Easter Book Tag

Happy Easter! Today I found a cute book tag from 2015, originally done by Rosie the Reader on booktube all about Easter (because who doesn’t love lambs and chocolate!)

I should have read that tag

Hi! A few weeks ago I was tagged by Crystal to do this tag – the “I should have read that” tag. Being an avid reader, there are always so many books to get to, and I love this tag because so many are based on what you have already read.

The Library Lover’s Book Tag

I saw this tag on Flavia’s blog a few months ago (as usual!) – if you haven’t checked out her page please do. She has a cute winter theme that I love!

Libraries are great resources, although in the UK they have seen their funding cut and cut, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to say thank you to my local libraries. As Arthur taught me:

1. How often do you visit your local library?

I go to the library probably once every few weeks to do pick ups and returns.

2. Are you the type of person who checks out more books than you can read or are you someone who checks out the exact amount of books you intend to read before they are due?

Usually I check out far too many books because they all look so good! So I tend to have to renew some books two or three times before they get finished. Oops.

3. How old were you when you got your first library card?

Too young to remember. My parents and grandparents always read to me and I loved going to the library when I was very young (as well as now!)

4. Do you go to your library for a particular book or do you check out anything that piques your interest?

Usually I go to the library because I’ve reserved books rather than to browse. I have so many books on my goodreads TBR that if I see anything in the library that sounds good it usually goes on the end of the list.

5. Do you only check out books or do you also get DVDs, audiobooks, etc.?

I don’t remember the last time I watched a DVD! But I do get a lot of audiobooks especially since I got my car a couple of months ago. I also get e-audiobooks sometimes, which is a great perk of the library.

6. From what section of the library do you check out most of your books?

It’s usually the adult fiction section, although I do also like looking at the non-fiction and YA.

7. What is your favorite part of using your local library?

Libraries in the UK don’t seem as cool as the ones in the USA. In my local libraries at least it’s much more a place to go pick up books than it is a community hub, so I’d just have to say being able to get books for free!

Would You Rather Book Tag

I saw this tag over on Book Princess Reviews (you’re missing out if you don’t already follow them!) back in August. As usual it’s been in my Tags to-do folder for ages, but it seemed perfect for today.

Rather read only a series or stand-alone books?

I prefer standalone over series and rarely read series. There’s just too much commitment and there doesn’t seem to be much contemporary fiction (my favourite genre) written in serial format.

Rather read a book whose main character is male or female?

I tend to read books with a female main character (although not on purpose!) I wish there were more books of the topics I like to read but with male main characters. I think this year the only male MCs I’ve read have been in LGBT books.

Rather shop only at Barnes & Noble (or another actual bookstore) or Amazon?

I usually get my books from the library or charity shop because I’m not working, but I’d love to have the money to support local bookshops. There are some great ones near my house.

Rather all books become movies or tv shows?

I love going to the cinema, but often books that are made into movies miss out so much, whereas a TV programme can take more time so I think I’d say TV.

Rather read 5 pages per day or read 5 books per week?

5 books a week for me seems like a rush to read as many books as possible, rather than savouring the book so I’d rather read 5 pages a day then rely on audiobooks (definitely not cheating!)

Rather be a professional book reviewer or an author?

I never have ideas for books, and I think I would get even less reading done if I was writing my own, so I’d go for a book reviewer. It would be ideal to be paid for book reviews.

Rather only read the same 20 books over and over or get to read a new book every 6 months?

This is a weird question, but I think I’d get a new book every 6 months. I suppose I can survive on magazines, but I’d be bored with the same 20 books for the rest of my life.

Rather be a librarian or own a bookstore?

I think both would be great, but you’d have more control over a bookshop, what books you wanted to sell and how you wanted to decorate so I’d say own a shop.

Rather only read your favourite genre or your favourite author?

My favourite author only writes books from my favourite genre, so I’ll pick my genre and “have my cake and eat it.”

Rather only read physical books or eBooks?

Physical for sure. I read a lot in the bath and I’m not gonna risk a kindle above a bathtub.

The Halloween Book Tag

I was searching for a tag to do for Halloween, and I found this really old tag on The Sassy Book Geek’s blog (check them out here). It was originally created by Book Adventures, but that blog no longer seems to exist.

1.) Favourite Scary (Must Read) For Halloween?

I haven’t found any books that truly terrified me, but my favourite Halloween read is The Shining. It’s such a classic, and the film is great too.

2.) Scariest Book Cover?

I think this cover for Let the Right One In is quite creepy. I have yet to read the book, but the dead vampire-girl is freaky.

3.) If You Could Go Trick-or-Treating With Any Author, Who Would You Pick?

I think I’d have to choose Stephen King. He could tell me creepy stories as we went around asking strangers for sweets!

