2020 End of the Year Survey

I've seen the End of the Year Survey around for years, but I've never actually done it myself... until now! I am very excited! I borrowed the images below from The Perpetual Page Turner, the creator of this fun survey 😊

Number Of Books You Read: 55
Number of Re-Reads: 1
Genre You Read The Most From: Mystery/thriller and horror

1. Best Book You Read In 2020?

Since this question is letting me cheat by picking a book per genre, I'm gonna do it 😉 Best sci-fi: Malice. Best historical fiction: The Song of Achilles. Best mystery/thriller: Home Before Dark. Best urban fantasy: Lord of Shadows. Best horror: Tales from the Gas Station Vol. 2.

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

I love Jennifer Estep and all the books she has written. This series is one of her older ones, if not her first, and was the only one I hadn't read until this year. It's about superheroes and I love superhero stuff, so I was excited to read it but... ooof. All Jennifer Estep books have a ton of action, slow burn romance, and strong heroines. This book did not and I was so surprised and disappointed! The action was minimal, there was too much romance, which was insta-lovey (yuck), and the main character was an unlikable damsel in distress. I was so surprised that I didn't like it. I think I will eventually continue the series, but I don't see that happening any time soon. I think I'm gonna stick with her newer books for now.

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

This book was surprising in that I was not expecting the bit of Greek mythology that appeared. It was amazing! It revolved around a certain goddess that doesn't show up in books often at all, so that was very exciting for me. And it all fit well with the sisters... everything just made sense!

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

Early in the year I remember talking about this series cause I'm Shadowhunter trash and I love anything Shadowhunter-related 🤷‍♀️ Any time I get a chance to push Shadowhunters onto someone I'll do it 😂 Oh, you want an urban fantasy about kickass demon hunters? The Mortal Instruments. Oh, you want a kickass historical fiction with lots of fun supernatural beings and great romance? The Infernal Devices? Oh, you want a kickass series with a lovable family, star-crossed lovers, and plot twists that will blow your mind? The Dark Artifices 😉

5. Best series you started in 2020? Best Sequel? Best Series Ender of 2020?

Best series started: Sal and Gabi. It was a lot of fun with a lot of great characters! Best sequel: Tales from the Gas Station Vol. 2. It's such a wacky, fun, creepy world and I just love it and the characters! Best series ender: Crush the King. Again, as I've mentioned before, I love Jennifer Estep's work. But also I didn't finish very many series that I actually liked 🤷‍♀️

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2020?

This book was incredible! I loved the writing, the character, the story, the crazy plot twists (!), the romance... just, everything! I am very excited to read more from Pintip Dunn!

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

I'm not really into historical fiction, but the only reason why I picked this one up is because I love Greek mythology, and I am glad I did because it was amazing!

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

The action in this was SO good! I mean, Alice is trying to stop a virus from killing a bunch of people, so you bet there are thrills! And it was just so well done! Another reason why I'm looking forward to reading more of this author's work.

9. Book You Read In 2020 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

This one was tough because I don't tend to re-read books I read the previous year. But if I had to pick one I'd be Goodnight Kiss. It was a fun summer-y read and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2020?

So this cover may not look like anything special, BUT in person, the hardcovers glow in the freaking dark! Unfortunately, I don't own a copy of the book (borrowed it from the library), but it's definitely on my wishlist!

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11. Most memorable character of 2020?

Achilles was certainly memorable. He wasn't always likeable, but that's what made him interesting. He did have his charming moments, too, though.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2020?

It's gotta be this one again. I mean, I read a lot of fluff, mystery/thrillers, urban fantasy, and just stuff like that... I'm not saying that those things can't be beautifully written, but The Song of Achilles was just gorgeous!

13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2020?

Oooh, I don't tend to read a lot of these types of books. Last year I read a really interesting true crime, nonfiction type of book that was really thought provoking, but not this year. I did re-read this one which was life changing, I suppose. It's an interesting technique to lose weight, but it's worked for me. And I just needed a little refresher this year.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2020 to finally read?

I want to apoligize in advance cause I'm just now realizing that this book is gonna show up a lot 😅 Anyway, this incredible book was published NINE years ago and I'm only just getting to it now?? Unacceptable! I needed this in my brain sooner! Lol.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2020?

Those seconds, half seconds, that the line of our gaze connected, were the only moment in my day that I felt anything at all. The sudden swoop of my stomach, the coursing anger. I was like a fish eyeing the hook.

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2020?

17. Book That Shocked You The Most?

That ending was absolute insanity! Now what are they supposed to do?? 😩 I guess I gotta read the next book, huh? 😉 (Another warning: this book also... everywhere. Like I said, I like what I like 🤷‍♀️😅)

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

Emma and Jules forever! 💗

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year?

The complicated relationship between the sisters was one of my favorite things about this book. They bumped heads, but in the end, they both love each other very much and all they want is the best for one another.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2020 From An Author You’ve Read Previously?

I'm sorry! I warned you! I just love Cassie Clare, okay? 😩😅

21. Best Book You Read In 2020 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.

I think maybe this one? I definitely found out about it from someone, somewhere... 🤔 It was a pretty fun read.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2020?

Oh it's definitely the cute, blue-haired Thai boy, Bandit 😍

23. Best 2020 debut you read?

So I actually didn't read any 2020 debuts 😬 I literally only read 5 books that were published this year 🙈 BUT How to Hang a Witch is a debut I really enjoyed... it was just published a couple of years ago but still 😅 The story was interesting, what with the Salem witch trials, curses, and magic... I really loved that!

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

Most of this duology takes place inside nightmares, which I absolutely loved! It was interesting for sure.

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

This book was fun and wacky and it made me laugh a lot. I really enjoyed it!

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2020?

I was a mess by the end of this book. I love mythology so I know how The Iliad ends, and yet, this book still made me cry 😭

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

I got this book for free on Amazon, and every once in a while these freebies really surprise me! I really enjoyed it! It's basically about a girl who can hear the dead... no, not see. Hear. Very interesting, right? Anyway, I love books about ghosts and this one was  fun!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

This one again. Let me reiterate that I was a MESS by the end of this book. I mean, I loved it, but it broke my soul.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2020?

This book was interesting because it's described as a horror romance that's inspired by slashers from the 80s, and it was exactly that! I read horror all the time, and some may have romance sprinkled here and there, but the romance in this one was more prominent, and this book did a fairly good job at balancing the horror and the romance. I have never read anything like this, that's for sure.

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

This book was incredibly frustrating... The dumb decisions Audrey made, the goddamn love triangle, the autopsies not being a prominent because magic? NO! That is not what I'm here for. I know this question says it doesn't have to necessarily mean I didn't like the book, but I certainly didn't love Escaping from Houdini 🙃

1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2020?

Believe it or not, before 2020 I did not follow a single Booktube channel. I don't know why but I just didn't (well, only Epic Reads for those fun Book Nerd Problems videos they do). This year I started following BookswithEmilyFox and jessethereader, and I really enjoy their stuff!

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2020?

Oh, that is always my reading stats post. I love number and graphs and it's always fun to look back at my reading year in that way. I am very excited to get a start on my stats for 2020!

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2020?

I don't think I ever shared this one, but I think I took it when I finished reading it earlier in the year.

4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?

My library had a virtual event with Madeline Miller earlier this month and it was awesome! She talked about Circe and that just made me even more excited to read the book!

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2020?

Well, as you may know I purchased a ton of Chain of Gold book boxes. I just really love getting these boxes and opening them up to see what surprises lie inside, especially from a book whose world you already love.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Umm, everything. Things happened in March and my blogging/reading just plummeted. I'm only just starting to come out of it now.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog?

A post from 2014? Well, okay 🤷‍♀️😂

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I don't really have one 🤷‍♀️

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I found this reading app called Bookly and it has a lot of cool features, but the main feature I use it for is for it's timer. You basically hit the timer on every reading session, and then it does the math with the page count and tells you how much more time you have left to finish the book. It's basically like the feature on Kindles that tells you how much time left you have to finish the book, except I use this app for physical books! I don't know why, I just like knowing how much time left I have to finish a book 🤷‍♀️ Just me? Okay 😅

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

When I did my update post for my 2020 challenges two weeks ago, I had completed 0/4 challenges 😂 But as of right now I have completed my revised Goodreads goal of 55 books, my goal of finishing 9 series, and I also completed my discussion challenge! The only challenge I didn't complete was my Mount TBR Challenge... I only read 38/60 books off my tbr pile 🤷‍♀️

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2020 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2021?

I recently bought this one and I've been itching to read it! I love this world and I am really excited to see where to story goes.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2021 (non-debut)?

Another Riley Sager book? Yes please! This one sounds really interesting, and I just love his mystery/thrillers. They're great!

3. 2021 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

This one is a horror/mystery that sounds very cool! Can't wait to get into it!

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2021?

This is the last book in the Elemental Assassin series and I cannot wait to read it! This is one of my all-time favorite series so I'm not ready for it to end, but I'm also curious to see how things are gonna wrap up with the Big Bad.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2021?

My reading has been extremely sporadic this year, so I am challenging myself to read at least one book per week in 2021.

6. A 2021 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):

By the end of the year I've usually read at least one ARC for the upcoming year, but not this year 🤷‍♀️

That was fun! Let me know what some of your favorite books of 2020 were and/or what books you're most looking forward to in 2021!