Sunday, December 31, 2017

End-of-Year Book Survey: 2017!

Whoa! 2018 is here already. Okay, so here's a book survey I like to do at the end of the year. Its prompts are originally from The Perpetual Page-Turner

Number Of Books You Read: 47, according to Goodreads.
Number of Re-Reads: I don't really reread.
Genre You Read The Most From: 
Graphic novels and Young Adult I guess.


1. Best Book You Read In 2017? 

Natalka Burian's book Welcome to the Slipstream was excellent, but "best" is so hard to say--I'll just pick this one because I also had an extra burst of happy pride at having been her mentor in Pitch Wars!

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

The last book I read in 2017, Queens of Geek, was like that. I read the premise and thought "wow, I'll be all over this," but then I couldn't get invested because the storytelling felt too deliberately set up to make specific points.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2017? 

Jem and the Holograms, Volume 1. Didn't expect to like a story with this concept as much as I did, but it was super great.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2017? 

I rarely push books sadly. I bothered Jeaux into reading the new Night Vale book by lending it to him!

5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017? 

Best series started was The Colors of Madeleine. I read books 1 and 2 this year. I need to read 3!
Best sequel was It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. That's Welcome to Night Vale.
Best series ender was The Search #3 in the graphic novel series Avatar: The Last Airbender.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017? 

I read a lot of books by authors I was familiar with, and most of the new authors I tried I didn't love, so I don't have a good answer here. 

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

The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman. Don't read many political books at all.

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

Gosh. Action? I guess I'll say Ender's Game because I read that for the first time this this year, and really liked it.

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year? 

I'll admit it, I'm sure I'll reread Steven Universe: Art and Origins. But probably not in full. Rereading is uncommon for me.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017? 

Oh, I love the cover art from Cracks in the Kingdom.




11. Most memorable character of 2017? 

I'll remember Starr Carter from The Hate U Give for a long time.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017? 

The Last Unicorn had some phrasing that brought me to tears.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017? 

Steven Universe: Art and Origins, a nonfiction book about the initial concepts and creative process involved in bringing my favorite television show into existence, was a really moving read for me. The collaborative nature of the process is inspiring to me, as I'm a very solitary worker myself, and it made me think maybe one day I actually could play well with others in a collaborative atmosphere if I'm ever given that kind of creative opportunity.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017? 


Watching her companions as they slept, seeing the shadows of their dreams scurry over their faces, she would feel herself bending under the heaviness of knowing their names.

—From The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?

Goodreads says my longest read was The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins, at 688 pages.

Not counting individual comic issues, the shortest book I read was Fusion for Beginners and Experts by Rebecca Sugar and Angie Wang, at 64 pages.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most (Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.) 

Cracks in the Kingdom. I can't really nail down one aspect. I loved when the characters were fishing for spells; the whole scene made me breathless.

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

I'm not a huge shipper. (OTP means "One True Pairing" by the way, if you don't know.) I guess I'll go with Prenna & Ethan (The Here and Now by Ann Brashares).

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year?

Seijuro Shin and Sena Kobayakawa from Eyeshield 21. I read Volume 27 this year and I love how their rivalry on the field is about the classiest thing I've ever seen.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously?

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty. 

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure?

Gwenpool the Unbelievable: Volume 1. This never would have been on my radar at all if my friend Victor hadn't bought it for me and told me to read it. I didn't absolutely adore it, but the other books I read solely after being pushed to by others weren't good.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017? 

I had zero new fictional crushes on any characters from books I read this year. But some of the books I read did include Garnet from Steven Universe and I think it's safe to say I have a weird crush on her.

23. Best 2017 debut you read? 

Welcome to the Slipstream by Natalka Burian, obviously. 

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

The Stone Heart, book 2 in the graphic novel series The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks. 

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

Winger by Andrew Smith made me laugh out loud a lot, even though I wanted to punch the protagonist in the throat. 

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017? 

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.  

27. Hidden Gem Of the Year? 

Just about everything I read this year wasn't particularly "hidden." I haven't seen enough talk about Welcome to the Slipstream so let's say that one again.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul? 

This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. Mainly just the idea of it, school shooters, and the people they indelibly affect . . . just kinda kills me.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017? 

It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Still off-the-hinges weird.

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

The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Its protagonist was insufferable and his misogyny was off the charts.  

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