2013 End of Year Book Survey

I like looking back over the year at what I've read and reflect over my favorite books. I found this survey at "Effortlessly Reading".

1. Best Book You Read In 2013?
Fantasy/Science Fiction: ALL OUR YESTERDAYS by Cristin Terrill
Fairytale Retelling: ATONE by Jessica Grey
Contemporary: THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE by Jennifer E. Smith
Dystopian: THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass

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

ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card. I really, really didn't like the amount of violence in the book where young children were involved. It disturbed me SO much. I only finished it to see how it would all end up.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
THE ELITE was surprising in that for a second book of a trilogy, it was really good! Usually second books have (unfortunately) an issue with plot lags, likeability, etc. But ELITE was just as good as SELECTION.

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
For YA contemp - UNITED WE SPY by Ally Carter. I love the Gallagher Girls series!
For fairy tale re-imagining - ATONE: A FAIRYTALE by Jessica Grey.
For Austen-esque - AGAINST HIS WILL by Nancy Kelley.
YA Fantasy - THE RUNAWAY KING by Jennifer Nielsen.

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
The "Bailey Flannigan" series by Karen Kingsbury.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Gail Carriger of CURTSIES AND CONSPIRACIES

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS is a sci-fi time travel book that will make your head hurt in the best way. Usually time travel is so vaguely explained that it makes me lose interest or so deeply explained it makes my eyes glaze over. This book does neither! It was amazing.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
ATTEMPTING ELIZABETH by Jessica Grey. I love Jane Austen and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE so I had to read AE. It was fantastic! I had to keep reading to find out how it would resolve. LOVE.

9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Probably PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I re-read it this year for the 5th? time. I'm planning to read it again for a project for next year. :-)

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
LET THE SKY FALL by Shannon Messenger. It's gorgeous!

11. Most memorable character in 2013?
This is hard. I have many characters that stick with me, especially characters from book series. Cammie Morgan from GG is one of my favorite characters ever.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
NORTH AND SOUTH by Elizabeth Gaskell. I think some of the most beautifully written books are the old ones.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Again, several answers. ALL OUR YESTERDAYS made me think of time travel for a very long time. THE RUNAWAY KING made me want to be a better writer and tell epic stories. GRAVE CONSEQUENCES by Lisa T. Bergren haunted me for a long time with the amazing story telling and choices characters had to make.

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

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?
“You should have had the decency to die when you needed to."
“Sorry,” I admitted. “I’ve been going through a bit of a rebellious streak. I swear it’s almost over.”  - UNITED WE SPY by Ally Carter

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Umm...let me check Goodreads...Longest is HOUSE OF HADES by Rick Riordan. Shortest is probably the short story collection VIEWS FROM THE DEPTHS by Jessica Grey.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? Basically ALL of UNITED WE SPY. 

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
ATTEMPTING ELIZABETH between Kelsey and Mark. <3

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Marta Perry and her Amish mystery novels

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE. Many people recommended it. When I saw it at the library, I had to check it out. :-)

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
Fantasy and dystopian, primarily. Young Adult contemporary.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
No one comes to mind...

23. Best 2013 debut you read?
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS. (I really loved this book!)

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
ATONE and the Fae World.

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
CURTSIES AND CONSPIRACIES was fun.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
UNITED WE SPY.

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
BRUISED by Sarah Skilton. A raw YA contemp that is really amazing.

My official Goodreads book count is 83 for the year. I'm pretty happy with that! I know that I've read more than that because I re-read books and Goodreads doesn't like to keep track of re-reads for some reason. I'm thankful for our public library that keeps good books available because I don't have all the money to buy all the books. ;-)

ATONE: A FAIRYTALE by Jessica Grey

The second book of the fairy tale trilogy by Jessica Grey is now available!

ATONE: A FAIRYTALE

From Goodreads.com

Becca Ward knows that magic is real...

Two years ago not only had she and her best friend Alex found a real-life Sleeping Beauty in the middle of Los Angeles, they also discovered that they were powerful in their own right. They’ve managed to keep both their fae powers and their friend Lilia’s identity as a medieval princess a secret and live a normal life. Now their normalcy is threatened by the return of their former advisor at the Gem and Mineral Museum—and Becca’s least favorite person, Nicholas Hunt.

...and she’s about to find out that more than one fairy tale is true.

