Perpetual Page Turner End of Year Book Survey

Third Annual End of Year Book Survey from Perpetual Page Turner!

I'm finally posting my End of Year Book Survey! I meant to get this all finished and ready to go before 2013.  Between finishing up online courses, Christmas, getting a new bunny, and other life stuff, I'm just finally finishing this! Of course, as I type this intro paragraph it's New Year's Eve. Something tells me I won't be finishing this until 2013! (Note: it's now 2013...woo!) Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this!

Best In Books 2012

1. Best Book You Read In 2012?

Fiction: Breaking the Rules - Cat Lavoie
Non-fiction: The Tall Book - Arianne Cohen

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn't?
The Wedding Beat - Devan Sipher
J'Adore New York - Isabelle Lafleche
Both these books were enjoyable but I thought I would LOVE them both and I only just liked them.

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

Gold - Chris Cleave. I wasn't expecting such awesomeness.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

Arranged - Catherine McKenzie

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?
The Hunger Games. I know, I know. Well behind the times.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2012?

Cat Lavoie

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

Released - Amber Polo. It was a little more sci fi/fantasy than I'm used to but I couldn't put it down.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

The Hunger Games series. Stayed up well past my bedtime to finish Catching Fire on a work night. I was so tired the next day but it was worth it.

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year
There's a possibility that I might reread The Hunger Games series before the next movie is released.

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

 

11. Most memorable character in 2012? 

Katniss - The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Kate - Blank Slate Kate - Heather Wardell
Kirby - Where We Belong - Emily Giffin
Note: I didn't want to pick just one and it just so happened that three of the most memorable had names that start with K!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

I Couldn't Love You More - Jillian Medoff

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

Planning to Live - Heather Wardell

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
The Hunger Games series.

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

Something funny - Forgotten - Catherine McKenzie
"I had the sudden urge to whisper the incantation Harry Potter uses to make people appear on the Marauder's Map. It left my lips almost unconsciously as I tapped the map with the tip of my pen. But of course, because I am a lawyer and not a wizard, nothing happened."

Something sweet - Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
"The old gentleman took Jo, with a whispered, 'You must be my girl now,' and a glance at the empty corner by the fire, that made Jo whisper back, 'I'll try to fill her place, sir."

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?
Mick Jagger - Philip Norman (640 pages)
I read quite a few short stories so I'll go with one of the ones I read recently (and really enjoyed!) Chocolate Kisses - Darlene Fredette (55 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!

The end of Planning to Live by Heather Wardell.

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

I loved Emma's best friend Stephanie in Forgotten and would love if Catherine McKenzie wrote a book that featured Stephanie.
As for romantic relationship, I think it's a tie between One Pink Line and All At Sea - both novels had crazy circumstances that I loved reading about.

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

All at Sea and Blank Slate Kate and Planning to Live - Heather Wardell. Or Where We Belong by Emily Giffin. Or Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness.

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

The Tall Book - Arianne Cohen. There were a lot of books that I heard about because of other people's reviews and whatnot but I'm picking this one because it has an amusing story. For those of you who are reading this and don't know me, I'm 6' tall. A couple of years ago, a guy on my boyfriend's baseball team told me about this book and I only just got around to reading it this year. I loved it. I learned so many tall facts and it was so much fun! You can read my review of the book here.

Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2012

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2012? 

Browsing Bookshelves. There's also the added bonus that I got to meet Natalie in person this year, too!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2012? 
My ridiculously long post about the Hunger Games series.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

Hm. I don't tend to have a lot of discussions on the blog. I think that's because people won't remember where they commented and won't get notifications of replies. I have had some awesome conversations on Twitter - the weekly chick lit chat is almost always amusing and I had a great convo with an author and ended up helping her with her current work in progress.

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

Oh boy. Tough one. I can't think of any non-reviews that I've read...even though I'm sure there are plenty.

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

I think this one will have to go to the Ontario Blog Squad Meet-Up. I got to meet so many awesome bloggers and authors. Coming in at a close second is the Emily Giffin signing I went to in August.

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2012?

I think it might have been when I got emails from Random House and Simon and Schuster asking if I wanted to be added to their blogger lists (um..yes, please!).

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

Most views: my review of I Couldn't Love You More by Jillian Medoff. Such a fabulous book.
Most comments: my introduction post for Armchair BEA. That was a lot of fun!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Sometimes I wish my whole blog got some more lovin', but I guess I'd have to say...perhaps my giveaways. I did my first ones this year and I guess I expected more people to enter! Ah well. :)

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
The BookFiend shop on Etsy. I love her stuff. I have two necklaces and a bumper sticker and have gifted a necklace, two bookmarks, and a magnet. I also desperately want one of her leather quote wrap bracelets.

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I decided to do the HarperCollins Canada 50 Book Pledge. We kept track of our progress and shared it on twitter with the hashtag #50bookpledge. I just tallied up my books today and I read 105! Whee!
I also took part in the Chick Lit Plus Challenge as well. This meant I was reading at least one chick lit book a month - heaven. :)

Looking Ahead…

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

The Night Circus. I know, I know.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen. Oh, man, I can't wait.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2013?

Read more of what I want (I have an overflowing bookshelf that's just begging me to read the books on there). Try to get some more followers. Comment more on other people's blogs.
And a big one - get a job in publishing. I'm actually on my way to doing that as I'm starting as a publicity intern at Random House Canada on the 14th! So exciting.