Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2018 End of Year Survey

I cannot believe that year is almost over. Honestly it feels like I just sat down and filled this out for 2017. It's been an interesting year for me. For one I didn't move this year! Finally found a place to settle that all of us enjoy. Now as long as rent doesn't jump I might not be moving for some time. Second, I no longer have a car to rely on. Which has forced my to get rather creative with my life, but honestly I haven't hated it. The bus gives me time to read and child before and after work. So much easier than sitting in traffic with so much stress. I also realized this year I cannot do audio books. I'm like a squirrel with attention span. Even with books I've read half a dozen times, I cannot focus on a audio book.

Also, I cannot believe I met my reading goal. I honestly thought I'd flop that, and okay, yeah I read a lot of Graphic Novels. But, I'm not mad about it. This year was a lot of change for me with my job and I need quick and fun reads a lot this year. Maybe for 2019 I'll try to slide in more traditional books. Maybe. Probably not.

Lastly I totally did not make this survey up. I'm totally borrowing from The Perpetual Page Turner . The original post can be found here.

**2018 Reading Stats**

Number Of Books You Read: 53
Number of Re-Reads: 1
Genre You Read The Most From: Graphic Novels


best-YA-books-2014

1. Best Book You Read In 2018?


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

(The story itself is really good, but the ending left me wanting.)

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

(This was an impulse buy at Comic-Con and I fell in love.)

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


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

           (Series Started)   (Sequel)
  (Ender)

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2018?

(Alastair Pack & Andrew Shaffer)

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

Looking back I pretty much stayed in my lane with the books read. I didn't really expand out. I read more ebook this year than usual. Since finally getting my library card I put OverDrive on my phone and found I don't hate it.

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


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

Despite how much I loved a lot of the books I read this year, I probably won't re-read any of them. I don't do a lot of re-reads to be honest. 

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

11. Most memorable character of 2018?

(Brande & Gustav, respectively)

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2018?

(I loved Christian Henry's writing style, and while I wasn't in love with how The Mermaid ended. It was still wonderfully written.)

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

(It touches base on a lot of things that despite the time the book is set in, ring true for the current climate. Sort of just made me think about things.)

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



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



Legacy by Alastair Pack

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2018?

(Shortest & Longest, respectively)

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(I've never read a book that killed so many people I loved. Almost all of them are dead. I started to fear for anyone I got attached to.)

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

(Eberhand and Aldway, I loved them so much. I really hope they show up in the next book, or we get a book about how they met.)

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

(Is there a better pair?)

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


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


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

(Aldway! I love him so much!)

23. Best 2018 debut you read?

Looking back I realized this year I didn't read a debut book. Though it seems I have a few on my TBR, I just never picked them up to read.

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

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

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

(With laughter, I was crying with laughter. This book is brilliant.)

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

(I won this book at Comic-Con honestly wasn't sure how I felt about it. I'm so glad it was put in my hands by the publisher. It was fantastic and I cannot wait for Book 2.)

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I don't think I read anything that crushed my soul this year. Mostly because I knew Meddling Kids was going to kill my nerves from the start. It's just what Edgar Cantero does.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2018?

(Edgar Cantero has his own way of telling a story that is unique and so good!)

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

(Stop killing everyone I love!!)

book-blogging

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

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2018?

Looking back I didn't see one that jumped out at me that was my favorite, but there quite a few that enjoyed writing. In fact I don't think I picked up a book that I did not like. For the most I enjoyed everything I read, or at least parts of every book I read. 

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2018:?4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events,  etc.)?

(The Illuminae event was probably my favorite signing this year!)


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

This was definitely getting sit and hear Eric Idle talk about his life and his new book. I've been a huge fan of Monty Python for years, and getting to be just a few feet away from Eric Idle and have him perform live was so cool.

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

Just keeping into the routine of posting new things, of keeping a reading routine. I fell into too many Netflix holes this year. Really need to get into better reading habits so I so show off more books.

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

My review for Meddling Kids was my most popular review. It was viewed a 130 times, which is so cool! The review itself can be found here!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

My review for Kill the Farm Boy. While it got average reviews for my humble little blog, it was hands down one of my favorite read this year. I wish more people had seen it, but it can be found here!

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

Just how convenient the library in town is. I have no idea why it took me like two years to figure this out, personally I blame being able to drive everywhere, but I love our little library. It's so much more convenient for me through the bus. Plus it's so cute and has the best little reading nooks!

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

Despite not making my Goodreads goal, I'm still super proud of myself. I was only a few books short. Which is so much better than I'd thought I'd do. Fifty-five was ambitious for me. So we'll try again in 2019!
looking-ahead-books-2015

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

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

3. 2019 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

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?

