The Ultimate Book Tag

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what to blog about right now. I like to review all of the books I read, but I most recently finished The Count of Monte Cristo and I don’t think anyone cares about my thoughts on that book (it is amazing, read it), so in the meantime, I don’t know what to do.

I’ve seen a few Booktubers do these things called Book tags where they answer a list of questions all about books and reading habits. It sounded fun, so why not give it a shot? I haven’t read any of these questions, I didn’t pick a tag I liked, I just found this one from The Bibliophile Girl and went with it. (Make sure to check out her blog)

Let’s get into it.

Do You Get Sick While Reading In The Car?

Yes. I didn’t as a kid, but in fifth grade we had to read The Secret Garden. I threw up while reading it on a road trip. Ever since then I cannot read anything (not even text messages) while in a car and I cannot read that book without feeling nauseous.

Which Author’s Writing Style Is Completely Unique To You And Why?

This is an interesting question. My first thought was Stephen King. Whenever I read a passage I can normally tell if it’s Stephen King or someone heavily inspired by him. I think that makes his style fairly unique.

Also, Hemingway because of course.

Harry Potter or Twilight? Give 3 Reasons Why.

Harry Potter, obviously.

1. It’s actually good
2. It sparked my love of reading and writing
3. VAMPIRES AREN’T SUPPOSED TO SPARKLE

Do You Carry A Book Bag? If So, What’s In It (Besides Books)?

Not in quarantine. But, before Covid house arrest, I brought a backpack with me to work. Nothing fun in it, just my work laptop.

Do You Smell Your Books?

Not intentionally. Which, I think, makes me the weird one.

Books With or Without Illustrations?

Without generally. I don’t even like portrayals of the characters on the cover. I prefer to form my own mental image of what they look like. Although, I’m willing to admit that maybe I just haven’t found a great illustrated edition of a book I love. I’m sure The Count of Monte Cristo has some great illustrated editions.

What Book Did You Love While Reading, But Discovered Later It Wasn’t Quality Writing?

I actually don’t really know. I wouldn’t say any book I loved was poor writing. Besides, if you are entertained while reading it, isn’t that the whole point? How could it be bad writing if it fulfills its purpose?

Do You Have Any Funny Stories Involving Books From Your Childhood?

Honestly, no. That’s two boring answers in a row, but its the truth. I didn’t read much as a child, mostly a few graphic novels and animes when I was a kid and my mom took us to the library. I hated reading the books assigned to me in class, so I assumed I hated reading. Turns out I love reading and it took reading Harry Potter in 10th grade to show me that. So I guess I wasn’t reading when the funny stories would have happened.

What Is The Thinnest Book On Your Shelf?

Without getting up to check, its either The Stray, which I reviewed and you can read, The Importance of Being Earnest is also a pretty thin book if I remember correctly. I have not reviewed that, but it is great. I also have a copy of Plato’s Republic that is pretty thin.

What Is the Thickest Book On Your Shelf?

I’m going to limit this to one singular book. I have all three Lord of the Rings books in one volume, I have all of the Chronicles of Narnia in one volume.

I think my thickest one volume book is either War and Peace or John Calvin’s Institutes. Under the Dome is also pretty thick now that I’m looking at my shelf.

One of those.

Do You Write As Well As Read? Do You See Yourself Being An Author In the Future?

Yes, I do love to write. I’m definitely trying to be a full-time writer, but we’ll see how that goes.

When Did You Get Into Reading?

I’ve talked about this a little bit in different posts and this one, but I guess I’ll tell the story again.

As a kid, my mom took my brother and me to the library quite often. It was free and we were broke. I never really read anything other than graphic novels and anime from the library, but there was a Spiderman book there with over five hundred pages that I always wanted to try, but never did.

As I got older, my teachers started assigning books for me to read and I hated all of them. Or maybe I hated being told to read them, I don’t know. But school killed my desire to read. I spent many years with no interest at all in reading.

But then, on a ninth or tenth grade field trip to Washington DC, I saw the girl I thought I was madly in love with reading the last Harry Potter book. I decided right then that I’d read all of them as well, because if she liked it I wanted to like it. That summer, I checked out the first couple of books from the library, read them in about three days, and kept going. It took me less than a month to finish the entire series. I was obsessed.

After I finished reading Harry Potter, I was left with what I can only call an emptiness. That’s dramatic, I know, but it left me with a longing to feel the excitement of reading Harry Potter for the first time again. To this day, my reading is all about chasing the feeling Harry Potter gave me when I first read it.

What Is Your Favorite Classic Book?

This is tough.

Maybe The Count of Monte Cristo because I LOVED that book, but that could be recency bias coming into play. War and Peace is also one of my favorite books.

What Was Your Best Subject In School?

Oh boy. I was pretty mediocre in all of them. Never cared about school, but I never got bad grades. I did what I was supposed to do and moved on.

Probably history?

If You Were Given A Book As A Present That You Read Before And Hated, What Would You Do?

That’s tough. I probably wouldn’t tell them I hated it, but I would mention that I have already read it. Maybe they kept the receipt or something.

What Is A Lesser Known Series That You Know Of That Is Similar to Harry Potter or the Hunger Games?

Any modern YA dystopian or fantasy is going to be similar to those two, since those two changed the entire YA genre. Basically everything that comes after them has some deal of influence from them.

Vampires of Fairies? Why?

Depends on what kind. Are we talking Twilight vampires or real vampires? When it comes to mythical creatures, I’m always more interested in the darker and grittier aspect of that.

I love the concept of traditional vampires being monsters that don’t look like it. On the outside they look like strange affluent people, but they are secretly killers who live on human blood. That’s pretty cool.

Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?

I wouldn’t really compare these two in any way, so I have no idea.

Love Triangles or Forbidden Love?

Forbidden love. I don’t hate either trope, I think they both have their place and can be done exceptionally well. But if I had to pick what kind of story I’d rather read about, forbidden love all day.

Full on Romance Books Or Action-Packed With A Few Love Scenes?

I have never gotten into Romance novels. I’ve only read like two or three of them, but it isn’t my thing. So I guess I’d have to pick the action one.