*all book title links lead to my review
Thanks to the wonderful
Jamie for doing this again! And good
gracious this was tough!
1. Best Book You Read In 2011? (You can break it down by genre if you want)
AGHHH this was so hard to do! It broke my heart to have to whittle this down...
Contemporary: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard,
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Best Fantasy: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Needs It's Own Category Because Yes: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Easily
Beta by Rachel Cohn. Sad sighing has ensued.
3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (my
heart),
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (did not expect to love the characters so much), and
Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer (looked super fluffy, but was so much more!).
4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard. For sure. (Although
Meant To Be by Lauren E. Morrill was a close second!)
5. Best series you discovered in 2012?
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi,
Shatter Me by Tahareh Mafi (I still need to write my review...),
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (also one I need to review...).
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| Sarah J. Maas and I (we glow!) |
6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?
ALL OF THEM. But really...
Trish Doller,
Tahareh Mafi, and
Rainbow Rowell.
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
I've never read much fantasy, but
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas has totally turned that around for me. I'm really looking forward to exploring that genre now. And I just got into the Dystopian thing (as did the world, I feel), but
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi and
Legend by Marie Lu were fantastic ways for me to get into it.
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?
Crap…this is hard.
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi,
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green,
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller, and
Ten by Gretchen McNeil.
9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:
The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. Funny that it was my first book of the year, too.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?
And honourable mentions, since I haven't read these yet...
11. Most memorable character in 2012?
Bria from
Wanderlove and
Celaena from Throne of Glass were probably my favourite girls.
Joe Fontaine (oh Joe...) from
The Sky is Everywhere and
Isaac from
The Fault In Our Stars were my favourite dudes.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. The poetry in her words (and actual poetry) are just...gorgeous.
Shatter Me by Tahareh Mafi was also beautifully done.
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?
The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour made me yearn to write again. And
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund simply made me yearn.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson and
Saving June by Hannah Harrington.
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?
Shoot...this is tough. The first three that jumped into my head are all from
The Fault In Our Stars.
I love you present tense.
***
I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once.
***
Sometimes you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are books...which you can't tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like betrayal.
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?
Hmmm...I think the shortest was
Stand Tall by Joan Bauer at 182 pages. Longest was
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger at 496 pages (which I reeaaally need to get around to reviewing...oy).
The entirety of
The Fault In Our Stars had me wanting to discuss with someone. I think
Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris was the one that I was like WHAT OMG WHY WHAT SOMEONE TALK ME THROUGH THIS. Because...I mean...just AGH! And
Uses For Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt made me want to talk about it with someone IMMEDIATELY, though it wasn't necessarily in a good way...(which I know is cryptic since I haven't reviewed it yet, but f'realz. It was...I don't even.)
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| Me, Siobhan Vivian & Jenny Han |
18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Shit. This is tough, too. I fall in love with pairs so easily...
Aria + Peregrine from
Under the Never Sky.
Rowan + Bria’s friendship in
Wanderlove.
Eleanor + Park in Eleanor & Park (ahaha that was...obvious. The review will be up this week!) by Rainbow Rowell.
Amelia & Chris's friendship from
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo.
Puck + Sean Kendrick from
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously?
Looking back, I'm really surprised that I read a lot of new authors this year! I think I'll have to cheat and say
Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Prince. Because yes. Also,
Ned Vizzini's The Other Normals just solidified my love for him even more.
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| Cassie Clare & I |
20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
ohhhh goodness, this is hard!
Between You & Me by Marisa Calin was fabulous, and
Estelle's review on Rather Be Reading is the reason I even had that on my radar at all. And even though it was the first book I read of the year, Anna from
Anna Reads' glowing review (and 2011 pick!) of
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is the reason I picked up that one too! Also, S from
Oh Paper Pages sang the praises for
Shatter Me and was on such a hunt for Destroy Me at ALA that it made me pick it up faster - TOTALLY worth it. Can't believe I waited so long to read that.
