Tag, You’re It: Christmas Song Book Tag

I haven’t been doing as much reading in the past few days because holiday hectic-ness, so here is two tags in a row!

It’s a combination of my favorite two things: Christmas Songs and Books!

I saw this tag on Prima’s blog, Panda Hearts Books; she pseudo-tagged me, so thank you! 😄 However, I couldn’t find the creator of this tag.

Let’s get started!

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You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Name a villainous character you couldn’t help but love.

Hello, handsome. Yeah, I picked the Darkling. I know he’s supposed to be the villain, but he’s a villain that I fell in love with.  I don’t want to say more because I’ll spoil something! Read the Grisha trilogy if you haven’t already.

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All I Want For Christmas is You

Which book to you most hope to see under your Christmas tree?

More specifically, a beautiful hardcover edition of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.  I recently bought the second book, Words of Radiance, via the Black Friday Book Outlet Sale, so I really want a matching first book.  The hardcover version comes with gorgeous colored maps in the front and back.

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Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Name a character that overcomes major obstacles and learns to believe in themselves.

The female protagonist, Lee Westfall, is one of my favorite female characters.  She goes through so much throughout the entire novel and faces so many challenges.  However, she never gives up her strength and I really admire her as a character!

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Santa Claus is Coming to Town

a) Which character do you think would be on the top of the naughty list?

Any villain really, Queen Levana, classic Voldemort, UMBRIDGE.  Actually, Umbridge definitely takes the prize on this one

b) Which character do you think would be at the top of the nice list?

Levi from Fangirl is such a sweetheart; he’s definietly been the nicest this year!

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Frosty the Snowman

Which book just melts your heart?

Not usually a huge contemporary fan, but Kasie West’s The Fill – in Boyfriend did hit me in the feels. It’s a sweet, cute contemporary; perfect to read when you need a pick-me up!

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Feliz Navidad

Choose a book that takes place in a country other than your own.

Well, every singly fantasy novel fits this category since the worlds and countries are made up, but more specifically the Grisha trilogy takes place in a Russian-inspired fantasy world.

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It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Which holiday themed book do you use to spread the Christmas joy?

Harry Potter seems to make an appearnce in every single book tag I do.  I don’t read a lot of “seasonal” books, but I really enjoy the Christmas and winter scenes in Harry Potter!

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Sleigh Ride

Which fictional character would you choose to spend the holidays with (doesn’t have to be a love interest!)?

Okay, hi Harry Potter, again!  Let’s be honest though, who WOUDLN’T want  to spend the holidays with this trio.  Especially at the Weasley’s house!

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Which book that you didn’t like would you sacrifice to a fire to warm yourself up in the cold?

It’s such a shame the the covers are so beautiful.  I started this novel, but quickly DNF’d it because I was not enjoying it at all.  I recently read a review by Emma from Miss Print and a DNF review from Deanna at BooksaBlog and it completely summed up how I was feeling about the novel.

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Do You Hear What I Hear?

Which book do you think everyone should read?

Now I can give my usual recommendations of Mistborn or Everything I Never Told You, but I’m going to rec a book that I think is perfect as a gift.  Well, the box set would be a perfect gift.  Especially for people who might not enjoy reading as much, The Legend Series by Marie Lu has a something in it for everyone to love.

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I just love tags! This one was really fun to do, and I hope if y’all are in the Christmas spirit, you feel like doing it too!

I tag:

Anette from Anette Reads

Gillian from Writer of Wrongs

Mel from the Daily Prophecy 

Claire from Cover to Cover

Dee from the Bookish Khaleesi 

and anyone else who would like to do it!

Tag, You’re It: Seasons of Book Blogging

I’m doing a book tag! Book tags are one of my favorite things to read and watch. This amazing tag was created by Jordyn from J. Bookish and I was tagged by Dee from The Bookish Khaleesi. Thanks for tagging me! Go check both of them out; they’re awesome people and bloggers~

RULES AND REGULATIONS:

• Thank the creator (so she can see all of your answers!) and the person who tagged you.
• Begin with the month in which you have been tagged and move forward from there!
• State the best gift you’ve ever been given after you answer the question for your birthday month.
• Tag whomever you’d like when you’re finished.. or else you’ll be “it” forever.
• Have fun, of course!

 

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DECEMBER IS A TIME WHEN FRIENDS AND FAMILIES COME TOGETHER AND CELEBRATE. NAME ONE BOOK YOU WOULD GIVE AS A GIFT.

Technically, I would want to gift the whole series because you can’t just stop at book 1. Read this now if you haven’t already! You won’t regret it.

JANUARY BEGINS A NEW YEAR. NAME A RESOLUTION YOU MADE THIS YEAR AND IF YOU’VE KEPT IT OR NOT!

Well, I wanted to start a book blog and successfully stick with it, and I made it. I’m here right now!

Bonus round: Next year, I want to do more reading challenges and read 100 books!

FEBRUARY IS THE MONTH FOR RELATIONSHIPS. NAME YOUR FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIP: ROMANTIC, PLATONIC, OR FAMILIAL, YOUR CHOICE!

Not sure if they are my all time favorite, but from my recent reads, I can’t stop thinking about Kaz and Inej.  So many feels.

MARCH IS THE MONTH FOR LUCK AND NEW BEGINNINGS. NAME A BOOK OR SERIES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO RE-EXPERIENCE AS IF YOU’D NEVER READ IT.

This is me being predictable and boring, but admit it, you would love to experience the Wizarding World again.  I would love to rediscover the magic of Harry Potter all over again as if I’d never done before.