Nicholas has been obsessed with proving Lilia’s identity and the existence of magic. While working on an archeology dig he discovered an ancient fae artifact—a mirror that is imbued with a powerful protection spell that twists his obsession, and his body, until he is more beast than man. In order to protect her friends, Becca is forced to help him, and she is surprised to find that in spite of his outward appearance, Nicholas is no longer the beast she remembers. Will she let herself be the beauty that breaks the curse, or will she let her prejudice against him stop her from discovering true love?

*****

I just finished reading this book and I LOVED it! It's the right mix of fairy tale magic, strong female main character, and brooding man-turned-into-a-beast-with-smoldering-eyes. This story picks up two years after book 1 in the series (AWAKE: A FAIRYTALE). I'd recommend reading AWAKE first but you can read this one on its own. Grey has an amazing way with words and connecting the reader to emotions of the characters. Watching Becca and Nicholas fall in love but resisting it is heartbreaking but also SO great. ("The path of true love never did run smoothly" - Shakespeare) I love that Becca learns more about her magical fae abilities and seeks to use her abilities for good. There are also laugh out loud lines in the book. I really enjoy books that have that mix of fun with seriousness.

If you enjoy fairy tales set in our contemporary world, check out ATONE!

Author Jessica Grey

ATONE on Amazon

ATONE on B&N

ATONE on Kobo

Books Read in 2010

Ahhh, New Year's Eve. Or, as a friend recently said to me, "Old Year's Eve." I think that's rather appropriate, actually. I've completed my list of books that I've read this year and am quite pleased with it. I'm sure that I've missed a few books that I've read but that's okay. :-)  (I'll keep better track in 2011.)

A recent survey showed that most Americans only read ONE book a year. ONE. I find that rather sad. Books are some of my best friends. (Oh, how sad, those of you who are not readers may say.) When it's a good book filled with great characters, something in you changes. I read an awesome quote the other day.

"A book is a living thing, Willa. It soaks into your mind and heart and shapes how you think and feel. Every book you read becomes a part of you." - Coleen Murtagh Paratore

I think this is absolutely true. That's why it's important to read good books.

So. My list of what I read this year. It's heavily influenced by the fact that I had my last semester of university this spring. (Graduated, too! Yay!) Most of the "classics" on the list were required reading. I enjoyed most of them but a few...well, let's just say that I wouldn't recommend them. (I think on another post I'll put up the "Books Everyone Should Read Before They Die" article that came out and mark the books that I've read. I think that list will influence my reading choices next year.) Let me know what books you've read. :-)

**I might be adding to this list as I remember other books that I've read.**

1. The Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
2. Epistles: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians
3. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
4. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
5. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
6. All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
7. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred Taylor
8. The Slave Dancer - Paula Fox
9. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
10. The Things They Carried - O-Brien
11. Hard Times - Charles Dickens
12. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
13. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
14. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
15. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
16. Gulliver’s Travels - Jonathan Swift
17. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
18. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
19. Middlemarch - George Eliot
20. Dragon Kiss - E.D. Baker
21. The Cupid Connection - Coleen Murtagh Paratore
22. Willa at Heart - Coleen Murtagh Paratore
23. The Princess Plot - Kirsten Boie
24. The Princess Trap - Kirsten Boie
25. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
26. The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan
27. The Red Pyramid - Rick Riordan
28. Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep - Gail Carson Levine
29. The Birthday Ball - Lois Lowry
30. The Thirteenth Princess - Diane Zahler
31. The White Dragon - Anne McCaffrey
32. The Masterharper of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
33. Dragonflight - Anne McCaffrey
34. Dragonquest - Anne McCaffrey
35. Dragonsong - Anne McCaffrey
36. Dragonsinger - Anne McCaffrey
37. Dragondrums - Anne McCaffrey
38. All the Weyrs of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
39. The Fairy’s Return - Gail Carson Levine
40. The Extra-Ordinary Princess - Carolyn Q. Ebbitt
41. Wyatt Earp - Stewart Holbrook
42. Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders -
43. Half-Moon Investigations - Eoin Colfer
44. Practicing Hospitality - Patricia A. Ennis, Lisa Tatlock
45. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
46. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
47. Coming Attractions - Robin Jones Gunn
48. Fairest - Gail Carson Levine
49. The Teaberry Strangler - Laura Childs
50. Swan for the Money - Donna Andrews
51. The Atlantis Complex - Eoin Colfer
52. The Christmas Star - Thomas Kinkade 
53. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1 - Jeff Kinney 
54. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2 - Jeff Kinney
55. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3 - Jeff Kinney
56. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #4 - Jeff Kinney
57. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #5 - Jeff Kinney
58. The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss