2014 End of Year Book Survey

After listening to Taylor Swift's "1989" at least ten times, the first installment of my answers to Jamie (from The Perpetual Page-Turner)'s end of year book survey is here! I have the worst memory EVER, so please forgive me if I lack variety. Also — I picked from all the books I read in 2014, so some answers may include books that were published before 2014. Here we go!

Number Of Books You Read: As of today, it is 70!
Number of Re-Reads: 5 — the first four Harry Potter books and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Genre You Read The Most From: Definitely YA contemporary

1. Best book you read in 2014?
I'll be posting a list of all my favorites from 2014 in a couple of days so that will have more information about ALL the ones I loved, but for right now ... these were three of my favorites:

Best in contemporary romance = Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Best in contemporary (general) = We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Best in science fiction = Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. I know, I know ... some people are going to say "WHAT!!!" but I was expecting something more after reading and loving Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door. I still enjoyed it, just not as much as I thought I would.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?
The entire Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi. (I guess if you want to get really specific — books four, five and six.) I have never been into reading graphic novels and did not think I would ever say the words I LOVE A GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES, but it's true and I'm saying it!

Going through this series has been such a whirlwind and if I start a book, I will not move until I finish it. The illustrations are also SO cute and beautiful (yes, both) and I've literally gasped at so many of the things that happen because they come at such a surprise

4. Book you “pushed” the most people to read (and they did) in 2014?
Definitely We Were Liars! I talked about that one for so long and personally recommended it to both Thyra (a friend from university) and Albertine from Lovely Rose Petal. I'm pretty sure they both loved it, so I consider that a job well done hehe.

5a. Best series you started in 2014?
I've only read the first book (Cinder) in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, but I have a big feeling that it'll be one of my favorite series by next year.

5b. Best sequel of 2014?
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi.

5c. Best series ender of 2014?
Does Where She Went by Gayle Forman count? Because that was a great last book :)

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?
Emery Lord, because that woman can write. (Her next book, The Start of Me and You, will be out in May!)

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Cinder. It was hard to get through the first half because I wasn't used to reading science fiction, but I ended up loving it. This book is favorites material.

8. Most unputdownable book of the year?
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

9. Book you read in 2014 that you are most likely to re-read next year?
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill, because I didn't get a chance to appreciate it the first time around.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

11. Most memorable character of 2014?
Kenji from Unravel Me!

12. Most beautifully-written book read in 2014?
The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan.

13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2014?
Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.

15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2014?
I have TOO MANY (if I come across something I like, I always write it down in my journal), but here is one I mentioned in my We Were Liars book review:

16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2014?
Excluding children books and novellas, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was my shortest read (98 pages) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling was my longest (734 pages).

17. Book that shocked you the most (because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
We Were Liars.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Cath + Levi from Fangirl.

19. Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year?
Kenji + Juliette from Unravel Me! Or anyone paired with Kenji :p

20. Favorite book you read in 2014 from an author you’ve read previously?
All of the authors I've read from were new to me — J.K. Rowling was the only "old" one, so ... Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, then :p

21. Best book you read in 2014 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure?
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?
I can't just pick one, so my top three are: North from Stephanie Perkins' short story in My True Love Gave to Me (It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown), Matt Finch from Open Road Summer and Étienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss :)

23. Best 2014 debut you read?
Open Road Summer.

24. Best world building/most vivid setting you read this year?
Any of the Harry Potter books (sorry for the cop out answer) ... but Anna and the French Kiss for most vivid setting, because it made me REALLY want to visit Paris.

25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read?
Boomerang by Noelle August. Even though there was a lot of mature content (aka tons of sexy times), I couldn't stop laughing throughout the book.

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2014?
The ending of Isla and the Happily Ever After.

27. Hidden gem of the year?
The Amulet series! I will not, and probably cannot, stop talking about this series. I can't believe there aren't more people talking about it.

28. Book that crushed your soul?
I don't enjoy reading books that are depressing (mainly because it doesn't affect me in the way it affects the majority of readers, so then I end up feeling like a robot with no emotions), but small pieces of Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper and Book Five of Amulet (Prince of the Elves) crushed me.

29. Most unique book you read in 2014?
Mind Games by Kiersten White.

30. Book that made you the most mad (doesn't necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
The Elite by Kiera Cass. America was just very frustrating (let's be real though, when is she not) but  it was fun to read.

"so many books, so little time" wallpaper from Stay Bookish

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014?
This year was the first year I really started looking for book blogs to read so there are a ton to choose from, but I ALWAYS read Hazel from Stay Bookish's posts when I see a new one!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014?
I'm still trying to figure out a way that I'd like to structure my reviews, so they're improving slowly but surely. With that said, I think my most recent one (Isla and the Happily Ever After) would be the favorite.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
Reading on Vacation. I think it was the first discussion I posted, and I was so excited to read actual comments from people :p

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I always love reading and writing for Top Ten Tuesday, but being able to meet Gayle Forman, Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson (!!!) was the best bookish event of 2014.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?
Any moment I was able to connect and make friends with other book bloggers (Hazel from Stay Bookish, Rachel from Paper Cuts, Charlene from Bookish Whimsy, etc.)!

6. Most popular post this year on your blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
I don't keep track of my stats, but my "Top 10 Books I Want to Read But Don't Own Yet" post was quite popular.

7. Post you wished got a little more love?
"Gettin' Graphic" :)

8. Best bookish discovery (book-related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Risa Rodil, who does AMAZING designs (two of my favorites are this print of The Fault in Our Stars and this redesigned cover of Eleanor & Park), and craftedvan's magnetic bookmarks (this Ariel one is TOO cute). That was two discoveries ... might as well pop one more in: this art piece of all the Stephanie Perkins characters (spoilers if you haven't read all three books) is SO GOOD. Even though it was posted three days ago, I still wanted to share it. LET US ALL SWOON TOGETHER.

9. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I made a list of six goals at the beginning of this year and ... I finished one goal (read 50 books) and half of two (read five already-bought books and re-read the entire Harry Potter series). I abandoned the list when I found out about fifty million other new-to-me books, which I don't consider a bad thing, but I'll be continuing these goals in 2015. It'll be a little different though, which you'll get a chance to see on Tuesday!

1. One book you didn’t get to in 2014 but will be your number one priority in 2015?
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman! I was REALLY looking forward to this one but I never got to it because I didn't have a copy, but now I do so no excuses!

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2015 (non-debut)?
AHHH this one is so difficult ... I'm going to have to say The Start of Me and You just because Open Road Summer made me SO happy.

3. 2015 debut you are most anticipating?
Oh gosh this is even tougher. The first one that comes to mind is The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall.

4. Series ending/a sequel you are most anticipating in 2015?
Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott. Not a fan of the cover, but I really enjoyed Fire & Flood.

5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2015?
Purchase less, read more. I bought more books than I read in 2014, so that will have to change next year. (More on this in an upcoming post!)

So there you have it! I can't believe 2014 is almost over already. If you did this end of year survey too, please send me a link so I can look at it :)