I think I'm hilarious with the end Timeline Review I did for
For the Darkness Shows the Stars, but my "favourite" would probably be the one I did for
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller. I don't think it's particularly written well (it's actually really scatter-brained, which kills me), but it was a tough one for me to write. Probably the hardest ever, and I'm proud I managed to get it down in words.
3. Best discussion you had on your blog?
Sadly, I don't think I had many discussions :( Which is actually a goal for next year! Most of the chatter I do happens on
Twitter or in emails, but I hope to bring them to posts in 2013.
4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?
I loved
Jaime's rant. That was one where I was like YES. I LOVE YOU. I already loved her anyway, but I mean...i love her. I also wanted to hug Anna hard after reading her
Why I Read YA post. It was phenomenal and so well written and well-worded and something I think we all share.
5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
Too hard! Just look at all the photos I've sprinkled throughout this post - and that's not even all the events I went to or authors I met! I am so fortunate to live within some fantastic events and attend them. I think
ALA Annual would have to be the best though, because I was just settling into being a real book blogger that identified as one, and then I got to immerse myself in books, authors, publishers, and blogging friends for 3 days. Being surrounded by people who understand and share your love for this is just...it's an honor to be among them and experience that.
6. Best moment of book blogging in 2011?
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| Me, Kirsten Hubbard, Nina LaCour, Gayle Forman, and Stephanie Perkins. |
YA or Bust tour - I talk about it a lot (the recap post is
here!) but long story short I got to listen to Gayle Forman, Nina LaCour, Kirsten Hubbard, and Stephanie Perkins talk and banter, and then right after a fantastic event ran into Kirsten, Cindy Pon, Debra Driza, Andrea Ortega, and Nikki Katz at Tea Station
and they let me crash and hang out with them! Coincidentally, the
YA in the Sun event is a close second, and they plus Shannon Messenger & Lisa Cannon were the ones to organize it!
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
My
interview with Karen Ann Hopkins about her book
Temptation had a high count, even if you discounted what was probably an elevated mark due to the giveaway. The post that was just a review with the highest count was
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller. And the post that randomly has the most views (I seriously have no idea why! I'm not complaining, just wondering...) was
my modified WoW post that congratulated my friend Stephanie on her book deal!
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
I always wish for reviews to get more comments, but really? I'm just so surprised that
anybody takes the time to read & comment here that I'm happy.
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| Jessi Kirby & I |
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
NetGalley, for sure. And I finally went to
Mysterious Galaxy, one of the only indie bookstores in San Diego and fell madly in love. They have fantastic employees, a fabulous YA section, and the best events.
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
The Successes:
Overall reading goal: My goal was 100 books, and BAM: done! 103 as of December 31, 12:01am.
Local Library Challenge - easy peasy. I frequent my libraries entirely too much.
Contemporary Challenge - my favourite genre. I'll always read dozens of these in a year.
Debut Author Challenge - thanks mostly to the DAC ARC tours, ALA, and fantastic friends willing to loan me books!
The FAILs:
Sophomore challenge - MASSIVE fail. I don't know why I tried this when I so rarely start series before they're finished anyway.
Completely Contemporary - which makes me sad, I thought I'd finish this one with ease! I got so caught up in new releases that I didn't revisit nearly as many older books as I wanted to.
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and
Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?
Just One Day by Gayle Forman. I AM DYING TO READ THIS BOOK. Thank God it comes out relatively soon.
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| Me & Morgan Matson |
3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2012?
> Use my Facebook page more - I haven't even put it up on my sidebar! I hope to actually interact with people more over there. (And if you haven't liked it, I'd be so obliged if you would!
http://www.facebook.com/AshleyLovesBooks)
> More discussions/bookish things that are not reviews or memes on my blog
> Finally getting back to vampires. I failed on that goal pretty hard.
> Author interviews
Thanks for a FANTASTIC first year of book blogging, everyone! I know I called out some major influences to this blog - both other bloggers and some authors - but trust me when I say I left out some other truly fantastic and wonderful people. Tomorrow is my one year blogoversary! I'll kick off a month-long celebration with a fantastic giveaway - some of the books mentioned here will definitely be in it ;) Come back for that!
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| Coming January 1! |