APRIL IS A SPECTACULARLY ORDINARY MONTH. NAME A BOOK THAT WAS SO OVER-HYPED THAT IT JUST COULD NOT LIVE UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

Oops. Sorry. It wasn’t bad, but I heard so much about how it was like Game of Thrones and how it was an amazing epic fantasy.  It was nice; I liked it, but it lacked some things I was expecting. I have a review here.

MAY IS THE MONTH WHEN THE FLOWERS START TO BLOOM.NAME A BOOK THAT WAS A PLEASANT SURPRISE TO YOU.

I’ve been trying to read more literary fiction, but sometimes it gets boring and long winded.  This was amazing, emotional, and engaging the entire way through!  My gush review is here.

JUNE IS THE TIME TO TAKE A BREAK. NAME A BOOK OR GENRE THAT YOU LIKE TO READ WHEN YOU JUST NEED TO CHECK OUT.

Any Sophie Kinsella book.  I love her; she is queen and perfection.  Her books are light, serious, ridiculous, and heartwarming all at the same time.  Her romances are amazing, too! It’s like reading a big hug.

JULY IS THE TIME TO CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE. NAME A BOOK THAT MADE YOU SEE FIREWORKS (FIGURATIVELY. PLEASE DON’T LIGHT ANY BOOKS ON FIRE.)

I remember waiting for this book to come out, and my feelings were conflicted throughout the end of this entire finale.  What happened to the characters at the end and that epilogue….my feelings were shot.

AUGUST IS THE HOTTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR. PICK AN UP-AND-COMING AUTHOR THAT YOU THINK WILL BE THE NEXT HOTTEST THING.

While I completely agree with Dee’s assessment of Pierce Brown 😉, I picked a 2015 debut author. Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes was amazing, and I can’t wait to see what she does next!

SEPTEMBER IS TIME FOR STUDENTS TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL! PICK A BOOK YOU READ FOR SCHOOL THAT YOU ACTUALLY ENJOYED.

Jane Eyre is actually one of my favorite classics and George Orwell is one of my favorite authors.  I guess something good does come from school!

OCTOBER IS TIME TO CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN! PICK ONE CHARACTER THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN.

I’ve always wanted to be a badass female character, so I might as well do it in style.  Alina Starkov from The Grisha trilogy and Vin from the Mistborn trilogy both fit that bill.  Plus, all my friends say I wear black all the time anyways. Hello, Darkling.

NOVEMBER IS THE MONTH WHEN WE’RE REMINDED OF HOW MUCH WE HAVE TO BE THANKFUL FOR. CHOOSE ONE BOOK YOU’RE GRATEFUL FOR HAVING READ AND GIVE A SHOUT-OUT TO THE PERSON WHO RECOMMENDED IT!

Well, this started my love for urban fantasy. A bunch of BookTubers were recommending this, so thank you BookTube community!

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This tag was so much fun! Thank you for reading!

I tag:

Karina from A Reader Under the Sea

Maha from Younicorn Reads

Aldii from Perfection in Books

Astra from A Stranger’s Guide to Novels

Panda from Panda’s Books

and YOU!

Consider yourselves tagged 😄

 

 

Tag, You’re It: How I Read

So I have been watching lots and lots of BookTube videos (as usual) and stumbled upon this tag (it’s pretty old)! It seemed pretty interesting to do so:

1. How do you find out about new books to read?

The majority of my TBR list is constructed from BookTube suggestions and what is popular out in the world right now.  Sometimes I’ll browse Goodreads and get hooked on one of their suggestions, or even Amazon suggestions after I buy a certain book.

2. How did you get into reading?

I don’t remember exactly how I started reading, but I remember when I was very young I used to LOVE the Magic Tree House series.  Like seriously LOVE. I think I read one every night.  My mother also has pictures of me holding picture books upside down when I was 2 or 3 years old.  My parents have always emphasized the importance of reading, and I think I just picked that up.

3. How has your taste in books changed as you’ve gotten older?

I don’t think it’s changed that much because I used to love reading everything, and I still love reading everything.  I read mysteries like Nancy Drew to “fantasy” like Magic Tree House to “contemporary” like Junie B. Jones (this series was so amazing) to historical fiction like Anne and the Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie.  I still like all of those different genres, especially fantasy!

4. How often do you buy books?

I do not buy as many books as I would like because I am a poor student 😦 However, I do keep an eye out for deals on websites such as Book Outlet or Amazon. (just got the Game of Thrones box set for like $15!).  I often go to the library to check out books or buy e-books because those tend to be cheaper than the beautiful hardcover copies that I want.

5. How did you get into BookTubing?

Well, I don’t Booktube, but I’ll assume that the question also pertains to book-blogging.  As you all can see, I very recently got into blogging about books.  I have watched Booktube videos for a few months, and I share a similar interest in reading and discussing the books that I have read.  However, I do not have the resources to film and edit videos for Youtube, so I decided to start a blog instead!

6. How do you react when you don’t like the end of a book?

I cry.  Not really, but book endings matter a lot to me, and a lot of times, I’ll like the book ending more than I like the beginning.  I may be really disappointed if I did not like the ending of the books. Sometimes I might just pretend that the ending never happened, and just insert my own ending for the story.  That situation is always hard to deal with.  The scariest thing is if the bad ending pulls me into a reading slump.  Sometimes it’s just not worth it.  (I’m looking at you, The Vault of Dreamers)

7. How often have you taken a sneaky look at the back page of a book to see if it’s a happy ending?

I will admit that I have done this before, but not often.  Usually I will look at the back page of a book if I am really terrified that a character I really like is going to die in the novel, and I just cannot handle it if that happened.  However, I hate spoiling myself, so I try to limit the amount of times I do it.  Also, usually the back page doesn’t tell you TOO much about the story.  Sometimes it just makes me more confused as to what happened in the novel.