End of Year Book Survey 2014

2014 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 72

Number of Re-Reads: I have no clue

 Genre You Read The Most From: Young Adult – Fantasy

Best In Books

Best Book You Read In 2014?

Storm’s Siren by Mary Weber – This book had everything I liked; the plotline, characters and the writing style were awesome and the cliff-hanger ending has me super excited for the sequel!  

 

Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin – My friend raved about this book so maybe my expectations were too high but I and this book didn’t click.

Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness – I didn’t know what to expect from this book but it turned out to be really good 

Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell – When I read this book this year I loved it so much that I forced my friends and my sister to read it.

Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?

Best First Book in Series – Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Best Sequel – Cress by Marissa Meyer

Best Series Ender – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – I didn’t read any series enders published in 2014  

 

Favourite new author you discovered in 2014?

Kendall Kulper

Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

The Body Electric by Beth Revis

Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Favourite cover of a book you read in 2014?

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Most memorable character of 2014?

Alina  Chase from Soulprint by Megan Miranda  

Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

The Gift by Alison Croggon  

Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?

The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks

 Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?

Sister’s Red by Jackson Pearce  

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

“I leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own." - Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

 Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2014?

Shortest – Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Longest – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

 Book That Shocked You The Most

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau  

 OTP OF THE YEAR

Penryn and Raffe from World After by Susan Ee

 Favourite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Cath and Reagan from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell  

 Favourite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

 Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure

Half Bad by Sally Green

 Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?

Simon from The Mortal Instrument series by Cassandra Clare

 Best 2014 debut you read?

The Rain by Virginia Bergin

 Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

 Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Lottie Biggs is (not) Mad by Hayley Long

 Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 Hidden Gem Of The Year?

A Drowned Maiden’s Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz  

 Book That Crushed Your Soul?

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

 Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?

Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Rite of Rejection by Sarah Negovetich 

Blogging/Bookish

New favourite book blog you discovered in 2014? 

 I haven’t really been following many book blogs this year so I can’t really say

Favourite review that you wrote in 2014?

The Body Electric by Beth Revis

 Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

My reveal it post

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

Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting On Wednesday

Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?

Starting my blog

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

Views – WOW I had 76 views

Comments – TOT I had 17 comments

Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

My first review

Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

The Book Depository

Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I completed my challenges on reading books from male authors and read books on my TBR pile that weren’t released in 2014 

Looking Ahead

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

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers   

 Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?

All the Rage by Courtney Summers

2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

 Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?  

A Winner’s Crime  by Marie Rutkoski

One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?

To read more debut novels – I’ve read a mixture of both older and newer books this year but I’d like to try reading more debut novels and also read from a range of new authors

A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone

Soulprint by Megan Miranda 

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish 

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Goals/Resolutions For 2015

 Bookish/Personal/Blogging

To stop pressuring myself to read – In the past 2 years on my Goodreads Reading Challenge I’ve read a total of 160 books each year and currently this year I’ve read 72 books. It’s weird going from reading a lot all the time to barely having time to read. Also I know that I’ll have less time this year so I’m going to aim low or not even set a challenge because I don’t want to feel as if I need to force myself to read, it just takes the joy out of it.

To read more debut novels – I’ve read a mixture of both older and newer books this year but I’d like to try reading more debut novels and also read from a range of new authors.

To venture out of my comfort zone – I have mainly stuck to YA books this year and I really want to read more classics and middle grade books.

I have my exams this year – So I’m going to put reading/blogging second to my revising and school work and it’s going to be tough but I know I can do it and hopefully pass my exams with the grades I want.

This year I watched new and old TV shows and  I also ditched a lot of shows and I think that’s good because instead of forcing myself to catch up on shows I don’t really want to I’m allowing myself to watch whatever the hell I want to.

To be more organised – Seriously I’m the worst at planning/organising and creating schedules and so I’m always rushing and failing. Although recently I have been improving but still I suck at it.

I typically only post about 4 different things on my blog; book reviews, TTT, WOW and book cover reveals and I want to do other things as well such discussions and whatnot – no idea on what else

I’m incredibly shy and so I hate socialising however I’m breaking that barrier slowly. On my blog I still feel shy even though I’m not directly communicating with the person but I want to talk to other bloggers/readers and I want to create a sort of community which I could be part of.

