogger is that I get to hear them shouting, and then I read their awesome books and then I get to yell at other people to read their awesome books, and maybe I'll drown out a few megaphones, and I will stop now before this metaphor goes haywire, but you follow me. (I hope.)

Anyway. Enough rambling. You're probably not even reading this because you saw the word G!VEAWAY!!!!!!!!!1! in the title and scrolled straight down to the Rafflecopter, but in case you are reading this, I just want to say that I love reading debut authors. Love. There's always a certain wonderful freshness to this brand new voice in, yes, a crowded auditorium, but that auditorium wouldn't be the same without that new voice, would it? (Metaphor, I don't know how to quit you.)

So I'm doing a giveaway of my favorite debuts of 2014. I loved way more debuts than this, but I had to narrow it down. The winner will get their choice of TWO of the following debuts. The winner must live in a country to which The Book Depository ships, which means yes, this is INTERNATIONAL with only a very few exceptions. YAY!

2013 End of Year Book Survey

This is a yearly survey hosted and conceived by the ever fabulous Jamie of The Perpetual Page Turner. All the gorgeous graphics are hers!



1. Best Books I Read in 2013 (By Genre)

See THIS POST, aka my top 27 reads of the year!

2. Book I Was Excited About and Thought I'd Love But Didn't

How to Love by Katie Cotugno, The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle, Red by Alison Cherry, Thorn Abbey by Nancy Ohlin, Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts, Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield, Taken by Erin Bowman, Prophecy by Ellen Oh

3. Surprising in a good way book of 2013

Gorgeous by Paul Rudnik, Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

3.5. Surprising in a very bad not good way at ALL

 Frozen by Melissa De La Cruz. This book deserves its own category of bad.

4. Book I Read in 2013 That I Recommended to People the Most in 2013

 Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo.

5. Best Series I Discovered in 2013

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard, The Lotus Wars by Jay Kristoff, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.

6. Favorite Authors I Discovered in 2013

Rainbow Rowell, Kasie West, Stephanie Perkins, Susan Dennard,Veronica Rossi

7. Best Book That Was Out of My Comfort Zone or in a new genre

Dare You To by Katie McGarry. I read basically all genres of YA, but I don't tend to gravitate towards the sexy swoony contemporaries. This one, however, totally rocked.

8. Most Thrilling, Un-Put-Down-able Book in 2013

Cress by Marissa Meyer, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi. These were all burning-the-midnight-oil, nothing-is-left-of-my-feels, WHAT'S-GONNA-HAPPEN reads!

9. Book I Read in 2013 That I'm Most Likely to Re-Read Next Year

Cress by Marissa Meyer, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, the first half of Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas before my heart gets completely obliterared, Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein.

10. Favorite Cover of a Book You Read in 2013





  11. Most Memorable Character in 2013

Thorne from Scarlet and Cress by Marissa Meyer, Sturmhond from Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, Kenji from Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi, Roar from the Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi trilogy, Celaena from Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, Scarlet from Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen, Hayley and Finn from The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson, Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Hector from The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson, and a whole lot more. Characters are the reason I LOVE a book.

12. Most Beautifully Wrtten Book Read in 2013

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson, Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, The Archived by Victoria Schwab, The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater, Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein.

13. Book That Had the Greatest Impact On Me In 2013 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Hands down.

14. Book I Can't Believe I Waited Until 2013 to Finally Read

Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From a Book I Read in 2013

Arrrgh, I never remember quotes. Here's one from Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan (only accessible to me at this moment since I put in my review. I AM A GENIUS):

"Things are not magical because they've been conjured for us by some outside force. They are magical because we create them, and then deem them so."

16. Shortest and Longest Book I Read in 2013

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan: 208 pages
Cress by Marissa Meyer: 560 pages

17. Book That Had a Scene In It That Had Me Reeling and Dying to Talk to Somebody About It

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (THAT MOMENT. WHAT THE WHAT), Allegiant by Veronica Roth (That... um... moment, also), Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (NOOOOOOO!).

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book I Read in 2013

Cath and Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Thorne and Cress from Cress by Marissa Meyer, Thorne and Cinder (non-romantic boy/girl friendship!) from Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, Aria and Roar (I friendship them SO MUCH) from Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi, Rose and Roza in Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein, Chaol and Celaena from Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, I literally could go on forever, I need to stop. 

19. Favorite Book I Read in 2013 From an Author I've Read Previously

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund, Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi, The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

20. Best Book I Read in 2013 That I Read Based SOLELY on a Recommendation from Somebody Else: 

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen, recommended by Lili

21. Genre I Read the Most from 2013

Fantasy? I think? I'm sorry, but I'm way too lazy to math it right now.

22. Newest Fictional Crush From a Book I Read in 2013

STURMHOND, Levi, Thorne, Roar, Nikolai. Sturmhond. Extra Sturmhond. Plus Sturmhond.

I think I might have forgotten to mention Sturmhond.

23. Best 2013 Debut I Read

Pivot Point by Kasie West

24. Most Vivid World/Imagery In A Book I Read in 2013

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

25. Book That Was the Most Fun to Read in 2013

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Cress by Marissa Meyer, Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diane Peterfreund

26. Book That Made Me Cry in 2013

SO MANY books make me cry. I ugly-sobbed reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner also made me break out the heaving snivelly sobs. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein made me incredibly misty. I'M A CRIER, OKAY.

27. Book I Read in 2013 That I Think Got Overlooked This Year or When It Came Out

Dark Star by Bethany Frenette is a totally great urban fantasy with interesting mythology, a funny and fiesty heroine, a great mother/daughter dynamic, a platonic boy/girl friendship, and an adorable and bantery love interest. More people should read this series!

 45 Pounds by K.A. Barson is funny, honest, heartbreaking, and wonderful. It's about a teen girl struggling with her identity, her weight, and her self esteem. Ann is totally my homegirl. Get thee to a bookstore so you can meet this crazy awesome chick.



1. New favorite book blog I discovered in 2013

This is so tricky, because I discovered ALL THE BLOGS in 2013! I technically started my blog in 2012, but I didn't really become part of the blogosphere until 2013. So I'm just going to list, like, a million people in alphabetical order: Angie, Alexa, Ashleigh, Ashley, Bekka, Bonnie, Blythe, Christianna, Christina, Debby, Ellis, Gaby, the fabulous Jamie, Jess, Jessie, Judith, Kara, Katie, Lili, Molli, Pixie, Rachel, Renae, Shae, Steph and Meg from Cuddlebuggery, Sunny, and Wendy and Kate from The Midnight Garden. I'm so pleased to have gotten to know and love you guys. And that's just the tip of the awesome blogger iceberg.

2. Favorite review I wrote in 2013

I really like my positive reviews for Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (which was the post that got nominated for a Bloggy for Most Hilarious Review!) , Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce to kick off PierceFest,
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West, Faking It by Cora Carmack, The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson, Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen, Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

I really like my negative reviews for Warrior by Ellen Oh, Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles, Defy by Sara B. Larson, and, of course, Frozen by Melissa De la Cruz and Michael Johnston

3. Best discussion I had on the blog

How to Go on a Book Binge
20 Signs You're From the Harry Potter Generation
Insta-Love: An Insta-Turn Off
Gender-Bending and Why It's Awesome
Keep Romance in Oven Until Fully Baked: Or, Why I Love Slow Burn Romance

4. Best Event That I Participated In

BEA!!!!!!!!! Having lunch with Marie Lu! PierceFest! BEAAAAAAAA!!!!!

5. Best moment of book blogging/your book life in 2013?

Lili and Christina both came to stay this year, I got nominated for a Bloggy, I passed 100,000 views (and then 150,000!!!). Penguin invited me to have lunch with Marie Lu. I got to meet more of you guys online!

6. Top Ten Most Popular Posts This Year On My Blog by Page Views (As of a Couple Weeks Ago Because I'm Too Lazy Too Re-Check)

Lending People Books
Classic Books Everyone Should Read
Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass
Negative Reviews: Why I Write Them and Why I Read Them
How to Convert a YA Doubter into a YA Believer
March Fantasy Month Review: The Thief
YA Trend Watch
Review: Matched by Ally Condie
Baking the Books: Cinder Fortune Cookies
Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars



1. One Book I Didn't Get to in 2013 But Will Be My Number 1 Priority in 2014

The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak (bad llama), Daughter of Smoke and Bone.


2. Book I'm Most Anticipating for 2014 (non-debut)

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, The Unbound by Victoria Schwab, Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo.

3. 2014 Debut I'm Most Anticipating

Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout (HI KATIE), Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne, The Nethergrim, Sekret by Lindsay Smith, Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman, Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas, A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller.

4. Series Ending I'm Most Anticipating in 2014

Isla and the Happily Ever After, Ignite Me, Ruin and Rising, The One (JUST TELL ME WHO SHE PICKS, GOD DAMN IT, I DON'T EVEN LIKE THESE BOOKS)

5. One Thing I Hope to Accomplish or Do in My Reading/Blogging in 2014

Read more of the books I say I'll read. Make more bookish friends. Write more of my own stuff! AND READ!

The End of Year Book Survey

2012 is almost over! We made it!


It may be a little early to start declaring my favorites and not-so-favorites of 2012, but I never get much reading done during the holidays, since I am part elf and spend most of my time baking and crafting and SPREADING JOY and the like. And since The Perpetual Page-Turner is hosting it's 3rd Annual End of Year Book Survey, I figured I'd better hop on board now, when the time is right and before the Apocalypse occurs.

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

THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION.

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

THE LIST by Siobhan Vivian *sad face*

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

BLACKWOOD by Gwenda Bond. The book was totally different than I expected, but I loved it!

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

Probably UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan, because it needs all the LOVE and SUPPORT it can get! Not enough 

 people are reading this book when they should.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

Discovering THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS series was a momentous thing.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

Oh, man. Leigh Bardugo, Sarah Rees Brennan, Marissa Meyer, Rae Carson, C.J. Redwine, Sarah J. Maas… and on and on and on. SO MANY GOOD AUTHORS OUT THERE.

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

I gave ENDANGERED, a contemporary book with a young protagonist set in the Congo, a shot, because I received a review copy. I like contemporary, but this was an ISSUE book, set in a war-torn third world country, advertizing the plight of the endangered bonobo. I love animals, and I love the news, but not usually in my literature. I prefer pure escapism, really. BUT OH BOY. THIS BOOK. It's amazing. No wonder it was nominated for the National Book Award.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

I’ll go with DEFIANCE by C.J. Redwine, but there were many, many others. That book was always moving, changing directions every couple scenes, in the best way possible.

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

SERAPHINA by Rachel Hartman. I could live inside that book. So rich and full of detail.

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

 

11. Most memorable character in 2012? 

Hector from THE CROWN OF EMBERS, Kami from UNSPOKEN, Celaena from THRONE OF GLASS, and my precious Mal from SHADOW AND BONE.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi. Unequivocally.

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

ENDANGERED by Eliot Schrefer had me bawling like a baby.

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

ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy. They revoke your English major badge at my school if you don’t read Tolstoy at some point. Plus I wanted to read it before I saw the movie.

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

From SHATTER ME:

“I always wonder about raindrops.
I wonder about how they’re always falling down, tripping over their own feet, breaking their legs and forgetting their parachutes as they tumble right out of the sky toward an uncertain end. It’s like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn’t seem to care where the contents fall, doesn’t seem to care that the raindrops burst when they hit the ground, that they shatter when they fall to the floor, that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors.”

Bonus:

“My head is on the seat, his frame hovering over me, his hands gripping my hips from under my tattered dress and I’m licked by a million flames of wanting so desperate I can hardly inhale. He’s a hot bath, a short breath, 5 days of summer pressed into 5 fingers writing stories on my body.”

