2013 End of Year Book Survey

2013 has come and gone, and I’ve read too many books to be able to tell you which ones off the top of my head. 68 books in a year may not be incredibly large to some people, but that’s more than a book a week, which is impressive if you consider I was taking classes and working (okay, only for the summer and second semester).

Truth be told, I only started this blog last April (or something, I can’t possibly remember) and haven’t updated it in a while, but that’s going to change. I only work this January, so I’ll have plenty of time to write A LOT of reviews. I found this survey on Book Addicted Blonde's blog and I’ve never done a book survey, so this should be fun!

BEST IN BOOKS 2013

1.  Best book you read in 2013?

Ooh… this is a tough one. I read a lot of great books this year, how do I choose? I think I’d have to say The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was definitely one of my favorites. It was beautifully written, and I am aware that many book synopses have the word “lush” somewhere in them, but this one was actually lush, in a way. The characters and the plot were intriguing, the setting was beautiful, and it just felt magical. Overall, just a fantastic book. You get sucked into this fantastical circus in Europe and you don’t want to leave.
 

2.  Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?

 I was pretty disappointed when I read Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia Macneal. I had really liked Mr. Churchill’s Secretary and was so excited to read the rest of the series (a spunky math savvy young woman in WWII England? Sign me up!). However, things took a down turn a few chapters in. Maggie, the protagonist was suddenly different from the first book. She couldn’t solve a clue or code that even I, who didn’t go to MIT, could figure out. The whole mystery in the second book was convoluted, Maggie was annoying, there was way too much dumb drama involved, and to top it all off, a ridiculous love triangle was inserted without any thought to the rest of the book. We’re expected to believe that this headstrong girl is still pining over her fiancée, who is MIA in Europe, at the beginning of the book, but instantly falls in love with this other guy? The whole book was just disappointing. (I was also a little let down by Rivers of London, but not nearly as much as this one)

3.  Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?

I normally don’t read memoirs, although I’m not sure why. However, Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale Jr. was surprisingly good! The book read like a novel, which helps when the story is about an incredibly smart and slick con man. The most interesting part of CMIYC is that Abagnale is arrogant, intelligent, sly and not very empathetic. He displays the textbook qualities of a narcissist, and it comes across in Abagnale’s writing. Although, I’m not sure if he dictated this to a writer or wrote it himself. Either way, you can hear the pride and arrogance in Abagnale’s tone, especially when you consider how often he writes about his accomplishments and rarely expounds on his failures. The book was overall a fascinating and quick-paced memoir that I found hard to put down. (The movie was also good.)

4.  Book you recommended to people most in 2013?

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore was another one of my favorites, and I definitely recommended this to a lot of people. It was a combination of many things: action, adventure, clues and mysteries, books vs. technology, a little romance, friendship, books etc.  I wouldn’t necessarily qualify it as quirky, but it wasn’t your average book.

5.  Best series you discovered in 2013?

This one deserves two series- one of the series I started and finished in 2013 was the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and I loved it. Hitchhiker’s is hilarious, interesting, witty, sarcastic, ironic, silly and it keeps you on your toes. However, the one twist is that I had heard about it from many other people and for some reason had not read them (like an idiot), so I’m not sure if this counts. However, a book series that I did discover and start in 2013 was Kenzie & Gennaro series by Dennis Lehane. The first book is A Drink Before the War, and it’s a PI series set in Boston in the early 90s (when it was written). I honestly haven’t read any others, but be sure that I will be because I loved the first one so much. Patrick Kenzie is this hardboiled, tough-talking, gun-toting PI with scars that tell stories. The whole book reads like a modern noir and I loved every bit of it.  (Third place goes to The Glamourist History series, which are about Regency England, but one that contains magic, or as they call it, glamour)

6.  Favourite new author(s) you discovered in 2013?

Though many scoff at pop culture essays, I really enjoy them. Chuck Klosterman, an essayist who focuses on American pop culture, has written for Esquire and The New York Times Magazine. Though he does come across as pretentious and too cynical at times, he has an interesting way of analyzing and viewing pop culture, especially what they are exactly and how they affect us. In his book, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, he compares Marilyn Monroe to Pamela Anderson, explains why the Sims game is just materialism and discusses why The Real World is meta, among other things. It’s amusing, sarcastic at times and makes you view pop culture in a different, analytic or critical way.

