Over at The Perpetual Page Turner the End of Year Book Survey is in full swing! I know I'm participating in a lot of these annual summary posts right now, but I really like the idea of this one - it highlights so many top moments of 2011 I couldn't resist. Come and join in or just read some of the survey results!
Without further ado, here are my survey answers!
Best Book You Read in 2011
Can I choose two? No? Oh.... - then it would have to be Swan Song by Robert McCammon – I read it in two days
(960 pages!) and was completely enthralled by the story, the characters, the
setting, everything. I’ll definitely be
keeping this one and re-reading!
Most Disappointing Book/Book you wish you loved more than
you did
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan – the whole
idea of the book appealed to me, but I found it didn’t keep my attention and I
had no feeling at all, negative or positive for Mary. It’s put me off reading the rest of the
series too.
Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2011
Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo – when I read there was a
supernatural element I was a bit cautious as supernatural is not usually my
scene. But it was so well combined with
the zombie story, and fitted perfectly with the characters and the situations
they found themselves in, that I can’t now imagine it NOT having a supernatural
element.
Book you recommended to people most in 2011?
Rapture by Phillip W. Simpson – I was completely blown away
by the story, the characters and the writing – and I knew it would appeal to a
lot of people, particularly readers of YA and post-apocalyptic /dystopia
fiction. And I was right!
Best series you discovered in 2011?
Definitely the
Zombie Fallout series – a series of 4 books
and a prequel, I’ve read three so far and I will be reading the prequel and
book 4 in 2012. As soon as I finished
one book I went straight out and bought the next so I could keep reading!
Favourite new authors you discovered in 2011
Phillip Simpson – as well as being a fantastically talented
author he is also a lovely person.
Patrick D’Orazio, Mark Tufo, Joseph Talluto are my other three ‘discoveries’
for 2011.
Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new
genre for you
I didn’t really read much outside of my comfort zone this
year – but one book that I wouldn’t have picked myself was Thicker Than Water
by Greg Sisco – I have a real aversion to reading vampire novels (blame
Twilight!), but Greg’s fantastic blog post about REAL vampires convinced me to
give his book a spin, and I really enjoyed it!
Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011
Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry – I’m a massive fan of his
writing but Dead of Night sucked me in from the first page and I couldn’t bear
to put it down. Every time I had to go
and do something it was always after ‘just one more chapter’ – which always
turned into four or five more!
Book you most anticipated in 2011
The First Days: As the World Dies by Rhiannon Frater – I’d
heard so many fantastic things about her writing, and in the zombie genre women
are in the minority, but she’s top of the game.
The book was right up there in my favourites of 2011 and I look forward
to Fighting To Survive in 2012. I
particularly loved the lead characters were female, again very uncommon in
zombie writing.
Favourite cover of a book you read in 2011
Again, Swan Song by Robert McCammon – I have the 2009
re-released cover which perfectly reflects the book.
Most memorable character in 2011
Dez from Dead of Night – I love characters that are flawed,
and ballsy female characters – she fit the bill perfectly.
Most beautifully written book read in 2011
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse – the language was exquisite
and fit the story perfectly.
Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011
After Daybreak: The Liberation of Belsen by Ben
Shephard. I do read some non-fiction,
and this one was so emotional that it will stay with me for a long time. Told from the POV of the medical staff
involved with the initial liberation in April 1945, the care of the survivors
of Belsen during the first weeks and the eventual moving of people to DP camps
and back to their home countries made for an extremely moving book.
Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to read
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart – originally published in
1949, I’d heard about this book several times over the past few years as a
classic in the PA genre, but I wasn’t able to get a copy until 2011 when it was
released as an audiobook. In hindsight,
I should have been more persistent and tracked it down a long time ago.
Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2011
‘It was almost a relief to feel the little stab in his
heart, to know it was still there, that it still mattered, that the ring was
still important. If he let himself think
about it long enough, he knew the little feeling would swell into something
that made his throat tight, his shoulders tense, something that made him grieve
for the pictures he used to have, the pictures that had been lost in
London. It was the only thing he could
do for her. He hadn’t got home in time,
he hadn’t been able to help her, he hadn’t been able to do anything to save
her, but he could still save her memory, keep it as something he would never
betray’
Book that you read in 2011 that would be most likely to be
reread in 2012
Meat by Joseph D’Lacey – a grim, unsettling dystopia that I
listened to as an Audiobook – I’m looking forward to reading the written
version.
Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying
to talk to somebody about?
20 Years After the Zombie Apocalypse, when Harri returned to
collect her baby. I can’t say more than
that without giving part of the story away, but it was horrifying, emotional
and tender all at the same time!
New favourite book blog that you discovered in 2011
This is really hard because this is the first year that I’ve
started reading book blogs, so I’m going to do a few honourable mentions
instead of a favourite:
Favourite review you wrote in 2011
Patrick D’Orazio’s The Dark Trilogy – reviewing the whole
trilogy at once was a massive undertaking, but I really enjoyed writing it and
reflecting on all the books at the same time.
Best moment of book blogging in 2011
Running my Happy Zombie New Year giveaway – I met so many
fantastic people, found some new bloggers and had the chance to give books away
that I’d loved in 2011.
Most popular post on your blog
High Moor by Graeme Reynolds – I’ll always be scared of
werewolves now!
Post you wished got a little more love
Definitely Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry – it was a
great book and I hope that more zombie lovers can share it with me!
Best bookish discovery
The Book Depository – I can send books so easily all over
the world. A great tool for giveaways
too!
Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you
had set for yourself at the beginning of the year?
Yes, I set myself a goal of reading 104 books in 2011. So far (28 December) I’m at 142 books so I’ve
completely smashed it!
One book you didn’t get to in 2011 but will be your number 1
priority in 2012
I’m really looking forward to Divergent – I’ve heard SO many
good things, but I’ve only just bought myself a copy.
Book you are most anticipating for 2012
Survivors by Z.A. Recht.
I loved his first two books, and after he passed away in 2009 it looked
likely that The Morningstar Strain series would not be finished, so I’m really
looking forward to this one.
One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your
reading/blogging in 2012
In reading I hope to expand my horizons a little, but also
to continue to read great books by Indie authors. Some of my most fantastic reading moments in
2011 were discovering hidden gems, and I really want that to continue.
In blogging I hope to keep spreading the word about books
that readers wouldn’t normally stumble upon during their book rambling through
book blogs, Goodreads and Amazon. It’s
really exciting to fall in love with a book that I’ve accidentally discovered
and I want to help other readers discover these books too.
Thanks for stopping by and if you kept reading the whole way through!