4.) If You Could Dress Up As Any Bookish Character For Halloween, Who Would You Be?

Probably Bellatrix Lestrange – I don’t read too many books outside of contemporary, so unless I’m going to dress in jeans and a t-shirt it would have to be a Harry Potter character.

5.) If You Could Find Anything (From Any Book) In Your Trick-or-Treat Stash, What Would You Hope To Find?

Could I request the invisibility cloak?

6.) In What Fictional World Would You Like To Go Trick-or-Treating?

It’s not a book, but I think the neighbourhood in Edward Scissorhands would be fun to trick-or-treat in. It reminds me of quintessential America so I bet they go all out for the season.

7.) What Book Villain Would You Not Like To Meet Alone In A Dark Alley On Halloween?

Pennywise from It. I’m not sure if he counts as a villain, but it’s the scariest film I’ve seen in a long time, so I wouldn’t want to meet him.

8.) Would You Rather Dress Up As A Vampire, Zombie, Werewolf, or Shadowhunter?

Probably a zombie. I don’t want to wear fake teeth, and I had to google what a shadowhunter was (sorry!)

9.) Pick A Candy (Just One) From Harry Potter That You Would Love To Find In Your Stash?

I’d love to try some jelly beans. I know there are loads of disgusting flavours, but I think it would be fun to try the actual beans (not the ones they sell at inflated prices in tourist shops!)

10.) What Is Your Favourite Halloween Candy?

I don’t think we have specific sweets in the UK for Halloween, it’s mostly just the normal brands doing Halloween branded versions of their usual products, but I’ve recently seen Smarties Scaries which have caught my eye in the supermarket even though they’re just orange and brown smarties!

Spooky Scary Book Tag

I was looking for a scary-themed book tag and I found this one from 2016 on Shelby Masako’s booktube channel. It’s a couple of years old but I thought it was perfect for this season.

1. What goes bump in the night?: Name a book that has legitimately scared you while reading it.

I don’t remember ever being scared by a book as an adult, but I used to borrow audiobooks from the library when I was a kid and some of them used to really freak me out. One of my favourite series was Point Horror, and Funhouse by Diane Hoh was the worst!

2. Jack O Lanterns and Classic Costumes: A book you always reach for during Halloween time.

I really like reading Stephen King during Halloween – it’s a bit stereotypical I know, but I really enjoy some of his books particularly The Shining and Misery.

3. Black Cats and Magic Mirrors: A book you love that is laced with superstition and/or magic.

I don’t really read magic-themed books, so I’m going to have to go with HP. #sorrynotsorry

4. Witch’s Brew: Favourite witch character in any book/series.

How could I not pick Luna?

5. Ghouls and Ghosts: A book that still haunts you to this day (good or bad).

I’d say The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.

6. Haunted Graveyard: You’re all alone in a haunted graveyard, you get ONE book to give you comfort, which is it?

You can’t be scared when you’re reading about Marley!

7. The Undead: Favorite supernatural creatures to read about (i.e. vamps, zombies, werewolves, etc).

I’d say vampires, but the Dracula/ Underwood and Flinch / Salem’s Lot sort. No sparkles please.

8. In the dead of night: Pick a book with a black cover.

9. Trick or Treat?

Treat, of course!

What would your answers be? Let me know in the comments!

90’s Kid Book Tag

I saw this tag back in August on Bookish Wisps’ blog although the original tag was done by The Literary Phoenix.

RULES:

1. Link back to the creator The Literary Phoenix to show her some love as a thank you!
2. Freeze tag was all the rage in the 90s. Tag people you think would have fun with this!
3. Have fun getting all nostalgic!

Pokemon: Gotta Catch ‘Em All!
The author you need every book from.

For me, I love Diane Chamberlain books. I’m trying to collect all her books as I just love her style.

AIM 
Book that connected you with your best friend.

I tried so hard to think of an answer other than Harry Potter, but I really can’t. So many of my friendships in life started because of HP.

Furby
Book that seemed like a good idea but was actually a monster.

The Cursed Child – Everyone who has seen the stage show says it’s great, but the book was so awful. It read like a poor fanfiction, and I’m torn about whether to even bother with the show.

N*SYNC
Book you hated to say Bye, Bye, Bye to.

Definitely when the Harry Potter series ended. I read the first when I was 6 and the last came out when I was about 14. It was the end of an era!

Slimed!
A book everyone loved but you hated.

I remember when Room by Emma Donaghue was released and everyone raved about it on Booktube. I tried reading it earlier this year but just really couldn’t get into it. I liked the film, but I didn’t like the writing style.

 

Oregon Trail
A book that made you wish you died of dysentery.

I don’t really get this feeling about books, as I tend to DNF anything I’m not enjoying after 50 pages or so. There are so many great books out there, why waste time.

