The Terror of Knowing

Welcome one, welcome all! Today, I’m here with the Bookish Book Lover Tag, which was created by Shantelle @Shantellemaryh Although it seems her blog doesn’t exist anymore, oh no! I saw this tag recently thanks to Stephanie from Adventures of a Bibliophile. Let’s not waste any more time, let’s jump straight into the questions…

What books are you currently reading?

At the time of writing this post (though hopefully not at the time of publishing this post), I’m currently reading a few things: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories by Edgar Allen Poe, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, and If We’re Not Married By Thirty by Lucy Bell. The first three of those are audiobooks and the first two are for the sake of completing a couple more Around the Year challenges. The latter two are just for fun!

What’s the last book you finished?

I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell – I didn’t really know what to expect at all because I’ve never read anything from this author before but it came highly recommended from someone at work. It turned out to be awful and shocking and kind of morbid but also weirdly uplifting too and I really enjoyed the writing style (even though it’s non-fiction, so can you really tell what someone’s fiction will be like from that?) so I’ll be checking out some more Maggie O’Farrell in the future for sure.

Favorite book read this year?

I have to choose just one?! I’ve had a pretty damn good reading year, all in all, and there have been a lot of 4+ star reads, but off the top of my head some major contenders are: Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Furyborn by Claire Legrand, The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig.

What genre have you read most this year?

Without even looking, I’d assume fantasy of the YA ilk… but is that actually true? I’m sure you’ll find out in my End of the Year Survey at the end of December.

What genre have you read least this year?

Well, I mean, I could just say crime because I’ve read none of that genre? But I guess the point of this question is more so which genres that you have read have been the least popular and I’d assume that’s classics at 6 books read??

What genre do you want to read more of?

See answer to last question! I’m meant to be doing a Classics Club list so I’m definitely going to try to make reading classics more of a priority otherwise I’m never going to finish off that list. Let’s aim for doubling that number shall we and go for at least 12 classics in 2019? One a month seems reasonable!

How many books have you read this year, and what’s your goal?

At the time of writing, I’ve read 75 books. My goal was (and probably always will be) 52 books, roughly 1 per week, and I quite like it as a manageable goal.

What’s the last book you bought?

I went a little crazy in Oxfam recently and bought a bunch of used books: SPQR, The Penguin History of the World, and The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance. The first two I’d been eyeing up for a while anyway but the third was a complete impulse buy because I love learning about the Renaissance and miss having lectures and seminars about early modern literature.

What book are you saving up to buy next?

I don’t really save up to buy books, I just tend to want a book and then finally just cave and let myself buy it. If I’m thinking about books that I probably should save up to buy then I’d have to say The Writer’s Atlas because it looks amazing but also I should probably not spend £30 on a book.

How many books did you check out on your last library visit?

Although I use its online system to borrow ebooks and audiobooks semi-frequently (i.e. when I remember it exists), I don’t use the actual library anywhere near as much as I should, especially considering Liverpool’s library system is pretty damn good. Last time I was there though I checked out four books: Spinning Silver, Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes, The Cruel Prince, and The Black Tulip. Surprise of all surprises I read, or at least attempted to read, the first three (I DNFed Spinning Silver, oops) and didn’t quite get to The Black Tulip because I was too busy reading another Dumas, namely The Count of Monte Cristo. Instead of semi-impulse buying books used on Amazon I really should make more of an effort to get into the habit of using the library. I just like owning books, what can I say?

A book you can’t wait to read?

Two early 2019 releases: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo and The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – 2019 needs to get here, stat!

What’s a series you’d recommend to everyone?

Apart from Harry Potter, probably V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic. If you’re into fantasy already, I’m definitely recommending it, but I feel that even those who aren’t huge fantasy buffs could still enjoy it because of the characters and relationships.

Who’s an author you’re hoping writes more?

I’m nearly always hoping my faves write more (Leigh Bardugo, Samantha Shannon, V.E. Schwab), but I’d also like to add some more recent faves to this list: Mackenzi Lee and Maggie Harcourt – Mackenzi because I need that YA Loki story she teased and Maggie because I need Timekeepers, the story mentioned in both Unconventional and Theatrical, to actually be A Thing.

A few books your heart adores?

I decided to limit myself a little for once and say Neil Gaiman’s books, particularly The Graveyard Book because I’m pretty sure I could re-read that forever and never get bored of it and also get something new from it each time. A must-read for children and adults alike!

What series’ coming conclusion makes you sad?

I haven’t read the conclusion yet which is why I saw it’s “coming” still for me but definitely Alison Goodman’s The Dark Days Deceit, which is the conclusion of the Lady Helen trilogy. I’m so looking forward to it but I’ll also be sad to let these characters go.

What books are on your wishlist?

Far too many I’m sure, but doing TBTB Santa this year made me think of many books that I’d not read but needed to get to (owning them would be that first step) so I made an Amazon wishlist of them all!

That’s all, folks, that was the Bookish Book Lover Tag. If you haven’t done this tag yet and would like to, please feel free to consider yourself tagged by yours truly. If you do the tag, be sure to link me to it because I’d love to see your answers!

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