January 2015/Christmas 2014 Book Haul

I'm so sorry I haven't been posting lately, but I had midterms all last week (I passed with flying colors in case you were wondering. I even got a 99% on my Latin exam. I legitimately cried when I saw) and I haven't really had any posting ideas, but it is the end of the months, so I've decided to do my wrap up! I haven't done a separate Christmas book haul because I was waiting to spend my Barnes and Noble gift card, but I haven't been able to go yet, so I will just include it in my January book haul!

Christmas
I got six books for Christmas and I love them all. I've already read two of them!

The first book I got was The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey which I read right away and finished a few days after Christmas. It was a good addition to the series, but I think it could have been done a whole lot better. I also didn't like reading from Ringer's perspective which is most of the book. Towards the end, I enjoyed it more, I just wish there were more perspectives from the rest of the gang.

The second book I got for Christmas was In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken! I was so excited about this one and I read it and I have a review, so you should go check it out. Right now, one of friends is borrowing it because she borrowed the first two books in the series and she hasn't given it back yet and I'm really nervous because I don't know what my book is doing!

And lastly I got the John Green Box set which has The Fault In Our Stars (which I've read because I borrowed it), Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, and Looking For Alaska. I am looking forward to reading all of these because I love John Green and want to support him as an author.

January
Last week, I discovered this place where I live. My friends and I decided to hang out there to study for our exams. This place is a coffee/tea shop that is really comfortable and cozy and a place everyone dreams of owning. They have specialty coffees, an array of teas, delicious little deserts, glass bottled soda (which is way better than soda in a can or a plastic bottle because it's made with less sugar), paninis made with the best bread ever, Christmas lights up all year, you can buy the art on the walls, and most importantly, a book exchange where you can take a book off of the shelves and bring one back later. You can either bring back the book you took after you read it or a different one. So, of course, both times I've been there in the past week I picked up some books.

The book I got the first time I was there was A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass. My friend was going through the shelves and found it. She told me it was one of her favorites as a kid, so I decided to read it. It's a middle grade novel about a girl who sees sounds, letters, and numbers in color, like the sound a hammer makes is gray and when her cat meows, it is a mango color. What Mia, the main character has is called synesthesia which is the mingling of senses and the book is about her dealing with that.

And when I was there yesterday, I picked up two Dan Brown books for two reasons. I've never read a Dan Brown book and I've heard that they're pretty good and my brother loves the movie The Da Vinci Code, so I thought I would pick up it along with Angels and Demons for him. Angels and Demons  isn't in very good condition, but I thought I would pick it up anyway.

If you have read any of these books, let me know your thoughts in the comments!

December 2014 Wrap Up

I think that this month was pretty successful. I feel like I did a lot this month, so let me wrap it up for you.

Books Read
I feel like I had a great reading month. I read a total of 4 1/2 books which is really good for me.

I read the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michele Hodkin. I really liked it and really want to read the next one.

I also reread Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout and The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.

I then read The Infinite Sea also by Rick Yancey, which I had mixed feelings about, and a little over half of In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken.

Posts this Month
I posted a lot in December. I posted nearly everyday for the It's the End of 2014 Read-A-Thon and a lot of posts during that. There was just... a lot.

Events
I participated and hosted the It's the End of 2014 Read-A-Thon. It was a blast! I ended up reading only 2 1/2 books for the read-a-thon which isn't too bad considering I was really sick for the majority of the event, but no worries, I'm fine now. I probably shouldn't have refused to get a flu shot. That was a bad decision. But, I'm fine, so I guess it wasn't that bad of a decision.

Next Month...
The only thing I have planned for January is to reread The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and finish up In the Afterlight.

2014 End of the Year Book Survey

I can't believe it's the end of 2014 already, this year has gone by so fast I can't believe it... ANYWAY, I didn't know this was a thing until a few days ago when I saw that Sarah at YA Bookaholic did this, but apparently, it has been happening for a few years now and was created by Perpetual Pageturner. Let's get started!

2014 Reading Stats

Number of Books Read: About 90

Number of Re-Reads: A lot 

Most Read Genre: 

Best in Books

1. Best Book You Read in 2014? 
Starting off with a hard question, are we? I think I will have to go with The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, but there are so many and I don't want to make a final decision.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn't? 
Divergent for sure. I thought I was going to love this book and hop on the band wagon with everyone else, but I didn't like it that much. It was okay. The writing just annoyed me and... just no. Let's not talk about it. 

3. Most Surprising (Good or Bad Way) Book You Read In 2014?
I think the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michele Hodkin surprised me the most in the best way. For me, it wasn't much of a mystery through the book what was happening, but the things in the book didn't go as I thought they would and I really like when books surprise me. 

4. Book You 'Pushed' The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?
The Darkest Minds. I think this was the only book that I pushed this year and I got two people to read it and two to "think about it". I think I was pretty successful.

5. Best Series You Started In 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?
For best series started, I'm going to only pick a series with only the first book out and that is Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins, it was a paranormal type book but read like a contemporary and I LOVED IT! For best sequel, I am picking a series where only up to the second book has been read by me and I am going to pick two because I'm a cheater, Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken and Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. They were both amazing sequels. And for best series ender, I am picking (drum roll, please) City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. This beastly book was more than I could ever want and more!

6. Favorite New Author You Discovered in 2014?
Since I started reading heavily just this year, I am picking all of the authors because I discovered most of them this year. 

