The Social Media Tag

Since I’m away at the moment, I wanted to give you some friendly hints of who can check out- and that’s why I’m so happy that I was tagged by my lovely friend Kat the Queen of TV, the really sweet blogger extraordinaire Beth, and the wonderful Shay who posts a lot of varied content! (who *psst* you need to check them all out) to do the Social Media Tag! I loved this the second that I saw it, although I did realise what a dilemma I was going to have narrowing it down! I also wanted to copy *so many* of Kat’s and Beth’s answers, but I thought it would be best to draw attention to some of the bloggers who hadn’t done this tag. So let’s get to it!

Instagram: A blog with a design you love

Kelly @Another Book in the Wall– I simply love Kelly’s clean, fresh design- it’s one of those blogs that I always look at and think how gorgeous it is! I love how cohesive it is and *it’s just so pretty*!! And if you go and check her out, you’ll find that she also does such interesting discussions and thorough book reviews- I am always in love with her content!

Facebook: A blog with a friendly blogger

Nel @Reactionary Tales– Nel is one of my favourite people online because she’s so friendly! I think she’s on maternity leave at the moment, but she’s always been fantastic at replying to comments and getting around the blogosphere. If you want to make a true friend online, Nel is who I’d push you towards! She’s so encouraging and just a lovely person, who runs a diverse and varied blog- what more could you want? Plus, she’s also a friend of all sorts of animals (not just orangutans 😉 ) and does *inspiring* and informative posts on endangered species- which I highly recommend!

Twitter: A blogger who could just write 140 characters and you would still love them

Nicole @Thoughts on Fantasy– whatever Nicole puts out, I’m there for it. It’s always top quality and intelligent. I learn so much about fantasy when I go on her blog and she brings up topics I literally never thought of before. Honestly, if Nicole did tweets or posted pictures, I bet it would be just as magnificent!

YouTube: A blog that keeps you entertained

Danielle @Books, Vertigo and Tea– I swear, whatever Danielle puts out, I am guaranteed to love it! Whether it’s her brilliantly done reviews, her thoughts on blogging or her Friday favourites, I’m always finding something fun to read on her site! She’s also super friendly and lovely to chat to (I swear I had such a struggle putting each of these bloggers into just one category!) so I can’t speak more highly of her!

Snapchat: A blogger who’s updates you can’t wait for

 

Briana and Krysta @Pages Unbound– they are the kinds of bloggers who I just *have to* read every single post. And that’s because Brienne and Krysta always make TOP QUALITY content. Their discussions are always thought provoking, their reviews insightful and they have so much besides that! If you want to constantly read *THE BEST* content, then you should really hop over there and see for yourself how brilliant it is!

Tumblr: A blog which is very diverse and has variety

Zezee @Zezee with Books– Zezee always seems to read so many different types of books and post all sorts of content, from reviews, to memes to tags- one thing’s for certain, you will never be bored by any of it! Her take is so interesting and gives me plenty to think about. She’s also brilliant at collating lots of articles and other things you should check out- I swear I always think “I’ll pop over there for ten minutes” and can easily spend so much time looking into everything she talks about! So yeah, if you want to hear about more different and diverse books, definitely go to Zezee!

Pinterest: A blog which is full of creativity and inspiration

Dani @Perspective of a Writer– I really could have picked Dani for *any* of these questions- which is why she has to take this spot. She has *so many* different sorts of content and I am always entertained whenever I pop over there! Plus, not only is Dani’s content always AMAZING, but her aesthetic is *swoon-worthy*! I love how she’s always pushing out the boundaries, trying new things and is constantly pushing out fresh content. I am in *awe*!!

I’m also going to tag everyone I mentioned here– though of course no pressure to do it! 

So do you know these bloggers? Do you agree? And do let me know if you’re gonna check them out!

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Mid Year Freak Out Tag

So I’ve just realised it’s June and we’re coming up to the middle of the year now… AND HOW THE HELL HAS THAT HAPPENED?!!? Be prepared for lots of exclamation marks and CAPITALISATION because I am having a *freak out*!!!

I kind of wanted to do this post before I went away (#priorities), but didn’t think I’d been tagged… until I checked and saw that I was tagged last year and didn’t do it *coughs awkwardly*. So belated thanks to the wonderful Calliope the Book Goddess for tagging me!

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ YET IN 2018

I’ll admit, I cheated by doing the whole post first and then seeing what I’d left out- because THIS IS TOO HARD A QUESTION!!! Basically any book I talk about as the “best” in this post has a good chance of taking the title at the end of the year (unless I read even better books– which I’d hardly complain about). And even after this preamble, I want to put two books in this category- one fiction and one non-fiction:

 

BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2016

Again- choosing one is too difficult- so I’m going with two:

I read and LOVED Girl in the Tower earlier in the year and recently finished Grey Sister (review coming soon) which I liked EVEN MORE than the first one.

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET BUT WANT TO

Oh gosh, there are so many, I’m not exactly on top of new releases. But given it’s floating about the blogosphere a lot at the moment and I liked the author’s other book, I’m particularly eager to read Circe

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

I actually have an answer memorised for this: Muse of Nightmares- obviously after reading Strange the Dreamer I cannot frickin wait for the sequel!!

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Ah I desperately wanted to like Lonely Hearts Hotel– but it ended up really not being for me. I was recently asked if I read it knowing I wouldn’t like it- the answer to that is obviously not– I don’t go looking for books to dislike. I just think this is really miss-marketed as similar to the Night Circus when it has very different content and reminded me more of Lolita.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

I’ll admit it- I judged The Hating Game very harshly before I read it, but ended up LOVING it!

FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR

One author that I’ve read a lot of this year, that’s kinda new to me is Rick Riordan. I’ve whizzed through the rest of the Percy Jackson series and can’t wait for more!

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

That’s gotta be Lazlo Strange from Strange the Dreamer! He’s exactly the kind of character I always get a soft spot for.

NEWEST FAVOURITE CHARACTER

Lira has to be one of my favourite kickass characters of all time- plus it was her voice that called to me and made me fall in love with To Kill a Kingdom!

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

I don’t think I’ve cried over a book as much as Words in Deep Blue EVER before- I basically wept buckets the whole way through the book. If you want to have your heartstrings tugged, man, this is the book for you!

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

I laughed so hard at My Lady Jane– I think it’s by far one of the funniest books I’ve ever read!

FAVOURITE BOOK TO FILM ADAPTATION

Ermm I haven’t seen any… in fact I haven’t seen any new releases this year. BUT I did fall in love with the Last Kingdom (which is technically a TV show, but whatever, still counts) even if I read the books after watching it.

FAVOURITE POST YOU HAVE DONE THIS YEAR

One of the scariest posts I’ve ever done was on my complicated relationship with Harry Potter– I was so terrified that I posted it and ran away from the computer once I’d done it… but you know what, it turned out to be one of the most satisfying posts I’ve ever written!

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE BOUGHT THIS YEAR

Well, I had this given to me as a gift, but it still counts:

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR

I have a few, but the two books on my bedside table, that I don’t have time to read and am now packing to take away, are my top priority:

Oh and of course my kindle is sitting on top, with a gazillion other books in it that I need to read 😉

COOLIOS! I TAG:

Cynic on Wings, Kat, Marie, Dani, Danielle, Beth, Kelly, Ally, Books of Magic and Sam

That was so fun looking back on a lot of the great reads I’ve had so far this year! So I want to ask you, what’s your favourite of 2018 so far? Let me know in the comments!

Books I’ll Probably Never Read Tag

I’m back with another tag today- just cos I fancied talking (somewhat controversially) about some books I’ll never read! Thank you so much to the lovely Carrie @Cat On the Bookshelf– she’s really sweet and I highly recommend you check her out!

A Really Hyped Book You’re Not Interested in Reading?

Oh man, there’s a lot. There’s a couple of really hyped YA fantasy at the moment that I genuinely have no interest in reading. The reason I don’t care to pick up Everless is just simply that I’ve read a lot of books in that vein that I don’t feel the burning need to read them when I could read something else. And when it comes to John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down, I’ve just realised the writing style is not for me and so I don’t think I’ll ever pick up another of his books. Also, basically anything by Stephen King- I don’t like his writing style or subject matter. Plus I’ve DNF’d too many of his books to count and wasn’t moved by the only one I did finish.

A Series You Won’t Start/Won’t Be Finishing?

Okay, so I started out really enjoying Red Queen for what it was, but I really didn’t get anything out of book 2 and even though book 3 was an improvement, it didn’t convince me I needed to finish the series. I think feeling meh about a book is more difficult to get past than just plain hating it. And like I said, I’m not feeling this kind of YA fantasy book at the moment (you know the type, special snowflake mc, love triangles and a whole lot of whining).

A Classic That You’re Just Not Interested In?

730 pages of stream of consciousness? Yeah that’s not happening.

Any Genres You’ve Never Read?

I might have to steal Cat’s answer because I’ve never read a western either.

A Book On Your Shelves You’ll Probably Never Actually Read?

Hehe I have two that sprang to mind, because I cleared out my TBR a while back and I knew that I shouldn’t leave these two on there, but the optimistic part of my brain thought “maybe someday”. First are my Virginia Woolf books, which I own physical and ebook copies of, but have never been able to finish. And the second is Satanic Verses, which I feel like I should read, even though I didn’t like Rushdie’s other book Midnight’s Children. Basically, as I said in my post yesterday, I hate stream of consciousness… so I don’t think it’s ever gonna happen for these.

Glad to get that all off my chest- I tag: Kelly, Lucinda, Ally, Marina, Jenna, Sam, Caro, Rose and anyone else who fancies it!

So what hyped book will you not read? Let me know in the comments!

20 Questions Tag

Long-time no tag! I miss doing tags sometimes and I felt like doing something chill, so here we are! This one’s been making the rounds- thank you so much to the wonderful Sophie @Sophie’s Corner, the awesome Lost Art of Reading, and the amazing Priyasha @Books and Co for tagging me! Highly recommend you check them all out 🙂

1. HOW MANY BOOKS IS TOO MANY BOOKS IN A SERIES?

I’m gonna be brutally honest- I prefer when series are trilogies or at most quartets. It’s not that I won’t read a series that goes on longer, but I tend to stop reading after a point/get annoyed with it. It’s the same reason I don’t like soaps: I like to get a sense that there is a clear end point. I also think that really long series get samey.

2. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT CLIFFHANGERS?

I love ’em! I know that’s not a popular opinion- yet a really masochistic part of my brain loves that torturous wait between books. If a book has made me crazy invested in the series and dying for the next one, then I say it’s a good job. The only dumb cliffhangers are the ones with twists you saw coming or that aren’t really a cliffhanger at all (I’ve seen ones that get resolved in a couple of sentences in the next book and GAH SO ANNOYING!). So yeah, I like them, but I can be salty about them too 😉

3. HARDBACK OR PAPERBACK?

For the aesthetic hardbacks, for cost paperback. Although I get so many books second hand that I rarely get to choose this anyway.

4. FAVORITE BOOK?

FAVOURITE BOOK?!? Are you mad?!!?! I don’t have one favourite- that’s virtually bookworm sacrilege! Buuut if you really pushed me on it, I’d say it’s either The Hobbit or Peter Pan.

5. LEAST FAVORITE BOOK?

That is easy: As I Lay Dying. Cos it killed me with its stupidity.

6. LOVE TRIANGLES, YES OR NO?

NOPE! (except maybe sometimes if it’s done well and doesn’t involve any cheating)

7. THE MOST RECENT BOOK YOU JUST COULDN’T FINISH?

Ermmm I haven’t DNF’d anything recently (as in nothing in 6 months), even though I said I would get better at DNFing *shifts guiltily*

8. A BOOK YOU’RE CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading La Belle Sauvage 🙂

9. LAST BOOK YOU RECOMMENDED TO SOMEONE?

I recommend things all the time- I find it so hard to keep track lol! I guess you could say Forbidden Wish as I physically handed it to my sister the other day and said “read this, you’ll like it” (I was right 😉 )

10. OLDEST BOOK YOU’VE READ? (PUBLICATION DATE)

That’s a hard question- presumably the Iliad (too lazy to look things up, this is supposed to be an easy post 😉 ).

11. NEWEST BOOK YOU’VE READ? (PUBLICATION DATE)

I think Obsidio tbh- I rarely get to new releases early.

12. FAVORITE AUTHOR?

Wait, after asking my favourite book, you now want a favourite author?!!? THIS IS SO UNACCEPTABLY HARD! I’m gonna go with Dostoevsky, because that’s a safe bet, but I’m giving *the stink eye* to whoever came up with these questions (JK, love you really, kind stranger 😉 )

13. BUYING BOOKS OR BORROWING BOOKS?

I’m a book borrowing addict! I’ve always loved going to the library and now I’ve discovered Overdrive and *I CAN’T STOP*!!

14. A BOOK YOU DISLIKE THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEM TO LOVE?

Oh man this book bored me to tears.

15. BOOKMARKS OR DOG-EARS?

Oh boy- people are gonna hate me for this answer. I do dogear, but not to keep the place- I basically use it for making (mostly in non-fiction when I’m not underlining passages). That said, I have loads of bookmarks lying about, so I tend to make use of them. Right now I’m actually using my favourite bookmark that the lovely Kat @Life and Other Disasters sent to me when I won her giveaway a few years ago- and look how pretty!!! (also the gold goes really well with the cover of the Belle Sauvage and I think about those things cos I’m weird)

16. A BOOK YOU CAN ALWAYS REREAD?

Well I’ve just done a reread of Harry Potter, sooo that.

17. CAN YOU READ WHILE HEARING MUSIC?

Well I can tune just about anything out when I’m reading, but I prefer the quiet.

18. ONE POV OR MULTIPLE POV’S?

Either- I really don’t have a preference. It just has to be done well.

19. DO YOU READ A BOOK IN ONE SITTING OR OVER MULTIPLE DAYS?

Depends how much time I have! And how addictive said book is! If it’s really good it’ll take up all my free time and I’ll whizz through it, buuut that’s not accounting for when I have no free time 😉

20. A BOOK YOU’VE READ BECAUSE OF THE COVER?

I gotta say, I think I’m getting better at this. Still, I think I was attracted to the cover of Geekerella, simply because I was digging the quirky retelling vibe. And honestly the cover reflected *exactly* what was inside- so that was a win!

I tag: Nel, Bookstooge, Journey into Books, Sprinkle of Dreams, Kat and anyone else who wants to do it!

That’s all for now! What are you all reading today? Let me know in the comments!

My Bad Reading Habits Tag

Ahh bad habits- we all have them. And today I’m going to talk about some of my bookish bad habits! Woohoo! Thank you so much to the amazing book nerd travels for tagging me for this awesome tag 😀

Bad Habit #1- ignoring my TBR

I’ve talked about this at length, but honestly, it’s a bit ridiculous that I nearly always ignore everything on there, because my tbr is there to help me. Doesn’t mean I won’t ignore it for months on end…

Bad Habit #2- hoarding books on my kindle like there’s no tomorrow

When I say to people “oh I definitely plan to read that, it’s on my kindle” I am one hundred percent telling the truth, because if I’ve bought something, I will read it… Only trouble is I’m a *massive* kindle book hoarder. I mean, it makes total sense, because there are loads of times when I only have my kindle to read from and I like to have lots of options. Plus I love snapping up bargains and free books… HOWEVER, it also means that they’ll be a huge wait for when I actually get to the books on there… Whoops.

Bad Habit #3- then promptly ignoring said books in favour of some delicious library books I’ve just acquired…

And yeah, I prioritise library books, cos I hate library fines more than anything, and of course every time I set foot in a bookish establishment I have to replenish my supplies, so… who can really blame me?

Bad Habit #4- and yes, I have cover bought

I know some people are very good at the whole “not judging a book by its cover” thing. But me? I’ve somehow managed to buy whole series that were meh just cos *oh look at that cover- so pretty!!*. The worst thing is that this logic applies even to kindle books- which is totally ridiculous, because the covers can change on there and I’m literally hoarding pictures on a screen. *Sigh* I must have been a magpie in another life. I like to think I’m getting better at curbing this habit though- whereas others, not so much…

Bad Habit #5- book bingeing

 

As a massive mood reader, I have always been and will probably always be a book binger. When I’m in the mood to read, I read. And read. And read. And… you get the idea. This is a huge problem when it comes to doing, you know, normal things, like eating, sleeping and life in general. It’s almost a good thing when I fall into slumps because it means I can function as a normal human being (who am I kidding- I HATE slumps- please don’t strike me down oh-mighty book gods for this blasphemy!!!) The real downside to this is that I’ll basically read until I’ve exhausted myself with reading too much/become emotionally scarred by a book so I can’t possibly pick anything else up.

Bad Habit #6- ignoring everything that’s going on around me because *my bookish babies are in peril and I must save them by reading to the very end!!!* #bookwormlogic

Like I said, when I’m reading, all I’m doing is reading. It doesn’t matter if there’s a ton of people around me or I’m on my own, the book has my full attention. I have mastered the art of zoning everything else out (although I might leave the room to cry over the really good bits) and falling into the world of the book. People occasionally try to pull me out by shouting my name- though, as everyone knows, getting between a bookworm and their books is more dangerous than getting between a monkey and their bananas- DO THIS AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

Ok-ay- *coughs awkwardly*- kind of unleashed the bookdragon there… I tag:

Liis, Kristin, Katie, Angelica, Kelly, Misty, Sam, the paperback piano, thrice read, bookmark your thoughts, tale out loud, and Ally

And for everyone else- what are your worst bookish habits? Commiserate with me in the comments!

Justice League Tag

Gosh, I can’t believe how slow I’ve been to get round to this one. I kind of planned to do it after watching at least one of the Justice League movies but that took longer than expected to get to… sorry about that! Thank you so much to the lovely Book Cover Girls Angelica and Rosie for tagging me to do this! It’s awesome that they used their love of superheroes to make this tag! Also I loved their choice of gifs for this!

The Rules:

• Copy these rules onto your post
• Mention creators of the tag:Angelica and Rosie @TheBookCoverGirls and link to the original post
• Mention and thank the person who tagged you and link to their post
• Answer all the questions
• Since there were originally seven members in the Justice League, tag 7 people
• Also, you can use the images provided, but don’t have to if you don’t want to
• Have fun with it!

Batman: You favorite antihero

I loved both Angelica’s and Rosie’s answers of Kaz Brekker and Victor Vale, so I had to think a little to come up with someone different. I’m gonna go with Nova from Renegades, cos she’s totally kickass and very sympathetic. Plus, superhero books are definitely appropriate for a superhero tag.

Aquaman: A book or character that turned out to be better than you expected (because let’s be real, we did not expect Khal Drogo to make Aquaman cool)

Okay, I’m gonna have to admit my own genre biases here, but I did not think The Hating Game would be nearly as good as it was. I mean, I expected it to be an enjoyable-if-clichéd book- so I almost didn’t deserve it to be quite the entertaining riot that I found it.

Wonder Woman: Most badass female character (not necessarily in a physical sense)

Lira from To Kill a Kingdom! Easily! Even when she’s not in a position of strength, she’s unnervingly strong willed and determined.

Cyborg: Favorite science fiction novel

Gonna have to go with the Martian, because it was the first book I ever read in the genre where I thought huh, I could actually enjoy this stuff… Again, shame on me for my genre biases! *Raps knuckles*

The Flash: A book you sped through

Lately, I’ve been whizzing through the Percy Jackson series- it is so much fun!!

Superman: Saddest character death (although we all know there’s no way Superman is going to stay dead)

**If you do give a spoiler, please be mindful and clearly label the question with a SPOILER ALERT**

Due to the nature of the question: SPOILER ALERT!

I also reread Harry Potter recently- and You Know Who I mean in the seventh book… actually, you probably don’t know who, there’s a lot of them, but the one that got to me the most this time round was *drumroll please* Snape. I know, controversial one, I bet you all expected that I was sobbing my little heart out for the Dark Lord or maybe Bellatrix Lestrange 😉

That was a lot of fun- I tag:

Beth, Zezee, Nel, Kat, Bookstooge, and Lashaan and Trang @Bookidote

(sorry if any of you have done it and feel free to ignore!)