As much as I love Graphical Novels, and as many as I have on my TBR, I need to start reading actual books. Otherwise the piles are going to fall on me in my sleep.


HAPPY READING!!

Monday, December 31, 2018

Bout of Books


It's that time again! Bout of Books 24 is right around the corner. In fact it's coming upon us in just four short days. This post is so very late going up, but my holidays have been so busy I nearly didn't my sign-up post up. January for me is all about chilling after a very busy December and saving up money for my birthday trip in February. Between my Christmas Haul and the Library Holds that just came in, I have quiet the TBR to keep my busy.

Bout of Books is great, low stress, Read-a-thon that last for a week. It's a good way to put the binge watching on hold and bust through your TBR. This one in particular I like because it always to get a strong start to my Goodreads Challenge.

You can find more information here!

For this Bout I don't have a set TBR, but I do have quite the stack of things from the library and floating around my room. One of my 2019 goals is to read the books that don't fit in my book cubes. Hopefully I can get a good start to that over this week. Or, at least knock one book off that list!

HAPPY READING!!

2019 Beat the Backlist


This will be my first year doing Beat the Backlist, hosted by NovelKnight! All of the details can be found here. I'm pretty excited for this for a lot of reasons: it last all years, my TBR is out of control, and my to read list can be liquid. Though I do have ten books I'd love to knock my list because some of have been on there way too long and the others I wished I'd gotten in 2018.

 

This last year I read more Graphic Novels then actual books, which is something I'm going to try to fix in 2019. Mostly because it does nothing to help my TBR problems at all. Plus, I have so many good books on my list that I need to get to. 

Of course, there is one more thing I really liked about Beat the Backlist. Not that it seems super laid back and would help with my TBR, but the fact I can win points for my Hogwarts House. So every book I read for #BeattheBacklist is a House Point. So I'll for House Hufflepuff!


HAPPY READING!!

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Cover Runway Sundays


They say don't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes it's the cover that originally catches our eye, drawing us to give a book a closer look. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday I'm going to post some of my favorite covers of books coming soon! Some are by authors I already enjoy, some are the reason I gave the book a longer look. Either way they're all going to find their way here!

Release Date: April 16th, 2019
Genre: Non Fiction
Pages: 304

Twenty-first century parents are drowning in theories and advice and guilt, with maybe one in a hundred managing some façade of success. What can we learn from our foremothers? Is it possible that the rather draconian methods of Victorian childrearing worked? Better than the ones we bend our backs to today?

Ungovernable will address parents' concerns about raising a model Victorian child, advising you on:

- How much lager to consume while pregnant

- How to select the best peasant teat for your child

- How to choose an appropriately homely governess

- Which toys are most likely to turn your child into a sexual deviant

- And more

Consulting actual advice manuals from the 19th century, Oneill takes us on a shocking and hilarious tour through the backwards, pseudoscientific, downright bizarre childrearing fashions of the Victorians, giving us some much-needed perspective on contemporary parenting fads
.


HAPPY READING!!

Friday, December 28, 2018

Mini Reviews





I thought it was alright. For me parts of the plot were a little unnecessary and found myself drifting from the story. Mr Green was rather annoying, and I get that he was suppose to be, but really I kept waiting for him to die. The savor of the story really is Upton. He was my favorite part of the whole story. I also loved they managed to break the fourth wall a time or two as well. Wasn't a bad read and for the most part I enjoyed it.


My brother definitely knows me! This was one of my favorite Christmas presents to unwrap. Personally I don't care what anyone says, Die Hard is in fact a Christmas movie. Anyone who is on the fence about that should read this book. I will say despite the cover it very much not a kids books. The language and theme is very on point with the movie. So not something for your kid's bookshelf, but something fun to put on the mantle every Christmas anyway.


Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about what we have yet to read. Generally they are books that have yet to be released, but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.





A killer is on the loose, and only one girl has the power to find him. But in this genre-bending YA thriller, she must first manage to avoid becoming a target herself.

For Adele, the dead aren’t really dead. She can see them and even talk to them. But she’s spent years denying her gift. When she encounters her ex best friend Tori in a shallow grave in the woods and realizes that Tori is actually dead -- that gift turns into a curse. Without an alibi, Adele becomes the prime suspect in Tori’s murder. She must work with Tori’s ghost to find the real killer. But what if the killer finds Adele first?





Why I'm Waiting: The plot has me interested and the cover is fantastic. Definitely on my 2019 radard.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

HAPPY CHRISTMAS


HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!

 We have a quiet tradition here. After opening presents we make a quick breakfast and read until the afternoon. Then it's a couple of Christmas movies and more reading. So no matter what you celebrate may it by quiet, full of books, and ugly sweaters! Also, good luck to all of those haven't quite reached your reading goal, because the new year is coming!!