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!

 

Anything But Books Tag

Hello all!! So this has been a weird month for me, namely cos I’ve hit a *dreaded slump*. Both with my reading and my blogging. Yup- horrifying right?! I didn’t manage to post most of the things I had planned this month, so hopefully June is gonna be super exciting… But since I haven’t been doing as much reading or blogging this month, I think it’s only fair to talk about what I’ve been doing instead with the ANYTHING BUT BOOKS tag!!

Thank you so much to Kat for tagging me to do this one!! For everyone that hasn’t (for some crazy reason) checked her out yet, her blog is incredible, stuffed with brilliant reviews for books *and* TV- plus she’s adventuring round Canada right now, so you have to follow her for all her awesome updates!!

Alrighty then, onto the tag!

1. Name a cartoon that you love.

I’m assuming this counts movies, right? My three favourites are Prince of Egypt, Anastasia and Mulan!

And cos Spring is my favourite time of year, I always try to rewatch these around now (along with getting some great rereads in) #funfact

2. What is your favourite song right now?

Ooh so you guys know how much I like sharing music, right? This question is gonna open up a can of worms, cos I’m listening to a variety of things right now:

I’m obsessed with this soundtrack right now

 

The original, not the remix

 

Cos I’ve been watching wayyy too much Supernatural lately…

3. What could you do for hours that isn’t reading?

Writing, watching movies/tv and spend time on here! Right now I’m really into old movies and have watched some excellent classics in the last week:

4. What is something you love to do that your followers would be surprised by?

Hehe the second that I’m asked something like this my mind goes blank!! Exercise, maybe?! Follow sports? I love the tennis and am a *huge* Arsenal fan! Lots of *good thoughts* for the Gunners right now cos we just won the FA cup a record number of times:

(yes, yes, I know you’re all leaping out your seats with excitement for that fun tidbit 😉 )

5. What is your favourite unnecessarily specific thing to learn about?

Umm I don’t know why this is embarrassing for me but recently I’m very interested in learning about psychology…

6. What is something unusual that you know how to do?

Well, I’m not very crafty, but I do like to draw- but I don’t know if that counts cos it’s not especially “unusual”

7. Name something you made in the last year and show us if you can.

Well I’m much too shy for extracts, but I am currently working on a book (until further notice I will always be working on a book of some description 😉 )

8. What is your most recent personal project?

The aforementioned and elusive book.

9. Tell us something that you think about often?

Politics! I really, really try to avoid talking about it on here- even though a fair number of the books I read are influenced by political commentators I follow- but this actually takes up far too much of my time. Just to give you an idea of how obsessed I am, about 95% of channels I’m subscribed to on Youtube are political and I cannot even keep track of how much political commentary I read. To be honest, I’m feeling a bit politics’d-out at the minute, what with the general election coming up, so I think I’m gonna kick the habit for a bit and switch off from it all- it can be really exhausting!

10. Give us something that is your favorite, but make it oddly specific.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I love the feeling when you’re nearing the end of writing something and everything is just coming together and all those carefully laid strings of the plot you’ve left along the way are just waiting to be tied together.

I love that new scent of Spring  in the air, just as the season turns, and you know the world is coming alive again with possibilities.

I love that rush I get when I learn something new, but it actually feels like it’s something old that I’ve heard a million times before, and my whole brain just lights up, like YES, THIS IS SO TRUE.

11. Say the first thing that pops into your head.

“We are Siamese if you please…”

(my brain is weird)

Alrighty then- that’s all for now- I tag:

Donna, Danielle, J J Azar and Liis

Annnd that’s all for now- can’t believe it’s the end of MAY?!?! Where is this year going? If anyone has any idea how I can contact Time and ask him to slow down, let me know!!

The Listicle Tag: Top 5 books you’ll never be caught with in public

Hoho today you are in for a treat! And by treat I mean something pretty different to my normal content. Last week I was tagged by the incredible Liis– who you absolutely *must* check out because not only is her blog is amazing, but she’s also one of the nicest people on here! – and I just had to do it as soon as possible cos this topic is g o l d.

Rules:

• Create your own listicle tag, using the prompt from the person who tagged you.
• Tag the creator of the post (not-so-modern-girl!) so that she can read all your brilliant posts and see how the joy of listicles is being spread.-
• Nominate as many people as you want!
• Set those 5 people the subject/prompt of their listicle post!

Now I’m going to be candid with this (because otherwise what’s the point?) and share books I’ve actually read here. And why is this going to be embarrassing? Because sometimes I read books with *ahem* adult content (though I’m hardly a connoisseur)… So stands to reason I’d be embarrassed to be seen with some of these covers in public. Also, if you are underage or aren’t too fond of this kind of material, avert your eyes now!

Guilty pleasure- no judging!!

