2011 End of Year Book Survey

Hi, everyone!

Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner came up with this great survey, where bloggers can share the highs and lows of the books they read throughout the year!

So, here are my answers to the Jamie's survey!

1. Best Book You Read In 2011? 

Looking back over the year, I rated 32 books as being worthy of 5 stars! Wow, that is a lot of good books. I cannot come up with just one, so I'm going to give you my top picks for different genres:

Holiday/Inspirational (adult): The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans

   

Holiday/Inspirational (picture book): The Christmas House by Carol Bullman

Young Adult: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor 

Dystopia: Matched by Ally Condie

 

Paranormal Romance: I couldn't narrow it down to just one. It is a toss-up between Lover Mine, Lover Unleashed, Lover Eternal, and Lover Unbound which are all by J.R. Ward.

Suspense/Mystery: Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Thriller: Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott

Historical Fiction:  The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

Horror: Velocity by Dean Koontz 

Juvenile (Middle-Grade) Fiction: Huber Hill and the Dead Man's Treasure by B.K. Bostick

Picture Book: Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns About Mud and Rainbows by Howard Binkow 

Classic: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Non-fiction: Dinosaurs Unleashed: The True Story About Dinosaurs and Humans by Kyle Butt and Eric Lyons 

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?

The most disappointing book was Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite. I love vampires, and I expected that I would enjoy this book. Rather than entertaining, this book was pretty dark and offensive.

The book that I wished I would have loved more is Breathless by Dean Koontz. It pained me to do it, but I could only give this one 2 stars. Did Koontz really write this? I was really surprised that I didn't enjoy it as much as I normally love Koontz.

 

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?

Angela's Ashes - A Memoir by Frank McCourt: I didn't think that I would enjoy it as much as I did!

 

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?

For fans of Paranormal Romance, I recommend The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward.

I also recommend Still Missing by Chevy Stevens because it is a debut novel by a Canadian author, and a lot of people haven't heard of it!

 

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?

Adult: The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward

Young Adult: The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?

Oh, wow, there are so many! Just to name a few: J.R. Ward, Stephenie Meyer, Ally Condie, Laini Taylor, and Chevy Stevens.

 

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

Me, a romance lover? Pfffft! I would never call myself that. I always veered more to the horror and thriller genres all my life. A Harlequin girl I am not!! Imagine my surprise when I found that I not only enjoyed but DEVOURED Paranormal Romances! I found my favourite genre! Thank you, J.R. Ward!! And now I have discovered that Harlequin has a Nocturne line for Paranormal Romances! Maybe I am a Harlequin girl after all!

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer were the first books in the Young Adult genre that I have read. I am so thankful to Ms. Meyer for helping me fall in love with this genre because I have discovered so many more wonderful books!

Another new genre for me was steampunk, and I enjoyed Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?

Adult: Lover Mine by J.R. Ward 

Young Adult: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

 

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?

Lover Mine by J.R. Ward. After the cliff-hanger in Lover Avenged, I could hardly wait to start it!

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

Can you say yummy?

 

11. Most memorable character in 2011? 

Once again, this is hard for me to narrow down to just one. J.R. Ward has created so many memorable characters, including: Rhage, Vishous, John Matthew, and Zsadist. Those bad-boy Brothers are all memorable for me!

 

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?

The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans

 

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011? 

The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans: This is a book that you continue to think about long after you have read it!

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read? 

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Obviously, I had heard about it for years and mistakenly thought that it was "just for kids." Boy, was I ever wrong!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011? 
 

J.R. Ward wins the award for my favourite quotes of the year! 

 

From Rhage to Mary in Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward: “I'm a vampire. I'm a warrior. I'm a dangerous beast. At the end of this evening, you aren't going to remember you ever met me. And the idea of not even being a memory of yours makes me feel like I've been stabbed in the chest.”  

 

Wrath’s thoughts in Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward: “But every once in a while, from out of the blue, someone reaches the quiet place where you spend your private time and changes the way you see yourself. If you’re lucky it’s your mate…and the transformation reminds you once again that you are absolutely, positively with the right person: because what they say doesn’t touch you because of who they are to you, but because of the content of their message.”

 

From Fritz to the Brotherhood with reference to Butch in Dark Lover by J.R. Ward: "If you're going to bloody the human, would you be good enough to do it in the backyard?" A little bit of the dark humor!

 

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012? 

Two series that I read in 2011 that I know I will re-read at some point in the future (not necessarily in 2012) are The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward and The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. The book that I am mostly likely to re-read in 2012 would be Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, before Part 2 of the movie comes out this year.

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 last three books in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward: Lover Avenged, Lover Mine, and Lover Unleashed. So much happened in those last three books, and I read them in quick succession!

Looking Ahead...


1. One Book You Didn't Get To In 2011 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2012?

The Harry Potter series! I am reading this series with my kids, so it will take a lot longer to read aloud than if I was just reading it on my own. I am not sure how far we will get, but I hope to at least finish the first four books this year.


2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2012?

Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward, which is slated for March 2012. I can't wait to find out what happens next in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series!

A close second is the next installment (still unnamed) in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series by Laini Taylor, which is expected to be released in September.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2012?
 

Although I started blogging in November 2010, I didn't start publicizing my blog until May 2012. At first, I had started it "just for me" to give myself some accountability in making time to read and keep track of what books I enjoyed. I started joining reading challenges and like what I saw on other blogs, and then I actually started reaching out to the blogging community and gained my first follower! I had no followers until then! No one in real life even knew I had a blog!!

For 2012, I am just going to keep doing what I'm doing in terms of blogging. A new blog design is in the works, so I'm excited about that! 

One of the reasons that I joined reading challenges in 2011 is that I specifically wanted to make an effort to read the classics. You know the ones..I have heard about them all my life but never read? Like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Dracula, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and more! I became so excited about discovering new genres this year that I got a little side-tracked, so I hope to incorporate more classics into my reading this year.

Despite not having read as many classics as I had hoped, I ended up reading 109 books. From 2002 to 2010, I read only 3 adult books...so this is a HUGE improvement!! I am thrilled and a little stunned at how many books that I read and reviewed. I would never have believed it if I didn't keep track, so I'm more stoked than ever about reading challenges!!

If you would like to complete your own End of Year Book Survey, just click on the badge at the beginning of this post to link-up your survey!

If you are stopping by and have completed your own survey, please leave your link in the comments so that I can read yours as well!

 May we all have a wonderful year of reading in store for 2012!