1.
Best Book You Read In 2013?
Heist
Society by Ally Carter
Yes,
the book had its flaws but I really enjoyed it and I read it twice
this year. I love crime, spy and heist stories – either watching
them on TV or reading about them and Ally Carter has a way of writing
that makes the story come to life for me.
2.
Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More
But Didn’t?
Austenland
by Shannon Hale
I
had really high hopes for this book and wanted to read it before I
watched the movie this summer but I did not enjoy the story at all.
This had never happened to me that extreme before. I often came
across books that were not what I had expected but Austenland really
disappointed me. I didn't like the story or the characters. So for me
it was an overall fail and I didn't even take the time to go see the
movie.
3.
Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
The
Archived by Victoria Schwab
Usually
I am hesitant towards reading “creepy” books and for me The
Archived always were part of this category. What made me want to read
this book immediately after its publication were Victoria's Making
History videos she posted on YouTube the weeks before releasing her
book. Victoria is such a wonderful person and her excitement about
the book and the promising and really interesting plot made me get
out of my comfort zone and I never ever regretted it.
4.
Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Ruby
Red trilogy by Kerstin Gier
At
the beginning of 2013 I marathoned Kerstin Gier's RubyRed trilogy
(Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green). I am a huge fan of time
travel stories (if you have any suggestions feel free to leave a
comment) and the Ruby Red books were originally published in German
so for once I was able to read books before my English speaking
friends could and I think during the year I almost forced those books
on basically everyone who asked me for a recommendation and also on
everyone who didn't ask.
5.
Best series you discovered in 2013?
Gallagher
Girl series by Ally Carter
This
year I discovered Ally Carter and how much I love her writing. I
binge read the Gallagher Girl series (I'd tell you I love you, but
then I'd have to kill you, Cross my heart and hope to spy, Don't
judge a girl by her cover, Only the good spy young, Out of sight, out
of time, United we spy) in October and United we Spy at the beginning
of November and adored it. I always had difficulties finishing series
I love because it felt too much like saying goodbye to good friends
but this time I just wanted to know what happens to Cammie and her
group of friends to think about saying farewell to characters I grew
fond of. If you never read a book by Ally before, please give her
writing a try – it's worth it!
6.
Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
My
favorite author I discovered in 2013 was Rachel Hawkins. I started
her Hex-Hall series in May and after reading the first book I knew
that this was another series for a binge read and until now I never
took the time to do just that. I adored Hex Hall and I cannot wait to
dive into the world again in 2014. Reading all of Rachel's books is
high on my list of things I would like to do next year.
7.
Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for
you?
I
did not really branch out and read a book out of my comfort zone this
year. If I would need to pick one I would say The Archived by
Victoria Schwab (as talked about in question 3) but I never really
branch out super wide and read a book dealing with war or a Zombie
book. So maybe I'll need to do that next year and challenge
me a bit more.
8.
Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
The
Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
I am working as a part-time tutor for students who need help in
English and over the summer holidays I get a lot of students. This
summer one of them was a teenage boy who loved to read and he
recommended me some books. One of them was the Bartimaeus series by
Jonathan Stroud and after checking out what the book's about on
Goodreads I went to the bookstore on my way home and bought the first
in the series and immediately started reading. I flew through all the
462 pages of it in just 2 days (while working full time during these
days too). The Amulet of Samarkand is full of action, adventure,
loveable characters, fun parts and everyone who loves fantasy and
adventure stories set, kind of, in another world (aka London of
magicians) should give this series a try. Jonathan Stroud got put on
my auto-buy list.
9.
Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell
I
am pretty sure Rainbow Rowell will be on almost every “Best of
2013” list and mine is no exception. I bought Eleanor and Park this
summer while I was in London but didn't read it – don't ask me why
but the minute Fangirl came out I bought it, read it and loved it. I
flew through it over the course of a day (all 433 pages) and
absolutely adored it but due to this high speed reading I just
couldn't appreciate all the tiny little details because I was to
eager to know what happens next. So I'm thinking about re-reading it
again in 2014 to not only visit Wren again but also to appreciate
another aspect of the story.
10.