Actually the cover’s not too damning- just don’t read the blurb 😉 On the plus side, this author’s pretty good if you’re into this sort of thing, just a bit samey after a while.

Well at least the cover for this one’s not bad, but I would still be worried that someone would know what this one was about or read too much over my shoulder!!

I’m not really embarrassed by this one, but I feel like to save my blushes I could name something a little less raunchy- plus that cover really implies it’s much sexier than it is.

I’d mostly be embarrassed by the fact that this is an awful, awful book.

Okay- now that’s over with- I tag:

Nel @Reactionary Tales

James @ This is my Truth Now

Sarah @Between the Pages

Angelica @Book Cover Girls

Rivermoose reads

My topic is going to be a bit more PG: Top 5 non-human characters in books (count yourselves lucky I didn’t just say top five monkeys in books 😉 )

Phew- this feels like I’ve been airing my dirty laundry! What book would you be embarrassed to be seen with in public? Let me know in the comments below!

To Not To Read Tag

Hello all!! Now I’m really rubbish at DNF’ing books- but there are more than a few books I wish I hadn’t finished, so I thought it would be fun to do this tag anyway!

Thank you so much to the awesome Rivermoose Reads for tagging me to do this one!!

Rules:

Thank the person that tagged you (See above!)

Include ping-back to creator of tag (Icebreaker694)

Answer questions (See below!)

Tag other poor souls to do this (Trust me, I won’t)

Easy right?

Oh and only use books that you DNF as your answer hence the “to not to read” part

What book would you be willing to finish?

Well I could go with the rest of the book I’m currently reading, but I’m going to say the Gulag Archipelago, because I have read the first two volumes and have five more to go. It’s quite an undertaking- but I think it will be well worth it in the end.

A dystopian book that you put down.

I rarely put books down! I wish I’d given up on the Testing series though!!

A book that you just didn’t want to finish at all.

A sequel.

There didn’t have to be a sequel to Twilight

A book you’ll never again pick up.

A book with too much hype.

The Bone Season was called the “next Harry Potter”- I think we can all agree that’s just setting it up for failure.

A haunting read.

I don’t think I read enough scary books to think of an answer- I guess I could have done without reading the Accident Season

A contemporary.

Totally not worth finishing

A book you were unsure of.

Boy did I struggle to get to the end of this!! I DNF’d it a million times before finishing it. I even lent it out to someone while I was still “reading” it to get another opinion (unfortunately this book did find its way back to me). Totally not worth it in the end.

I TAG:

A Novel Glimpse

Sophie @ Blame Chocolate

A Back of the Envelope Calculation

Angelica @ The Book Cover Girls

Book Bum

Lost Art of Reading

Tiana @ The Book Raven

That was fun! What book do you wish you had DNF’d? Let me know in the comments below!

Why I’m a Reader Tag

Whoa- I can’t believe it’s Wednesday already- where has this week gone? So I’m back with a very chilled post today to make up for lost time 😉

Thank you so much to Emily @embuhleeliest for tagging me to do this- she’s awesome and makes fantastic content so I recommend you check her out!!

Choose one word to describe yourself as a reader.

Hungry! (That’s why I rate my books in bananas 😉 )

What is the first book that made you fall in love with reading?

Harry Potter! I was 7 and my brother had the first three- I binge read them and never looked back!

Hardback or paperback?

Hardbacks tend to be prettier… not that I usually get them- it’s usually paperbacks all the way. But if money were no object, I’d probably get loads more hardbacks.

How has reading shaped your identity?

Phew- hard to even explain. I don’t know who I’d be without reading. Stories have helped me through difficult times, brought me friends (both real and fictional), led me to university, formed my moral compass, given me my greatest passions (namely writing!) and finally brought me to blogging. To say it’s made me who I am would probably be an understatement.

What book do you read when you want to be comforted?

Rereading Emma is like getting a great big hug.

Who influenced you or taught you to be a reader?

Well my mum always took us to the library every week (sometimes every few days) when we were little and then encouraged me to read her favourite books when I was older. And I had a really good friend who was a massive bookworm from childhood who pretty much gave me non-stop recommendations.

Describe your dream reading lounge

Ooh fun!!! A cosy, with lots of comfy armchairs, a roaring fire and plenty of magical snacks… basically the Gryffindor common room…

What book changed how you saw the world?

I remember this distinctly cos I was about 11 when I read it and knew very little about the world beyond my own community- it was a huge eye-opener.

And that’s all for now- I’m not tagging anyone today- because *laziness*- but please feel free to do it if you haven’t already!

So how has reading shaped who *you* are? Let me know in the comments!!

The Beauty and the Beast Book Tag

Hellllo!! So I know this tag was buzzing around the blogosphere a while back, but I didn’t have the chance to do it. But since Maas’ next instalment in her retelling of Beauty and the Beast, A Court of Wings and Ruin, is finally out (and sitting comfortably on my kindle, no doubt having to endure a bit of a wait before I can actually read it) I thought now was the perfect time to do this tag!

