I can’t believe it’s already the end of the year! Like last year, I found that this year got away from me a bit when it came to getting my reading challenges done. I somehow ended up with way too many books remaining for my “main” challenges by the beginning of December, and as of right now, I still have a couple more books to finish off by the end of the year. I think I’m close enough to the end though where I can safely do my End of Year survey, which was a post I found a couple of years back on PerpetualPageTurner, and I thought it’s a great way to try and sum up an entire year’s worth of reading! All credit goes to PerpetualPageTurner for the graphics and the questions! Overall, although it’s felt like a bit of a scramble again toward the end, this has been another fantastic reading year!
Reading Stats
Number of Books You Read: As of right now, I’ve read 194 books, and I’m hoping to finish at least 3 more short books to finish off my main challenges.
Number of Re-reads: 11. I re-read the entire Harry Potter series, and also read a Curious George collection and a Little Critter collection which contained mostly stories that I’d read before.
Genre You Read the Most From: Fantasy and contemporary (mostly YA), both in approximately equal numbers.
1. Best Book You Read In 2019?
As always, it’s hard to pick just one, so I’ll have to pick one per genre, excluding re-reads:
Best YA Contemporary – Sadie tied with On the Come Up
Best YA Fantasy (From a Series) – Crooked Kingdom
Best YA Fantasy (Not from a series) – The Astonishing Colour of After (magical realism)
Best Graphic Novel – Strong Female Protagonist Book Two
Best Fiction – The Rosie Result
Best Thriller – The Woman in the Window
Best Adult Contemporary – The Kiss Quotient
Best Historical Fiction – Daisy Jones & The Six
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
I have two answers for this one, and for very different reasons. The first book is Spinning Silver, which I still ultimately gave 4 stars so it wasn’t a bad book by any means. I’d just really expected it to be an easy favourite of the year like Uprooted, and instead I really struggled to get into it. To be fair, I’d read it during a particularly stressful and tiring week and under pressure to get it back to the library in time, so I didn’t really go into it with the right mindset either. I’d like to read this one again at some point because I really don’t think it was the book’s fault.
The second one is Hidden Bodies, which I wanted to read before watching the second season of You on Netflix. I’d heard the book was pretty awful, but I’d loved the first one and kind of assumed that it couldn’t really be as bad as people were saying. I ended up extremely disappointed to find that the book was completely mediocre, and had lost a lot of the unique appeal of the first book by not using the second person narration anymore.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
I think I have to give this one to Verity. I’ve had Colleen Hoover’s books on my TBR for years without bothering to pick any of them up, and I was a bit apprehensive to try this one since it seemed so far outside her usual style. I wasn’t super invested in the first couple of chapters, but once this one really took off, it was amazing! It was such a fascinating story, and I flew through it!
Also, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed The Nowhere Girls, especially considering I’d been previously disappointed by other books on a similar topic. This book was so well-written and I’m so glad I decided to read it.
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I don’t know if anyone has really picked up any of the books upon my recommendation, but I think if there is one book that I’ve mentioned more than any other so far this year, it’s probably The Astonishing Colour of After or maybe Sadie.
5. Best series you started in 2019? Best Sequel of 2019? Best Series Ender of 2019?
Best series started – Slayer
Best sequel – Clockwork Prince
Best series ender – Kingdom of Ash
I also have to give a special mention to Vengeful, which was another favourite of the year but I wasn’t sure whether to count it as a sequel or series ender. I believe there is another book coming at some point, but I don’t know if or when that will happen.
5. Favourite new author you discovered in 2019
This was definitely a great year for discovering new (or new-to-me, anyway) YA authors, including Emily X.R. Pan, Courtney Summers, Alice Oseman, Amy Reed and Elizabeth Acevedo. And because I apparently neglected to mention her last year even though that’s when I first tried one of her books, Kiersten White.
I also discovered a few new favourite thriller authors: Aimee Molloy, Alex Michaelides, A.J. Finn and Jessica Knoll.
