Phew- I feel like I’ve been pretty daring this week, so I thought I’d chill out… by doing the dare you tag 😉 Seems quite appropriate now we’re in the heart of the *SCARY SEASON*. Thank you so much to the marvellous Mary Drover for tagging me to do this- she’s got such a fascinating blog, with so much on writing, books, yoga, food and so much more! You’d be mad not to check it out!
Now, you’ve done that, let’s get into the tag!
(warning, may contain controversial opinions…)
What book has been on your shelf the longest?
I have the same answer as Mary for this, cos hello, I’m a millennial:
What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next?
At the time of writing this post, I’m currently reading the Dispel Illusion (so far soo not been able to catch my breath!!), just read Bone Witch (eh s’alright) and up next is p-r-o-b-a-b-l-y Small Spaces… or Vanishing Stair… or maybe something else equally Halloweeny (what? You wanted an actual answer? I’m a mood reader!)
What book did everyone like, but you hated?
Okay, I’ve got a lot of these, so I’m gonna list a few like Mary did. Time to piss everyone off I guess…
- The Fault in Our Stars– I’ve made no secret of the fact I didn’t like this book. For me, the narrative was a flatline of continuous despair and the pretentious prose felt absurd. Also, I will never think the callous use of Anne Frank was okay, okay?
- It Ends with Us– on a completely different note, here’s one I’ve never talked about before, but… oof this one still hurts. Lots of people love this book because of the way it boldly handled the sensitive subject matter, and I can respect that, BUT I hated it for its soapy, simplified, inauthentic approach.
- The Bronze Horseman– ugh to the cheating, ugh to the gross love interest and ugh to the dishcloth protagonist. Ugh ugh ugh.
I’ve actually realised I have *a lot* more of these. Maybe I’ll do a follow up post if I’m feeling brave…
What book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?
Well, I kind of know my reading tastes by now and I figure it’s suuuuper unlikely I’ll want to attempt another steam of consciousness novel. I’ve never finished a Virginia Woolf book or ploughed through Joyce’s Ulysses– and I probably never will. That didn’t stop me from downloading all the free ebook versions though….
What book are you saving for retirement?
Gosh, I don’t know, maybe some of the above? I have a number of challenging books on my tbr as well- such as the works of Jung, Dante’s Inferno, Swann’s Way etc- but I like to think I’ll get to them before I retire 😉
Last page: read it first, or wait ’til the end?
Wait till the end! What do you take me for?! I’m not some uncivilised, well, ape.
Acknowledgement: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside?
Oh, I quite enjoy them. Maybe I’m sappy, but I find so many of them written with warmth and charm and lovely expressions of gratitude! (okay, yes, I’m very sappy)
Which book character would you switch places with?
I’m gonna go with Austen’s Emma, cos has a lovely lifestyle and also she gets Knightley- what more could a girl desire?
Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life? (place, time, person?)
Hmm I think many books have the power to transport you back in time and place.
Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way.
Ahhh this is embarrassing. I once soaked my school library copy of Little Women (by accident!) so rather than giving back the damaged version, I pretended I’d lost it and paid to replace it. I think I still have the mouldy and kinda disgusting version somewhere in storage.
Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person?
Since it’s nearly Halloween and I apparently want to scare people off, I’ll go with Woke– which I gave to my brother for his birthday and just wrote a (satirical) review for.
Which book has been with you most places?
Okay, time for a weird confession (that I’ve probably made before 😉) I sometimes like to take my copy of Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience around with me like a talisman. Partly cos it’s small, partly cos it’s pretty, mostly cos even if I have my phone/kindle I need at least one physical book with me at all times.
Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad two years later?
This is probably the hardest question! The only things I really remember hating from school was the contemporary poetry- most of which I still hate. I have, however, developed a deep respect for Seamus Heaney after reading his terrific translation of Beowulf recently. Sooo don’t know if that counts as an answer, but moving on…
Used or brand new?
I get most of my books used, but would probably prefer to get them new, cos if I could shower authors/publishers/booksellers with wealth, I would.
Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?
Unfortunately, yes. The Da Vinci Code was one of my first (non classic) adult books. Suffice to say I wasn’t impressed and it took me many, many years to go back to adult books after that.
Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?
A few times. I not-so-secretly prefer the Stardust movie, for instance (though the book is still good!)
Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks included?
Of course! I get hungry at just the mention of food- in fact this question has just made me so hungry I can’t think of an answer right now! Maybe the extremely obvious answer Harry Potter– which made me wish Hogwarts was real all the more! Rainbow Rowell is pretty good at making me hungry too. As is Jacqueline Wilson.
Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?
Two of my friends, who both vigorously recommended Discworld to me- obviously they earned my eternal trust with that tip 😉
Is there a book out of your comfort zone (e.g., outside your usual reading genre) that you ended up loving?
The first one that springs to mind is the Martian- which was a surprisingly delightful read- especially for a newbie to the sci fi genre like me!
That was fun, now I dare: No Reads too Great, Jennifer, Mim Inkling, Embuhleeliest, Meghan, Corner of Laura, Rivermoose Reads, Journey into Books, Zezee and Naty
So have I shocked any of you with my opinions?! (probably not, if you’ve stuck around this long, you’ll know I’ve said worse 😉 ) Really curious though, do you have any shocking opinions on books everyone loves, but you hate? I dare you to let me know in the comments!
