2013 End of Year Book Survey!

2013 has been my best reading year so far and I've read so many amazing books this year! 2014 is so close and I wanted to spend some time looking back on all the books I read in 2013, so here I am doing the 2013 End of Year Book Survey, which was created by Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner. 

1. Best Book You Read In 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

This is going to be difficult as I read some of the most popular and best books in the YA genre this year. I guess I'm going to cheat and break it down by genre!

Here goes:

1) Contemporary: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

     During the summer booktubeathon, I decided to reread this amazing book and like the first time, I cried and laughed. It is one of the most inspiring books in the YA genre and whenever I read it, I fall in love with the story and characters all over again.  

2) Romance: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

     I guess I am cheating again as this book could easily fall in the contemporary genre, but I had to include it. My friend picked this book out from my school library and she read all three books in the series and told me that I had to read it. So I did. It is such a light summer read and made me all warm and girlish. The second book was disappointing but I really loved the first book! After reading it I was like, 'BRING ON SUMMER!'.

3) Fantasy: Clockwork Princess and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare 

     Clockwork Princess is the third and final book in The Infernal Devices series and City of Glass is the third book in the Mortal Instruments series. Both books are the best ones from the series and I had to mention both of them. Clockwork Princess hit my heart like a thousand arrows. After read it, I had cried the equivalent of rain in England. The feels and the heartache. You could say that I had a book hangover for weeks and could not pick up another book. Although City of Glass wasn't as emotionally heart wrenching, it was full of action and tension and all the ropes were tied. Both are epic and I would reread them any day!

4) Dystopian: The Selection by Kiera Cass
      I love the idea of the Selection and it was, surprisingly, a really light read. 

5)Historical Fiction: Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
    A beautiful story set in 1941 about a Lithuanian girl, whose family was captured by Soviet guards. The book takes you wit her as she faces the worst time of her life.
6) Humour: Adrian Mole diaries
     Hilarious, whitty and really light reads!

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

 This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Everyone told me how amazing Sarah Dessen's writing was so I was super pumped to read This Lullaby. It started off pretty well, but started to go downhill pretty fast. I thought the characters were pretty lame and the plot was two dimensional with no clear path. I pushed myself to finish it and when i did I felt relieved. I will try another one of Sarah Dessen's book but maybe not soon because this was a huge disappointment to me.

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

I have to say 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad. From the reviews I have watched and read, I knew this book was going to be pretty creepy but I did not expect it to be super scary and unique! It was a great book with a huge plot twist and many surprises. Definitely shamed the monsters under the bed. 

 4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?

Again, I have to say The Fault in Our Stars. I have been telling everyone how much I love it and so many of my friends have read it/want to read it. They, too, have ended up crying a river. I'm just spreading the love;)

 5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

I read so many amazing series this year and this is is a really hard decision to make. So...I am going to choose two. Both are written by Cassandra Clare and they are phenomenal: The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. 

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

Cassandra Clare! Yes! Yes!

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

I don't read classics that often and I don't really enjoy them when I do. I started to read Pride and Prejudice a few months ago and did not finish it because of my distaste for classics. However, I had to pick it up again for English class and I am still currently reading it. I am finding it way more enjoyable than my first attempt and I am starting to become familiar with the language and style of the time that this book was written in.

 8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

Clockwork Princess, City of Glass and The 5th Wave! I read all of them really quickly and they all received 5 stars!

 9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I will probably reread The Infernal Devices again next year, but probably towards the end because I still remember quite a lot from the series. Also, Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys because it was such a great historical fiction!

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

11. Most memorable character in 2013? 

So many! Ahhh! I'm just going to do a list:

Will Herondale

Jem Carstairs

Tessa Gray

Magnus Bane

Augustus Waters

Charlie - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

R - Warm Bodies

& so many more! 

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

Definitely Between Shades of Grey!  It is such a heartbreaking novel and I learnt so much from it. It made me look at the world from a different perspective and be thankful for what I have!

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

Refer to question 12. 

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read? 

All of Cassandra Clare's books. They literally made my year and I can't believe I never picked them up sooner!

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

The shortest book I read in 2013 is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I literally read this book in an hour.

Longest book I read in 2013 is probably The Host by Stephenie Meyer. It is 619 pages long but definitely worth it!

 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!

I'm not going to say much because of spoilers but there were many scenes that I went, "OMG WTF! WHAT JUST HAPPENED! WHAT!" in Clockwork Princess! As seen here! 

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

You're probably tired of hearing this but all of the relationships in The Infernal Devices! Especially Jem and Will's. I have never read a book where one of the strongest relationship was between two boy best friends (parabatai, brother etc). I also loved the relationship between Magnus and Alec in The Mortal Instruments. 

Also, this question would not be complete without mentioning Peeta and Katniss and Augustus and Hazel, even though they were both rereads.

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Looking for Alaska! I read The Fault in Our Stars last year (and also this year) and loved it. John Green is an amazing author and Looking for Alaska is a unique and fun novel!

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

The Summer trilogy by Jenny Han. It was recommended to me by a friend and I really enjoyed the books!

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

Obviously, as you can tell from the books mentioned above, the YA genre. If I was to break it down I would probably say fantasy and contemporary.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

Do I have to start a list? Do I?  

23. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?

The books in the Adrian Mole series. They were hilarious and such quick reads! 

24. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

I am the biggest crybaby when it comes to books! The ones that made me cry the most were The Fault in Our Stars, Between Shades of Grey and Clockwork Princess.

25. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser. I haven't heard anyone else talk about this book and I never knew it existed until I found it in my school library. It's a contemporary summer novel but it is not your typical summer romance novel. It is relatable and kind of weird and messed up but it was still really enjoyable.

So that is it for the 2013 End of Year Survey. I actually missed out two questions because I really didn't know which book I would choose for them. 

I hope you all had a fantastic 2013 and may 2014 be another great year!