book tag

Tag | Book Blogger Memory Challenge (Take Two!)

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Guess what, folks? It’s Thursday which can mean only one thing… time for a Tag Thursday post! (Have I officially made this happen now? Can I call it A Thing?) This time we have a tag enticingly called the Book Blogger Memory Challenge! Unfortunately, I don’t know who originated this particular tag so if you do, please let me know so I can credit them. But I recently saw this over on Stephanie’s blog and thought it looked like great fun so I had to join in!

Rules

You must answer these questions without looking anything up on the internet and without looking at your bookshelves!

Name a book written by an author called Michael

The very first author who came to mind was Michael Bond who wrote the Paddington books. I don’t think I remember actually reading any of them when I was a child but it’s pretty difficult to not know about Paddington even just in passing if you’re from the UK! (Plus the recent film is ADORABLE.)

Name a book with a dragon on the cover

I have so many books with dragons but I shall choose Temeraire series by Naomi Novik and The Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan as they’re both whole series of books with dragons on the cover.

Name a book about a character called George

There’s a book called Arthur and George by Julian Barnes. I have no idea what it’s about but I presume one of the main characters is called George. If not, I’ve been sold a lie.

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Tag | The ‘I Should Have Read That Book’ Tag

Emma11 Comments

Welcome one, welcome all, to another Tag Thursday! It’s been a while since I’ve posted a tag and I wasn’t really seeing many around. Luckily, however, I recently stumbled across this particular tag on Beth’s blog. She created it and, ok, so I wasn’t tagged to do this tag but when have I ever let that stop me? Let’s jump straight into it…

Rules

Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post
Link to the creator’s blog (booksnest.co.uk) in your post
Answer the questions below
Tag 10 others to take part
ENJOY THE TAG!

The Questions

  • A book that a certain friend is always telling you to read 
  • A book that’s been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven’t picked it up
  • A book in a series you’ve started, but haven’t gotten round to finishing yet
  • A classic you’ve always liked the sound of, but never actually read
  • A popular book that it seems everyone but you has read
  • A book that inspired a film/TV adaptation that you really love, but you just haven’t read it yet 
  • A book you see all over Instagram but haven’t picked up yet

My Answers

A book that a certain friend is always telling you to read

Liz is forever telling me that I will enjoy The Masked City, the second book in Genevieve Cogman’s series. I’ve read the first book and quite enjoyed it – the irony being I read The Invisible Library before Liz did and yet she continued with the series and I didn’t hurry to do so! Although she didn’t give it a rave review necessarily, she thinks I will really like the second book because, as you might be able to tell from the title, it’s set in Venice and I am a sucker for anything involving Italy.

A book that’s been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven’t picked it up

Ignoring all the classics that have definitely been on my TBR way past their due, I think I’ll say Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things. That one has been on my TBR since 2012, or so Goodreads tells me, so it’s kind of ridiculous that I haven’t picked it up yet given how much I LOVE Gaiman’s work and this is short stories so surely wouldn’t take as long to read as a full-blown novel (looking at you, American Gods).

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Tag | New Year’s Resolutions Book Tag

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I saw this tag recently over on Jenn’s blog and I’ve previously seen it done on Booktube by Heather @ Bookables but I think the original video of the tag has now been taken down? (If I’m wrong and you know the creator/link, please do let me know!) In any case, this is a super fun tag and it’s the perfect time of year to do it so I couldn’t resist joining in.

1. An author you’d like to read (that you’ve never read before).

I’d quite like to read something from Roshani Chokshi this year, specifically her January 2019 release The Gilded Wolves which sounds like everything I want/need in a book, but also her other books: The Star Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes.

2. A book you’d like to read.

Everything from my Books You Didn’t Get to in 2018 list but specifically The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater because I’ve been putting it off and putting it off for months/years at this point. To be honest, it’s getting mildly ridiculous now because I love the series and need to know how it ends… but I also don’t want it to end, hence not reading the final book. I need to stop being silly and just read this one, maybe I can persuade myself to do so by letting myself re-read the previous three books?

3. A classic you’d like to read.

Aside from finally finishing reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, I would also like to read Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh because I feel like I’d probably LOVE this one and it’s a travesty I haven’t read it yet, frankly. But mostly I’d like to make a decent dent in my Classics Club list in 2019.

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Tag | Bookish Book Lover Tag

Emma3 Comments

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.