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
Rescue
Me by Rachel Gibson
Rachel
Gibson books are my guilty pleasure. I love her writing and her books
are always pick-me-ups when I'm feeling down. The cover of Rescue Me
just appealed to me and made me think of summer every time I looked
at it and since the book not only has a gorgeous cover but also a
heart-warming story I highly enjoyed reading it.
11.
Most memorable character in 2013?
Katherine
Bishop from Ally Carter's Heist Society series
Kat
Bishop is a girl after my own taste. She is determined and if she
wants something she tries everything to achieve it. She has great
friends who'll do everything for her and she can count on them every
day. Strange as it may sound now but Kat, even though she's a
fictional character, she is kind of a role model for me. For years
now I personally am struggling with being more determined and going
through with what I planned. So maybe I will channel my inner Kat in
2014 and will reach some of my long-term goals next year.
12.
Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
The
Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
If
you've been reading my blog for some time now you will know how much
I love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. This year she and Lee
Goldberg wrote the story of Kate O'Hare and Nicolas Fox. The Heist
was a book I adored and could not really put down. You cannot compare
this book to the Stephanie Plum series but that's just how it is.
Different series – different characters! But overall a beautifully
written book with a wonderful storyline and a great cast of
characters. One of my top reads in 2013.
13.
Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Etiquette
& Espionage by Gail Carriger
Imagine
Ettiquette & Espionage standing for all the Gail Carriger books I
read this year. Gail is one of my favorite writers of all time.
Ettiquette & Espionage is the first book in the Finishing School
series set before the Parasol Protectorate series. Set in a floating
boarding school (how cool is that?) it is telling the story of
Sophronia, a witty and clever girl, interested in the world
surrounding her and she wouldn't be one of Gail's characters if she
wouldn't be the one saving the world from evil.
14.
Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
First
Grave to the Right by Darynda Jones
I
heard many great things about this book series from the girls at
Bewitched Bookworms and I finally decided to read the first book in
January of 2013 and fell in love with it. It was a great start to a
series and I cannot wait to continue with the second book but till
now I haven't had a chance to buy it but I'm pretty sure I will
change this really quickly after finishing this survey.
15.
Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?
I've
read over 100 books this year but I always forget to write down my
favorite quotes. I have a beautiful notebook with drawings of my
favorite places in Tuscany reserved for them but until now it's only
filled with quotes from films or famous people but I'm trying to be
better next year so that I can provide you with one at the end of
2014.
16.Shortest
& Longest Book You Read In 2013?
The
shortest
book
I read in 2013 was The
Christmas Gift by Monica McInerney (32
pages)
while the longest
book
I read was The
Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud (562
pages).
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!
Heist
Society by Ally Carter
Yes, I
picked Heist Society by Ally Carter as my favorite book of 2013 but
it is also the book with a huge WTF scene in it. When Kat and Hale
are standing in front of a bakery in Vienna the scene is described
that Kat turns around and sees snowcapped mountains and ornate 18th
century buildings stretching out in every direction and that is just
not possible. I've been living in Vienna my entire life and I can
tell you that there is now way that you can see snowcapped mountains
anywhere near the city. Yes, I know, it is a small mistake but one
that really bugs me.
18.
Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic,
friendship, etc).
And
once again I mention Ally Carter's Heist Society and The Heist by
Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. Those two books stood out to me
this year. Katherine Bishop and W.W. Hale the Fifth from Ally
Carter's Heist Society and Kate O'Hare and Nicolas Fox from The Heist
by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg have a friendship with sparks.
You can never be sure if there is more to it than friendship and
respect for the other person or if there's more to it. I love it when
there's this little spark between two people and I respect every
author who's able to describe such a friendship so perfectly that you
as a reader can almost feel the spark while reading. So here you have
it my favorite sparkly friendships of 2013.
19.
Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read
Previously.
At
Last by Jill Shalvis
I
first read a book by Jill Shalvis in 2012. Simply Irresistible really
impressed me. It is an adult romance novel with some lovely
characters and a great storyline. This year I re-read the first three
books in the Lucky Harbour series but from the other books I read by
her At Last was my favorite. It tells the story of Amy and Matt but
we also meet some people that were the main characters of previous
novels. A review of At Last will be posted on the blog next year.
20.
Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A
Recommendation From Somebody Else.
Carrots
by Colleen Helme
My
mom has a good friend who also loves to read and from whom I
regularly receive e-mails either with links to books she thinks I
will like or, as it was the case with Carrots by Colleen Helme, a
mail with the following text: “Kept me awake almost all night. Sure
you'll love it. Start it early in the day because you can't put it
down! Tell your mom too.”
I
immediately went over to Amazon, read the description, bought it and
started reading. Carrots is a mixture of murder mystery, mafia story
and comedy and I really enjoyed. I already bought the second book in
the series and it's high on my TBR list for 2014.
21.
Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
As I was scrolling through my
Goodreads account I discovered that I read a lot of Romance this
year. Most of the books were not pure romance but mostly romantic
comedies but I read 22 romantic comedies from my adult shelf and 21
from my YA shelf. I'm really interested what my main genre will be in
2014.
22.
Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
For many years now I force
Monica McInerney's books on a lot of people and I love each and every
one of the books I read by her. She is also a lovely person. I was
lucky to receive three signed books by her and got in contact with
her and can now tell you that she is the sweetest. Many years ago,
when I was still mainly reading German books (which must have been
around 15 years ago) I discovered her first book called A Taste For
It. It tells the story of Maura, a young lady, living in the
Australian Outback with her brother producing wine and managing a
small café. When she gets the chance to go to Ireland to promote her
brother's wines chaos follows her around. The main guy in the book is
Dominic Hanrahan, which
she encounters in Australia when she serves him disgusting food
because she confused him with someone else and who later reappears as
her tour guide through Ireland. First he appears as if he is a total
jerk but slowly, when you get to know him, he is amazing. He really
became my newest crush when I re-read A Taste For It in December.
23.
Best 2013 debut you read?
The Reece Malcom List by Amy Spalding
When The Reece Malcom List was released earlier this year many of my
book blogging friends read it and really liked it. I found the blurb
promising and bought it but forgot that I had it on my Kindle until
November. When I finally read it, I really enjoyed it because it was
not the typical YA contemporary, which I thought it was, but a
mixture of contemporary, issue book and finding yourself story. I
will definitely check out Amy's next book which was released in
December and I'm hoping it's as different, in a good way, as The
Reece Malcom List.
24.
Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
The most vivid world in a book I read this year is a tie between Gail
Carriger's Finishing School series and Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus
series. Both are set in and around London – one in the Victorian
aera and one in kind of modern day London filled with magical
creatures but the world building in both series is amazing. I really
tried to narrow it down to one but there was no way. If I get to
chose which world I want to visit though I would definitely pick Gail
Carriger's Victorian England because I would love to meet Sophronia
and her friends, attend a floating Finishing school and explore the
ship with Sophronia at night.
25.
Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
Is it Just Me? By Miranda Hart
When I was traveling through Western Australia in the summer of 2011
I saw one episode of Miranda Hart's TV series Miranda and as soon as
I came home I started looking for the DVDs of the series. I found
them last year while I was in London in August and this year I
stumbled over Miranda's book Is It Just Me? I immediately had to buy
it – I adore Miranda Hart – and started reading it right this
evening. This summer I was the strange girl, sitting on the airplane,
reading and giggling constantly. Whoopsy! If you are interested in
the book, you can read my review here.
26.
Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
The Flying Classroom by Erich Kästner
The
Flying Classroom by Erich Kästner is one of my childhood favorites.
It's a Christmas story revolving around five friends living in a
boarding school and the whole story is basically about their
friendship, how some decisions influence your life and how important
friends are.
I usually
am more sentimental during Christmas time and the end of the year but
this book made me cry at least three times just because it's so
beautifully written.
27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year
Or When It Came Out?
Step Back in Time by Ali McNamara
I am in love with Ali McNamara's writing and I cannot wait for her
books to be published. I tend to count down the days until her next
book will be published. Ali is one of the sweetest authors I was
lucky in enough to get in contact with. Her writing is phenomenal,
her stories are built really well and her characters are so lovely.
Her newest book Step Back In Time was published at the beginning of
November 2013 and it is as good as her other three but I thought it
got overlooked and not enough people read it. So if you are looking
for a fun time travel book with lovely people and a clever storyline,
pick up Step Back In Time.
