The Terror of Knowing

It’s Thursday, folks, and you know what that means? It’s time for another Tag Thursday!

*cue reasonable amount of applause and cheering*

And this week’s tag is the “Friends” Book Tag. As Liz and I are finally coming to the end of our Friends rewatch, this seemed an all too timely tag and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to join in when I saw it over on Thrice Read last week. This tag was created by Haley of Fangirl Fury so head on over to her blog to show her some love!

Friends is intrinsically part of my personality – there is never a situation in which I will not be reminded of a Friends quote or joke and I learnt a surprising amount of life lessons from this TV show… the main one being that Ross is kind of a dick? And you don’t really realise that until you get older and rewatch the show and suddenly it dawns on you how entitled his relationship with Rachel is. Anyhow, my point is, Chandler is life, Joey is an adorable teddy bear, Monica has the focus and drive I wish I had, Rachel is someone I sorely misjudged when I used to watch this show as a teen so I’m sorry for all the mean thoughts I had about you Rachel you’re wonderful, and Phoebe has a confidence in who she is that I aspire to on a deep level. In the meantime though, let’s just have a look at this tag, shall we?

Rachel: A character whose wardrobe you want to steal

This will surprise precisely no one given my well publicised penchant for coats but… I want (nay, need) Kell’s coat from V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy. I NEED it, guys, the thirst is real.

(Disclaimer: this is not Kell’s coat but Nick’s joy at this coat would be my joy of Kell’s coat.
Although it must have a light, beige trench in it somewhere, surely, along with a heavier, wool version a la Sherlock. Duh.)

Joey: A book that left you mind-blown

Even after closing it, I still don’t really understand what I read when I read Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. It’s weird and it’s wonderful, but it’s so damn confusing to try to keep a grip on the reality of the storyline – in the end you just have to let go and go along with it. Once I’d figured that tactic out I was well and truly in it for keeps, just don’t be alarmed if you spend most of the time making this face:

Chandler: A book that made you laugh out loud

If you’re in need of a book that will make you accidentally laugh on public transport and earn you funny looks from your fellow commuters, then look no further than Jenny Lawson’s Furiously Happy and/or Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. If you’re in the business of novels rather than memoirs, then look no further that Ayisha Malik’s Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged – this one made me grin like an idiot and laugh more than I’d care to admit.

Monica: A book that made you hungry

I feel personally victimised by how much Nina from Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology mentions waffles when I have no waffles in the house or the means to make them – how dare you put me through cravings like that, Nina. (If anything, I feel like Nina herself would understand the struggle and apologise profusely to me… hopefully her apologies come in the form of said waffles.)

Ross: A book that gave you all the feels

Tbh Ross mostly gives me the feeling of annoyance, unless he’s shouting about sandwiches or getting faked tanned wrongly or yelling PIVOT! but… 

Can we talk about how adorable and squishy When Dimple Met Rishi was? Everyone told me it was but I didn’t quite believe them and boy was I proven wrong. It was adorable without being sickly sweet and it felt real and reasonable and not at all overly angsty and/or dramatic which YA contemporary can sometimes come across as. However, this was not the case here. Dimple was badass and I loved her for it, including for punching Rishi when he creepily practically jumped on her (metaphorically) when he first met her. But also Rishi is an adorable squish and he must be protected at all costs because the world is so mean and he only deserves nice things in life.

Phoebe: A quirky & enjoyable read

I was struggling to pick a book for this and then I recalled a conversation I had this weekend with Liz in which I tried to explain the plot of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens. I think I can safely say that fits the category of “quirky” since it’s about the end of the world and involves “an Angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards” (that’s a direct quote), a modern take on the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, a hell hound named Dog, an angel slash part-time rare book dealer, and cassette tapes that automatically become Best of Queen compilations if you leave them in your car for a specified amount of time.

Allow me to represent the reading experience of Good Omens in a series of gifs…

At first you’re like… 

But then it’s like…

Good Omens well and truly remains one of my favourite books ever… but it’s quirky for sure, case in point:

“God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.”

Well that was it, folks, that was the “Friends” Book Tag – I hope you enjoyed reading this! If you fancy participating yourself please consider yourself tagged and be sure to link to your post below because I’d love to see your responses!

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