End-of-Year Book Recs and Notes
Jumping on the bandwagon, I'm adopting 
moonshadow's format, because it was genius and give you a reason for looking up these books. I didn't read much according to my Goodreads, but the check-out tracker from my library lists 152, not counting the books I read during the summer (different library), so I can safely assume that I did a fair bit of reading this year.
Best Dystopian World with Bar-Coded Animals: Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. In a world where how much color you see determines your social standing, a low-ranking Red named Eddie learns more than he ever wanted to know about his society.
Worst Title to Try to Recommend Someone: Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb. An 80's sci-fi/fantasy convention murder mystery that is actually witty and hilarious, and is titled after the main character's [admittedly unfortunately-named] book. Despite the technological gap, it's familiar territory for anyone who's every been to any type of con--and it will be hilarious (and possibly off-putting) for those who haven't.
Best Fantasy I Thought I'd Never Like: Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede. An alternate-world 1800s America that takes place in the frontier, where the "unlucky" 13th child, Eff, grows up. Humorous and sweet at the same time.
Most Annoying Editor of a Really Good Anthology: Justine Larbalestier, who co-edited Zombies vs. Unicorns. Once you get past Larbalestier's annoying and repetitive writings on how dumb rainbow-farting unicorns are, the book has a nice variety of stories featuring different varieties of both zombies and unicorns.
Best Book Everyone Loved Before Me* or Best Book Where Illustrations Really Helped: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. An alternate universe where WWI essentially turns into the "Clankers" vs. "Darwinists." Clankers rely on steampunk-style machines--planes, walking tanks, etc, while Darwinists have managed to manipulate DNA and combine creatures for maximum potential. Besides being a good read, it actually has beautiful pencil illustrations that help you to understand what kind of weird creatures are being described.
*Not counting The Hunger Games.
The first book you read this year: Not counting manga (Wild Ones vol. 1, about a girl who discovers her grandfather is a yakuza boss), it was The Alienist, a turn-of-the-century mystery, sort of Sherlock Holmes meets Criminal Minds.
The last book you finished this year: Daughter of the Flames, by Zoe Marriott. A YA fantasy, light read, and interesting world.
The first book you will finish in the new year: Starlighter, by Bryan Davis. Sci-fi/fantasy. Impression so far: this guy is horrible at setting up worlds, and the characters are meh.
Your favorite "classic" you read this year: Erm...the only "classic" I read was The Tempest. At least it was interesting?
The book series you read the most volumes of this year: the Pit Dragon Chronicles by Jane Yolen (Dragon's Blood, Heart's Blood, A Sending of Dragons, Dragon's Heart). She came out with a fourth, turning the trilogy into a quartet after twenty years. And what a wonderful series--it's just as good now as it was when I picked it up in 6th grade, without reading like it's young.
The genre you read the most this year: Fantasy/sci-fi (more of the former). 2nd place is a tie between dystopian and historical-related something-or-other (mysteries, mainly, but some nonfiction biographies).
The book that disappointed you: Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Predictable. Same flaws as Bray's other books (mainly annoying characters and bad pacing).
The book you liked better than you expected to: A tie between Leviathan (Scott Westerfeld) and 13th Child (Patricia Wrede). Both A novels. I've mainly felt that Westerfeld's books are only okay, so loving Leviathan was a big surprise with its fun characters and interesting setting (WWI: not my favorite time period). 13th Child, though I LOVE Wrede, just didn't sound interesting as a description, and I really don't care for books set in historical America, so the fact that not just the story, but that actual setting of her book was so cool surprised me.
The hardest book you read this year (topic or writing style): Evolution's Darling by Scott Westerfeld. While it wasn't Westerfeld's fault that my library shelved this book (obviously older teen or adult) in the juvenile section, it just wasn't a good book. Lots of gratuitous, meaningless sex was the big issue for me, but the story was just so bad, too.
Funniest book you read this year: Psych: Call of the Mild. Based on the TV show that I can't stand to watch, the book is full of snappy dialogue and witticisms.
The saddest book you read this year: Zia by Scott O'Dell (sequel to Island of the Blue Dolphins).
The shortest book you read this year: Bonemender's Oath by Holly Bennett, with 171 pages. We're ignoring the countless comics and manga that I inhaled.
The longest book you read this year: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn. Fast-paced, fantasy action-adventure. Don't pic it up until April, which is when the sequel comes out. Otherwise, it'll drive you nuts waiting for more.
A book that you discovered this year that you will definitely read again: 13th Child and Shades of Grey. Both by favorite authors, both excellent books that I need to own.
A book that you never want to read again: The Forest of Hands and Teeth and its sequel, The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan. Such bland characters! Such dull stories! Argh!
And finally, make a New Year's Resolution: Conservatively, we'll say fifty. I easily did that this year, not even counting graphic novels and comics--I just didn't add some of the duller ones to Goodreads yet.
moonshadow's format, because it was genius and give you a reason for looking up these books. I didn't read much according to my Goodreads, but the check-out tracker from my library lists 152, not counting the books I read during the summer (different library), so I can safely assume that I did a fair bit of reading this year.Best Dystopian World with Bar-Coded Animals: Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. In a world where how much color you see determines your social standing, a low-ranking Red named Eddie learns more than he ever wanted to know about his society.
Worst Title to Try to Recommend Someone: Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb. An 80's sci-fi/fantasy convention murder mystery that is actually witty and hilarious, and is titled after the main character's [admittedly unfortunately-named] book. Despite the technological gap, it's familiar territory for anyone who's every been to any type of con--and it will be hilarious (and possibly off-putting) for those who haven't.
Best Fantasy I Thought I'd Never Like: Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede. An alternate-world 1800s America that takes place in the frontier, where the "unlucky" 13th child, Eff, grows up. Humorous and sweet at the same time.
Most Annoying Editor of a Really Good Anthology: Justine Larbalestier, who co-edited Zombies vs. Unicorns. Once you get past Larbalestier's annoying and repetitive writings on how dumb rainbow-farting unicorns are, the book has a nice variety of stories featuring different varieties of both zombies and unicorns.
Best Book Everyone Loved Before Me* or Best Book Where Illustrations Really Helped: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. An alternate universe where WWI essentially turns into the "Clankers" vs. "Darwinists." Clankers rely on steampunk-style machines--planes, walking tanks, etc, while Darwinists have managed to manipulate DNA and combine creatures for maximum potential. Besides being a good read, it actually has beautiful pencil illustrations that help you to understand what kind of weird creatures are being described.
*Not counting The Hunger Games.
The first book you read this year: Not counting manga (Wild Ones vol. 1, about a girl who discovers her grandfather is a yakuza boss), it was The Alienist, a turn-of-the-century mystery, sort of Sherlock Holmes meets Criminal Minds.
The last book you finished this year: Daughter of the Flames, by Zoe Marriott. A YA fantasy, light read, and interesting world.
The first book you will finish in the new year: Starlighter, by Bryan Davis. Sci-fi/fantasy. Impression so far: this guy is horrible at setting up worlds, and the characters are meh.
Your favorite "classic" you read this year: Erm...the only "classic" I read was The Tempest. At least it was interesting?
The book series you read the most volumes of this year: the Pit Dragon Chronicles by Jane Yolen (Dragon's Blood, Heart's Blood, A Sending of Dragons, Dragon's Heart). She came out with a fourth, turning the trilogy into a quartet after twenty years. And what a wonderful series--it's just as good now as it was when I picked it up in 6th grade, without reading like it's young.
The genre you read the most this year: Fantasy/sci-fi (more of the former). 2nd place is a tie between dystopian and historical-related something-or-other (mysteries, mainly, but some nonfiction biographies).
The book that disappointed you: Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Predictable. Same flaws as Bray's other books (mainly annoying characters and bad pacing).
The book you liked better than you expected to: A tie between Leviathan (Scott Westerfeld) and 13th Child (Patricia Wrede). Both A novels. I've mainly felt that Westerfeld's books are only okay, so loving Leviathan was a big surprise with its fun characters and interesting setting (WWI: not my favorite time period). 13th Child, though I LOVE Wrede, just didn't sound interesting as a description, and I really don't care for books set in historical America, so the fact that not just the story, but that actual setting of her book was so cool surprised me.
The hardest book you read this year (topic or writing style): Evolution's Darling by Scott Westerfeld. While it wasn't Westerfeld's fault that my library shelved this book (obviously older teen or adult) in the juvenile section, it just wasn't a good book. Lots of gratuitous, meaningless sex was the big issue for me, but the story was just so bad, too.
Funniest book you read this year: Psych: Call of the Mild. Based on the TV show that I can't stand to watch, the book is full of snappy dialogue and witticisms.
The saddest book you read this year: Zia by Scott O'Dell (sequel to Island of the Blue Dolphins).
The shortest book you read this year: Bonemender's Oath by Holly Bennett, with 171 pages. We're ignoring the countless comics and manga that I inhaled.
The longest book you read this year: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn. Fast-paced, fantasy action-adventure. Don't pic it up until April, which is when the sequel comes out. Otherwise, it'll drive you nuts waiting for more.
A book that you discovered this year that you will definitely read again: 13th Child and Shades of Grey. Both by favorite authors, both excellent books that I need to own.
A book that you never want to read again: The Forest of Hands and Teeth and its sequel, The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan. Such bland characters! Such dull stories! Argh!
And finally, make a New Year's Resolution: Conservatively, we'll say fifty. I easily did that this year, not even counting graphic novels and comics--I just didn't add some of the duller ones to Goodreads yet.