2024 Reading Stats
111 books read (including a few children's books)
4 book re-read
Genre Read the Most From? Adult, tie between Historical Fiction & Fantasy with 31 books in each genre
Books
1. Best book you read?
Indescribable by Louie Giglio
The Wonder of Creation by Louie Giglio
2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn’t?
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith
Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke
3. Most surprising (in a good or bad way) book you read?
Beyond the Crescent Sky (The Balkan Legends, # 2) by AL Sowards
Vows & Ruins (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 2) by Helen Scheuerer
4. Book you read that you recommended to people the most?
ADHD is Awesome by Penn & Kim Holderness
5. Best series discovered? Best Sequel? Best series ender?
Series:
The Courting of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats, # 1) by Mary E Pearson
Beneath a Crescent Shadow (The Balkan Legends, # 1) by AL Sowards
These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows, # 1) by Lexi Ryan
Beneath These Cursed Stars (Beneath These Cursed Stars, # 1) by Lexi Ryan
Sequel:
Beyond a Crescent Sky (The Balkans Legends, # 2) by AL Sowards
The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, # 2) by Stephanie Garber
Vows and Ruins (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 2) by Helen Scheuerer
Fate & Furies (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 3) by Helen Scheuerer
Ender:
A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart, # 3) by Stephanie Garber
A Dawn of Gods and Fury (Fate & Flame, # 4) by KA Tucker
6. Favorite new author you discovered?
Stephanie Garber, AL Sowards, Rebecca Robinson, Katie Holt, Sophie Cousens, Lexi Ryan
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot, # 1) by Peter Brown
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book?
The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, # 2) by Stephanie Garber
Fate & Furies (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 3) by Helen Scheuerer
9. Book you read that you are most likely to re-read next year?
An Unsuitable Suitor by Sally Britton
10. Favorite cover of a book you read?
I didn't particularly love any of them. I read several that were of the same trend, but I can't pick one.
11. Most memorable character?
Jacks from Once Upon a Broken Heart series by Stephanie Garber
Ivan from The Balkan Legends series by AL Sowards
Roz from The Wild Robot series by Peter Brown
12. Most beautifully written book read?
So True a Love by Joanna Barker
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you?
ADHD is Awesome by Penn & Kim Holderness
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL this year to finally read?
Nyxia (The Nyxia Triad, # 1) by Scott Reintgen
I got this book for review back in 2017. I can't believe it took me 7 years to read it. Whoops!
15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read?
Sorry for the overload...skip these if you want, but I couldn't narrow them down.
-"I must blame the mistletoe. Potent stuff, that." - Appointment in Bath by Mimi Matthews
-"Humans have an infinite capacity for change. We've no need to fear it. To change is to survive." - Appointment in Bath by Mimi Matthews
-Sometimes redemption isn't just about saying sorry, it's about how you recover from the mistakes you make. Bettering yourself is the best kind of apology you can make. - The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
-"Of course you were afraid," she says. "None of us know how to handle something we've never been through before. All we can do is learn from it. Use it to better ourselves." - The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
-Bargaining with a devil may grant one many things, but peace was never one of them. - Empress of Fae by Briar Boleyn
-"None of us asks for the burdens we bear, but that doesn't make the way we handle them any less significant." - These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan
-"Misunderstandings are easy, are they not? They can make a wedge between a couple and prevent love from blossoming or even kill it completely." - The Gentleman's Confession by Anneka R Walker
-"I'll play your game today. And then, when you are ready, I hope you will join me in being serious." - A Proper Facade by Esther Hatch
-Of all the offensive masculine qualities that ladies detested, eagerness was one of the worst. - The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews
-"You are too easily deceived, Cora," Mother said. "You know so little of this world, of what people can truly be like." "Perhaps," I said. "But I do not think I will ever regret being generous with my good opinion. I would much rather be kind than indifferent." - To Charm a Lady by Joanna Barker
-Mercy did not negate correction. In fact, mercy often demanded correction. - Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer
-"It's easier to dismiss those who hurt us as being senselessly evil than it is to accept that all our actions are trees, and all trees stem from roots, and all roots stem from seeds. No living being in any land propagates unaided." - Serpent Sea by Maiya Ibrahim
-"I do not drink while working," he said eventually, his voice almost too steady. As if he'd offered this explanation many times before. "I prefer to have my wits about me." "I see," I said, trying not to show how very intrigued I was. "Wits are rather hard to come by. Best not to frighten them off." - So True a Love by Joanna Barker
