2010 Wrap-Up & ABJ Survey. Please? :D

You've seen these around everywhere, I'm sure. We have to wrap-up the year somehow, right?
I started this blog this year. So aside from telling you some of my favorite things this year, I'm also going to go a little into blogging--what I love about it, what I've learned, etc.

I've put together a survey for Another Book Junkie, and I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts. You'll have my undying gratitude! Also, if you have a survey for your blog that you'd like me to take, let me know in the comments, and I'll head over there!

My survey: Click Here!!

Favorites:

2010 Releases:

• I actually hate answering this one, because I know there are so many releases from this year that I didn't get the chance to read. I'm sure they're fantastic. But I'll choose out of the ones I personally got around to reading. The ones that immediately stand out to me are The DUFF, by Kody Keplinger, Firelight, by Sophie Jordan, and Feed, by Myra Grant. 

Book read this year, released before 2010:

• Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld, and Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick. I wasn't much of a fan of Crescendo, which saddens me.

Most overlooked 2010 release:

• A Blue So Dark, by Holly Schindler. I have seen it pop up around the blogosphere more in the last couple of months, but I'm baffled as to why it hasn't been receiving that shine all year.

Female badass:

• Bianca Piper--The DUFF. Some people found her to be a little too negative, but negativity is right up my alley, so I loved her. (It really is. Perhaps I should work on that...)
• Jacinda--Firelight. Who doesn't love the resilient, dragon-girl?!

Male hottie:

• I'd call it a toss-up between Carlos Fuentes from Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles, and Will from Firelight, by Sophie Jordan. Both of them were completely swoon worthy, for entirely different reasons.

Villian:

• The zombies in Feed, by Myra Grant. I know, it's kind of a silly pick. I'm just not the type to empathize with douchey characters who set out to destroy the lives of our beloved protags, even if it's necessary to have a story. Sorry for my lame-osity.

Book Couple:

• Bianca and Wesley--The DUFF. This one just keeps coming up. A few others went through my mind before I settled on this one, but I picked them for a reason. This book was raw, and it all centered around Bianca and Wesley's relationship/non-relationship. Unfortunately, their type of relationship is more common with teens than the lovey-doveyness we usually get. I chose them because they managed to push it aside, grow as people, and realize they loved each other and deserved better than they were getting/giving. 

Best book cover:

• Rules of Attraction, by Simone Elkeles. There were so many fantastic covers this year! My issue is, often times the covers makes me expect more than I get. Rules of Attraction gave me everything I was expecting out of that fantabulous cover.

Series discovery:

• Iron Fey, by Julie Kagawa. I actually wasn't aware that The Iron King was released this year, so it's a new series in general. Still, it would have been my pick, had it been released two years ago. I am just completely drawn into The Iron King, and if what others say is true, I'll probably love the entire series thus far. We shall see.

2010 release I'm still dying to read:

• Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins. I'll be getting this one SOON. I've yet to see anyone say a single bad thing about it. Can't wait to read it! (Okay, so I have seen a bad review here and there, but I'll be completely honest here---if you're incapable of forming a complete sentence in your review, I'm not going to take it seriously. Sorry. :/)

Hopes for 2011:

• Young adult books that are as mind-blowing as their covers.
• More edgy YA. I want to see more authors take it to the limits!
• Great indie authors getting more shine.

Blogging:

What I love most:

• The community. I'll be completely honest here. Going in, I never even gave much thought to the people I would meet. I thought the books would be the best part, and of course they're awesome, but the people you meet along the way can quickly become someone you talk to on a daily basis. Even if they live six states away, or further. We all have at least one thing in common--books. But it goes even further than that. Many of us are adults, and there are a lot of fellow moms doing this, and that's something I didn't expect. You can easily bond with someone when you have so much in common.

What I've learned:

• Authors are real people. Shocker, right? Clearly I wasn't under the impression that they weren't human, though I will admit, the abilities some of them have, make me wonder. :p I kid, I kid. But seriously, they're real people, with real emotions. They respect you if you respect them, and they're usually pretty quick to answer questions or respond if you reach out to them. Some of them are the nicest people I've come across, and I've enjoyed communicating with each and every one of them.
• Everything you say, will be remembered. If you smash a book or an author, there will be backlash, people will tell you exactly what they think, and people won't forget. The most important thing in this bloggy world, is to be respectful. It isn't too much to ask for, really.
• How many times does it need to be said? Review the book, not the author! Unless of course, you want the aforementioned backlash. Your blog, your choice, but don't play the victim if you put yourself in this position.
• It really doesn't matter how well you write your reviews, or how good your content is, if your blog is a wreck. Disorganized, distracting blogs never seem to have many followers, and yet they write great reviews. I can only speak for myself in this of course, but if a blog is a mess, I rarely spend much time trying to weed through all of it.

What I hope to accomplish in 2011:

• I met my own goal this year for debut authors, but next year I want to surpass that, by a long shot!
• Finish my WIP.
• Stop being such a horrible follower. I read your blogs, but I rarely comment. I want to fix that.
• Do more of everything. More reading, more reviewing, more interviews, more giveaways, more more more.

Thanks for reading! Comment below if you have a wrap-up post and I'll come by!