So do you agree or disagree with my answers? And out of interest- do any of you have have a favourite DC hero? Let me know in the comments!

Superlatives Tag

Hello all! Phew, it feels like I’ve not been on in ages, because I’m falling so far behind with comments and bloghopping- all I can do is apologise profusely for that. I’m juggling quite a lot at the moment and at the same time I feel at this point peppering every post with excuses will drive everyone (including me) mad. So just consider me the *most sorry* monkey on the planet. And that’s a nice segue into…

how happy I am to do the Superlatives Tag! Thank you so much Kelly @Another Book in the Wall for tagging me! Now, I’m not exaggerating at all when I say Kelly is absolutely lovely and makes such an interesting wide range of topics- I’m constantly blown away by how awesome her blog is!

#1 Most Likely To Be in the Movies: the Book That Would Make the Best Movie

Red Rising! Can you imagine how good this would be? Roman culture *in space*- I’m imagining this in my head right now and it’s amazing.

#2 Biggest Drama Queen/King: The Most (Overly) Dramatic Book or Character

Thirteen Reasons Why– *Very* unpopular opinion, let’s not start a row in the comments section about all the various controversial aspects of this book (I’ve made my opinion on it clear years ago and I stand by pretty much all of it) but I’ve been watching thirteen reasons why and it’s reminded me how much I hated the mc. She’s not actually nice to *anyone*- ever. Not to her parents, not to her friends, not to potential bfs. And she takes rather drastic means of revenge, which ends up hurting people who didn’t deserve it and psychologically damaging them (I mean, didn’t Jessica suffered enough?! Why torment Clay when he wasn’t a reason?) Of course, people are free to reach entirely different conclusions, I just really didn’t like her.

#3 Best Dressed: The Book With the Best Cover

Hazel Wood- ahhh- I read it recently (review coming soonish) and I LOVED every second! I can happily say this is gorgeous both inside and out.

#4 Most Creative: The Book With the Most Unique Plot, Characters, & Structure

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine- tempted to use We Were Liars like Kelly, but I talk about that a lot anyway. This is so different to anything I’d ever read- in every area! I was thinking I was in for a fluffy contemporary, but I was wrong, in a good way! And there was no way I was expecting that ending. This book certainly kept me on my toes!

#5 Most Popular: The Book With the Most Ratings on Goodreads

Harry Potter- erm pretty sure Harry Potter’s pretty popular and justifiably so 😉

#6 Most likely to succeed: The Book That is Going to be Appreciated For Many Years to Come

Homegoing– I actually mentioned this in my mini review– it’s a remarkable book and I’d be surprised if it isn’t a future classic.

#7 Class Clown: The Book That Made You Laugh Out Loud

The Light Fantastic– really I could have said any of Pratchett’s books, only I read this the most recently (I’m all over the place with Rincewind books) and yeah, as per usual with Discworld books, it made me laugh out loud 😉

#8 Most Improved: The Book That Started Off Slow, But Really Picked Up

The Magician’s Guild­- this started off so s-l-o-w. Grinding through infodumps and non-action, I really wanted to DNF it. But my friend told me to power through because it gets better. And do you know what? To my amazement, it did. In fact, I ended up loving that series. So I guess I’m grateful to my friend for the heads up (I also blame this book for me forcing myself through so many books that *do not* get better).

#9 Cutest Couple: Cutest Couple in a Book

Carry On– okay, I wanted to be all original, but really, it’s got to be Baz and Simon!

#10 Biggest Heartbreaker: The Book That Broke Your Heart

Words in Deep Blue– I spent the vast majority of my time reading this in floods of tears. I need to sort out my thoughts and do a review soon, but it’s gonna be hard, cos this book is *emotional*.

And on that note, I tag: Bethan May, Jill Jemmett, Lit Crit Pop, Kat@Life & Other Disasters, Samantha@Modern Witch’s Bookshelf, Sam@Rivermoose Reads, Bookish Owlett, Journey into Books, Angelica, Howlin Books, The Sweaterist and The Readers Bay

So what do you agree or disagree with the *most*? Let me know in the comments!