-"There is, perhaps, no surer mark of folly," he went on, "than an attempt to correct the natural infirmities of those we love." - So True a Love by Joanna Barker
-"As much as I want to, I can't take away your fear. You have to ask God if He can take it from you or help you bear it." - Beneath a Crescent Shadow by AL Sowards
-"Death is not better than hardship." - Beneath a Crescent Shadow by AL Sowards
-"You do not have to be invincible to have my love. And you don't have to be without sin to have God's forgiveness." - Beneath a Crescent Shadow by AL Sowards
-"Kings and queens are known to influence what the realm may remember of them and the gods they serve, and sometimes society chooses to erase history as if it never happened rather than confront the dark side of it." - A Dawn of Gods and Fury by KA Tucker (review coming soon)
-"Keep howling until your voice can find a different melody." - The Art of Us by Julie Wright
-"God doesn't sit back in His throne in heaven, measuring our acts of kindness. He celebrates each one, because even the smallest spark can dissipate the darkness in another's life." - The Rules of Matrimony by Anneka R Walker (review coming soon)
-"But while our scars affect us, they do not need to consume us. Not anymore. Let it be a lesson to us: We will never stop trying to rise about our circumstances." - The Rules of Matrimony by Anneka R Walker (review coming soon)
-"Animals can be replaced with coin. Freedom, once lost, can only be won with blood." - Beyond the Crescent Sky by AL Sowards (review coming soon)
-"Would you stand at the foot of the cross and tell Christ to come down and walk away, to reject His purpose because it is not pleasant?" - Beyond the Crescent Sky by AL Sowards (review coming soon)
-"Sometimes, you have to search diligently to find joy." - Beyond the Crescent Sky by AL Sowards (review coming soon)
-"When I am in love, I don't want to have to wonder, if it's love, you know? I want to know with certainty that there is nothing else I would rather feel." - Not in My Book by Katie Holt
-The love I had read in romance novels was so epic and monumental. I'd spent a lifetime craving grand gestures and sweeping proclamations. I hadn't known the small moments like this would feel as good. - Not in My Book by Katie Holt
-"I have learned not to question Adonai's will. Only to obey."- Shield of the Mighty by Connilyn Cossette (review coming soon)
-"I realized that my understanding of Yahweh was far too small and that I had no right to demand he bend to my will." - Shield of the Mighty by Connilyn Cossette (review coming soon)
-"Dismissing your emotions doesn't make them disappear, it only gives them reason to rise later without your consent." - The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson (review coming soon)
-"I have collected a thousand words, and yet I cann't find a single one to tell you what comes alive inside of me when you are near." The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson (review coming soon)
-How sad to have spent a lifetime always afraid. To have looked upon love and kindness and feared it. - The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson (review coming soon)
-"I'm capable of a lot of things, but unfortunately for my own sanity, I seem to be incapable of not looking at you." - In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros
-Happy endings can be caught, but they are difficult to hold on to. They are dreams that want to escape the night. They are treasure with wings. They are wild, feral, reckless things that need to be constantly chased, or they will certainly run away. - The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber (review coming soon)
-Winning at love was less about succeeding in a battle and more about continuing to fight, to choose the person you loved as the one you were willing to die for, over and over. - The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber (review coming soon)
-What measure of time is enough to be life-changing? - Fate & Furies by Helen Scheuerer (review coming soon)
16. Shortest and longest book you read?
Longest: A Dawn of Gods & Fury (Fate & Flame, # 4) by KA Tucker
Shortest (not including children's books): Merriment & Mayhem (Under the Mistletoe, # 4) by Alexandria Bellefleur
17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it? (Updated to: Book that shocked you the most?)
Vows & Ruins (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 2) by Helen Scheuerer
18. Favorite relationship from a book you read (romantic)?
Sunny & Bhanu from The Design of Us by Sajni Patel
Brie & Finn from These Hollow Vows series by Lexi Ryan
Erin & James from The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
Miles & Jemma from The Gentleman's Confession by Anneka R Walker
Anna & Graham from Highcliffe House by Megan Walker
Wilder & Thea from The Legends of Thezmarr series by Helen Scheuerer
Evangeline & Jacks from Once Upon a Broken Heart series by Stephanie Garber
Verity & Nathaniel from So True a Love by Joanna Barker
Annika & Tyree from A Dawn of Gods and Fury by KA Tucker
Ivan & Helena from Beyond the Crescent Sky by AL Sowards
Anna & Will from Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens
Rosie & Aiden from Not in My Book by Katie Holt
Vaasa & Reid from The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson
I know this is a lot, but this is what I read books for.
