2011 End of Year Book Survey

Jamie of The Perpetual Page-Turner has put together an End of Year Book Survey. Here are my answers:

Note: I reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this year but have decided to exclude it from the running of this survey because I could pretty much use it to answer every question.

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. This was the last book I read in 2011, and also the best, most heart-breaking, and most interesting. I'm going to say this, and I don't say it lightly: The Knife of Never Letting Go is the best book I've ever read, after Harry Potter. Those that know me - and have eyes and know what my blog is all about - know how truly significant that statement is.

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?
I didn't love Possession by Elana Johnson, Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney, and XVI by Julia Karr. Premises with great promise, all of them, but ultimately, they weren't the books for me.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. Who knew I could ever love an all out horror story with that much gore?

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?
Same book it's been for the past few years now: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Finally, pretty much everyone I know has read it now, so I can move on.

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?
The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness and The Monstrumologist Series by Rick Yancey.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?
Patrick Ness and Rick Yancey (seeing a pattern here?).

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I don't do contemporary, I don't do romance, and most definitely DO NOT do contemporary romance. But I loved this.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?
Across the Universe by Beth Revis and Divergent by Veronica Roth. Addictive.

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?
Divergent by Veronica Roth. So much hype and thankfully, for me, it lived up to it.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

Across the Universe by Beth Revis. I would love to see more reversible covers in 2012.

11. Most memorable character in 2011?
Manchee, the talking dog, from The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness! Manchee is a legit dog who says things a dog would actually say - none of that ridiculous sarcastic talking dog stereotype to be had here.
Also, Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. A fascinating enigma, and the only real interesting part of the Millennium Trilogy in my opinion, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Lisbeth giving all the men who ever abused and raped her their rightful comeuppance. Dang girl. Good on you!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and The Monstrumologist Series by Rick Yancey. A large part of the reason I love them so.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I had to stop reading at one particular moment in this book and I did not continue, nor read anything else, for a few days until I had calmed down. A huge impact.

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. This was recommended to me as my ideal book years ago. I should have listened.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?
Can I just put the entirety of The Monstrumologist Series by Rick Yancey in this space here? Every single sentence was a masterpiece.

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?
Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It was the first book that I read in 2011 and as such, the least fresh in my mind. Plus, I adored it.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
The ending of Delirium by Lauren Oliver!

Looking Ahead...
1. One Book You Didn't Get To In 2011 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2012?
The last two books in The Chaos Walking Trilogy, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, and Blood Red Road by Moira Young.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2012?
Lots. Probably Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, Insurgent by Veronica Roth, and Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare the most.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2012?
Reading: I would like to not get so caught up in the newest, hottest releases of 2012 and completely forget about the books I had sworn I'd read before. Also, I would like to read at my own pace and not feel so frantic all the time to get as much reading done in every spare moment because I tried that and I found it very stressful.
Blogging: Similarly, I would like to keep blogging at a good pace, bearing in mind my busy schedule, but not ever feel too pressured or stressed. Because then blogging would become a chore for me and I don't ever want it to be that. 2011 was a great blogging year: I passed two major milestones (though never posted about them) - my one year Blogoversary and reaching 1,000 GFC Followers. Thank you to anyone who ever took the time to stop by my blog and read a review, comment, or just browse around in 2011. Here's to another great year in 2012!

Review: Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis

Publisher: Penguin

Published: January 11, 2011

Pages: 398

Source: Won from Looksie Lovitz (Thanks!)

Rating: 5 STARS

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.
Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.
Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

In short: Across the Universe by Beth Revis was a completely enthralling novel, with stellar world building and a fascinating story.

This is going to be an odd review because though I did in fact find a few faults with Across the Universe, the positives managed to outweigh the negatives resulting in a five star rating, surprisingly. Ultimately, I was just so enraptured by the world building, the dual narrative, and the story written so wonderfully by Beth Revis that despite some problems, Across the Universe still managed to rank as one of my favourite reads this year.

My main fault with Across the Universe was the mystery surrounding the identity of the murderer on the ship: it was so incredibly obvious, which is so incredibly unfortunate. However, I was happy at least that the motivations of the murderer were a mystery to me right up until the end. Furthermore, even with the main mystery being spoiled, there were plenty of surprise reveals and plot twists that made Across the Universe a very fun and exciting read.

My other problem with Across the Universe was that there were a few plot points that weren't entirely scientifically believable... I won't go into them here though. People who know me know that when aspects of the plot are not scientifically accurate, it can severely affect my enjoyment of a book or movie. Surprisingly however, this was not the case with Across the Universe. I was so caught up in the story and stellar world building that I found I didn't even care if there were some inaccuracies, which is quite impressive indeed.

Overall, despite finding fault with the obvious mystery and scientific inaccuracies, the captivating world building and intriguing story in Across the Universe won me over. I can't wait for A Million Suns, coming out January 10, 2012.

Other Reviews:
Bookmarked
The Bookworm is Here!
Unputdownable Books

Author Links:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads

*Read as part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge