Jamie, The Perpetual Page Turner created this EOY Book Survey. I've participated for the last 11ish years (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). I enjoy the survey so much that I am here again for 2023. Oh and feel free to join in and do your own survey. Just link back to Jamie.
2023 Reading Stats
85 books read (including a few children's books)3 book re-read
Genre Read the Most From? Adult, Historical Fiction
Books
1. Best book you read?
Charlotte's Web by EB White
How Great is Our God by Louie Giglio
A Queen of Thieves and Chaos (Fate and Flame, # 3) by KA Tucker
Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, # 1) by Rebecca Yarros
Iron Flame (The Empyrean, # 2) by Rebecca Yarros
2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn’t?
Never Wager with a Wallflower (The Merriwell Sisters, # 3) by Virginia Heath
This was a highly anticipated book for me in 2023. I did enjoy it. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.
3. Most surprising (in a good or bad way) book you read?
Love Unseen by Rachel Kelley Stones - I shouldn't have been as surprised by this book as I was.
4. Book you read that you recommended to people the most?
How Great is Our God by Louie Giglio
5. Best series discovered? Best Sequel? Best series ender?
Series:
Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, # 1) by Rebecca Yarros
Blood and Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 1) by Helen Scheuerer
Sequel:
Return to Satterthwaite Court (Somerset Stories, # 3) by Mimi Matthews
Iron Flame (The Empyrean, # 2) by Rebcca Yarros
A Queen of Thieves and Chaos (Fate & Flame, # 3) by KA Tucker
An Unwitting Alliance (Matchmaking Mamas, # 2) by Anneka Walker
Ender:
The Last Chance Cowboy (Colorado Cowboy, # 5) by Jody Hedlund
6. Favorite new author you discovered?
Jennie Goutet & Rebecca Yarros
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book?
A Queen of Thieves and Chaos (Fate & Flame, # 3) by KA Tucker
Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, # 1) by Rebecca Yarros
Iron Flame (The Empyrean, # 2) by Rebecca Yarros
Blood and Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 1) by Helen Scheuerer
9. Book you read that you are most likely to re-read next year?
A Yorkshire Carol (A Christmas Match, # 3) by Jennie Goutet
10. Favorite cover of a book you read?
A Queen of Thieves and Chaos (Fate & Flame, # 3) by KA Tucker
11. Most memorable character?
Violet Sorrengail
12. Most beautifully written book read?
Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you?
Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL this year to finally read?
West Side Love Story (Queen of Mariachi, # 1) by Priscilla Oliveras
Grace and Glory (The Harbinger, # 3) by Jennifer L Armentrout
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.
-"You get on with building your life on the good Lord 'cause He's the only thing that ain't gonna crumble away when the going gets rough and people leave you behind. Believe me. I oughta know." - Falling for the Cowgirl by Jody Hedlund
-But there's an old war inside me now, and the Levi I want to be is losing. - Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
-It was a lesson I could take away from all this strife: counting our blessings makes our lives a little brighter, even in the darkest moments. - Scotland's Melody by Katie Stewart Stone
-"You underestimate how long I'm willing to wait for you." - Scotland's Melody by Katie Stewart Stone
-"Aye, well, love is strange. Sometimes we cannot tell the signs of it and other times we think it is real when it is not. You can never know what someone is thinking, can you?" "It would simplify matters a bit." His expression turned playful. "It would make it all less exciting, though. What is love if not a great mystery to excite the mind, heart, and body." - Scotland's Melody by Katie Stewart Stone
-"I should like to postpone being brave until the morrow"... - The Call of the Sea by Sian Ann Bessey
-The sound strikes me right in the solar plexus--where I collect all my inconvenient feelings... - Built to Last by Erin Hahn
-"I can't be contained by a mere belt." - Built to Last by Erin Hahn
-"The list of my transgressions and shame could drown me in the depths of the sea." "Then let them drown, but without you." -The Last Chance Cowboy by Jody Hedlund
-...in one sense, marriage might be the toughest ministry she could ever undertake. "The state of marriage is one that requires more virtue and constancy than any other," he wrote. "It is a perpetual exercise of mortification..." - Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
-You won't find happiness at the end of a road named selfishness. - Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
-But when we have power over another--particularly power in an area where someone feels so vulnerable and needy and where they can go nowhere else to be served--and then use that power irresponsibly, inappropriately, and maliciously, we become more like Satan, who loves to manipulate us in our weakness rather than like God, who serves us in our weakness. - Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
-We allow marriage to point beyond itself when we accept two central missions: becoming the people God created us to be, and doing the work God has given us to do. If we embrace--not just accept, but actively embrace--these two missions, we will have a full life, a rich life, a meaningful life, and a successful life. The irony is, we will probably also have a happy marriage, but that will come as a blessed by-product of putting everything else in order. - Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
-"You're not sliding back and forth between too much or too little. You're you. The perfect amount. And the people who are meant to be in your life will appreciate that, and they'll hold onto you. I know I, for one, intend to." - The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon
-"Don't tempt me, Kate. I can't keep resisting you forever." "I wish you wouldn't resist me at all..." - Return to Satterthwaite Court by Mimi Matthews
-"Pursue me there, as I've pursued you." - Return to Satterthwaite Court by Mimi Matthews
-"A girl can only be spit on so many times before she needs a change of scene..." - Play for Me by Libby Hubscher
-"You are like a song that my heart has been waiting for. I recognized your melody the moment we met." - Play for Me by Libby Hubscher
-"You are like a song that my heart has been waiting for. I recognized your melody the moment we met." - Grace and Glory by Jennifer L Armentrout
-"You are all I ever wanted, even before I knew what I wanted. It was you. It was always you." - Grace and Glory by Jennifer L Armentrout
-"That's cheating." "Maybe--but I'm oddly at peace with it." - Never Wager With a Wallflower by Virginia Heath
-Love has many languages, but sarcasm is not one of them. - An Unwitting Alliance by Anneka Walker
-And the work, when done faithfully, will always lead to worship. When I set aside my wants, my plan, my goals, and joyfully embrace the calling God has placed in my life to train my children in this short season, I am offering up worshipful praise to my King. - Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
-Fortunately, hearing God's voice in the big things, such as a child's education, requires no more faith than it takes to find His voice in the everyday. He's not clutching it tightly just waiting to see if you can muster up enough strength and tenacity to peel it from His steely grasp. He's holding it out for you. He's inviting you to trust Him with it. Ambiguity is not in His nature. His plans are certain. His way is sure--especially for you, especially in this. - Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
-Since the very beginning, Satan has taken the self-doubt of humanity, coupled it with some truth, and slipped in an ittybitty lie when no one was looking in order to dupe entire generations into believing God will never give a Christian any more than she can handle on her own. In this case, he’d like you to believe that if you were called to homeschooling it was because God knew you could do it— and so you better come through. Satan wants nothing more than for you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and try to get this thing done all on your own. ... God didn’t call you to homeschooling because you could handle it. He called you because He could handle it. - Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
-God does not require your success, my friend, only your surrender. You’re charged with simple obedience. God is in charge of the results. But you can’t have one without the other. Don’t believe me? Take a quick flip through Scripture, and you’ll find that obedience always precedes the miracle. - Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
-The best part about simply obeying in faith and trusting God’s good plans for your homeschool is that obedience and trust take the pressure off of you. You don’t have to be a math genius if you’re not. You don’t have to be impressively patient if you’re not. You don’t have to have lots of letters behind your name if you don’t. You just have to believe God can and will provide—that He will take whatever small offerings you hold out and multiply them. You don’t have to stand at the back of the line fearing the fish and bread will run out when you get to the front. They won’t. He’s got enough for you. He’s got enough for me. Trust Him and just obey. The obedience always has to come first, then the miracle. God’s in the business of turning all of our nothings into somethings. He’s good at it. After all, He’s had a lot of practice; He’s been doing it since the very beginning. - Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
-Bravery, on the other hand, exists in the present tense. It happens right here, right now. It’s not a lack of fear, mind you. It’s just a decision to do the thing even in the midst of fear. Bravery is the courage it takes to say with boldness, “Here is my homeschool, God. Here, too, are my fears, faults, and failures. They’re Yours now to face, fix, and forgive.” In my bravery, I might never say farewell to all my fears, but I’ll face them. - Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
-You are not attracted to toxic men, I remind myself... - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
-"One does not live a century without being well aware of the space one takes up." - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
-"One generation to change the text. One generation to choose to teach that text. The next grows, and the lie becomes history." - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
-Love doesn't even have the decency to die. It just transforms into abject misery. That's what this ache in my chest is: misery. - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
-I stumble on a rock, or my feelings, but manage to catch my balance. Physically, at least. - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
-"I'll be here when you're ready because your friendship is precious to me. But please, for the sake of that friendship, don't insult me by lying." - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
-"You want to know something true? Something real? I love you, I'm in love with you. I have been since the night the snow fell in your hair and you kissed me for the first time. I'm grateful my life is tied to yours because it means I won't have to face a day without you in it. My heart only beats as long as yours does, and when you die, I'll meet Malek at your side. It's a ... good thing that you love me, too, because you're stuck with me in this life and every other that could possibly follow." - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
-"I love you enough to bear the weight of your disappointment." - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
