The 2018 End of Year Book Survey: 5th Edition

Hey everyone!  I am participating in a book survey called the "2018 End of Year Book Survey," which is hosted by The Perpetual Page Turner and hopefully, I'll be involved in this survey every year!  

Number Of Books You Read:  38
Number of Re-Reads: 6
Genre You Read The Most From: Humor

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)

Children's Book: This is a Taco! by Andrew Cangelose
Graphic Novel:  Saga Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan
Novel: TIE BETWEEN: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

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

I thought that I was going to enjoy reading Farty Princess by A.P. Gai since I had previously read a children's book called Walter the Farting Dog that I really enjoyed.  But, I was a bit disappointed with Farty Princess.

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

I was actually surprised that I enjoyed A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness since I wasn't sure what to expect from that book. The twists and turns in that book surprised me so much that I ended up falling in love with this book!

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

I pushed a lot of people to read Saga Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and most of them did!

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

Best series started: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
Best sequel: I Hate Fairyland Volume 3: Good Girl by Skottie Young
Best series ender: Haven't read any.

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2018?

Two actually and they are Victoria Schwab and Patrick Ness! I just loved their books This Savage Song and A Monster Calls!

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

I rarely read Science Fiction, but The Martian by Andy Weir was my first novel that I read that dealt with the scientific side of space and I really enjoyed the witty dialogue from the main character!

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

When I started reading Immortal Flame by Jillian David, I never expected to stay up the whole night just to read the book!  The book was so full of action and drama that I had to read it overnight!

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

Definitely A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness!  I was actually planning on rereading that book soon!

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

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness!  Loved the creepy cover!

11. Most memorable character of 2018?

Mark Watney from The Martian!  The fact that he found a way to survive on Mars while cracking jokes the whole time made me fall in love with his character!

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2018?

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab had such a lyrical prose in the writing that really made me fall in love with the musical aspect of this book!

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

Definitely A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness!  I loved the fact that this book tackled the subject of a parent contracting cancer and how this would affect their kids emotionally.

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

The Martian by Andy Weir. I actually had that book on my shelf since 2015 and I just got around to reading it!

 

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

This was a tough one, but I went with two quotes from two different books:

"I guess you could call it a "failure," but I prefer the term "learning experience." From "The Martian."

"You do not write your life with words...You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do." From "A Monster Calls."

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2018?

How I did this: Went to my read books on Goodreads and sorted by page number and just looked for what I knew I read this year that was the shortest and longest.

Shortest Book:  Farty Princess by A.P. Gai (22 pages)
Longest Book:  This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (464 pages)

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

I was actually shocked at the twists that happened in This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab.  I didn't expect some characters to betray the main characters!

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

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

August and Kate from "This Savage Song" are just perfect for each other!

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

I do love the relationship that Conor from A Monster Calls has with his mother.  It really shows how much Conor cares about his mother, even though she is suffering from cancer.

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

Saga Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan.  Ever since I first got into the "Saga" series years ago, I'm constantly reading all the "Saga" series from Brian K. Vaughan!

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

Definitely This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab!  Everyone has constantly been telling me that I need to read this book and I finally did and enjoyed it!

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

I'm in love with August from This Savage Song!  He is such a cute and shy monster that I just wanted to hug him every time he appears on the page!

23. Best 2018 debut you read?

This is a Taco! by Andrew Cangelose!  This is easily one of the most hilarious children's books I have ever read and one of the best recent books I've read!

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

I just loved the dangerous yet imaginative world of This Savage Song. Imagine living in a city where monsters roam the streets!

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

Definitely This is a Taco! by Andrew Cangelose! It was such a fun book to read!

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

Definitely A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. The fact that it dealt with a parent having cancer while their child is trying to deal with the trauma of the news made me nearly tear up.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Farmer Goff and his Turkey Sam by Brian Schatell. This was a picture book that I remembered reading when I was so small.  But because I forgot the name of the book for so many years, I wasn't able to locate this book until just recently! I feel like this book was heavily underrated and should get more recognition!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Definitely A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.  The ending was just so tragic.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2018?

Saga Volumes 7 and 8 by Brian K. Vaughan.  I am always amazed at the world that Brian K. Vaughan creates for his characters and they continue to amaze me to this very day!

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

There were times where I got mad with the main characters' parents in Hiznobyuti by Claude Ponti because they were outright abusive towards the main character and I usually don't like it when a character is mistreated by someone else.

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

I had recently discovered this awesome Bookstagrammer named Xenatine and her bookstagram account is just awesome!  I just loved the way that she takes book photos and I'm always excited to see what book photos she posts up next!

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2018?

Oh man, this was a tough one since I wrote a ton of awesome posts this year!  But some of my favorites this year were My Trip to Soda City Comic Con...AGAIN!!!, Becoming a writer…what do I need to do?, and 20 Books I Need to read in 2019! 

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2018:?

Another tough one since I took a lot of awesome photos this year, but some of my favorites are: 

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

I didn't really attend any bookish events this year, but the closest thing to an event that I got to was going to the Soda City Comic Con this year, which I had a lot of fun at!

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

I actually won two book giveaways over at Instagram, which was my first time ever winning a giveaway!  I also became an influencer for the Instagram account Bookish Signs, which was also the first time I ever rep for anyone!

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

Trying to keep up with my blog posts.  I have been really busy this year and I barely had time to post any posts on my blog.  Also, unfortunately my reading took a nose dive this year since I wasn't able to read that many books this year due to not going to the library this year, making this my lowest reading year at this point.  Hopefully, 2019 will be a better year in reading for me.

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

My most popular post this year was the Top Ten Tuesday #60: Top 10 Books I Meant To Read In 2017 But Didn't Get To  by over 56 comments!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I wished that my post My Trip to Soda City Comic Con...AGAIN!!! got a bit more love since I wanted to share my experiences at a comic con.

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

I just recently discovered the website Etsy.  It's a great website to go to if you want to buy items from various shops and it was through this site that I was able to get some awesome bookish signs that I show constantly on my bookshelf!!

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

Unfortunately no.  I had set myself to read over 80 books this year, but I only managed to read up to 30 books this year.  I always seem to struggle with my reading goals each year and I'm hoping that 2019 will be a better reading year for me.

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

Definitely Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab.  After reading the first book, I was all set up to read the sequel, but I wasn't able to finish the book by the end of the year.  So, I'm definitely making it my priority to read Our Dark Duet as soon as possible!

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

I actually have two books I'm waiting for and they are Finale by Stephanie Garber and Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt de la Pena!

3. 2019 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I'm definitely looking forward to reading Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers since I loved her "Our Fair Assassins" series!

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

The Wicked King by Holly Black. Even though I haven't read The Cruel Prince yet, I am interested in seeing how this story pans out!

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

I hope to finally complete my reading goals, no matter how big or small my goals are.

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

I had just read Book Love by Debbie Tung and it's definitely worth the read if you love reading books!!