Along with the previous goal I want to contact publishers/authors to participate in events either on the internet or not but then again too many nerves…

I’m 15 soon to be 16 – I’m want to have fun and enjoy life and so I need to stop bottling things up.

Mind Games Review

Mind Games by Teri Terry

DNF at 57%

Reasons I DNF this Book;

The book at first sounds really interesting/complex with the technology and the different worlds however when I read the book I felt so bored.  I’ve read similar books – the idea isn’t original but authors put their own spin on it - but this book wasn’t working for me.

I couldn’t connect with the characters so I didn’t really care for the plotline this was partially because of the main character. The main character’s pretty – no need to get a virtual makeover like the rest of the population because of course she’s going to be naturally perfect, she’s different – how surprising, she’s super smart and the love interest falls for her and she’s shocked.  

One thing I really didn’t like was that MC was portrayed to be the only good female character.

.  Her stepmother- She forces Luna to go to school even when she didn’t want to because money was given to the family if Luna went – money hungry

. Her friends – One of her ‘best’ friends is in the story for like two lines whilst the other is seen as a snitch that will backstab Luna any second she gets – she doesn’t

. The mean girl – The one who bullies the character and then when she starts to turn good she’s killed off

. The ex – The main guy’s ex is a portrayed as a bitchy, even prettier than MC and very very jealous of Luna and vice versa.

There’s this secret organisation which is going against a different bigger and bad one and Luna is the vital piece to win against them.  Well I haven’t heard of that before!

In this secret organisation everybody has names which link in with their hacker skill; Tempo is time, Astra is stars, Crystal is ice and Gecko is lizard/spy. So now Luna has to figure out her special skill and her name. I don’t really know if what I’m saying is right as I didn’t finish the book but …. Her name is LUNA – doesn’t that even hint at the direction her skill is!

Also I feel like the book dragged on way to much and I stopped reading because it sort of put me in a reading slump and I can predict what’s going to happen in the rest of the story. 

The Help Review

The Help by Kathryn Stockett  

“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”

The Help is told from three perspectives. There’s Skeeter the white girl who has dreams bigger than marrying and having children which makes her an outcast to her friends. Writing a housekeeping column on a local newspaper to gain experience, Skeeter first properly interacts with Aibileen and this along with the disappearance of her own maid gives Skeeter the idea for a book. It’s important to know that though Skeeter is a good person she doesn’t see the way the maids are being treated and automatically think to help them, she writes the book to impress an editor of a publishing company.  But as the story develops we see Skeeter develop and she becomes a heroine as she starts to realise the truth, she does have a lot of courage to out her friends knowing she will have no life in her hometown after the book comes out.   

Aibileen is a maid who specialises in taking care of children but things inside her are changing after the death of her son. She things at first there isn’t much hope for the book and the risk is too high but her son was writing a similar story and so she decides to help Skeeter. Aibileen and Mae Mobley’s story was both sad and sweet and it really made you think; the person you raise as your own will soon grow up and be brainwashed and they’ll treat you badly.

Minny was one of my favourite character, she was just so brave and sassy and her attitude to help everyone except herself made me feel for her. Her and Celia’s relationship was the best thing and how they helped each other really developed their characters and understanding of each other. The pie scene – it’s both disgusting and funny.

As the book develops more characters are introduced and not all of them are good or bad; it shows there are many sides to a person.

As a side note I’ve watched the movie and I loved it! The changes for the adaptations I understood and the cast was really good.  

★★★★☆

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday

 A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that people are eagerly anticipating.

My choice for Waiting on Wednesday this week is:

Hello, I Love You

by Katie M. Stout 

Publication: June 9th 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin, 304 pages

A teen escapes to a boarding school abroad and falls for a Korean pop star in this fun and fresh romantic novel in the vein of Anna and the French Kiss.

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol. 

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish 

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten 2014 Releases Books I Read In 2014