The End of Year Reading Survey | 2018 Edition

Hello everybody! Today, I’m going to be doing the Perpetual Page Turner’s Annual End of the Year Reading Survey, even though we’re now almost a full month into the new year. This is mostly because I was more than a bit intimidated by the sheer length of this tag, and as such dithered about whether or not I was going to do it for a REALLY long time. Shout out to Charlotte for finally getting me to just do it! Onto the post!

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2018 READING STATS

Number Of Books You Read: 159 (I initially thought this was 160, which is a nice, round number but alas I was wrong because I cannot do maths.)

Number of Re-Reads: 2

Genre You Read The Most From: I haven’t actually counted, but I’m pretty sure it’s fantasy.

BEST IN BOOKS

1. Best Book You Read In 2018?

It’s a tie between When the Mountains Roared and the Children of Castle Rock, and has been since April.

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

I had very high hopes for the Lost Magician by Piers Torday, because I LOVE the Last Wild books but it was such a letdown for me. I don’t think I’m going to continue on in the series, but I’ll probably continue to give anything else he writes a try.

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

I was so surprised by how much I loved Children of Castle Rock. I really like everything else I’ve read from the author, but I loved this book so much.

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

I got several people really into the Murder Most Unladylike books this year.

5. Best series you started in 2018? Best Sequel of 2018? Best Series Ender of 2018?

I read several amazing series starters, but I think my very favourite was Ellen Renner’s Storm Witch. Best sequel would be either Alex Sparrow and the Furry Fury or the Elsewhere Emporium. Best conclusion would definitely be Battle of the Beetles.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2018?

I’ve only read one of her books, but I think it’d be Matilda Woods if this means an author who’s had books out other years that I’ve never never read anything from.

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

I don’t read very many YA fantasies set totally in a fantasy world, but I really enjoyed State of Sorrow.

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

The Elephant Thief was totally unputdownable. I was so worried about the characters.

9. Book You Read In 2018 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Probably When the Mountains Roared.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2018?

Ooh this is so tricky! There are so many stunning covers out there. I think my very favourite belongs to Wild Folk.

11. Most memorable character of 2018?

I feel like I actually know Daisy and Hazel from the Murder Most Unladylike books personally, so them. But Cara from the Year After You if I’m picking a new to me character. Or Sami from the Eleventh Trade if I’m picking a new to me character that I’ve not mentioned elsewhere in this tag.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2018?

Ooh there are so many I could say for this! Since I’ve mentioned most of them more than once already, I think I’ll go for When We Collided by Emery Lord.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2018?

I found Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes really thought provoking- it discusses some really interesting ideas.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2018 to finally read

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, or maybe Under Rose Tainted Skies!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2018?

The passage where you first meet Fergus properly in the Children of Castle Rock.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2018?

According to Goodreads, the Mystery of Me was the shortest and State of Sorrow was the longest. I really enjoyed both.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

The twists in Beyond the Odyssey were mind-bending, and definitely shocked me.

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

Up till December, it would have been Finch and Hector from Flying Tips for Flightless Birds, but Cara and Hector from the Year After You stole it at the last minute.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

I think this has to be the friendship between the main group in either the Children of Castle Rock or the one between the young explorers in Explorers on Witch Mountain.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2018 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Both my ultimate favourites of the year were by authors I’d read previously.

21. Best Book You Read In 2018 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc

I would never have picked the Elephant Thief up if Louise hadn’t told me it was brilliant.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2018?

Matt from Open Road Summer. A singer-songwriter who’s caring and compassionate and romantic? Be still my beating heart.

23. Best 2018 debut you read?

I think this has to be Sophie Anderson’s the House with Chicken Legs. It’s such a unique and compelling book.

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

Most vivid setting definitely goes to Jess Butterworth for When the Mountains Roared, though another great one was Katherine Woodfine’s Paris in Peril in Paris. I think my favourite fantasy worldbuilding was A Darkness of Dragons or Storm Witch, because those were both exceptionally well done.

