st paddy’s day – the orang-utan librarian

Hiya, so I’ve been away from the blogosphere for a couple of days and totally missed this- but it doesn’t matter cos I’m going to do it anyway! Because why shouldn’t I celebrate wonderful Irish culture even if it’s not St Patrick’s Day anymore? So thank you so much to the fantastic Paper Dragon for tagging me to do this!

Green: A book with a green cover
I had a bit of a rummage through my Goodreads and the first one I came across was Heir of Fire– which is not a bad choice at all!

Invisible

Blarney: A book that deceived you into either liking it or was overhyped and you ended up disliking it.
Ooh anyone knows me that overhyped books are one of my least favourite things- I have a whole long list of them if you’re interested (*read at your own peril*). Right now I’m gonna go for one I’ve not mentioned before- just cos I like to mix things up. So this time I’m gonna go with Unearthly cos I really was not a fan of 99% of all the angel/demon books that were a thing a few years ago.

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Brogue (dialect): A book where one of the characters has an accent.
Well that’s an interesting question! I’m gonna go with Artemis Fowl- cos, duh, he’s Irish. And I’m feeling a bit obsessed with all things fairy/fae at the moment!

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Leprechaun: A book you enjoyed when you were a little person.
I have absolutely no idea why this sprung into my mind, but I absolutely adored the Mr Majeika series when I was little. Does anyone else remember it? Or is it just me?

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Pot of Gold: A book that cost you a lot or is of great value to you.
Well I have the most *beautiful* edition of Austen that I got for my birthday- so it’s got sentimental value too. Isn’t it just glorious?

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Four-leaf clover or shamrock: four leaves = more than one book. Pick your current or old favourite series.
Okay, let’s be honest, I find it really hard to pick a favourite series. Cos there are so many new series I enjoy and so many I feel super nostalgic about. But I do always like giving a shout out to Sabriel because it was one of my first and favourite darker fantasy stories I ever read. Even just thinking about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (which is odd, cos it’s a book about dead people).

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Magic: A book that you found magical or a book where you enjoyed a magic element that was found in the storyline.
I am so tempted to nick Paper Dragon’s answer here, cos I agree, Brandon Sanderson is the master of magic. In the interest of mixing things up, I’m gonna go with Harry Potter cos (let’s face it) it’s awesome and I’m feeling super nostalgic now.

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Kiss: Your current favorite book pairing or your all time favorite book pairing.
Okay, close your eyes if you haven’t read Carry On yet (seriously- look away now! I don’t want to be responsible for ruining this for anyone) but my favourite book couple is (obviously) Baz and Snow!!

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Luck: A book on your shelf that you will luckily get to… someday.
Well there are loads of them- I spoke about them at length in my recent TBR post- but since we’re talking about one that might require some luck getting to, I’m gonna go with War and Peace, cos something tells me I’ll be lucky to ever get to that (although, in all honesty, it’s so long I’m not even sure I ever intend to read it…).

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Jig: A book that if you don’t currently own but if could get a hold of it- it would make you dance with joy. (Can be a book that isn’t released yet or a book you would really like to own)
This time I can’t help but agree with Paper Dragon- it has to be the last book in the Song of Ice and Fire series- although I’d also be over the moon to get my hands on Winds of Winter– I’m not fussy!

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Rainbow: That’s you! Tag your favorite friends to do this tag.
Since it’s no longer St Patrick’s day, I’m just going to tag *anyone and everyone* that wants to do this!

So tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day and what more awesome way could I celebrate than with this wonderful tag created by Embuhlee and Shivii. Thank you so much to both of these incredible bloggers for tagging me to do this!

Right, let’s get to this!

End of the rainbow: What book did you have a hard time tracking down a copy of?

Ermm the book I’ve had the hardest time tracking down is still proving elusive- this is gonna get super random- but I want a copy of Khadambi Asalache’s book Sunset in Naivasha cos I used to do tours for the National Trust in his old house (told you it was gonna be random). Sadly it’s gone out of print and costs a fortune for second hand copies.

Pot of gold: When you found that book, was it worth the quest?

It will be when I get my hands on it!

Celebrating a rich heritage: Name a book that contained a well-developed culture

Ooh a hard one- there are so many- how about Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It’s the first book by an African author written in English to see worldwide acclaim and it’s brilliant.

things fall apart

Shamrock Shakes: what’s your favorite food to snack on while reading?

Well let’s be clear- I’m a massive snacker! I’ll snack on nuts, dried fruit, cake, biscuits, chocolate, sweets (gosh it’s a wonder I’m not the size of a horse!), peanut butter (this list is getting weirder), cheese (told you so)…. But my all time favourite thing has got to be Lindt Orange Intense Chocolate-it’s divine!

intense orange cookies