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Tag | The Greek Gods Book Tag

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Hi folks! Today, on this Thursday evening, I bring you a fun book tag, who would’ve guessed? I wasn’t actually tagged but I saw this tag very recently over on Luna’s blog and it was created by Zuky. Since it’s about greek gods and I loved learning the mythology and legends when I was younger (still do, if I’m honest), it seemed like an impossible tag for me to pass over. So here we are – let’s get straight to it!

gg_tag

The Rules

  • Pingback to Zuky here so she can read all your posts!
  • You can use her graphics if you like, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.
  • Tag as many people as you want, but please share the love.

gg_zeus

ZEUS: KING OF THE GODS – YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK

I have too many: Pride and Prejudice, Rebecca, Good Omens, Persuasion, The Graveyard Book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Six of Crows, The Secret History, Fangirl… I could go on.

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HERA: QUEEN OF THE GODS – A BADASS FEMALE CHARACTER

Speaking of Six of Crows, can we talk about Inej Ghafa for a minute? Because Inej. Need I say more? I think not, the Wraith speaks for herself.

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Tag | Bookish Naughty or Nice

Emma7 Comments

Welcome one, welcome all, to another Tag Thursday! Since we are deep in the midst of Blogmas, I thought I would bring you a festive themed tag this week. This week’s tag comes courtesy of Jenn who created the tag and Jenna and Luna who were kind enough to tag me and it’s called the Bookish Naughty of Nice tag. Let’s make that list and check it twice…

Rules

  • Tag & link the person who tagged you
  • Tag and link me/this post (if you would be so kind, I love reading your answers!)
  • Tick/cross off the ones you’ve done
  • Tag another 10 people!

If you’ve not been tagged, go ahead and do it anyway!

Received an ARC and not reviewed it ✓

An eARC, yes – I’m bad. A physical ARC, no, by virtue of the fact that the only physical ARC I’ve ever received has been a freebie in a Fairyloot box!

Have less than 60% feedback rating on Netgalley ✓

Yeah, uh, it me. I got really bad about this in the middle of the year and I still haven’t managed to claw my ratio back up to an acceptable number. Something to work on for 2019!

Rated a book on goodreads and promised a full review was to come on your blog (and never did)

No? I don’t tend to pre-review books much on Goodreads, nowadays I only use it to track the date I read a book, quick status updates, and give them a star rating. I nearly always forget to put full reviews on Goodreads and then go back and do them in batches when I do remember!

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Tag | The F.R.I.E.N.D.S Book Tag

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I saw this tag recently over on Kristin’s blog, but it was originally created by Roxanne from An Average Life. I love Friends, and it’s definitely a show that I keep coming back to for nostalgia and comfort reasons – I don’t think that will ever change, although my opinions on each of the characters and their decisions always seems to as I get older! But before I end up just ranting how terrible Ross is, let’s just get on with the tag instead.

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Tag | Fall Book Tag

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Can you smell that? It’s the smell of encroaching crispy leaves falling off trees and Starbucks churning out PSLs. That’s right, it’s Fall – or, Autumn, as we English people say. And in celebration of this transitional season into the best of the year (Winter, obviously), I’ve found a book tag, the aptly names Fall Book Tag. No messing around with fancy names here, no sir. This tag was created by Bionic Book Worm and I saw it over on Stephanie’s blog so I couldn’t resist giving it a go.

Crisp Fall Air – A Book That Felt Fresh and New

The first thing that came to mind was Genuine Fraud by e. lockhart. I know other authors have written stories in reverse order but this used that device in a really interesting way so it started with, say, chapter 20, and worked its way back to chapter 1 so you understood the motivation behind what brought the protagonist to the situation she was in at the start of the book/end of the story. It didn’t feel gimmicky either, it completely fit the tone of the story being told, which was quite refreshing, like that sweet, sweet fall breeze.

Howling Winds – An Ending That Blew You Away

I could pick so many series enders for this. I mean, shall I be typical and mention a certain duology by Leigh Bardugo? Or perhaps a trilogy by V.E. Schwab?

But if we’re talking about real ‘makes you gasp with surprise’ ending that made me frantically turn over the pages expecting (nay, needing) more story right this second, then I guess that would be the thing that happens at the end of The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon. I don’t know if I’ve ever quite recovered from it.

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Tag | Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

Emma3 Comments

Greetings one and all, today on this auspicious day I bring you a tag which you may very well have seen floating around A LOT – the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag. The tag was originally created by Ely and Chami, and it does the rounds at this time of year as all us book bloggers, Booktubers, and book enthusiasts alike look back over what we’ve read so far in the year and (maybe) freak out about all the fantastic (and not so fantastic) books we’ve read. I think that’s all the introduction it needs so, without further ado, let’s freak out…

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2018.

This question is never not tricky. If we’re discounting re-reads, then The Language of Thorns, The Power, The Girl from Everywhere, The Essex Serpent, The Lie Tree, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and Genuine Fraud have been my 5-star reads. As far as my favourite goes, that would probably be either The Essex Serpent or The Lie Tree, I read them at a similar time though so maybe I was just in the right head-space to REALLY love what I was reading. Both were full of mystery and definitely NOT what I expected them to be. But I’m not choosing between them.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2018.

Despite my commitment to finish series this year (a resolution I have been failing hard), I actually haven’t read that many sequels at all – I can literally count on one hand the amount of sequels I’ve read, and have fingers to spare. So, the choice is limited but, thankfully, I’ve read a pretty good sequel and that was the second book in Marie Rutkoski’s Winner’s Trilogy, called The Winner’s Crime. The stakes were raised so much higher from the first book and this sequel had much more court politics and intrigue and spying so, suffice it to say, I loved it.

3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to.

I’m really bad at reading things on time, ask my protesting pile of eARCs on NetGalley if you don’t believe me! How “new” is new though? Because I still haven’t read Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and that came out back in March. I’m a bad reader, I know.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

I’m sure there are many others that I’m forgetting right now as I’m faced with this question but the thing that sticks in my head is the two books we have to look forward to from V.E. Schwab, Vengeful, sequel to Vicious (which I still haven’t read, I know, I need to), and City of Ghosts which is about a girl who can see ghosts and is set in a very haunted Edinburgh. That’s all I need to know, I’m in.

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Tag | Norse Mythology Book Tag

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It’s that time of the week again: it’s Tag Thursday. Hold the applause, please.

Considering I’m right in the thick of re-reading (this time via audiobook) Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology and I am quite a fan of an MCU character based on a certain trickster god from the Norse pantheon, I couldn’t not do this tag when I saw it over on Zoe’s blog a couple of days ago. Lots of credit must also be given to the creator of this brilliant tag, Kyera and you should definitely check out both of their blogs.

But, for now, onward, to the rules and the tag questions!

The Rules:

  • Link back to my original post on Kyera’s Library so I can see all your answers! (Be sure to do this via pingback, I don’t get notified if you just tag my URL)
  • Thank the person(s) who tagged you… show the community some love!
  • Obviously, come up with your wonderful answers!
  • Don’t forget to tag others to keep the tag going!

ODIN – FAVOURITE STAND ALONE:
Odin is the All-Father, the leader of the Norse Gods. He is the god of wisdom, poetry, battle, death, wine, and war, among other things.

The problem with reading so much YA fantasy is that very few books actually end up being standalones; in fact, YA fantasy has a habit of claiming to be a standalone only to have a series book deal announced shortly after the publication (and success) of a book. However, thankfully, one of my favourite books of all-time is a standalone and that is The Graveyard Book by the ever-wonderful Neil Gaiman. This book has my heart and soul and it is truly heartwarming and uplifting in the end, which is strange for a book that starts “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.”

THOR – A BOOK THAT HITS YOU IN THE FEELS:
Thor is the god of thunder, weather, warriors, strength, and storms, so his might packs a punch. He is married to the beautiful Lady Sif.

Weirdly connected to my previous answer by way of marriage is The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, a non-fiction book/memoir exploring the idea of creativity and why we (as creators, as humans, as family members) struggle to admit that we need help and ask someone else for their knowledge, expertise, or (simply) money. Given that I am not a freelancer or busker or performer of any kind, I wasn’t expecting to be hit so much by this book but it ended up speaking so true to life in general and I did tear up at a few points when Amanda Palmer got a little personal.

LOKI – BIGGEST BOOK PLOT TWIST OR CHARACTER BETRAYAL:
Loki is the god of mischief, thieves and thrives on chaos.

I’m just going to say it: Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys. In hindsight, it’s SO fucking obvious, and WHY didn’t I see it… it’s literally said right there on the page but I skipped over it on first read and chalked it down to banter. I can’t tell you what or who this answer pertains to because HUGE SPOILERS but, yeah, bit of a plot twist really…

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