I've never
done an end-of-the-year survey before, but it sounded like a fantastic
idea. Especially since I hardly posted during the first half of 2012, and
honestly, I read so many great books which I never reviewed on my blog but
really want to feature. Anyway, this End of Year Book Survey is hosted by
Jamie over at The
Perpetual Pageturner, where she has her initial post and a linky to tons of
other bloggers' round-ups of the best and worst books they read this year--
BONUS: anyone who adds their post to the linky before January 10th has a chance
to win a book of their choice that was featured on somebody's list!
Without further ado...
1. Best
Book I Read in 2012
Best YA: The
Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Best Adult
Fantasy: A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin
Best Adult
Historical: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2. Book I
Was Excited About & Thought I Was Going To Love More But Didn’t?
The
Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King & The Casual Vacancy by JK
Rowling
I liked
both of them, actually, but neither were as good as I'd hoped. The Casual
Vacancy was doomed never to live up to my expectations, I guess, and The
Gunslinger just didn't live up to its hype...I've heard the next books in the
series are supposed to be better.
3.
Most Surprising (in a good way) Book of 2012
Moloka'i by
Alan Brennert
This is a
book about a Hawaiian island inhabited by people slowly dying of leprosy.
It's also one of the most amazing, poignant, and just beautiful books I've ever
read-- definitely a new favorite.
4.
Book I Recommended Most to People in 2012
The Hobbit
by JRR Tolkien-- because of the movie coming out (in just a few days!)
5. Best
Series I Discovered in 2012
The
Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik (first book= His Majesty's Dragon): excellent
fantasy series about dragons in the Napoleonic Wars
The Wolf
Hall series by Hilary Mantel: I still haven't read Bring Up The Bodies, but I
definitely can't wait to!
A Song of
Ice and Fire: Technically, I read the first two books in this series early last
year, but it was only over this summer that I started to become really and
truly obsessed with the series-- the HBO show probably contributed to this, and
the release of A Dance with Dragons
6. Favorite
New Authors I Discovered in 2012
Terry
Pratchett (I decided to try his Discworld books and other books after reading Good
Omens, which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman(!)
Carlos Ruiz
Zafon (I read The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game this year-- he has a
beautiful writing style)
7. Best
Book That Was Out of My Comfort Zone/ From A New Genre
Beloved by
Toni Morrison
Read this one for school. It was fairly good, but so different from the books I usually like to read.
8. Most
Thrilling, Unputdownable Book in 2012
BZRK by
Michael Grant
Wouldn't expect less than consistently thrilling from Michael Grant. I'm excited to read the next one in this series next year.
9. Book From
2012 That I'm Most Likely To Re-read Next Year
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Well, I have re-read it every year since it first came out.
10.
Favorite Cover of A Book I Read in 2012
I didn't
read many books with pretty covers this year...like hardly any at all. I
liked the cover for China Mieville's Railsea.
11. Book
That Had The Greatest Impact on Me In 2012
Hmm, tough one...I guess The Fault In Our Stars, again.
12. Book I
Can't Believe I Waited Until 2012 To Finally Read
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
13.
Shortest & Longest Books I Read in 2012
Longest: A
Storm of Swords by George RR Martin (1,128 pages)
Shortest: A
Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (213 pages)
14. Best
Book That I Read Based Solely On A Recommendation
Never Let Me
Go By Kazuo Ishiguro
17. Book(s)
I'm Most Anticipating for 2013
Splintered by AG Howard
Light by Michael Grant
Dualed by Elsie Chapman
8 comments:
Yay! I'm so glad you did a book survey! You have awesome taste in books so I'm writing a lot of these down to read! I really want to read Never Let Me Go, so I'm glad it was the best one you were recommended and I'm totally with you on rereading Harry Potter 7, I didn't read it this year so I'll have to reread it in 2013 with you! I also need to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, hopefully I can say I can't believe I waited until 2013 to read it! haha :)
Awesome list Kat (sorry my comment is so long!)
@Katie-- Haha, there are few things I like better than long comments, actually! I was really uncertain about Never Let Me Go, because I'd never heard of it, but it's actually really good, like an adult dystopia. (To my friend who recommended it, if you are reading this, thank you! You have awesome taste in books.)
I so look forward to rereading HP 7 every year, too-- I wish I could write a new review every year, because I get something new out of it every year! :)
I loved the Fault in Our Stars! It's the only John Green novel that I've read though I hope to read more by him sometime soon. I'm also really looking forward to Splintered. The whole Alice in Wonderland ordeal sounds really good. :) Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
I lOVe these end of year lists!
I love John Green but haven't read The Fault in Our Stars yet. I did read Looking for Alaska and it was amazing! I Love dragons so I'll have to check out the temeraire series. Great post :)
It looks like you had a great reading year! These are some amazing books - and many on my TBR list. Really enjoyed reading this post!
I find that I am in awe sometimes of how amazingly diverse your reading interests are, Kat. Seriously. Really makes me want to break out of my comfort zone a bit more. And you have some great recommendations here. I am going to do my best to make The Fault in Our Stars a priority for 2013!
@Aylee-- Ooh, yes! Almost everyone I know seems to have loved The Fault in our Stars, and it's become a real favorite of mine-- top recommendation! I guess I do read a lot of really diverse books-- probably because I read whatever I can get my hands on and sounds decently interesting, haha.
Thanks for visiting, ya'll!
I know what you mean about The Casual Vacancy, and I have heard similar things about the Dark Tower series, that you really have to read the first couple books before you get into the series (which is the main reason I've not tried it yet).
I feel like the last person in the world who hasn't read A Song of Ice and Fire.
Glad to have found your blog!
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