The Ludic Reader

Although it doesn’t look like Jamie did one this year, here’s my year-end review pinched from The Perpetual Page-Turner

I have deleted some of her questions and added a few of my own, but the credit belongs to Jamie.

In addition, here’s a link to my Goodreads Year in Books, a fun little infographic.

 

Number of Books You Read:  54 + 2 rereads for school

You can see my shelf here

Number of Books You Re-Read: 3, but I only really count That Was Then, This is Now because I reread To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby every year I teach grades 10 and 12.

Best Book You Read In 2018?

Best YA: Sadie by Courtney Summers

I read a lot of terrific YA this year, but Summers is always a cut above.

Runners up include: Mosquitoland  by David Arnold, The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (which, incidentally, was the #1 best selling Canadian book for 2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Best Other: My Sunshine Away –  M.O. Walsh

Runner Up: We All Love the Beautiful Girls – Joanne Proulx

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

Final Girls – Riley Sager

This should have been right up my alley, but it was really just a ‘meh’ for me.

Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2018? 

I was surprised at the positive buzz many of the books I really (really) disliked received.  For example, people LOVED Beartown and I detested that book. I also was not a fan of The Light Between Oceans and it got a lot of praise.

Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2018?

I probably pimped My Sunshine Away the most. So good.

Favorite new author you discovered in 2018?

I would definitely read anything M.O. Walsh wrote. I also enjoyed YA authors David Arnold and Becky Albertalli.

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

I read a lot of ‘thrillers’ this year. I really enjoyed The Woman in the Window.

That was a fun book to read.

I also really loved (and couldn’t put down) I Will Always Write Back because I was so invested in the real-life correspondence between Martin and Caitlin.

 

 

Favourite cover of a book you read in 2018?

I was really drawn to the cover of Frances Hardinge’s YA fantasy Cuckoo Song

It’s got that whole creepy doll thing working for it.

Most memorable character of 2018?

Sadie from the book by the same name. Hands down. She broke my heart.

But I actually encountered several memorable characters this year and I would be remiss to leave them out.

Runners Up: Mim from Mosquitoland; Joe from You; Frenchie from The Marrow Thieves and Simon from Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Most beautifully written book read in 2018?

My Sunshine Away

Honestly, that book had it all. It’s a page-turner, it’s heart-breaking, it’s so beautifully written. Read it.

 

 

Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2018?

I don’t think I read any life-changing books in 2018, but I certainly read books that were challenging, Margaux Fragoso’s memoir Tiger, Tiger and and thought-provoking,  I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda w/ Liz Welch.

Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2018?

I could quote a million things from My Sunshine Away, but then that would ruin the pleasure of reading those words for the first time and you are going to read that book, right? Instead, I will leave you with this little gem from Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

…people really are like houses with vast rooms and tiny windows. And maybe it’s a good thing, the way we never stop surprising each other.

Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2018?

That Was Then This is Now – S.E. Hinton, 159 pages

Into the Darkest Corner – Elizabeth Haynes, 450 pages

Book That Shocked You The Most (Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

Courtney Summers….I’m looking at you!

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

Simon & Blue – Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of The Year

Martin & Caitlin – I Will Always Write Back

Favorite Book You Read in 2018 From an Author You’ve Read Previously

Sadie – Courtney Summers

Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2018?

I loved Beck from Mosquitoland.

Best 2018 debut you read?

Probably The Woman in the Window

Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Hands down, Cuckoo Song 

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

Geesh, looking back over the books I read in 2018…they’re all pretty gloomy. Most FUN to read? Maybe Simon because I just loved him and his friends so much.

Book That Made You Cry or Nearly Cry in 2018?

There were definitely some lump-in-the-throat moments while reading The Marrow Thieves

Also, not gonna lie, My Sunshine Away and I Will Always Write Back gave me all the feels. I was too devastated by Sadie to actually cry.

Hidden Gem Of The Year?

I know, I keep saying it, but My Sunshine Away was a complete surprise.

Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Sadie. I had to wait a few days before I wrote my review. Seriously.

Most Unique Book You Read In 2018?

Again, I have to give it to Sadie. If you have not yet discovered Courtney Summers, you are in for a treat…and by treat I mean prepare to be devastated by just about everything she writes. In a good way.

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

 

 

OMG – so many books pissed me off this year with their suckiness.

The Little Paris Bookshop – Nina George

Beartown – Frederick Backman

Dear Mrs. Bird – AJ Pearce

 

Favorite review that you wrote in 2018?

Although I was not even remotely fond of the book, I like my review of The Little Paris Bookshop

Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

My trip to Italy and Paris in July.

Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2018?

I love when I get to interact with authors – usually when they respond to a tweet about their book. This one was my favourite of 2018:

 

Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

Incidentally, it was my review of Rob Lowe’s book Stories I Only Tell My Friends which received the most views (and some retweets, too).

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

I set my reading goal at 50 this year…just so I wouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t make it. I definitely had some reading struggles this year, but overall, it was a good reading year.

One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2018 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2019? Oh, please. I did do a cull of my tbr shelf…and by that I mean I took all the books off the shelves and read the blurbs and sorted them into piles of donate/reshelve/read in 2019, but let’s face it…rules are made to be broken.

Book You Are Most Anticipating for 2019 (non-debut)?

My son gave me J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst’s novel Ship of Theseus for Christmas. We’ve long been intrigued by this books, so I am looking forward to reading it.

I wrote that in 2015! Still haven’t read the book because I think it requires some dedication. That said, it did make it onto the 2019 reading pile.

2019 Debut You Are Most Anticipating

There are probably loads of books I will want to read, but I just found out that Tim Johnston has a new book, The Current,  coming out in January and I will definitely be purchasing that because I loved Descent

One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2019

Stay the course.