Thank you so much to all the wonderful bloggers that tagged me to do this:

Bookshelves and Biros

Adventures of a Bibliophile

Embuhlee Liest

They’re all absolutely fabulous- so you should check them out!!

Rules:

Thank the person who tagged you.

Mention the creator; Kirsty at Kirsty and the Cat Read.

Match a book to each of the songs/characters below.

Tag as many people as you like.

“Tale As Old As Time” – A popular theme, trope or setting you will never get bored of reading

So I mentioned this yesterday, but I feel like I can’t go through this entire post without mentioning Rhysand at least once, so I’m going to go with the “secretly a sweetheart” trope. You know the type- they seem all edgy and probably have a troubled past, but really they’re a candy all wrapped up and waiting to be eaten- delicious! (I may have got carried away with that metaphor)

Belle – A book you brought for its beautiful cover that’s just as beautiful inside too.

My copy of William Blake- technically I got this as a gift from my sister, but it still counts!

Beast – A book you didn’t expect much from but pleasantly surprised you

I literally expected nothing from this book- but boy did I end up loving it.

Gaston – A book everyone loves that you don’t

Oho I’m gonna get in trouble for this but I really did not like the Sun Is Also a Star– maybe it’s just my age, or maybe it’s because it reminded me of a poor man’s Ruby Tanya crossed with The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.

Lefou – A loyal sidekick you can’t help but love more than their counterpart

In many ways I not-so-secretly loved Sevro the best in Red Rising

Mrs Potts, Chip, Lumière & Cogsworth – A book that helped you through a difficult time or that taught you something valuable

Easily Man’s Search For Meaning.

“Something There” – A book or a series that you weren’t into at first but picked up towards the end

Shatter Me– I definitely got into this more as it went on.

“Be Our Guest” – A fictional character you’d love to have over for dinner

Will from Infernal Devices.

And that’s it! I tag: Amelia in Hull, Wonderfilled Reads, Words and Lyrics, Louise Loves Books

See you all in the next post!

The ‘I messed up’ book tag

Hello all! Remember me? I feel like this tag is kind of appropriate, cos I’ll be discussing a lot of ways I messed up… Starting with how long it’s taken me to do this (seriously- do not look at the dates I was tagged!!) Thank you so much to the wonderful Mud and Stars Book Blog and Ravenclaw Book Club for tagging me!

The other way I messed up is not being online for FOUR WHOLE DAYS (which in internet land is a millennia)- but in fairness I can’t actually blame myself for this one, cos I’ve been suffering from migraines all week and even though I tried to get back on it a couple of times, that just made it worse, so it was lights out for the monkey brain…

Luckily I’m feeling a bit better today and *hopefully* it’ll continue to subside- just bear with me while I get back in the swing of things. Love you guys!

And while we’re on the subject, I owe you all a big thank you cos apparently this is a thing…

Random number I know- but I’m still celebrating every one of you so THANK YOU! I guess this is one way I haven’t messed up too badly, but, never fear, I’m human too (well metaphorically speaking) here’s all the bookish ways I’ve messed up in the past:

A character appearance that you misread or imagined differently.

I really didn’t imagine Sirius this way…

A character name that you’ve been pronouncing wrong.

Hermione- I pronounced it Herman until my mum corrected me. I didn’t really believe her until I saw the film. This is basically what I needed to see:

An overused trope that is your guilty pleasure.

The dark character with the mushy centre- I love when a character starts off as the villain but turns out to have a heart of gold!

A cliché character type that you like better on screen than reading about.

Hmm I’m gonna flip this around and say friends to lovers works better in books than it does on screen. I just never believe that they are suddenly romantically interested in someone they’ve been ignoring for half the movie (I’m looking at you Lizzy Mcguire Movie!!)

A word/phrase you learned because of its use in a book.

Haha try most words I’ve ever learnt- but I can’t think of any examples!

Have you ever not read or completed a required-reading book for school?

Oh yes- I did an English Lit degree- there’s no way I could have read everything- especially not when it included things like Virginia Woolf- which I hate and could never finish. Usually there was a choice of three books a week. I knew some super organised people that got through everything on the list. I on the other hand was never that good.

Have you ever skipped (or wanted to) a chapter from the point of view of a character you weren’t interested in?

I’ve wanted to… but I’ve never quite plucked up the courage!

Have you ever cancelled social plans to read a book?

Haha I’m gonna say yes- but only cos as an English Lit student it counted as work. Otherwise, no I couldn’t legitimately do that. However, I would avoid making plans in the first place if I was anticipating reading a really good book…

I tag: Sophie @ Blame Chocolate, Zuky @ Book Bum, Panic at the Bookstore and Louise Loves Books

So what bookish ways have you messed up? Let me know in the comments!