 16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012? 

ANNA KARENINA is long so long the longest the absolute longest thing ever. The shortest book? I moved this year, so I uncovered a lot of Gillian Detritus left behind in my old home, including the very first story I ever wrote at the age of 5. I present it to you in its entirety:

Once upon a time there was a whale named Martha. She was very sad because she didn’t have kids. One day she had a child named Susan.

THE END.

That was a fail whale of a story.

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 last Throne of Glass novella. I CURSED the HEAVENS at that one. Also the end of UNSPOKEN and the end of CROWN OF EMBERS (yes I keep picking the same books over and over but guys I seriously love those books. Deal).

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

Warner and Juliette's relationship from SHATTER ME and DESTROY ME. It's twisted, epic, deep, confusing, painful. Oh the FEELS. I love literary relationships that aren't black and white or even necessarily healthy. Also Mal and Alina from SHADOW AND BONE and Alina and the Darkling. I'm a pan-shipper, guys. I like when hearts get tangled.

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

Finally started reading THE INFERNAL DEVICES series by Cassandra Clare after loving THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS.

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

A friend told me to read VALKYRIE RISING because it was tons of fun and she was extremely right.

 Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2012 (optional)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2012? 

ALL THE BOOK BLOGS. I only joined the book blogging world at the end of September, and I seriously love them all. They are all brand new discoveries and I’m honored to be a part of this awesome community. Special shout out to Bookshelvers Anonymous, Lili’s Reflections, and Blue Sky Bookshelf, for being my particular blogging buds! But seriously, you should check out every blog that links back to Perpetual Page-Turner main page. They're all worthwhile.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2012? 

Um... you tell me? I don't know. I have fun with the negative ones because I like to keep my claws sharp, so reviewing THE SELECTION was kind of fun. But I also love to rave and swoon and tell people about books that will change their lives, so I guess I also like my gushing reviews. Must pay particular love to my non-review posts, like Pixar's Rules of Story-telling and, wow, my total favorite that i forgot about until just now, WHY I LOVE YA!

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

It was a short discussion, but definitely the one about Boys in YA. Another good and longer one was about The Ten Worst Ways to End a Book (warning: gif overload ahead).

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

Malinda Lo, author of ADAPTATION, talking about hetero-normativity in BITTERBLUE. Very well articulated.

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

I got to go to a REALLY great discussion about Gender in Fantasy at UCLA, where Leigh Bardugo, Cecil Castelluci, Javi Grillo-Marxuach, and Amber Benson all presided. They sat around saying alternately hilarious and profound things. I took copious notes, so one day a post will go up sharing all the WISDOM I gained that wondrous night, but it will have to wait till I'm not completely swamped (and can learn to decipher my own abysmal handwriting).

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2012?

Winning bookish prizes! Also GIVING bookish prizes! People love free books. A whole bunch.

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

Obviously my BIG MEGA HOLIDAYGIVEAWAY (open until Thursday, December 6) was the most popular by both comments and views, but the next one was Top Ten Most Anticipated Books of 2013. Followed very closely by Top Ten literary Characters I Want to Marry (this one gets alllll the Google searches for Bookish Boyfriends).

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

THIS ONE. Love it, guys, give it some loooooove.

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

Book Soup, a bookstore in the WestHollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. GO THERE AND BUY THINGS. GO THERE NOW.

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

To start a book blog! 

Looking Ahead…

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

GRACELING. I. Will. Read. It. I promise. I now own a copy. It will happen. (Also DIVERGENT)

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

CINDER by Marissa Meyer. SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo. UNTOLD by Sarah Rees Brennan. JUST READ THIS POST.

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

Make more blogging friends! *waves at blogging friends with scary amount of enthusiasm* And more reading friends! *hugs reading friends uncomfortably close*

That's right... join me... join my bookish cult.