2014 End of Year Book Survey

End of Year Book Survey is hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner

Previously, my 2013 End of Year Book Survey, my 2012 End of Year Book Survey, and my 2011 End of Year Book Survey.

2014 Reading Stats:

Number Of Books You Read: 125!

Number of Re-Reads: 10

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy, definitely.


Best in Books:

1. Best Book You Read In 2014?
Without a doubt, it has got to be Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. 2014 was the year I fell head over heels for all things Anne, and I've been obsessed ever since. So yes, as you will likely notice from the rest of this survey, 2014 was definitely "The Year of Anne" for me!

2. Book You Were Excited About And Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne. When I first read the synopsis for it, I thought it screamed ME. But no, this one didn't quite work for me.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?
I was pretty blown away that Jo managed another stunning mystery with The Silkworm, and I was surprised by how intensely gory this book was!

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?
Probably Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Especially the audiobook narrated by Colleen Winton. I know I was regretful that I had waited until 2014 to read this Canadian classic, and I wish someone had pushed this one on me sooner!

5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?
Best series started: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Best sequel: The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2) by Robert Galbraith (Jo)
Best series ender: Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3) by Laini Taylor

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2014?
L.M. Montgomery and John Green.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
I tried out some non-fiction reads for the first time in 2014 and was surprised by how much I enjoyed them! Especially, Steve Jobs, the biography by Walter Isaacson - surprising how fascinating I found this book!


8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas.

9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Oh, let's just say Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery because even though I've already read it twice in 2014, it's the perfect pick-me-up book and I could definitely see myself reading it yet again in 2015!

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2014?
Loooove these new covers for the Anne of Green Gables series from Tundra Books!

11. Most memorable character of 2014?
Well, Anne Shirley of course! I want to be bosom friends with her.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. My first ever Melina Marchetta read and I am definitely going back for more.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?
Just One Day by Gayle Forman. This one resonated very deeply with me. AND gave me a major case of wander-lust!

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan! People had been telling me for ages that I needed to read it!

15. Favourite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?
Again, Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables says some real gems in that melodramatic way of
hers that is just so endearing:
"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."
"My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes."
"It is ever so much easier to be good when your clothes are fashionable."
"Red hair is my life long sorrow."
... and I could go on and on. Oh that Anne!!

16. Shortest And Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Shortest has got to be some novella - I read quite a few of them this year. Longest was City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare coming in at 733 pages.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most
The end of Shadow Kissed, the third book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead - did NOT see that coming!! Total game-changer.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe FOREVAR!!

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacot from The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (Jo) - love the dynamic here.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Scarlet and Cress by Marissa Meyer were fantastic follow-ups to Cinder, which I read in 2013.

21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta - okay so, Sara of Just Another Story has been trying to get me to read this one for YEARS! And I'm so glad I finally did!!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?
Augustus Waters of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

23. Best 2014 debut you read?
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
The Glade in The Maze Runner by James Dashner was pretty intriguing!

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - Anne's melodramatics never fail to coax a smile out of me!

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?
Somehow, my answer to this one is also the book that made me smile the most this year: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - I stayed up quite late to finish this one, and near the end a certain scene nearly KILLED me (you know the one I'm talking about if you've read this book!).


Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?
Guys, I am WAY overdue for a reread of Harry Potter. I'm thinking I'll finally try out the audiobooks!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?
Very curious about A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas!

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I have my eye on The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey and Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?
Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?
Well now, I read 50 books in 2011, 75 books in 2012, 100 books in 2013, and 125 books in 2014. Dare I challenge myself to read 150 books in 2015??! Errrmm, probably not a good idea considering 2015 is the year I will have to write my thesis. So I guess my #1 Goal for 2015 is just to read WHAT I want and WHEN I want and have FUN doing it! Ditto with blogging.

November and December Recap: Berlin and the Holidays

It's been two months since my last post and that is officially the longest I have gone without posting on this blog... It's too bad, but it couldn't be helped either. School always seems to be busiest nearing the end of the semester and this year was no exception. I miss blogging a lot though so I'm hoping to get back into it and start posting more regularly in the new year! First though, a brief recap of what I was up to these past two months:


As I mentioned in my last recap, in November I travelled to Berlin for a palaeontology conference where I gave a 15 minute presentation to 200 people in my field on the research I have been doing for my master's thesis. Yikes. All I can say is I did a fairly good job and I'm glad it's over! My presentation was scheduled for near the end of the conference so I found it a bit hard to relax and enjoy myself for much of the time I was in Berlin, sadly. Plus there was very limited time for sightseeing. Still, I did manage to find some time to slip away and here's some bits of Berlin that I got to see:

The Reichstag (The Parliament Building)

Brandenburg Gate

The incredibly moving and powerful Holocaust Memorial. I very much appreciated that such a horrific part of Germany's history wasn't hidden away or downplayed, but kept in the forefront as a tribute to the millions of Jews that were brutally murdered and as a reminder - never again.