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

The Children of Castle Rock was a joy to read.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2018?

I used to think I wasn’t a big crier at books but talking about what I read more since I started blogging has taught me that I cry at basically everything. I think When the Mountains Roared made me cry most though.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

I really wish a Darkness of Dragons got a bit more love, because it’s so good and I only know of about two other people who’ve read it.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Fierce Fragile Hearts crushed my heart at numerous points, and then put it back together. So did the Year After You, but I’ve already made my love for that very clear, I think!

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2018?

I know everyone has said Floored for this and I really did try to come up with something else, but Floored. You can’t get much more unique than a book written by seven of UKYA’s biggest stars, can you?

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

I remember being livid while reading the Buried Crown on behalf of both George, darling Spud the dog and Kitty because some of the people in their town were vile to them.

YOUR BOOKISH/BLOGGING LIFE

1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2018?

Because I am indecisive, I have numerous answers to this. I don’t really follow many bookstagram accounts, so I’ll leave that out. My favourite new blogs I’ve started reading are Alyce’s and Rachael’s. I share a lot of opinions with both of them, and I’ve really enjoyed reading their content and interacting with them since I found their blogs. For booktube, I’ve absolutely been loving Books and Lala!

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2018?

I think it has to be my review of Staying at Tamara’s, because both George Ezra and this album mean a lot to me. My top 3 has completely changed bar one song, but I still stand by all the gushy things I said about it.

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2018?

I love this one of Shimmy and Sami’s Silver Lining, and one I can’t find except on my Instagram of Saffy holding the Midnight Hour.

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

I loved MG Chat, which Jess ran on Twitter last year. I really wish I’d managed to make it to more.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2018?

Winning my UKYABA was a pretty special moment. I had been out at a birthday party and came home to discover I’d won Best Teen, and promptly burst into tears.

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

My health was pretty bad in 2018, and I’m so proud that I managed to keep blogging and reading through what was a pretty difficult year.

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

My reviews post for November/December 2017, though I’m not quite sure why!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I wrote a post about how much I love Geek Girl, and I really wish it had done a little better because it was one of my favourite posts of the whole year.

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

I honestly don’t really know for this one? The only book related sites I read are blogs, and I’ve already covered those.

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

The short answer to this is kind of. I completed most of them, and I’m not too fussed about the ones I didn’t because I did other things that I’m happier about than I would have been meeting my original targets. If you’d like to hear more about my goals, you can read the whole post I did about it here.

LOOKING AHEAD

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2018 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2019?

There are so many, but I especially need to stop putting off reading the Frozen Telescope. I’m not going to tie myself down to reading it this month or in any given month, but I really do need to pick it up.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2019 (non-debut)?

When We Were Warriors by Emma Carroll for MG and Happy Girl Lucky by Holly Smale for YA. Also Jemima Small Vs the Universe by Tamsin Winter.

3. 2019 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I am looking forward to lots, but A Pocketful of Stars by Aisha Bushby is one I’m especially excited for, and a few others I’m particularly excited about are High Rise Mystery

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2019?

Ooh there are lots. I think it would have to be Against All Gods for series ending, but another I’m very highly anticipating is James Nicol’s A Witch Comes True. For sequel, I think it has to be Unleashed by Amy Alward because the ending of Jinxed was exceptional! And A Girl Called Shameless, because I have been waiting on it for SO long.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2019?

I have mentioned this before I think, but my main goal for 2019 generally is to enjoy it as much as possible and as such I don’t really have any concrete reading or blogging goals for this year except for my Goodreads. Basically, I hope to read a lot of really excellent books and have a lot of fun talking about them!!

6. A 2019 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable)

I’ve read and really enjoyed several, but I think the one I’ve recommended to most people is the Year After You by Nina de Pass. It’s phenomenal and I fully intend to continue mentioning it all the time in 2019.

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What do you think of the books I’ve mentioned here? What are your bookish plans for 2019? I’d love to hear in the comments!
Amy x

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