9th Annual End Of Year Survey

The Annual End of Year Survey is hosted each year by Jamie over at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

2018 READING STATS

Number Of Books You Read: 102 total, according to Goodreads
Number of Re-Reads: 12 of my total were rereads, more were listening to audiobooks of books I've also already read
Genre You Read The Most From: fantasy

1. Best Book You Read In 2018?

(If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2018 release vs. backlist)

        1. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

        2. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

        3. Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine

        4. Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

        5. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

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

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo was... sigh... not excellent for me. A lot of bloggers whose tastes usually line up okay with mine really enjoyed it, so I went in hopeful but I wound up kind of dragging myself through it. At this point I don't even really remember much of the story. I remember the romance was infuriating for me and I really didn't like the characters... Likewise, Windersong by S. Jae-Jones was not a favourite this year.

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

The audiobook for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid surprised me by being a book that I've found myself thinking about ever since I listened to it. I think it was the saddest book that I read this year. 

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

In Other Lands audiobook, which I am listening too at Very Fast Speeds, a thread pic.twitter.com/MJqyKx1abi

— Kelly (@kelly8434) April 19, 2018

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan, I think? I didn't read it this year (well... I did listen to the audiobook... twice) but I did recommend it a lot. I also did a twitter thread while listening to the audiobook.

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

Best Series: Hands down my favourite new-to-me series was The Queen's Thief, which I finally got around to. I know it's over 20 years old but I've strategically timed things so I only have a few months until The Return of the Thief.

Best Sequel: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats of Piracy by Mackenzi Lee, or Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine

Best Series Conclusion: I think my favourite was The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

 6. Favorite new author you learned of in 2018?

Rebecca Roanhorse, author of Trail of Lightning.

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

The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan! She was also a runner-up for the last question. This is a surprise on a lot of levels because I don't think I expected to pick up a romance, do to my unromantic nature. Seriously, I'm pretty sure I was voted Least Useful for Romance Advice. I make a hobby of hunting down books featuring historical heroines doing science, and this one came recommended. 

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

Books that I found hard to put down include: The Cruel Prince, Trail of Lightning, and The Empty Grave. 

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

The Cruel Prince, probably, before picking up The Wicked King. 

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

I'm going to go with a book I haven't mentioned here yet: The Goblins of Bellwater. Mostly because the beautiful cover was the reason I initially picked up the book.

11. Most memorable character of 2018?

Maggie Hoskie, the lead of Trail of Lightning... I spent about a quarter of my review gushing about her, actually. I feel like I've featured this book too much and we're not even halfway through this survey.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2018?

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore was really lovely. I should probably read it as well, because I had a fever pushing 40°C. Which probably did make it feel even more dreamy than Anna-Marie McLemore's writing already is but also probably means I didn't take everything in as attentively as I probably could have done.

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

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the one I keep coming back to.

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

The Thief, definitely. It's 22 years old, and I just never picked it up.

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

I'm going to need to start making notes of quotes, aren't I?

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2018?

Shortest: Son of the Dawn by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan
Longest: Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Lots of Cassandra Clare this year...

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

I don't... know if anything really shocked me.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR

I have... a lot of ships but I don't know if any specific one takes the cake this year...

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Felicity and her girl squad from The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy! Also Claudia and Violet's friendship in Foolish Hearts.

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

A lot of my reads this year were from old favourites, but let's go with something that I've not mentioned yet here. City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab.

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

The main reason I decided to listen to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was on a queer book recommendations list.

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

I think the closest I get to really having fictional crushes is having favourite characters so instead you just get a bonus second favourite character... Eugenides from The Thief and the rest of the series is a really fantastically crafted character.

23. Best 2018 debut you read?

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adie Khorram was my last read (well, listen) of the year, and it was really good! 

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

Hmm... let's go with another one I haven't mentioned yet: Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton was wonderfully atmospheric. I do like creepy towns, and creepy forests, and this book had both, closely and creepily connected to each other. 

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

In Other Lands was technically a reread but the audiobook made the jokes feel kind of new again. 

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

Son of the Dawn was kind of emotional for me... I'm still excessively invested in these characters, I guess. I'm never going to be free of it and I've kind of accepted it at this point.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin is one that I haven't seen around anywhere else but it was definitely a highlight of my year.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was definitely the saddest book I read in 2018. Evelyn is a character who just feels like she's been stifled by the world, unable to be everything she is because the world wouldn't accept it.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2018?

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages was pretty unique. It had a very different feel. I don't know if this was neccesarily the most unique... I feel like it's a 30+ way tie this year, but. This one definitely felt unique. Also I wanted an excuse to share the intense beauty of the cover, because it definitely makes my "most beautiful covers" list.

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

Wintersong made me more uncomfortable than mad. I just found the relationship more creepy than romantic... 

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

Some favourite new-to-me blogs:

• A Kernel of Nonsense
• Word Wonders
• Drizzle and Hurricane Books
• Do You Dog-Ear

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2018?

Hmm... probably Top Ten Books by North American Indigenous Authors that I've Read/Am Reading/ Am Looking Forward to Reading. It took me a while to put together, and also it was one of the few times I've put a spin on a Top Ten Tuesday post, I usually keep close to the prompt.

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2018:

Well, I finally finished the Harry Potter photo series for my Instagram, so there's that.

View this post on Instagram

If this one looks different, there's an intervening year and a different camera as a reason, because for some reason I didn't photograph The Deathly Hallows with the other books (the whims of past-me are ever-mysterious). Anyway! Here it is! The last #HarryPotter book! I have such strong memories of the first read-through if this one, and it's still one of my favourites (I say, as if all of the books in this series are not "one of my favourites").

A post shared by Kelly (@wanderingthroughbooks_) on Aug 3, 2018 at 9:22am PDT

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

I went to a Chapters event when they hosted Uzma Jalaluddin, Nisha Sharma, and Tanaz Bhathena.

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

One of my favourite moments was being able to chat about In Other Lands with people on Twitter, honestly. It was a small and unexpected thing.

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

I mean, I kind of disappeared for half a year. I only returned to blogging at the end of April! I've talked before about how I just... lose interest in things sometimes, sometimes for months at a time, and that was kind of what happened.

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

Best Books I’ve Read In 2018 (So Far)

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Well... any of the reviews. Reviews take me a lot of time. For just one post, let's go with Trail of Lightning because I want everyone to know about it and read it so I have people to talk to about it.

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

Hmm... I've been spending a lot more time browsing RedBubble and Society 6 for book-related stuff, if that counts?

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

Since I missed the beginning of the year, I didn't do any book blogging-related challenges... there was just the Goodreads Challenge. I managed to meet my 100 book goal.

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

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

There are... a lot... here's a sample:

Here's my list of titles for the first quarter of the year.

3. 2019 Debut(s) You Are Most Anticipating?

Here's just some: 

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

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

This year, I think I'll settle for just managing to be remotely consistent throughout the year.

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

I've only read one 2019 release so far, and that's The Girl King. It wasn't entirely my cup of tea, although I did enjoy it!