Mixtape/CD
3 books you recommend to anyone, anywhere, no matter what

At the moment (it changes every day) it would be:

• Dolores Claiborne – Stephen King
• And then there were none – Agatha Christie
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky

Dial-up Internet
A book that took FOR FREAKING EVER to read.

I don’t usually read long books, but I do find that audiobooks take a long time for me. I know they are slower than reading “normally” but I’ve DNF’d so many audiobooks because they just take too long.

Kenan Thompson
The book you see referenced everywhere and is in everything, but that’s okay because it’s awesome.

This year I’ve heard people mention Eleanor Oliphant so much. I haven’t read it yet and probably won’t until my expectations are a bit lower. Hyped books always seem a bit disappointing if you read them at the time.

Heads Up, Seven Up
Book where you peeked just REAL quick at the ending because you don’t like guessing games.

Did anyone else call this Heads Down, Thumbs Up?

Anyway, I am so bad but I pretty much always do this. I never understand what’s going on because usually we haven’t met the important characters at that point.

Dunkaroos
Your ideal bookish snack.

Snacks are not a good idea around books! For me, it’s a mug of hot chocolate. Maybe some cake, but there’d better be no crumbs!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
A book that kept you up all night.

Goosebumps was the scariest thing I remember reading when I was a child. I don’t read that much horror normally, but I haven’t found one that’s actually scared me, rather than just being an interesting plot.

Bill Nye the Science Guy
A book that taught you something new

Everything I Never Told You was such a powerful book for me, as a white Brit, to think about the racism the Asian American family in the novel go though.

How I Choose My Books Tag

I’ve seen this tag on a few different blogs so I thought I’d give the “How I Choose My Books Tag” a go today.

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

The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night – Jen Campbell

I really love Jen’s Booktube channel and the cover was so beautiful for this collection of short stories that I had to get it. It’s one of my favourite naked hardcovers.

Jurassic Park Book Tag

About a month ago Holly at Nut Free Nerd tagged me in this Jurassic Park book tag (sorry it’s taken so long!). I’ve never read the book and I can only really remember a few scenes from the movie but I do love the Universal park Jurassic Park section and the John Williams soundtrack! Here goes…

“Spared no expense.”  ~John Hammond || A series that seems to go on forever. 

I don’t really read series precisely because you have to invest so much time in them, but one of the books I’ve been recommended is Game of Thrones. The six or so sequels, and the fact that there are more to come put me off though!

“Life finds a way.”  ~Ian Malcolm || A book with amazingly intricate world-building. 

I can only really say Harry Potter. I don’t normally read fantasy but I’d just love to be part of the magical world.

“Hold on to your butts.”  ~Arnold || What’s the fastest you’ve read a book, and what book was it?

I feel like I sound so negative, but I’m not a very fast reader! I think the quickest I remember reading a book recently was Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown, which I finished in 2 days.

“Mr Hammond, after careful consideration, I’ve decided not to endorse your park.”  ~Alan Grant || A book you refuse to read (or finish).

I DNF quite a few books if I’m just not interested but I don’t think there are any books that I would flat out refuse to read.

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”  ~Ian Malcolm || A book that left you going ‘Why?’

This is quite a hard question for me – I don’t very often read books that ask deeper questions haha! But I always ask Why?!? when a character I love dies so I suppose One Day, or Order of the Phoenix, or Marley and Me… Why do these authors insist on killing off my favourite characters/ dogs?

“We need more teeth!”  ~Gray Mitchell || A book with no human MCs. 

I’m going to have to steal Nut Free Nerd’s answer and go with Animal Farm.

“The kids? This will give the parents nightmares.”  ~Simon Masrani || A book that terrified you.

I don’t think I’ve read a book as an adult that terrified me, but some of the Goosebumps books used to freak me out as a kid!

“Monster is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We’re just used to being the cat.”   ~Henry Wu || A book that changed your perceptions on an issue/culture, etc.

The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling. A lot of people don’t like that book, and I’m much more central in politics than Jo is but it was an interesting take on the social issues in our country.

Thanks again to Holly for the tag – sorry it took so long but if anyone can tell me how to get a notification if someone tags me in their post I’d really appreciate it! It wasn’t until I checked my referrers that I knew I’d even been tagged.

If you haven’t done this tag, consider yourself tagged and have a go.

You’re not good enough: Harry Potter edition

I saw this on Life, Love and Read’s blog way back in May and I’m eventually getting round to doing it! The You’re not good enough tag was created by ReadLikeWildfire and Beccathebookreviewer and means you have to write 30 character names on a piece of paper and put them in a cup/jar. Then you choose 2 pieces of paper for every question. You then choose which character best fits the question and which one “is not good enough”.

Life, Love and Read did her tag about A Court of Thorns and Roses series, but I haven’t read that so I’ve decided to choose Harry Potter instead.

