The ‘How I Choose My Books’ Tag

Hello all! So I’ve been having a super chill weekend and thought it’s been *ages* since I’ve done a tag. And this one just spoke to me (well- yelled “how could you neglect me for so long!!”) Thank you so much to the *awesome* Bookish Underdog for tagging me to do this one!

1. Find a book on your shelves or ereader with a blue cover. What made you want to pick up this book?

My mum read it and recommended it to me- it was a tantalising read!!

2. Think of a book you didn’t expect to enjoy, but did. Why did you read it in the first place?

Totally random, I just picked it up in the library, and ended up really liking it, though I could never put my finger on why. Incidentally, I gave it to my sister after, and she had the same experience- we ended up chatting about it so much that we came up with “what would happen next” scenarios (kids nowadays would call that fanfic 😉 ). I say awesome- what I mean is “totally unrelated, random and overdramatic”.

3. Stand in front of your bookshelf with your eyes closed and pick up a book at random. (As I’m lazy, I used the random option on Goodreads instead.) How did you discover this book?

I chose it simply cos I liked Jenny Han’s other books and wanted more.

4. Pick a book that someone personally recommended to you. What did you think of it?

I loved it!! Tbh- what’s not to love?!

5. Pick a book that you discovered through YouTube / book blogs. Did it live up to the hype?

Ooh this is an exciting one to answer- I picked up the Demon King because I saw how many youtubers loved the series- and boy was I not disappointed. As for books I picked up from blogging- there are too many to list here!

6. Find a book on your shelves or ereader with a one-word title. What drew you to this book?

I was drawn to it by the awesomeness that is Gaiman (and the recommendation of a friend *and* an awesome radio version)

7. What book did you discover through a film / TV adaptation?

Loads of books! A lot of my main answers are the *exact* same as Bookish Underdog

• Gone Girl – I didn’t actually know it was a book till I saw the film
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower– ditto
• The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins – fortunately I found out it was a book just prior the movies coming out so I had a chance to read them beforehand.

8. Think of your all-time favourite book/s. When did you read these and why did you pick them up in the first place?

The Hobbit – ooh I don’t think I ever mentioned how I came to this book. I might even shock some of you. So I came to this after watching the movie- I think it came out in 2001, but I watched it on VHS a year later, so I was about 10. Anyway, I hadn’t read any of the books before and desperately wanted to after the film. Luckily a relative stepped in and gave me an old copy of the Hobbit. Annnd there’s more to this story, but I’ll probably tell you another time.

Peter Pan – I don’t think there was a time when I wasn’t in love with this story.

The Idiot – pure fluke! I actually had wanted to read Dostoevsky’s more famous books- Crime and Punishment or Brothers Karamazov- but this was all my school library had. And do you know what? I am so glad it was this book, because this book changed my life.

Man’s Search For Meaning – My brother recommended this one

Emma – another fun story. I actually read Pride and Prejudice first and didn’t like it much. But then disaster struck… I was set it for my A Levels! I realised I had to find another way into Austen, so I thought I would familiarise myself with her other work, and tried Emma. I ended up falling in love with it- and do you know what? When I went back to read Pride and Prejudice again, I loved that too!! (It’s actually one of the only books that improved with a reread).

I TAG:

Rivermoose reads, Untamed Shrews, Pooja, Not So Modern Girl, Never Not Reading, Zuky @Book Bum, Angelica @ Book Cover Girls, Stephanie’s Novel Fiction, Maxxesbooktopia, Melting Pots and Other Calamities, Twin Bookmarks and Sophie

That was a bit like *storytime* at the end there- do you have any fun stories about falling in love with your favourite books? Let me know in the comments!