It’s the 4th annual End of Year Book Survey from Jamie at 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)
I’ll break it down by genre:
– Contemporary: I Am Messenger by Markus Zusak
– Paranormal: The Archived by Victoria Schwab
– Adult: Joyland by Stephen King
– Audiobook: Tie between Out of The Easy by Ruta Septys and Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Well, the obvious is Insurgent and Allegiant. The Infinite Moment of Usas well.
3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
I Am Messenger by Markus Zusak. I picked it out of our TBR book jar and at first I thought it was a bit dry, but I ended up really enjoying it !
4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
I’ve suggested Out of The Easy by Ruta Septys as an audiobook a few times.
5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
I didn’t start too many series this year, but I did discover theKowalski Familynovels by Shannon Stacey.
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Like many, Rainbow Rowell. I knew nothing about her, but liked Eleanor and Park.
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Reading nonfiction is always out of my usual wheelhouse. But this year I readyOrange is The New Black by Piper Kerman and found it very eye opening.
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
Champion by Marie Lu, I was racing to the end !
9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Things I Can’t Forget by Miranda Kenneally. People seemed to really love this book and I think because I read it during a readathon I didn’t read it very closely.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Ronan and pretty much the whole Lynch Family in The Dream Thieves by Maggie Steifvater
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
It’s a tie between Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan and Out of The Easy by Ruta Septys
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Unfortunately, I don’t think I read a book that made a life changing impact on me.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. It was so amazing !
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?
I really liked this quote from Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist:
“You know the reason The Beatles made it so big?…’I Wanna Hold Your Hand.’ First single. Fucking brilliant. Perhaps the most fucking brilliant song ever written. Because they nailed it. That’s what everyone wants. Not 24/7 hot wet sex. Not a marriage that lasts a hundred years. Not a Porsche…or a million-dollar crib. No. They wanna hold your hand. They have such a feeling that they can’t hide. Every single successful song of the past fifty years can be traced back to ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand.’ And every single successful love story has those unbearable and unbearably exciting moments of hand-holding.”
16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
How (Jamie) did this: Went to my read books on Goodreads and sorted by page number and just looked for what I knew I read this yeaer that was the shortest and longest.
I can’t figure out how to do the Goodreads thing, but I’ll guestimate:
Shortest: Marly’s Ghost by David Levithan at 176 pages
Longest: Clockwork Princess by 565 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!
Jess has been subjected to quite a few of these! Mainly the end of Champion by Marie Lu and Requiem by Lauren Oliver.
18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Friendship: Naomi and Ely from Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List
Child/Mother Surrogate – Willie and Josie in Out of The Easy by Ruta Septys
19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Pretty much anything from David Levithan
20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
I don’t think I’ve had one of those.
21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
More than half the books I read this year were contemporary YA. I had no idea.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
I don’t think I had any. A lot of the books I read had some pretty non-loveable MCs
23. Best 2013 debut you read?
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
The Archived by Victoria Schwab has some amazing imagery
25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
Adaptation by Malinda Lo
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
More so than usual: Code Name Verity, Out of The Easy, Champion, Requiem and I Am Messenger.
27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
I just finished Hostage Three by Nick Lake and I feel like it got lost in the shuffle.
Well, that’s 2013 in books for me. Can’t wait to check out everyone else’s list!
1/2 of the blogging duo at Books and Sensibility, I have been blogging about and reviewing books since 2011. I read any and every genre, here on the blog I mostly review Fantasy, Adult Fiction, and Young Adult with a focus on audiobooks.