The Terror of Knowing

Guys, it’s Thursday, you know the drill by now – it’s time for Tag Thursday. I saw this tag (obviously) over on Thrice Read because I just rob all of their tag posts nowadays. This tag was created by Dri at islandOFdri on Youtube so head on over to her channel to check out the original video, if you like. It’s summer (allegedly) and the weather here has been GLORIOUS and then GLORIOUSLY TERRIBLE so that’s a sure sign of the unreliable British summertime once again – this week’s tag is summer themed, in honour of that.

Lemonade: pick a book that started off bitter but got better.

It wasn’t necessarily bitter but just… meh… that’s Howards End by E.M. Forster. But, make no mistake, once I got settled into the story line and the characters I ended up really enjoying it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (until the end of the time) – Forster does plot twists so subtly and smoothly that I had to double-take on multiple occasions and say “did he just-?!”

Golden Sun: pick a book that made you smile beyond compare.

Ok, I have a recent one for this – When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. It was so adorable and squishy and I just wanted to wrap the characters up in a big warm blanket and not let them out of my sight. I had a huge idiot grin on my face on public transport whilst I was reading this. Because Rishi is just a big ol’ squish I want to squish.

Tropical Flowers: pick a book set in a foreign country.

Because I’m me and I like to amuse myself, I’m going to pick a book set in a foreign country that is as far away from “summery” as I can. Because I don’t like summer and I’m bitter about it but here we are… Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. It tells the tale of the final days of an accused murderess, based on the true story of the last woman to be sentenced to death in Iceland. It’s set against the stark landscape of Iceland and it’s so atmospheric and gritty that I felt like I was there.

Tree Shade: pick a book in which a mysterious or shady character was first introduced.

Let’s just talk about the eponymous Rachel of Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel shall we? She seemed shady af. I mean that’s kind of the point but even so…

Beach Sand: pick a book that was grainy, and the plot barely developed.

Well I feel like The End We Start From by Megan Hunter had next to no plot? I feel like that was the entire point of the novel – the writing was allegedly lyrical (I didn’t see it) but the setup was post-apocalyptic and mostly it was just about survival after that… but it wasn’t even interesting because it was mostly focused on the main character, a mother, thinking about her young baby. Which is… well, that’s nice I guess but it just wasn’t my jam, unfortunately.

Green Grass: pick a character(s) that were full of life, making you smile.

You know who just loved life? Uncle Monty from The Reptile Room, the second in the A Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket. He had his snakes and he was just so happy hanging out in the Reptile Room with the Incredibly Deadly Viper. Well… he was full of life until he died that is. Awkward.

Watermelon: pick a book that had some juicy secrets.

I feel like it’s a cliche answer but We Were Liars by e. lockhart. And obviously I can’t tell you what the juicy secrets are because that would ruin everything.

Sun Hat: pick a book that had a vast, big universe/setting.

Well I’d obviously have say George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. And not just because of Westeros being big, or the books being so long, but there are so many characters and families and houses that it feels ginormous in its scope. And I don’t think it’s going to get any smaller anytime soon.

BBQ: pick a book in which a character was portrayed as a hunk.

I’ve went a whole tag without mentioning V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy – are you proud of me? Well get ready to be disappointed because here I go… ADSOM has a couple of hunks depending on your personal preferences – we have Kell the serious magician, Rhy the flirty prince, or Alucard Emery the pirate… for my part I like Alucard and Rhy (mostly together) and there’s no denying they’re hunks. Pick just one hunk? Nope…

So that was the Summer Reader Book Tag everyone – if you want to do this tag please consider yourself officially tagged by yours truly. If you do participate in the tag, be sure to link me to your post below because I’d love to see your answers!

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