You only have one more spot in your Spelling B team, who would you pick to complete your team?

The potential spelling champions are Hermione and Sirius. As smart as we know Sirius was in school, I do think spelling ability comes to those who read (it’s my natural talent…) and so I think Hermione would be the better candidate for winning a spelling competition. Plus Sirius would probably cheat and then we’d get disqualified.

Both characters want to kill you, which one would you kill first so you have a better chance of surviving?

I’m taking my chances against either Dobby or Mad Eye Moody. I’m not sure how powerful house elf magic is, so I’d probably have to kill Dobby (*sobs*) and battle Mad Eye, although he is one of the most powerful wizards in the series so I’d still stand little chance.

 You’re on a hen/stag party and you’re down to these two characters, which one do you trust to organise your evening?

My candidates are Lucius and Arthur – great match! While I think Lucius probably knows some interesting dark bars we could get cheap drinks, Arthur is just too cute and I feel like he’d plan something really sweet so I’d give the job to Arthur. Lucius could be the drinks guy.

You’ve been chosen for the Hunger Games, who would most likely volunteer in your place?

My volunteer is either Molly or Percy. While I think Percy would have some great skills, and potentially the intelligence to outwit other tributes, I think Molly is much more likely to actually volunteer. She’s such a mum I couldn’t imagine anyone more likely to do so.

You’re stranded on an island. Which character would you sacrifice to engage in cannibalism?

It would either be Harry or Luna. Although I love Luna, I don’t know how much help she would be in this situation, whereas I think that Harry would come up with some ideas to get us off the island. Therefore I’m gonna have to sacrifice lovely Luna. This is a hard one though, because I think if it was the kind of situation where there was no hope, Luna would at least be entertaining.

You’re the next DC/Marvel superhero (with your own TV show of course), who is your sidekick?

It’s either Wormtail or Neville, and I could definitely see a sidekick Wormtail stabbing me in the back and trying to become the new superhero himself. I think Neville would go along with whatever ideas I had and he’s so loyal so of course it’s Neville.

You’re a manager of an Avocado admiring company, who would you fire for lack of communication skills?

My choices are McGonagall or Umbridge, and while Umbridge probably likes to think she has good communication skills she has truly awful people skills. McGonagall gets to the point straight away and I think she could convince anyone to admire avocados so of course she gets to keep her job.

You’ve just finished a book in which your favourite character dies, which character is most likely to comfort you?

It’s either George or Snape so I will have to go with George. He’s the most caring of the twins and I think would understand and try to cheer me up with some Weasley’s Wizard Weezes. Snape wouldn’t understand why I was crying over a book character and would probably try to give me a detention or something…

 Ugh, it’s high school. Who would most likely be part of the popular clique?

The popular guy is either Slughorn or Dudley. I feel like Dudley was a bit of a dick through the series precisely because he wasn’t popular, and I always thought was probably bullied at school. Slughorn, on the other hand, is all about the popular, so he’d definitely be part of that clique, although I think it would be through his determination not because he himself was actually popular.

The day has arrived; you’re finally a year older! Who would have the nerve to forget your birthday?

My choices are either James Potter sr or Bill W. We don’t get a lot of information about Bill’s character in the series, but I do think James would be likely to forget while he was planning his next adventure or prank. I think he’d remember a few days later though and throw a huge party just so he had a chance to steal food!

You’ve just found an upcoming booktube star? Who would most likely be?

My possible upcoming booktube stars are…. Fred and Draco. I can’t imagine either of them caring about books enough to make a BookTube channel, but I think Fred would love the attention and have something where he talks about comedy books. Draco would be too busy brooding to review books for fun!

Sleepover time! Unfortunately you can only invite one person, who would you invite?

My choice is Tonks or Voldemort. This is not a difficult choice! As much as I’d love to see Voldy in his Primark pj’s, I think Tonks would be a great fellow ‘Puff for midnight snacks and horror movies.

Bam, you’re pregnant. Who’s the father/mother?

My possible co-parents are either Vernon or Ron. As much as I would worry about having only Ron for support when looking after kids, Vernon wasn’t exactly a great dad to Dudley. I wouldn’t want a spoilt kid who had a hatred for magic, so Ron it is.

You’ve just written a super important text. Who would ‘see’ it, but not reply?

Out of Hagrid and Dumbledore I could imagine Hagrid seeing my text but being halfway through cooking some rock cakes and forgetting to reply. I think Dumbledore would know it was important and text straight back. Plus he’d be more likely to know how to work a smartphone.

You’ve just woken up and it’s time for breakfast. Your mum’s been replaced by..who?!

Lupin or Ginny? I think Lupin would be great at making breakfast for some reason, and I’d love to have a chat at the breakfast table with him. Ginny would be too energetic for an early morning chat.