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

I read pretty much anything, but I usually veer away from paranormal romance or horror/macabre books. I do enjoy thrillers, so reading The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes is kind of a cop out. To be honest, I didn’t veer too far out of my comfort zone, and I guess I wish I had. The Shining Girls is about a time-travelling serial killer, so I guess you could say that it was out my comfort zone in that sense. I don’t particularly enjoy reading about serial killers or anything too gruesome or macabre, but despite the dark details I was still hooked. Beukes excels at creating suspense and mystery, and the characters weren’t your typical cookie cutter white bread people (especially since one of them is a psychopath).

8.   Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

Oh, so many were unputdownable. I stayed up to finish The Shining Girls, Crazy Rich Asians, Gone Girl, The Help, Shades of Milk and Honey, and pretty much any book that I’ve previously listed. However, Ready Player One was a book that I gobbled up and had a lot of trouble putting down. I was so absorbed in the world and the story that even during dinner, I was still thinking about the book. It’s fast paced, interesting and it has a puzzle/mystery in it; what more do you need?

9.  Book you read in 2013 that you are most likely to reread next year?

I have a TON of books on my to-read list (at least 450. It’s hard to say because it’s constantly fluctuating, depending on what books I find out about and which ones I read), so I won’t be doing much re-reading, if any. However, I might go back to Egghead by Bo Burnham. It’s actually a book of poems, but I think it still counts. It contained some really beautiful poems, and some really funny ones as well. I mean, it’s Bo Burnham. It’s a bit like re-listening to your favorite songs of his.
 

10.  Favourite cover of a book you read in 2013?

This is tough. I liked the stylistic look of the Maggie Hope series (Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, His Majesty's Hope). It's realistic, but it still has this simplified quality to it. I also love the continuation of color- blue, red and black, and just the style of it. The dramatic lighting and feel of the 1940s present is also something I can really appreciate. When it comes down to it, however, it's the feel of it that captures me the most. 

11.  Most memorable character in 2013?

Hmmm… this is tough. I would have to go with Arthur Dent in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series because he’s so like Martin Freeman. He does what many of us would do if we were in such an impossible situation, but his character fits all the other characters Martin Freeman plays (grumpy and reluctant middle-aged British man dragged on adventures). However, it’s a bit of a cop out because Martin Freeman played Arthur in the movie. That could be because he was the perfect fit, though. Bernadette, in Where’d You Go Bernadette is also pretty memorable, simply because she’s so eccentric.

12.  Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

I said The Night Circus was the best book I read, and it’s probably because it’s so beautifully written. Morgenstern’s descriptions of the circus, the people, the colors, the acts, even the food was just so beautiful and descriptive. Luckily, it doesn’t go into purple prose. She sets scenes so well and makes everything so magical that you can’t help but feel you’re there with the characters. You also care about the characters, and we all know how important emotional connection is. Without it, you lose interest and engagement in the story. 

13.  Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?

Strength in What Remains, by Tracy Kidder, is another beautifully written story, but also one of such amazing circumstances. It’s the true story of a survivor the Burundi and Rwandan genocides, and the ability for him to move on and continue with his enthusiasm and good heart is truly incredible. It takes so much strength to not only survive, but thrive, and Deo (the main character) is so lucky to be where he is now. The chain of good people and events in his life restores your hope and faith in humanity, and you want to see Deo overcome the horrors he’s seen.

 

14.  Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?

Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy, hands down. How had I been hearing about it and even co-existed with it, but only just read it this year?
 

15.  Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2012?

As much as I didn’t love Looking for Alaska by John Green (I didn’t hate it either, but I didn’t love it, and I'm just waiting for the hatemail from Nerdfighters and John Green fans to come pouring in), there were some pretty cool quotes from that book. For instance, “’The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.’” Or, “if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.” I’ve seen that quote floating around tumblr a lot in different styles, but I always liked it, and didn’t even realize it was from this book for a while.

16.  Longest and shortest books you read in 2012?

The longest book I read was A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin, which was a whopping 761 pages. Whew. I would’ve thought it was The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, coming in second with 639 pages. That one took a while, too. The shortest book, if you’re counting a short stories, was The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal. 19 pages might not be an actual book, though, so the actual shortest book was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling (42 pages). I actually wish that one had been longer!

17.  Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk somebody about it?
Ahhhh! I can’t give too much away about my favorite scene because it’s toward the end and kind of gives away the end of the book, but I totally loved the part in A Drink Before the War involving PI Pat Kenzie and the corrupt Boston politicians. They’re playing hardball and just when you think they have him by the shorthairs, he gives this speech that evokes the image of a person delivering a crushing speech, standing up and dropping the microphone. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. It was so cool!
 

18.  Favourite relationship from a book you read in 2013?

This one is a tie between the relationship of the Duke (Angie) and Tobin in John Green’s short story, A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle in Let it Snow, which was so high school and adorable, and the relationship of Jane Ellsworth and Mr. Vincent in Glamour in the Glass, the sequel to Shades of Milk and Honey. She was a 28-year-old woman, considered a spinster, but found her match in a partner. They love and respect each other, they work well as a team, and it’s realistic. They fight, they argue, they disagree, but in the end, they still love each other. Call me sentimental…
 

19.  Favorite book you read in 2013 from an author you've read previously?

I read a fair amount of books by authors I hadn't read before, so I suppose I really liked A Clash of Kings, and had read Game of Thrones in 2012 and LOVED IT. 

20.  Best book you read that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from someone else?

I am always careful to read reviews and check out ratings before I read a book. I’ve skipped that in the past and have been burned before. It’s especially frustrating when I purchase a book on impulse without knowing anything about it except for the synopsis on the back cover. However, I suppose I read Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk based on the recommendation by my friend Kate. She showed the movie to me (it was my first time seeing it), and I thought it was intriguing. Of course, the book is always better than the movie (or so it seems), so she told me to read the book. Surprisingly, I read it without reading any reviews. Of course, I guess I also read Animal Farm on the recommendation from my friend Steve because I hadn’t read it in high school and it’s a classic.

Looking ahead

1.  One book you didn't get to in 2013 but will be your number one priority in 2014?

How have I not read The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)??? I’ve only heard good things about it and I don’t know why I haven’t picked it up yet! I will also, of course, read some classics like Brave New World and The Day of the Triffids. But believe me, there are so many others (Silver Linings Playbook, Perks of Being a Wallflower, All the Wrong Questions series by Lemony Snicket, etc.)
 

2.  Book you are most anticipating for 2014?

I actually had to look up what books that were coming out in the future by authors I liked. THERE ARE SO MANY. I guess I'm really excited for Armada by Ernest Cline, because I just loved Ready Player One so much. It's about Zack Lightman (Luke Skywalker, anyone?), who finds out this video game he loves so much is actually a training simulation program and gets sucked into this war. I imagine it's a combination of Ready Player One and Ender's Game, and I'm okay with the fact that it might be very similar to RPO, because I loved that book so much. 

3.  One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging in 2014?
I hope to read 70 books, at least that’s what my goal is on Goodreads. I also hope to keep up with my reviews on my blog and be concise and funny, but still honest and accessible. Finally, I want to challenge myself more. I want to read more literary journalism, I want to read more nonfiction, and I want to read harder books. But I still want to have fun!

Well, that just about sums about 2013 in books. If you’ve done this survey, or just want to tell me what books you loved or hated in 2013, let me know in the comments! You can also find me on Goodreads, or Tumblr, even if that’s not really related. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year and keep on reading!