Wednesday 1 January 2014

End of the year - Book survey


There it is again, the wonderful End of Year Book Survey hosted by The Perpetual Page Turner. The survey without which a year of reading is not complete ;-) Hope you enjoy reading my answers and I'm looking forward to reading all your end-of-year lists!

Best in books 2013

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)

Sigh, let's tackle the most difficult question first. I'll make it a top 5, in no particular order
1. Her mother's hope by Francine Rivers
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
3. Promise me this by Cathy Gohlke
4. Crusade in jeans by Thea Beckman
5. Miracle on Regent Street by Ali Harris




2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Firmin by Sam Savage. I thougth the premise sounded so cute, a rat who loves books and lives in a used bookstore, but it was a dreary book.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
I read a work of Dutch literature, already on my shelves for a few year. I usually don't like Dutch literature at all, but this book (Het recht op terugkeer by Leon de Winter) was really quite good!

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Cinder by Marissa Meyer!

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
The Lunar chronicles by Marissa Meyer, but to not be too repetitive, also The Grand Tour series by Lisa T. Bergren.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Hehe, Marissa Meyer.... But also Sarah Sundin and Cathy Gohlke.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
See question 3. But also Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, as I'd never really read magical realism before.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
I reread The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien and was spellbound once again!

9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I don't think I'll reread any books from this year that soon. There are just so many new ones I want to read!

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

Though I didn't love the book very much, I do love the cover!



11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Rose Campbell from Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott and Felix Holt from Felix Holt; the radical by George Eliot. Classics still have the best realized characters!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson, such lyrical prose!

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
My reread of The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. I was reading in a very busy bus and was still completely in a different world.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
Her mother's hope by Francine Rivers. My mother had this book on her shelves for a few years already (I gave it to her) and despite my love for all books by Rivers, I'd not yet picked this one up!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

"I wonder what you will do with your wings once you have found them. I wonder how far away they will take you. And I fear them, for my sake, at the same time that I hope for them, for yours." From Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Shortest - Miracle at the Museum of Broken Hearts by Talli Roland
Longest - The Old Curiosity shop by Charles Dickens

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 of Miracle at Regent Street. It was such a perfect warm and sweet ending, the most Christmassy reading moment for me this year.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Romance – Allie Miller and Walter Novak from A distant melody by Sarah Sundin, Henry Delafield and Kate Worthington from Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
Friendship – Micheal Dunnagan and Owen Allen in Promise me this by Cathy Gohlke
Familial — Rose Campbell and her uncle/guardian/father figure in Eight Cousins and Rose in bloom by Louisa May Alcott

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Her mother's hope by Francine Rivers

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
Cinder (and Scarlett) by Marissa Meyer. These books were recommended on many blogs I read and I'm sooo glad I picked them up!

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
Christian historical fiction

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
Colonel Cassius McLinn from The Colonel's Lady by Laura Frantz. Pfftt, such as intense man....
Henry Delafield from Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson. A real gentleman, a man every girl wishes was her friend (and more...)

23. Best 2013 debut you read?
A distant melody by Sarah Sundin and Cinder by Marissa Meyer

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson. She describes nature and landscapes vividly and very beautiful!

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
Miracle at Regent Street by Ali Harris. Such a cute and warm and funny Christmas read with British humor and a lot of heart.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. I don't cry at lot a books (much more so with movies!), but the ending of this book, the hope, the victory is just so beautifully described, it made me cry tears of happiness!

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
Felix Holt; the radical is a 19th century classic that I think many people who love classics overlook. It's a pity, because it's got great characters and interesting themes.

Book blogging/reading life 2013

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013?
Too Read or Not Too Read

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2013?
I think my review of Jane Austen made me do it. It was quite a challenge writing a review of a book consisting of 22 different stories!

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?The comments on my Becoming a fangirl post, on rereading a Dutch children's classic which for me was the first book I was really mad about in my childhood. So many people recognized that feeling!

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?None really comes to mind now....

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I didn't really participate in any event, but I did start up a blog (besides my LiveJournal). I already read quite some blogs, and this made it much easier to communicate with all the people I got to know on Blogspot. It's been really great so far!

6. Best moment of book blogging/your book life in 2013?
Starting up my new blog and getting my first comments and followers.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
My review of Jane Austen made me do it, incidentally also the first post on my new blog!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
My review from Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
E-reading, NetGalley and free ebooks! Reading ebooks has given me access to many more books without having to buy the physical copy (which my overflowing bookshelf is no doubt happy with) and allows me to read easier in some places (busy public transport etc.). NetGalley and in general free ebooks are wonderful to discover and read new books (which my TBR is not to happy with)

Looking ahead...

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?
All things new by Lynn Austin. I actually used this book as an answer for question 2 last year, but I lent the book to a friend and it was at her place quite a while. But now I've got it back and I'm going to read it soon!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?
Cress by Marissa Meyer! I can hardly wait!

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I'm cheating here, but Snow on Tulips by Liz Tolsma. It doesn't come out in 2014, but it is a debut and I'm looking forward to reading it in 2014!

4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?
I'm not currently reading any series which will end in 2014.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?
Learn to write reviews faster/more efficient. I don't write as many reviews as I would like (especially of NetGalley books), because writing them takes up quite a lot of time (which I don't have...). But, they say practice makes perfect, so I should practice writing reviews to write them better and quicker!

2 comments:

  1. The end of ROTK is always so fantastic/nostalgic/emotional/epic <3 I could use a re-read of LOTR (there's a read-along that started today but I had already committed myself to another read-along. Too many awesome things happening at the same time in the blogosphere, lol)

    I read my first Lynn Austin title this year, which was actually a non-fiction of her pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was very interesting, I quite enjoyed it :)

    I enjoyed reading your answers to this survey! Happy New Year =D My year in review

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  2. And a Happy New Year to you Li! May it contain many interesting new bookish discoveries ;-)

    ReplyDelete