2nd Annual End of Year Book Survey - 2011

I participated in the survey last year, hosted by Jamie @ The Perpetual page Turner, and thought I'd try it again this year.

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?

Overall: Blood Red Road

Contemporary: The Sky is Everywhere

Adult: Fingersmith

Series: Forest of Hands and Teeth

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?

The Iron King

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?

Vampire Academy. This one got so much hype that I was afraid. But I really enjoyed it!

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?

Leviathan, The Maze Runner, Rot & Ruin, Forest of Hands & Teeth, What Happened to Goodbye, The Help,  (I'm a librarian -- I make LOTS of recommendations.)

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?

Vampire Academy, Rot & Ruin, Forest of Hands and Teeth, Dustlands, Leviathan, 

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?

Moira Young, Lauren DeStefano, Veronica Roth, Antony John, Kendare Blake 

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

My comfort zone is pretty big, but I'll say Fablehaven, since I'm not a big fantasy fan, AND this one is more middle school (young for me.)

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?

Goliath, Blood Red Road, Divergent, The Maze Runner

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?

Matched, Dust & Decay, Sisterhood Everlasting

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

Wither, Hourglass, and Cinder 

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?

Forever, The Sky is Everywhere, and Between Shades of Gray

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?

Between Shades of Gray

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?

Jane Eyre

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?

I'm not a big "quoter" but The Sky is Everywhere just blew me away....

Lennie on why she can’t talk about what she’s going through: “I can’t. I need a new alphabet, one made of falling, of tectonic plates shifting, of the deep devouring dark.” (p. 12)

Lennie talking about Joe: “I’m impressed at how quickly he’s caught on that there is nothing to do but grab a wing when Gram’s aflight with fancy.” (p. 88)

“There are families all over the world staring at beds that are no longer slept in, shoes that are no longer worn. Families that no longer have to buy a particular cereal, a kind of shampoo. There are people everywhere standing in line at the movies, buying curtains, walking dogs, while inside, their hearts are ripping to shreds. For years. For their whole lives. I don’t believe that time heals. I don’t want it to. If I heal, doesn’t that mean I’ve accepted the world without her?” (p. 168)

And from Love is the Higher Law:

“It’s not about them, really,” I said. “It’s just about me.”

I knew how monstrous that sounded—I knew September 11th wasn’t about me. But my reaction to September 11th—that was entirely about me. (p. 59)

I can tell: These are people like me. The relocated. They have not been sleeping in their own beds. They are wrecked by the devastating side effects of such helplessness, most notably insomnia. …..I don’t make eye contact with them. I’m afraid of their stories. That’s what it’s been like lately—we have the ability to glimpse each other as souls. Damaged, frightened, confused, caring souls. (p. 71)

I think that if you were somehow able to measure the weight of human kindness, it would have weighed more on 9/11 than it ever had. On 9/11, all the hatred and murder could not compare with the weight of love, of bravery, of caring. I have to believe that. I honestly believe that. I think we saw the way humanity works on that day, and while some of it was horrifying, so much of it was good. (p. 106)

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?

I'm also not a big re-reader. I would probably read at least parts of The Lover's Dictionary.  

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 end of Part 1 of Fingersmith. And a bunch of other scenes in that book....

Looking Ahead...

1. One Book You Didn't Get To In 2011 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2012?

Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Shatter Me

Lola & the Boy Next Door

Name of the Star

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2012?

Hallowed and Pandemonium

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2012?

I always hope to comment more on the reviews I read. I also hope to have more author interviews (this was a goal last year too.) I don't really think I can read more in 2012, so I just hope I can read as much as I did this year.

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2011 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved