2012 Book Survey

Here is my first end-of-year book survey, hosted by Jamie over at The Perpetual Page-Turner! I skipped some questions.

Stacey Leigh’s Best Books of 2012

1. Best book(s) you read in 2012?

Dammit, this is going to be a hard one.  (That’s what she said) Let me confer with my Goodreads shelf and I’ll be right back with you. Ok, I really don’t think I can pick just one, so here’s a list of my all-time favorites that I read this year (I’ll try to keep it short!):

• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night by Deoborah Harkness (Not YA, but still amazing)
• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
• A Storm of Swords + the rest of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin (Also not YA)
• Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
• Where We Belong by Emily Giffin (Not YA)

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

This is an easy one, unfortunately.

• Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
  • It tried to do too many things within theconstraints of the YA market.  Having read much better high fantasy (both YA and otherwise), this was like a slap in the face.  I just didn’t like it at all.  The character development was poor, the world-building was poor, the plot was mind-blowingly simple.  I could rant all day about how much I hated this, but I won’t.  I might get around to posting a review of it, but at this time I’m not particularly inclined to relive it, haha.

3.  Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?

Hmmm. Another hard one. Back to the Goodreads shelf! Ok, here we go…

• White Cat by Holly Black
  • I really wasn’t expecting to like this, at all.  I grew up in the days of Holly Black and Cassie Claire writing epic Harry Potter fanfiction.  I don’t know why, but I’ve put off reading their actual novels for such a long time.  But this book (and the whole series) really caught me off-guard, and I LOVED it.  I think I devoured all three in a matter of days.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

I didn’t really talk to a whole lot of people about books this past year, but I’m gonna go ahead and say:

• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  • Just… read it, or ANYTHING by John Green, and you will understand.  His work is filled with a wicked poignancy that will make your head spin and your heart break.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

I know the answer to this one without having to think! It’s not YA, but it is Fantasy (I really like Fantasy… can you tell?!):

• The Cloud Roads, The Serpent Sea and The Siren Depths by Martha Wells (The Books of the Raksura)
  • HOLY CRAP, PEOPLE. If you are a fantasy-lover like myself, you will get an absolute kick out of these books.  I mean come on… it’s high fantasy, but there are no elves, goblins, trolls… you get the picture.  The world-building in this series is just… it’s amazing.  While I was reading these books, I would DREAM about them! It happens to me sometimes, but only when the plot and world of a particular book/series is so intriguing.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

They are almost all Fantasy authors. DON’T JUDGE ME!

• Martha Wells
• Cinda Williams Chima
• John Green
• Maria V. Snyder

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

I honestly don’t have an answer to this one, because I don’t really have a “comfort zone”. No matter the genre, if the plot sounds appealing to me, I will read it (or at least attempt to).  Well, I don’t really like reading that Shades of Gray nonsense, that’s all smut and no plot.  I’m kind of a sucker for plots…

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

*consults Goodreads* Ah-ha!

• Girl Under Glass by Monica Enderle Pierce
  • !!!!!!!!!!!! That’s exactly the synopsis of my review of this book on Goodreads. SEXY ALIENS! I was glued to this book until I could finish it.  Plus, I LOVED The Scarlet Letter, and this book had all kinds of references to it!

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Probably the George R.R. Martin books.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

11. Most memorable character in 2012?

Definitely has to be:

• Han Allister from The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

• The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

13. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?

I have a few:

• All the technology and progress in the world can’t change the fundamentals of human nature.  There will always be war as long as human beings are capable of envy, hatred, and fear.

- Insignia by S.J. Kincaid

• “Dead souls dream only of death,” the resurrectionist told the emperor. “Small dreams for small men. It is life that expands to fill worlds.  Life is your master, or death is.  Look at you.  You are a lord of ashes, a lord of char.  You are filthy with your victory.  Enjoy it, Joram, for you will never know another.  You are lord of a country of ghosts, and that is all you will ever be.”

- Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

• Once someone’s hurt you, it’s harder to relax around them, harder to think of them as safe to love.  But it doesn’t stop you from wanting them.  Sometimes I actually think it makes the wanting worse.

• You can’t con an honest man.  Only the greedy or the desperate are willing to put aside their reservations to get something they don’t deserve.

• Like a stage magician, the con artist misdirects suspicion.  While everyone’s watching for him to pull a rabbit out of a hat, he’s actually sawing a girl in half.  You think he’s doing one trick when he’s actually doing another.  You think that I’m dying, but I’m laughing at you.

• The easiest lies to tell are the ones you want to be true.

-  All of these were from White Cat by Holly Black

• I wonder what the kid I was then would think of the people we are now.

• We’re a vein rushing blood toward the heart, a furnace of sun-warmed body heat, a herd barreling toward a cliff.

• Life’s full of opportunities to make crappy decisions that feel good.  And after the first one, the rest go a whole lot easier.

• “No trouble ever got fixed lat at night,” he said.  ”Midnight is for regrets.”

- All of these from Red Glove by Holly Black

• Mine.  The language of love is like that, possessive.  That should be the first warning that it’s not going to encourage anyone’s betterment.

• Girls like her, my grandfather once warned me, girls like her turn into women with eyes like bullet holes and mouths made of knives.  They are always restless.  They are always hungry.  They are bad news.  They will drink you down like a shot of whiskey.  Falling in love with them is like falling down a flight of stairs.  What no one told me, with all those warnings, is that even after you’ve fallen, even after you know how painful it is, you’d still get in line to do it again.

• That’s family for you.  Can’t live with them; can’t murder them.

-  From Black Heart by Holly Black

14. 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!

• After reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, I was a mess.  I came upstairs from the bedroom and just cried all over my husband, hahaha.  I was a drooling, crying, nose-running MESS.  I don’t think any other book has EVER made me cry like that, or provoked such a visceral reaction from me.  I’m going to have to read it again soon.

15. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?

• Longest: A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin at 1,178 pages
• Shortest: The Scourge by A.G. Henley at 242 pages

Ok, I think that’s a wrap!! This survey was brought to you by: