End of 2010 Survey

I love one-off book memes, and this one from The Perpetual Page Turner has been popping up all over the place. I figured since I've been enjoying everyone else's answers so much I'd have a go at it myself. Oh, and I set myself the added challenge of trying not to repeat choices unless it really couldn't be helped.

1. Best book of 2010?
It's a triple tie. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Trash by Andy Mulligan, and Dreaming of Amelia by Jaclyn Moriarty. They're all really different, but I guess what they have in common is that each one has a truly perfect ending. They're also books that have stayed with me, and that I know I'll reread in the future.

2. Worst book of 2010?
Hmmm. This is hard, because if I'm not enjoying a book by the halfway mark I tend to put it down... so I have no idea whether those (and there were a few) would have turned out fabulous if I'd stuck at it. Pass!

3. Most disappointing book of 2010?
I guess Mockingjay. While I easily enjoyed it enough to finish it, (and in fact couldn't put it down) I was disappointed because I'd built it up to be this book of all books in my head, and, you know, that was my own fault for letting the hype get to me.

4. Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2010?
Shade by Jeri-Smith Ready. I was feeling a little paranormalled out until I read this one, and it turned out to be completely fresh and amazing. Loved it.

5. Book you recommended to people most in 2010?
Honestly, it's probably a book that doesn't publish till January 2011: Entangled by Cat Clarke. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy a few months ago, and I'm always telling people about that one. Me: 'Looking for Debut Author Challenge recs? Oooh, you should read Entangled. It's *so* good.' See?

6. Best series you discovered in 2010?
There were so many. But I already know for sure I'll be picking up the next instalments in Jenny Han's Summer series, The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson series by Stephanie Burgis, and the Inside Out series from Maria V Snyder.

7. Favourite new authors you discovered in 2010?
New: Lauren Strasnick and Cat Clarke.
Not 'new' new but new-to-me: Jaclyn Moriarty, Tabitha Suzuma, Jackson Pearce, Lili Wilkinson.

8. Most hilarious read of 2010?
Swapped By A Kiss by Luisa Plaja. Hands down. I adore suspended reality type stories, and the humour in this one is of the laugh-out-loud variety. Which in my experience is pretty rare.

9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2010?
Inside Out by Maria V Snyder or Pretty Bad Things by C.J. Skuse. Both total rollercoaster rides, in totally different ways.

10. Book you most anticipated in 2010?
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

11. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2010?
Pink by Lili Wilkinson. Because it's pink. And because the fact that it's pink means so much. But not what you might expect.

12. Most memorable character in 2010?
Billi SanGreal from Dark Goddess by Sarwat Chadda. Okay, so we've met Billi before in Devil's Kiss, but she's still awe-inspiringly fierce.

13. Most beautifully written book in 2010?
Probably Matched by Ally Condie or Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Both of them are written with an obvious love of language and of literature, and I adore that.

14. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2010?
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. I was actually a little nervous about reading this one. As it turned out, it was a challenging read but I was bowled over by it. (Incidentally, my review for Forbidden is the blog post that has had the most hits here at I Was A Teenage Book Geek this entire year. I like that.)

15. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2010 to finally read?
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. What was I thinking? And now you mention it, why haven't I read the next book in the series yet? Oh, and So Much To Tell You by John Marsden, which is just remarkable.

Book blogging in 2010

1. New favourite book blog you discovered in 2010?
There are so many! And I'm not especially good at judging how long I've been following blogs, but... two favourites are The Mountains of Instead and Inkcrush.

2. Favourite review that you wrote in 2010?
Probably my review of Pink by Lili Wilkinson. Which you can check out here if you haven't already. I got some comment love for that one, and I really enjoyed writing it.

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?
Book blogging: what's the point? It got some fantastically positive comments, and I learned a lot.

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else's blog?
This is a hard question, because some bloggers really go above and beyond with their discussion of issues that should be of relevance to our whole community. Standouts: Steph Su's post on What Makes A Good Reviewer, April of Good Books and Good Wine on ARCs, Ari's open letter to Bloomsbury at Reading In Color, and Caroline at Portrait of a Woman's AIDS and HIV in Young Adult Literature Week.

5. Best event that you participated in?
Actually, there were quite a few: The Random House Blogger Brunch, the blogger sneak preview at Walker Books, a blogger meet-up with Lauren Kate (!), the London launch party for Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised By Wolves, Oxford University Press' Halloween event. It's been a crazy fun year.

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2010?
Getting to meet up with other UK bloggers. Readers are the BEST people.

7. Best bookish discovery?
The Contemps: a website started by a group of YA authors who write realistic fiction and who all have books being published over the course of a year. Because contemporary is the new dystopia, dontcha know.

Okay, so that was tougher than I expected. I'm sure there are some favourite novels that I've missed out, but that's a lesson to me to be more organised next year.

Thanks to the The Perpetual Page Turner for coming up with such a fun (and surprisingly difficult) survey.