2019 End of Year Book Survey

As my holiday break is getting closer to its end (WHYYYYYY *sobs*), I know it’s time to look back and see my book-reading plunder of 2019. I always want to try to get better at the reading part, and honestly, this year was a bit of a struggle. Between an increase in workload, writing, and numerous other distractions, reading had become a low priority. Thankfully, I did a final push these last few days and I got some reading done.

I’ve been lamenting the numerous amount of books I wasn’t really feeling lately, but when I took a look at my list, I’m actually surprised at the amount of books I DID like!

Anyway, before I go into the survey that I always partake in (courtesy of Jamie @ Perpetual Page Turner), I just wanted to throw in the simple Goodreads TL;DR stats:

But now onto the nitty, gritty part!

**2019 READING STATS**

Number Of Books You Read: 70
Number of Re-Reads: 2
Genre You Read The Most From: Science Fiction and Fantasy

1. Best Book You Read In 2019?

Stand-Alone:

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Series: 

Saga series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Mid-Series:

Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

Graphic Novel:

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 7 by Kieron Gillen

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

A Simple Favour by Darcey Bell

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

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

I’m actually surprised more at myself for not liking this book as much as I did McManus’ previous one. I really loved One of Us is Lying.

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

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Assigning the book as summer reading totally counts, right? RIGHT?

 5. Best series you started in 2019? Best Sequel of 2019? Best Series Ender of 2019?

Started:

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Sequel:

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

Ender:

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2019?

MADELINE MILLER

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

Educated by Tara Westover

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

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Honestly, this was between Storm Cursed and Geekerella. I couldn’t put either of them down. The former because so much action, and the latter because so much yummy fluff!

 9. Book You Read In 2019 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Shades of Magic, Vol. 1: The Steel Prince by V.E. Schwab

Just to prepare myself in reading the next volume.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2019?

Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

Because I’m always biased to Cris Ortega’s artwork.

11. Most memorable character of 2019?

ELIZAVETA ARKADYEVNA VYSHNEVETSKAYA

Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

Say that name five times fast. Anyway, I went for one of my limelight ladies. For reasons. REASONS. *sobs inwardly*

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2019?

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The writing was like poetry. It was like reading The Iliad in a more manageable level, and in the viewpoint of a minor character.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2019?

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

I don’t know what compelled me to read a lot of depressing books in 2019, but there it is. To be fair, most of the depressing books ended on a more hopeful note.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2019 to finally read?

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

I know, Meg. I KNOW. You were right.

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2019?

“Look to the stars. Aim. Ignite.”

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

There were definitely other quotes I could have used, but this one was simple and yet motivational. It speaks to the scifi geek girl in me.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2019?

Shortest:

Mass Effect: Homeworlds by Mac Walters, Patrick Weekes (112 pages)

Honestly, I read this again solely for the Garrus storyline.

Longest: 

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (650 pages)

This actually really dragged. It felt longer than the 650 pages that it was.

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

THAT PLOT TWIST AND ENDING I DON’T THINK I CAN COME OUT OF THIS SERIES THE SAME EVER.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

DANIELLE WITTIMER and DARIEN FREEMAN (Geekerella by Ashley Poston)

Because in every one of us there is a Prince Carmindor or a Princess Amara. And honestly, I haven’t read much romance this year, and this was the one where I actually squeed a bit.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

DANDELION and GERALT OF RIVIA (The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski)

My favorite bromance in the books, video games, and currently the Netflix series. So there.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2019 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

21. Best Book You Read In 2019 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2019?

DARIEN FREEMAN (Geekerella by Ashley Poston)

Oh come on. You know when a Tall, Dark, Handsome (TDH) is involved, I always respond positively. Also, he’s a geek with great abs. Sold. (But really, he’s more than his body, and I loved his POV in the book.)

23. Best 2019 debut you read?

Uh, I don’t think I read any debuts of 2019. A Woman of No Importance isn’t really considered a debut novel since the author’s done more beforehand, and technically White Stag was the only debut on my reading list…but I didn’t really like that, so…skip!

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

For all my complaints about character development, I was able to vividly imagine this book’s setting well.

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

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

I was literally grinning from day one of starting this read.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2019?

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller || Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples || The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Oh, there were maaaaany more books that made me cry or tear up. But these were the top three that had me bawling at some point. Straight up ugly crying-bawling. I should just have a top ten list of books that made me cry in 2019 and see how far I get.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Picked this up because of the snazzy cover. No regrets there!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Educated by Tara Westover

Lawd, I’m still reeling from the events that happened in this book. It’s really hard to believe everything, but there’s always some truth in the pudding.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2019?

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Because the book was written as an epistolary, it’s one of the more interestingly-formatted books that I’ve read in 2019.

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

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Oh, there’s definitely one other book that made me angry, but Turton’s was actually one I finished. Wasn’t a big fan of the final reveal, and some of the characters really pissed me off. Don’t want to rant some more about it, though, I’m pretty sure I did my fair share of ranting already.

1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2019?

Shoutout to my TBTBSanta recipient at Shut Up & Read! She does book vlogs on YouTube and has an IG if you want to check her out. I’m almost jealous at the amount of ARCs she gets, but then again, I shouldn’t talk, I’m horrible at reading ahead of time.

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2019?

I continued my traveling in terms of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by visiting Morocco. That was fun to write about.

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2019?

Took some advantage of combining two photos into a collage and using filters to make my bookshelves look good!

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

BookCon is always hype every year, but my favorite event was finally getting to see Patricia Briggs and getting a copy of Storm Cursed. One of the things that happened at that signing was my friend went ahead and called the store to get something else signed. It was an interesting hullabaloo of misunderstandings, especially when she kept addressing the book to a “Cassiebutterfly” and I was SORELY confused…but it’s one event I laugh about now.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2019?

Experimenting on a Hasenpfeffer, which is a recipe for rabbit. I latched onto this idea after reading Scythe by Neal Shusterman!

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

My workload doubled this year, but I also decided–in my infinite wisdom–to try to finish NaNoWrimo. Amidst all this, I also discovered the wonderful games that are Fire Emblem and Persona 5 (and now The Outer Worlds) so you know my priorities are shot.

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

Dazzling Heights Review

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

BookCon 2019 Wrapup

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

Shoutout to The Simply Bookish Co for their lovely bookish teas!

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

My Goodreads goal of 70 books!

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2019 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2020?

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2020 (non-debut)?

One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus

Just because I didn’t like Two Can Keep a Secret as much doesn’t mean I won’t want to read this one! This is a direct SEQUEL to One of Us Is Lying and I cannot wait!

3. 2020 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

Honestly, I picked this off a list of 2020 debuts because all the other anticipated novels I’ve already got in 2019. And the others are of well-established authors.

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2020?

Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs

I swear I look forward to a Briggs novel coming out every year. This is no exception.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2020?

I shall try better to be a not so very horrible advanced reviewer. And, like, I should really read ARCs on time.

6. A 2020 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):

I am a very horrible advanced reviewer. See previous question.

I’ve increased my 2020 Goodreads goal by 2 books, so let’s see how I fare then!

How did you do on your reading goals?