A completely unremarkable parking lot. Also the site of Hitler's Bunker, which has since been filled in.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, before and after the war. I liked the completely bizarre mix of super modern architecture in Berlin with the still-standing ruins of the war spread throughout the city. You could even make out bullet-holes in a lot of the ruins. Completely surreal.

Remnants of the Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. It just so happens that I was in Berlin at the same time as the 25th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I felt quite privileged that I got to be there to experience that! Also, the man in the lower right picture with me is my dear dad, who was in Berlin at the same time as me - it was very nice to be able to spend some time with him!

I regret that these pictures really don't do Berlin justice, and also that I only got to see a fraction of the city in the very limited time that I had there. One thing is for certain though: this trip - in combination with my reading of Just One Day by Gayle Forman last month - has given me major wander-lust. I'm already planning my next trip back to Europe - hopefully with more time and freedom - and I can't wait! Much of my trip was stressful and overwhelming on account of my major presentation, but overall it was pretty incredible, and definitely the most momentous experience of the year for me!


December is always a mixed-bag for me: the first three quarters of the month tend to be busy and stressful before the holidays set in, and then the last quarter is restful and festive. I returned home to Edmonton for the holidays and was greeted by family, snow, and generous Christmas gifts from bookish friends:

Clockwise: Meaningful contemporaries that I can't WAIT to read from Sara of Just Another Story; exciting fantasies that I'm DYING to read from Micheline of Lunar Rainbows; gorgeous new Anne of Green Gables box set from the bf; beautiful Emily of New Moon series from Tundra Books; soooo many fantastic, squee-worthy goodies from Ambur of Burning Impossibly Bright; and possibly the most gorgeous book I have ever seen (picture doesn't do it justice) from Alex of A Girl, Books, and Other Things

Soooo yeah, I AM ONE LUCKY GIRL!! And soooo spoiled. THANK YOU!

I hope everyone has had a restful holiday season and has a Happy New Year!!

Giveaway (CAN): Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

Mortal Heart is the third and final book in the His Fair Assassin Trilogy by Robin LaFevers, and it's coming out THIS Tuesday, November 4 - Who's excited?!

I know I am. I was totally enamoured with the "assassin nuns" concept when I first read Grave Mercy, but I think the real strength of these novels lies in the portrayal of the strong heroines - Ismae, Sybella, and Annith - and the slow-burn romances. They also introduced me to the idea that historical fiction that is heavy on the details doesn't need to be scary - it can be super interesting! I absolutely cannot WAIT to read Annith's side of the story in Mortal Heart.

Here's a peak at Annith's story:

Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.
She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...

And thanks to Thomas Allen & Son, I have one finished copy of Mortal Heart to give away! The only restriction is you must be Canadian (I'm sorry, eh. I'll host an international giveaway soon for everyone!).

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October Recap: The Busy Business Continues

...And a month has flown by since I last posted. All the busyness surrounding school and work that I mentioned last month was still in place this month, and it's about to get even busier for me in a bit. But I can't complain too much because life has been pretty good to me on the whole. Here are some non-school-and-work-related things I did in October:

I saw Wicked for the third time!:

(I had really bad seats because the tickets were so expensive, but whatevs because this was my third time seeing it and I know all the words and actions to the songs by heart anyways. The show was entertaining as usual!)

I went to a Toronto FC match for the first time:

(A whole lot less entertaining than Wicked. But I'm always into trying everything at least once and I'd never seen a soccer match in person before [nor on TV for that matter...] so I thought why not. Once was enough though. But who knows, if I ever get the urge to watch grown men whine and fake injuries in a spectacularly bad way, then maybe I'll have to check out another soccer game sometime.)

And I finally - FINALLY - began watching Doctor Who after everyone and their grandmothers had recommended it to me:

First thoughts: not great, unfortunately. I had a tough time getting into it at first. I am just SO incredibly left brained that it took me a long time to get past the cheesiness and the insane plot holes and the crappy science explanations. Plus, I kind of hate Rose (Billie Piper).

BUT once I was able to force my brain to turn off (mostly anyways...) and once they finally got rid of Rose, it was mostly smooth sailing from there on out. Doctor Who reminds me a lot of Buffy (one of my all-time faves) in that there are some misses here and there (episode-wise), but when they get it right, it's GENIUS. Most of all, I admire the creativity that goes into each episode. It's simply incredible that the writers can come up with new episode concepts and creatures that are wholly original every single time. I am genuinely impressed by what I have seen thus far and I'm excited to see what's in store next!



