2014 End of the Year Book Survey

Once again I'm taking part in the 5th Annual End of the Year Book Survey hosted by Jamie at The Pepetual Page Turner.

I love reflecting on what I've read at this time of year. 2014 has been a busy year for me socially, so I haven't read as much as I would have liked to, but I'm still proud of what I've managed.

 If you'd like to take part, head on over to the blog and join up with the linky. Feel free to post a comment below and I'll visit your blog.

2014 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 16. I know it doesn't sound like much, but considering how busy I’ve been this year with my wedding and new job I'm pretty happy with it. I love reading, but I only really get the chance to read a few chapters each night before bed.

Number of Re-Reads: 0. I don’t normally re-read unless I’ve run out of new books or I need to refresh my memory before reading a sequel or watching the movie. The only exception to this so far has been Harry Potter, which I’ve re-read countless times.

Genre You Read The Most From: YA Dystopian. I love a good story about a futuristic society gone wrong.

Best in Books

1. Best Book You Read In 2014?
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis. It was like Lost meets Jurassic Park. Amazing!

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Switched by Amanda Hocking. It sounded different and had some great reviews, but I just couldn't get into it.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?
Time Riders by Alex Scarrow. I wasn't sure this one was for me, as it seemed more Middle Grade, but it was actually really interesting.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?
Probably Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I am obsessed with that series.

5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?Best series: Delirium series by Lauren Oliver.

Best sequel: Charmed Vengeance by Suzanne Lazear

Best series ender: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis.

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2014?
Jodi Meadows.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
White Lady by Jessica Bell. I don't normally read thrillers or adult contemporary novels, but I did enjoy this one.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis.

9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I'm unlikely to re-read any so soon.

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2014?
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows:

11. Most memorable character of 2014?

Noli Braddock from Charmed Vengeance. I just love her.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?
The Book by Jessica Bell. This is written from three different POVs, one of which is a five year old girl. Her voice is so believable.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. After reading an interesting article about this book in Psychologies magazine, I decided to download it to my Kindle and my husband and I read it together while on our honeymoon. It's a great personality profile and has helped us to understand each other much better.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. This had been on my radar for some time but I didn't get round to reading it until a few months ago. I'm so glad I did-it was brilliant!

15. Favourite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?

I've narrowed it down to two passages:

“Take down the walls.
That is, after all, the whole point.
You do not know what will happen if you take down the walls; you cannot see through to the other side, don't know whether it will bring freedom or ruin, resolution or chaos. It might be paradise or destruction.
Take down the walls.
Otherwise you must live closely, in fear, building barricades against the unknown, saying prayers against the darkness, speaking verse of terror and tightness.
Otherwise you may never know hell; but you will not find heaven, either. You will not know fresh air and flying.
All of you, wherever you are: in your spiny cities, or your one bump towns. Find it, the hard stuff, the links of metal and chink, the fragments of stone filling you stomach.
And pull, and pull, and pull.
I will make a pact with you: I will do it if you will do it, always and forever.
Take down the walls.”
― Lauren Oliver, Requiem

“I learned that life is so, so fragile. I learned that you can know someone for just days and never forget the impression he left on you. I learned that art can be beautiful and sad at the same time. I learned that if someone loves you, he'll wait for you to love him back. I learned that how much you want something doesn't determine whether you get it or not, that "no" might not be enough, that life isn't fair, that my parents can't save me, that maybe no one can.”
― Beth Revis, Shades of Earth

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Shortest: Alice on Mars by Robert Rankin.
Longest: Nocturnes by John Connolly.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most
The Book by Jessica Bell. What an ending!

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)
Amy and Elder from the Across the Universe series.

19. Favourite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
James and V from Charmed Vengeance. These two brothers are like chalk and cheese so there's lots of fun banter.

20. Favourite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis.

21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Nocturnes by John Connolly. My Mum bought me this one and it was fantastic.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?
Sam from Incarnate.

23. Best 2014 debut you read?
Sadly I didn't read any 2014 debut novels. But the best novel I read that was released in 2014 was Panic by Lauren Oliver.

24. Best World building/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Definitely Shades of Earth by Beth Revis. I felt like I was there.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Alice on Mars by Robert Rankin. This was a quick and funny read with quirky illustrations by the author.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?
I almost cried reading Shades of Earth by Beth Revis. There was a horrible event that I didn't expect and it was so emotional.

27. Hidden Gem of the Year?
White Lady by Jessica Bell. Not my usual genre of choice but I really enjoyed it.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
I have to say Shades of Earth again. There were so many traumatic moments that have probably scarred me for life. Yet it's my favourite book from 2014. Maybe I'm a masochist?

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?
The Book by Jessica Bell. I'd never read anything quite like that before.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Panic by Lauren Oliver. This was an enjoyable read, but the characters were so stupid. They were constantly reckless and immature and nearly got themselves and everyone around them killed! Perhaps I'm just getting old, but I wanted to give them a good slap! It was a very exciting story, though.

My Blogging/Bookish Life

1. New favourite book blog you discovered in 2014?
There are too many to mention! So many great book blogs out there.

2. Favourite review that you wrote in 2014?
Stolen Moon review.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
Why the World Still Needs Feminism

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
The Blogging from A-Z Challenge. This is always so much fun every year. Bloggiesta was fun too.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?
Winning 10 best selling books in a competition.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
Page views: Stacking the Shelves (6)
Comments: C is for Cadbury

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
On the Link Between Depression, Comedy and Creativity

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
digitalbooktoday.com. Lots of free kindle books to download.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I completed the bronze badge of the 2014 Series Challenge and also completed the Recruit level of The Dystopia Reading Challenge.

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?
Allegiant by Veronica Roth.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?
Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver. I've read four of Lauren Oliver's books so far and enjoyed all of them.

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey. This has a kind of Daughter of Smoke and Bone vibe about it, so I definitely want to get my hands on a copy.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?
Although they have already been released, the series endings I'm most anticipating reading this year are Allegiant and Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?
I'm aiming to read 25 books this year and comment more actively on other blogs.

6. A 2015 Release You've Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

I haven't read any 2015 releases yet, but I am hoping to when I get through some of my TBR pile.



Phew. Well, that was fun. Did you read any of the same books this year? What are you most looking forward to reading next year?