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
It’s not totally outside my comfort zone because I love thrillers in general, but the first book that came to mind was Confessions because I rarely tend to go for books in translation. Also, The Poet X was a bit outside my comfort zone because I don’t often read books that are written in verse, and I ended up loving this one.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
A few of the books that I remember having a really hard time putting down were: Daisy Jones & The Six, Sadie, On the Come Up, Confessions and The Woman in the Window. I think if I had to pick just one of those to be the most thrilling or unputdownable, it would have to be Sadie.
9. Book You Read In 2019 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I don’t have any plans to re-read any of the books that I read this year so soon, but if I had to choose something, I’d probably pick Crooked Kingdom or Vengeful.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2019?
11. Most memorable character of 2018?
New to me character: Sadie from Sadie and Bri from On the Come Up. Also, Magnus Bane.
Character from a series I continued: Yrene and Chaol from the Throne of Glass series, and Inej and Nina from Crooked Kingdom
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2019?
The Astonishing Color of After
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2019?
This is a tough one. I think just by sheer number of quotes that I’d saved from it, I’d have to go with Us Against You.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2019 to finally read?
The Infernal Devices series, and to a lesser extent, the Mortal Instruments. I’ve been very mildly interested in these series for years, but never strongly enough to try them. I decided to make it a goal this year to read all 9 of these books, and I’m so glad that I did.
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2019?
I did make a conscious effort to save more quotes to Goodreads this year. These are a few of the ones that stood out to me the most:
“Just because I made it here doesn’t mean it was easy. And just because I don’t seem overwhelmed doesn’t mean that I’m not” – Jen Wilde, Queens of Geek
“One small kindness in a sea of cruelty, one word of truth among lies, these are the seeds that can change the world” – Amy Reed, The Nowhere Girls
“Adulthood brings limitations like gravity and linear space and the idea that bedtime is a real thing, and not an artificially imposed curfew” – Seanan McGuire, Beneath the Sugar Sky
“Hell is the absence of the people you long for” – Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven
“It’s okay to be afraid. But not okay if be[ing] afraid means you do nothing. You must not do nothing. That’s not life worth living.” – Emily X.R. Pan, The Astonishing Color of After
“The worst thing we know about other people is that we’re dependent on them. That their actions affect our lives. Not just the people we choose, the people we like, but all the rest of them: the idiots” – Fredrik Backman, Us Against You
“Confidence is being okay being bad, not being okay being good” – Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & the Six
“Sometimes there won’t be a right choice, just the best of several bad options.” – Sarah J. Maas, Queen of Shadows
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2019?
Shortest – The English Roses (48 pages)
Longest – Kingdom of Ash (984 pages)
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
Probably The Woman in the Window. I didn’t see the ending coming at all. The Silent Patient is also up there as one of the books with the best twist that I read this year.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
All of the main couples in Crooked Kingdom.
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Frances and Aled in Radio Silence, Will and Jem in The Infernal Devices, and Esther, Susan and Daisy in the Giant Days series.
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2019 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Probably On the Come Up or Let Me Hear a Rhyme, if I exclude books that are from series. I find it hard sometimes to differentiate books from a series when I read many of them back-to-back, so it’s hard to pick a specific favourite.
21. Best Book You Read In 2019 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Daisy Jones & The Six. It’s funny because I picked Evelyn Hugo for the same question last year. In both cases, the books are about topics/kinds of characters that I’m not usually that interested in, but I gave into the hype and ended up loving them!
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2019?
I don’t really get fictional crushes, so I have no idea. I really liked Jem in The Infernal Devices, and also Matthias from Crooked Kingdom, so maybe one of them.
23. Best 2019 debut you read?
By default, it would have to be The Silent Patient. I didn’t read a ton of 2019 releases, and the majority of the ones that I did read weren’t debuts anyway. This probably is the book I would have picked anyway though since it was an outstanding thriller.
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
I think I have to exclude my Harry Potter re-reads for this one, otherwise they would win hands down. Otherwise, I think I’d have to give it to the Throne of Glass series. It was a very intricate world, but it was developed very well.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Little Moments of Love by Catana Chetwynd. These cartoons are always so much fun to read, and they are so cute!