Finally, some news that will mean I am not ready to get back into blogging any time soon: I will be leaving for Berlin in a few days to attend a palaeontology conference in which I will be giving a presentation on my thesis research in front of hundreds of expert palaeontologists who all know way more about my subject than I do! So... yay/eek!? Obviously, I'm excited because I've never been to Berlin before, but I do wish I was going there purely for leisure. Ah, oh well, hopefully I will make the most of it and have fun in spite of the nerve-wracking high-pressure presentation... Wish me luck!

Previously, September Recap: A Very Busy Start To Fall.

Best Book Read in October:

What's this? I finally managed to read the book I swore I would read ages ago, but have been putting off for years and years now? Thanks to Sara for forcing me to read it. Jellicoe Road was definitely worth it so I'm glad I finally bit the bullet even if it was difficult to get into at first. Definitely a powerful read, and I'm happy to have finally gotten a taste of what Melina Marchetta has to offer.

September Recap: A Very Busy Start to Fall

Greetings! I haven't been around much in the blogosphere ever since my move and the start of the new semester simply because I've been quite busy. And sadly, if anything it's only going to get busier for me from here. There's just no time for blogging in between teaching undergrads about animal physiology, marking mounds of papers, doing homework for my own class, working on my research, preparing several presentations, finishing up my latest manuscript, getting audited by the government, dealing with some major health problems, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life (Yikes, I get panicky just writing all that down! Deep breaths...).

But as sad as I am about not having a ton of time to blog lately, it doesn't compare to how majorly BUMMED I've been about not having time to read. I have not had the time to do "just for fun" reading in over a week now! And do I ever miss it. There are so many just-released highly-anticipated sequels that I have been DYING to read, as well as contemporaries that I've been STOKED to read ever since being challenged by Sara, and older fantasies that I have been meaning to read for a long LONG time and was hoping to buddy read with Micheline... Just SO MANY BOOKS and no time to read them! And no sign of this busy grad school life letting up until winter holidays. Bleh.

So I guess what I'm trying to get across here is that I'm feeling quite stressed and overwhelmed with school and work and I have not had - and will not have in the near future - very much time to blog and read. I will do my best to post and comment when I can, but at the moment I'm feeling doubtful that that will happen as regularly as I would like. It sucks, but I guess that's just how it's going to be for the next little bit. I hope to get back into my regular blogging routine soon because I miss it and I miss all of you!


And now that that's out of the way, here's a quick rundown of my busy September:

First, my parents flew to Toronto to help me move and to visit a bit and it was so nice having them around! After a few days of laborious moving, we took in a Jays game...

(They lost, but I still had a surprisingly fun time considering I could not care less about baseball normally)

And I took them on a private tour of my workplace behind-the-scenes at the Royal Ontario Museum...

(There are SO MANY cool things stored away in collections that the public never gets to see)

And I gave them another guided tour of Ripley's Aquarium...

(This was my second time visiting the aquarium, but I swear I will never tire of it. It's SO cool!)

And I took them to Toronto Island for a day...

(We had a very pleasant day! I definitely want to spend more time there)

And while on the island, I got to cozy up to some cute animals at the petting zoo...

(I also got to pretend I was a tiny person)

And then they went back home to Edmonton. It was a good visit while it lasted!


Then I got to meet one of my all-time faves, Lauren Oliver, with my author-event-buddy Zahida:

She was soooo lovely!! I got all my books signed and personalized and had an altogether great night. Delirium was the first book I ever received for review and I LOVED it. I never thought in my four years of blogging that I would ever get the chance to meet Lauren, so I'm feeling quite lucky that I did!


And finally, I also took in a musical this month:

This was my second time seeing The Book of Mormon and it was just as good as the first! You can read my original review from 3 years ago if you want to know my thoughts on the musical in more detail, but suffice it to say, it's the most outrageously funny show I've ever seen. You know you've had a good time when you've laughed so much that your face hurts afterwards!

Blog Posts in September:

The Bookish Seven Deadly Sins Tag
Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Fall 2014 Catalog
Waiting On Wednesday: Simon & Schuster Fall 2014 Catalog
Waiting On Wednesday: HarperCollins Winter 2015 Catalog
Review: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo - 4.5 Stars
Review: Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper - 2.5 Stars
My Life in August: Medieval Times, Niagara Falls, and Moving Time

Best Book Read in September:

This should really read "ONLY Book Read in September" because as I mentioned, I have not had a lot of time to get my reading on lately. But there's a good chance Ruin and Rising would have been my favourite anyways because I thought it was a pretty great conclusion. Not AMAZING, but I was altogether satisfied with how the story ended and where the characters ended up.