16. Shortest and longest book you read?
Longest: Iron Flame (The Empyrean, # 2) by Rebecca Yarros (884 pages)
Shortest (not including children's books): A Duchess for the Duke (Claivoir Castle, # 0.5) by Sally Britton (100 pages)
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?)
Iron Flame (The Empyrean, # 2) by Rebecca Yarros
18. Favorite relationship from a book you read (romantic)?
Ivy & Jericho - Falling for the Cowgirl (Colorado Cowboys, # 4) by Jody Hedlund
Melody & Cameron - Melody's Scotland by Katie Stewart Stone
Phoebe & Griffin - Letters for Phoebe by Sally Britton
Katherine & Charles - Return to Satterthwaite Court (Somerset Stories, # 3) by Mimi Matthews
Mary & Ambrose - The Shameless Flirt (The Ashbrooks, # 2) by MA Nichols
Chiara & Abraham - Chiara's Choice by Chalon Linton
Nikki & Yash - Sleepless in Dubai by Sajni Patel
Violet & Xaden - Fourth Wing & Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
19. Favorite relationship (non-romantic) from a book you read?
Emma & Josephine (Claivoir Castle Romance, # 2 & 3) by Sally Britton
Wren & Bean - Borrow My Heart by Kasie West
Jess & Nikki - Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Matila & Miss Honey - Matilda by Roald Dahl
Romy & Jarek - A Queen of Thieves and Chaos (Fate & Flame, # 3) by KA Tucker
20. Favorite book you read from an author you’ve read previously?
The Last Chance Cowboy (Colorado Cowboys, # 5) by Jody Hedlund
Sleepless in Dubai by Sajni Patel
A Queen of Thieves and Chaos (Fate and Flame, # 3) by KA Tucker
Calling on the Matchmaker (A Shanahan Match, # 1) by Jody Hedlund
21. Best book you read that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else?
Homeschool Bravely by Jamie Erickson
How Great is Our God by Louie Giglio
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read?
Xaden - Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, # 1) by Rebecca Yarros
23. Best debut you read?
I can't ever tell (keep up with) what's a debut and what isn't.
24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read?
The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros
The Legends of Thezmarr by Helen Scheuerer
25. Book that was the most fun to read?
A Mistletoe Mismatch (A Christmas Match, # 4) by Sally
26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry?
Borrow My Heart by Kasie West
27. Book you read that you think got overlooked this year or when it came out?
Most of the historical fiction I've been reading is Christian fiction. I always think these are overlooked by the masses.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Iron Flame (The Empyrean, # 2) by Rebecca Yarros
The Shameless Flirt (The Ashbrooks, # 2) by MA Nichols
29. Most Unique Book You Read?
The Adventures of Captain Underpants
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino
Blogging
1. New favorite book blog you discovered?
Honestly, I haven't had the time I'd like to visit other blogs. Again, it's the stage of life that I'm in. Perhaps soon, I'll have a new favorite blog to share with you guys.
2. Favorite review you wrote?
Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino
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)
N/A
5. Best moment of book blogging/your book life this year?
Honestly, the last few 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 4 or even up to 5 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 sticking to my 2 book max.
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 52 books read goal. I lowered my series enders goal this year compared to the previous years and that helped me achieve this one as well.
Looking ahead…
1. One book you didn’t get to this year but will be your number 1 priority next year?
Trial of the Sun Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos, # 1) by Nisha J Tuli
2. Book you are most anticipating next year (non-debut)?
A Dawn of Gods & Fury (Fate & Flame, # 4) by KA Tucker
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: Saved by the Matchmaker (A Shanahan Match, # 2) by Jody Hedlund
Ender: A Dawn of Gods & Fury (Fate & Flame, # 4) by KA Tucker
5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging next year?
This has been my main goal for the last seven 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:
The Lily of Ludgate Hill (Belles of London, # 3) by Mimi Matthews
What would your answers be to the 2023 EOY Book Survey? Leave me your link so I can check out your post. Or just leave me a comment! Let me know!
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