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2019?
The Astonishing Color of After
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Confessions. I don’t think a lot of people really know about this one since it’s translated from Japanese, and one of only two books by this author that have been published in English. It is definitely worth reading.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
I still don’t quite get what this means! I’m assuming the book that was most impactful or most devastating to read, in which case I’d have to give it to Sadie.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2019?
Probably Long Way Down, which is told in verse and focuses on a teenage boy’s trip down the elevator to go after the person who killed his brother. The entire book takes place over the span of that one-minute elevator ride, where the boy encounters a variety of people from his past, all of whom are dead, as he tries to decide what to do. It was a very quick read, but very powerful.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
I think Ghosted because it was so different from what I expected, to the point where I felt like it had been falsely advertised at first. I went into it expecting a thriller or at least a mystery, and it wasn’t really either of those.
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2019?
I’ve been terrible at keeping up with the book blogs that I already follow, so I don’t think I’ve discovered anyone new this year! I can’t even really say that I subscribed to any new favourite Youtube channels either, since I haven’t watched many new channels consistently enough to consider them favourites.
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2019?
I only wrote three reviews this year, and those were all for Netflix adaptations of series. I think if I had to pick a favourite, it would probably be my review of the final season of A Series of Unfortunate Events (here), but I also really liked my review of the first season of You (here).
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
Again, I only had a few posts marked as discussions this year, so it’s kind of tough to choose. I think if I had to pick one, it would probably be my discussion of the pros vs. cons of binge-reading series, since that was definitely a topic that was relevant to me this year. I also had a lot of fun with my Library Struggles post.
Something new that I tried this year that I also really enjoyed doing was my 5-star predictions, where I guessed a few books from each challenge that I thought I might love.
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I don’t go to these kinds of events, but I did win a couple of Goodreads giveaways!
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2019?
Accomplishing the majority of my goals, and especially finishing off some of the very lengthy series that I’ve been meaning to read for a long time!
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
I felt constantly behind when it came to my library holds this year, and it meant that I kept reading books when I wasn’t really in the mood for them, just so I could try and get them back on time. I completely failed to properly prioritize my reading challenges again and ended up with way too many “main challenge” books that still needed to be finished by the beginning of December.
In terms of blogging specifically, I’ve found getting enough variety in my content a bit of a challenge, so I’ve tried to introduce a few new things this year to keep things fresh!
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
I always forget how to check this! As far as I can tell, the post that got the most views this year was my Unpopular Opinions post in June, and my Most Disappointing Books I Read in 2018 which I posted way back in January.
The posts that got the most comments were my Book Titles I Would Change post, my Page to Screen Freebie post, and Outrageous Things I’ve Done for the Love of Books, all of which were Top 10 Tuesday topics.
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Many of them, to be honest, given how much time I spend on them. I think if I had to pick one, I’d probably choose the You’re Not Good Enough tag that I did in March of this year, because it was so much fun!
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
I can’t think of anything off the top of my head that was completely new to me this year. I’ve definitely been using Book Outlet a lot, but that’s not new at this point.
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
Surprisingly enough, I accomplished a lot more than I’d realized! I’m very close to completing my two highest priority challenges on time too. I didn’t finish every challenge that I’d taken on, but then I knew upfront that my overall total was unrealistic so I don’t really consider that a failure.
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2019 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2020?
I have a few! Just What Kind of Mother Are You? is the first that comes to mind, because I’ve had it down as an option for two years in a row now without picking it up, so I think it’s about time I cross it off my list! The same goes for Three Dark Crowns and Flame in the Mist. I’ve been meaning to try both of those for way too long. I own all of these, so there’s really no excuse!
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2020 (non-debut)?
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes!
3. 2020 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I’ve heard Tweet Cute is absolutely adorable, so I really want to try that.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2020?
Chosen by Kiersten White
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2020?
Actually prioritize my reading properly so I don’t come to the end of the year with 10+ books remaining in my main challenges!
6. A 2020 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):
I haven’t read any yet, but there are many that I’m looking forward to!
Abyssal Librarian 