I consider my opinions to be the Norm and anyone who disagrees with me as the Shocking ones. Makes my life much simpler! 😉
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Thank you for today’s laugh. I needed it.
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Glad to be of service!
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hahahahaha!!
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From YA to Ulysses is a big leap: it’s a brilliant piece of literature. And while lots of people seem to think that Finnegan’s Wake is also literary master piece, I find it the work of a raving lunatic.
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Lucky I’m used to reading classics 😉 Just not a fan of stream of consciousness, for all I was forced to read at uni 😉
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One way to think of Ulysses’s prose is as a sequence of Gordian knots, seemingly impenetrable riddles. But once you undo the knots and make the sentence go flat, you’ll often find that the realization inside is pretty remarkable and probably couldn’t have been communicated any other way.
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Oh that’s a cool way of putting it!
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Okay I wasn’t the biggest fan of TFIOS either tbh, I just said I was to be included in the hype lol. I’d love to read a post of other popular books you’re not a fan of too 👀
I also really enjoyed the Stardust movie as well! I feel like if you consider the book and movie as two different things, they’re a lot better
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hehehe I can understand that 😉 Oh I think it might shock people 😉 I realised there were a lot more than I thought!
Ah glad you agree! And I totally get that!
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Great post, thank you so much for the tag 💜😀
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Thank you! You’re welcome 🙂 ❤
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Thanks for the tag! I will get right on it!
Now I have to go and read your satirical review of Woke.
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You’re welcome! Look forward to your answers! 😀
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Agree on The Bronze Horseman. Holy Mackerel…
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ahh really glad you agree!!
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Thanks for the tag! Dare accepted!
I was rather shocked with your opinion on The Fault In Our Stars and your story about soaking Little Women. Not so much the treatment of the book but the fact that you lied to the library and kept it!
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Same with Ulysses. I feel like I should read it because…English major…but I’m not holding my breath I’ll ever actually do it.
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Same!!
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Oh, Dante’s Comedy is a delight! I’ve read Inferno a couple times, and finally decided to take the plunge with the other two earlier this year, and while the Christian themes are a bit much the closer to heaven you get, the world itself is very interesting, and Dante is kind of hilarious and melodramatic.
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oh fantastic! That’s really good to hear!
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Loved reading this! Lol we have similar thoughts on many books. I read Dante’s Inferno in high school and it was actually very enjoyable… because Dante Alighieri is so petty as a person and his vision of hell is so fascinating :)) It didn’t feel like such a bad requirement! You might enjoy it.
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What? There is cheating in The Bronze Horseman??? And to know that it’s already on mys helf for years now …
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Thanks for the tag! I already did it but I’m glad to be tagged anyway.
Everyone keeps saying how good Stardust is. I need to watch the movie and read the book.
Odd but obvious thing I learned a couple weeks ago: (if working in a bookstore) don’t work on the cookbook section if you’re hungry. It’ll just make things worse.
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Ahahah I love your answers for this tag and… the mention of food can make me hungry, too, haha. I love Harry Potter for that, yeees, and the Lara Jean series always makes me crave cookies and cakes haha 🙂
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This is a neato tag, thanks for tagging me! And I don’t know what it is about Harry Potter books’ food that makes me want it, even if I think I wouldn’t like it, ahaha. Pumpkin juice sounds so bad but man did those books make me wanna try some.
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Great post! Loved it! X
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Thanks for tagging me!!
I’m awfully curious about what that copy of Little Women looks like now!
Also I feel like The Bronze Horse kind of started getting lots of negative reviews lately. A couple years ago I heard SO MUCH about how wonderful it was, but never got to picking it up, but now all I see is negative blurb about it… quite glad I didn’t pick it up after all!
The Martian is so good!!!
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That’s interesting to read about The Bronze Horseman. I’ve seen a lot of good reviews of that one. I haven’t read it yet, but was considering it. I’m not really a cheating fan, though.
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Great prompts! Well wishes for the new week!❤️
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Thank you for tagging me! 🙂
I can agree with you on the Fault in Our Stars, I liked it when I read it, but I don’t think I’d ever go back and read it; I know for a fact I wouldn’t like it. You’re really quite clever and funny, I like the way you worked in the ‘okay, okay’. 😂
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I love that cover for Small Spaces! It looks simply stunning and I love the purple colouring. 😀 I hate The Bronze Horseman, that’s such a bad book! I agree, switching lives with Emma would be amazing. 🙂 I really want to watch Stardust, I have heard so many great things about it. Great post!
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Tags are almost always fun to read 😃 It’s ironic how you found The Martian enjoyable, I couldn’t bring myself to finish it cuz of the long paragraphs of technical calculations. And sci-fi’s my jam! Who knew?! The character’s humor was its only saving grace(but even that was not enough to keep me reading 😆)
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I just recently finished The Bone Witch too. I also have mixed feelings on that one, I liked it, but it definitely could have been…more somehow. Fun tag!
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