1.
New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013?
I
discovered many new blogs this year but I'm not really sure if I
found those two only this year or at the end of 2012. Let's just
pretend that I just came across them in 2013. My new favorite blog I
discovered in 2013 is a tie
between Snuggly Oranges from
the lovely Debby and
Paper Riot from
the amazingly talented and amazing Judith.
2.
Favorite review that you wrote in 2013?
I
really enjoyed writing and still love reading my reviews of all
the
books in the Ruby Red trilogy. I
read them all really close to one another and posted them during one
week in April. So if you count all three reviews as one, reviewing
these I really enjoyed.
3.
Best discussion you had on your blog?
During
my Blogoversary in the middle of October I had a guest post from my
dog Felix with the help from my mom which was called „12 things you want to know about Karin” and it was once of my most
commented posts during the year.
4.
Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody
else’s blog?
I am
pretty sure I don't have to tell you that Kat from The Aussie Zombie
is my best bookish friend and she wrote a post in April called “A Day in the Life of the Book Blogger” which I really enjoyed and
which had me thinking a bit about my priorities.
5.
Best event that you participated in?
Living
in Vienna means having all the advantages of living in Austria's
biggest city but has the disadvantages of not living in a city like
London or any big US city. This means that there are not really any
bookish events held. There is a night of crime usually each year in
the fall but not much more and there definitely are no author events
from people I like to read.
6.
Best moment of book blogging/your book life in 2013?
My
best moment in my book life this year was when
I finished my 100th
book.
Since
I wasn't able to join the girls at
the Book Blogger Picnic in Amsterdam
in
the summer this was my highlight.
7.
Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog?
Top
Three by Page Views:
8.
Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
9.
Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Ashley
from Nose Graze
created a wonderful homepage for us book bloggers to connect. Book Blogging is a wonderful tool for connecting with other book lovers –
Thank You so much Ashley for bringing us closer together!
10.
Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for
yourself at the beginning of this year?
At
the beginning of 2013 I decided to join some reading challenges but
due to some personal things that happened during this year I didn't
try very hard to complete any of them. What I did complete was the
Goodreads Challenge where I set my goal to reading 60 books. I
finished my 60th
book in August (it was The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg,
if you're interested) and I sent myself a personal goal of trying to
read 100 books this year. I never updated my Goodreads Challenge
because I tried not to stress out about reading but I also reached
this goal in December. Let's see of I'll join any reading challenges
in 2014.
1.
One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1
Priority in 2014?
Shadow
Kiss by Richelle Mead
Judith
from Paper Riot talked a lot about this book when she read it and I
really enjoyed the first two book in the Vampire Academy series.
Judith also told me that the series gets better from this book
onwards. So I really want to read it soon and it is my number 1
priority in 2014. Hopefully I'll be able to read it soon.
2.
Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?
I
adore Gail Carriger – if you didn't notice while reading through my
answers. :) Her writing is just amazing and I cannot wait to hold
Waistcoats & Weaponry in my sticky hands and dive into it. Sadly
there is still no other release date than 2014. I'm hoping that it'll
be published soon because the world Sophronia lives in is just
amazing.
3. 2014
Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
The girls from Epic Reads talked a lot about this book and I think
the plot sounds so intriguing. It'll be released on April 1st
and I'm hoping that it will be as good as it sounds.
4.
Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
As
I said before, I am not good at finishing series because it feels too
much like saying goodbye to friends which means I am not really
anticipating the ending of the Mortal Instruments series but it's the
one book I would really like to see on my bookshelf.
5.
One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In
2014?
Well,
I am one of those girls who love lists and resolutions so I have a
list of this I would like to accomplish in 2014. I
would love to become part of a book club, which
I'm hoping will become reality soon, I also want to meet some of my
Dutch book blogging friends, which will become reality in 2014
because I got a trip to Amsterdam from my parents for Christmas (yes,
they are the BEST!). I am, sadly, a last minute kinda girl in life,
when studying and also in blogging. So I want to reduce the last
minute blog post writing next year and I would also like to write
my reviews more
regularly. Not sure if I'll be able to do
all those things but I'm trying to do my best!