7. Best Book From A Genre You Don't Typically Read/Was Out Of Your Comfort Zone?
Since I hardly read any contemporaries, I am choosing The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I know people hate when others choose this book to answer questions because everyone uses this answer, but it's a great book.

8. Most Action-Packed/Thrilling/Unputdownable Book of the Year?
I am going to go with The One by Kiera Cass because this is the book I read the fastest all year. I read this book in a little less than a day I believe.

9. Book You Read in 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year? 
I am most likely to reread The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer because I am reading it for Across Blogs in January (more information to come) and I chose it to read for an independent reading assignment for school, so I think I should reread it so I can actually do my assignment correctly.

10. Favorite Cover of a Book You Read in 2014?
There are so many beautiful book covers out there and I can't pick one. I just can't!

11. Most Memorable Character of 2014?
Most definitely Daemon from Obsidian. His character is very complex and since I am really into psychology, I like to psychoanalyze characters because I'm weird and Daemons character really stood out to me in that aspect. And let's not forget that it is Daemon.
  

12. Most Beautifully Written Book Read in 2014?
I don't really think I've read a book this year where the writing was WOW. Everything was kind of on the same level when it came to writing. I do think that The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, even though it wasn't like BEAUTIFUL writing, I think there are a lot of deep and quotable things in this book and I like to see them as I read and reread the book.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book?
Again, I don't think I really read a book that changed my life. Just books in general have changed my life. If that makes sense.

14. Book You Can't Believe You Waited Until 2014 to Finally Read?
The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. I can't believe I waited until this year to read it because the series was AMAZING!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read in 2014?
Here is a link to my quotes page on Goodreads

16. Shortest and Longest Book You Read in 2014? 
Captured  by Erica Stevens clocking in at 188 pages and City of Heavenly Fire with 725 pages.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most in 2014? 
I'm going to say the Darkest Minds again because the end...

18. OTP of the Year?
Chaol and Celaena, hands down. They are just so good for each other. So Celaena needs to get over herself.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of the Year?
Most definitely Daniel and Mara from the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I love their brother and sister relationship because it reminds me so much of my relationship with my brother because, unlike many siblings, we actually get along.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From an Author You've Read Previously?
I am going to go with The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan because I had read PJO and, of course, loved it, so of course of really liked The Lost Hero. I did like The Son of Neptune better, though, because of Percy.

21. Best Book You Read in 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure?
I only read Throne of Glass because everyone was talking about it and I wanted to know what all the hype was about, so I read it and now I know.

22. Newest Fictional Crush From A Book You Read in 2014?
Liam from the Darkest Minds. I think you guys know that. Although, Noah from Mara Dyer is pretty close.

23. Best 2014 Debut You Read?
Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne. I think it's the only debut I've read. It's at least the only one I'm aware of. 

24. Best World Building/ Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
I think that, not only the setting, but the atmosphere in The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer is so fantastic. I just felt the darkness and I could see the bright colors of the buildings when they were on that one street I forgot what it was called. It was just great.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/ Was The Most Fun To Read?
The book that was the most fun to read was Rebel Belle. Everyone was just so snarky and sarcastic.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?
I actually cried while reading Horde by Ann Aguirre because a character I really cared for died and no one really grieved. Yes, they were sad, but not for long.

27. Hidden Gem of the Year?
I don't know, so I refuse to answer!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
The whole Infernal Devices series crushed my soul. Literally. The entire time reading it I felt like my heart was being torn in half.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?
I think that all books in themselves are unique, so I'm going with that one.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn't necessarily mean you didn't like it).
I think City of Heavenly Fire made me mad because I wanted to punch Sebastian so bad.

Your Blogging/Bookish Life

1. New Favorite Book Blog You Discovered in 2014?
Since I started blogging just this year, all of the blogs I've discovered have been awesome.

2. Favorite Review That You Wrote in 2014?
I really like my Monument 14 review. I don't why, I just think it's my best. 

3. Best Discussion/Non-Review Post You Had On Your Blog?
I did really like #BookBlogWriMo. It was so much fun! It kind of felt weird not blogging everyday after a month.

4. Best Event You Participated In? 
#BookBlogWriMo and the planning for It's the End of 2014 Read-A-Thon that started today!

5. Best Moment of Bookish/Blogging Life in 2014?
Getting my Liebster Award. My joy was not containable! 

6. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog?
The most popular post I did all year was It's the End of 2014 Read-A-Thon announcement post. 

7. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
T.M.I Tag because I worked super hard on it!

8. Best Bookish Discovery?
BLOGGING!

9. Did You Complete Any Reading Challenges or Goals That You Had Set For Yourself At The Beginning of This Year?
My reading goal was to read 1 book and I did that, so the answer is yes.

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn't Get To in 2014?
In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken and The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey.

2. Book You Are Most-Anticipating for 2015 (Non-Debut)?
ALL THE BOOKS. Really, though, I don't know. Maybe Lady Midnight, but I'm not sure. 

3. Best Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I actually don't know of any debuts coming out in 2015, so I don't have an answer for this question.

4. Series Ending/ A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?
I can't wait for Miss Mayhem, the sequel to Rebel Belle.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/ Blogging Life in 2015?
I want to get to know more bloggers, do more interactive things in the blogging world, and I want to read tons of books!

6. A 2015 Release You've Read & Recommend To Anyone?

I haven't read any yet because, you know, they come out in 2015...


Wow, that was super long! I hope you enjoyed reading it and I will see you all tomorrow with another post!