BW52: 2013 Year End Wrap Up!

It's official - Winter has arrived. Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Los Posadas or Happy Winter solstice. Which also means it is time for our year end wrap up. This year went by way too fast in my opinion, was a bit more stressful than normal and I'm ready to relax for the next couple weeks, getting cozy on the couch with some good books. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's year end list of reads, which is sure to expand our wish lists and cause our already teetering TBR piles to grow exponentially. 

1. How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 
2. What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  Top 5 least favorites? 
3. One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it? 
4. Most thrilling unputdownable book? 
5. Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on  rereading it again in 2014? 
6. One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 
7. Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year? 
8. Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  
9. What book would you recommend everyone read?  
10. What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges? 

To round out the rest of the year, we'll be having a winter read-along,  reading all those books with winter in the title or set in the season of winter.  Which works quite well if you are still reading books set in the Antarctic for the Continental Challenge.  Join me in reading Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale.   

Thank you to everyone who joined me in this reading journey this year and congratulations!  Reading to me is as necessary as breathing. It doesn't matter how fast or how slow you read or whether you are reading classics or contemporary books, the most important thing about the whole challenge is reading. I'm happy to have shared the experience with all of you.  I'm looking forward to hearing about everyone's reading year and to more fun in the coming new year. 

**********************************************************************

Link to your reviews or year end wrap up posts:    Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.