19. Favorite relationship (non-romantic) from a book you read?
Sophie & Sophie from Tree. Table. Book. by Lois Lowry
Ivan & Danilo from Beyond the Crescent Sky by AL Sowards
Roz and Brightbill from The Wild Robot
Logan, Miles, Daisy, & Phillip from The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
20. Favorite book you read from an author you’ve read previously?
Highcliffe House by Megan Walker
The Courting of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats, # 1) by Mary E Pearson
So True a Love by Joanna Barker
In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros
Fate & Furies (The Legend of Thezmarr, # 3) by Helen Scheuerer
21. Best book you read that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else?
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Quicksilver by Callie Hart
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read?
Jacks from the Once Upon a Broken Heart series by Stephanie Garber
Reid from The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson
Nate from In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros
Will from Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens
23. Best debut you read?
Not in My Book by Katie Holt
24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read?
Worlds I've read prior to 2024 but continued in the series this year.
The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros
The Legends of Thezmarr by Helen Scheuerer
Fate & Flame by KA Tucker
New worlds to me in 2024:
Fae & Alchemy by Callie Hart
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
Dark Inheritance Trilogy by Rebecca Robinson
The Balkan Legends by AL Sowards
The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E Pearson
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
25. Book that was the most fun to read?
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry?
ADHD is Awesome by Penn & Kim Holderness - I cried multiple times.
27. Book you read that you think got overlooked this year or when it came out?
Somehow all of The Legends of Thezmarr books by Helen Scheuerer released without me knowing it through the year. By the time I'd read book 1 it seemed like the entire series published.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Vows & Ruins (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 2) by Helen Scheuerer
The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, # 2) by Stephanie Garber
Beyond the Crescent Sky (The Balkan Legends, # 2) by AL Sowards
29. Most Unique Book You Read?
ADHD is Awesome by Penn & Kim Holderness
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
The Death King by Penelope Barsetti (Hint - I didn't like it)
Blogging
1. New favorite book blog you discovered?
Jessica from a GREAT read - Not really a new to me blog, but I haven't featured anyone in a few years and she deserves a mention. Thanks for always supporting Somewhere Only We Know.
2. Favorite review you wrote?
The Death King by Penelope Barsetti (review of a book I didn't enjoy)
OR
ADHD is Awesome by Penn & Kim Holderness (review of a book I did enjoy)
3. Best discussion you had on your blog?
Maybe next year I'll have a better way of figuring this out. Or I won't wait until last minute to get this post completed.
4. Best event that you participated in (author signing, festivals, virtual events, meme’s, etc)
I did none of those those. This might be my most fun blogging "event". I look foward to the end of the year book survey every year even though it takes me ages to prep it.
5. Best moment of book blogging/your book life this year?
Honestly, the last several years have been all about survival.
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
I'm not at a desk (or my computer) as frequently as I used to be and that makes writing reviews challenging. I don't enjoy creating long posts on my phone, but sitting down to type out reviews has been challenging. More and more I'm slipping into letting myself read 10 books before I sit down to write my reviews of what I've read. This makes remembering what I've read challenging. I've got to do better about forcing myself to write reviews sooner. Or find more time to have access to my computer.
7. Most popular post this year on your blog (views or comments)?
Usually a meme post...Sunday Post, Top Ten Tuesday, or maybe a Can't Wait for Wednesday post.
8. Post you wished got a little more love?
Any of them? Reviews especially.
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, stores)?
Have I mentioned that I'm survivng?
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of the year?
Reading the Bible in a Year and 65 books read goal. I raised my series enders goal this year compared to the previous years and I managed to acheive that one as well.
Looking ahead…
1. One book you didn’t get to this year but will be your number 1 priority next year?
Tale of the Heart Queen by Nisha J Tuli
2. Book you are most anticipating next year (non-debut)?
Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, # 3) by Rebecca Yarros
3. Debut from next year you are most anticipating?
No debuts are currently on my radar I don't think. Or they might be, but I really don't make note of that when I'm adding to my TBR list.
4. Series ending you are more anticipating next year? Sequel?
Sequel:
Against a Crescent Storm (The Balkan Legends, # 3) by AL Sowards
Ender:
Between These Broken Broken Hearts (These Hollow Vows, # 4) by Lexi Ryan
5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging next year?
This has been my main goal for the last nine years...Just keep going. With dwindling time to read and blog I'm hoping to just hang tight and keep doing the best that I can until another season in life comes that will allow me more time to do both.
6. A Release from Next Year You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
Better Than Revenge by Kasie West
What would your answers be to the 2024 EOY Book Survey? Leave me your link so I can check out your post. Or just leave me a comment! Let me know!
