Tag Time – The Ultimate Book Tag

It’s been so long since I’ve done a tag, I just couldn’t resist doing this one! While I love participating in weekly tags like Fae Friday and Top Ten Tuesday, doing a one-time tag adds some variety.

I saw the Ultimate Book Tag over on Witty and Sarcastic Book Club and I just had to do it! I don’t know who the original creator is though… But shout out to you, whoever you are! The questions are unique, but at the same time a great way to get to know me a little better. It’s a long tag though, so I’ll do my best to keep my answers short!

1 – Do you get sick while reading in the car?

Is it’s a physical book yes, if it’s my e-reader, no. I think I conditioned myself to be able to read electronically because I’m also on my phone all the damn time, even in the car (not while driving though!! I’m a safe boi).

2 – Which author’s writing style is completely unique to you and why?

The first author I thought of is Jasper Fforde. I’ve only read one book by him, The Eyre Affair, but it was such an absurd story. Highly amusing though! I’ve said it before, but it really is your average detective mixed with Monty Python like humor, and a 1980s Great Britain you would never expect. It’s a fun read, so I recommend picking it up!

3 – Harry Potter or Twilight? Give three reasons why?

So I obviously know that J.K. Rowling is a less than delightful person, but I can’t unread Harry Potter and I’ve never read Twilight, so I’m gonna go with Harry Potter. I have seen two Twilight movies, though. The first one and the very last one. Anyway;

1: I don’t mind romance in fantasy books at all, but I like it best when there’s still a plot if you take it away. Twilight has no plot if you take away the romance, whereas in Harry Potter the romance neither added nor took away from the plot.
2: I probably would’ve liked Twilight when I was 14, but actively avoided it, and now I feel like I won’t like it because I’m so biased. And old.
3: I just like the world of Harry Potter better.

4 – Do you carry a book bag? If so, what’s in it?

I don’t have a specific book bag. If I want to bring along a physical book, it’ll go in my regular bag. Most time when I’m on the road I take my e-reader though, and I do have a cover for it. I don’t want scratches on it!

5 – Do you smell your books?

Yes, but only new ones. I think old books are icky and I would never stick my nose in them for fear of inhaling a shit ton of dust mites.

6 – Books with or without illustrations?

Remember when you thought you were being super mature for reading books without pictures? Yeah, that’s kinda bullshit. I love illustrations in my books, especially if it’s fan art. My copy of Empire of Storms and Chain of Gold have fan art illustrations, and my goal is to one day own the leather bound editions of the Mistborn books.

7 – What book did you love while reading, but discovered later didn’t have quality writing?

Hmmm this is a hard question because I’m super easily satisfied. Plus, if the writing is truly bad I’m not likely to finish the book. I think for this question I’ll choose the Fallen series. Anyone remember those? I loved those while reading them, but looking back there was like zero diversity. And I’m also contradicting myself here with question 3, because if you take away the romance out of these books there is not plot to speak of either.

8 – Do you have any funny stories from your childhood regarding books?

In elementary school we had reading buddies, who were students from two or three grades up. The goal was to become a better reader. Anyway, I was addicted to this one book, and would choose to read it every single time. Until like the fourth or fifth time or so, and my reading buddy got mad and told me to pick a different book, for God’s sake.

9 – What’s the thinnest book on your shelf?

It’s probably this one! I don’t own any novellas now that I think about it, and those tend to be short. I got this book at the World Market of all places, because the cover totally intrigued me. Puffin has published multiple classics with these chalk-like covers, and I want to try to get more of them! Though of course, I haven’t yet read it. I don’t know why, because I could probably read it in less than two hours. Maybe it’s because I already know how the story goes anyway, so I don’t feel as pressured to pick it up…

10 – What is the thickest book you own?

I think the very thickest book I own is the Barnes & Noble leather bound edition of Edgar’s Allan Poe’s poems and stories. It’s huge and very heavy. But the thickest book I’ve actually read is The Priory of the Orange Tree, and that’s purely based on heft. The thickest book by page count I’ve ever read is I think Fall of Giants, by Ken Follett, which has well over 1000 pages.

11 – Do you write as well as you read?

Hahahaha! ….. No. I have not a grain of creativity in me, I could never write a novel. My academic writing is pretty solid though, so if you need help with your papers, hit me up.

12 – When did you first get into reading?

I don’t think I ever got into reading, it was just always a part of me. I was born with a book in my hands (okay, I wasn’t)! Although I do remember taking a hiatus from reading as an early teenager. As one tends to do when you’re more obsessed with having a social life.

13 – What is your favorite classic book?

To my shame, I have never read any classic book except Frankenstein. And I only read Frankenstein as part of my science fiction literature class. I used to have a lot of classic books on my shelves, but I figured out I was extremely unlikely to read them, so I gave them all away. Unless… Does the Hobbit count as a classic at this point? Because in that case I choose the Hobbit.

14 – If you were given a book as a present that you already read and hated, what would you do?

Smile and say thank you. Then donate it to someone else. Even books I don’t like deserve to be read, so I’d tried to make someone else happy with it!

15 – What is a lesser known book you know of that is similar to the Harry Potter series and Hunger Games series?

I’d say Keeper of the Lost Cities. I know this book is very popular among middle graders, since they are the targeted audience. But this series also has a main character who has no clue she’s special and has to attend a magic school where she proves to be both great and utterly average. Also some teacher hate her, while some love her. I’d say give this series a shot if you haven’t yet. They’re very good books!

16 – What is a bad writing habit you have?

When I’m writing my blog posts, I always have to fight with SEO because I tend to write in the passive voice a lot. It’s easy to avoid when answering tag questions, because then I tend to write like I talk, but any other post… passive voice.

17 – What is your favorite word?

Ooooh I’ve never quite thought of that. I speak multiple languages, and I just forgot all the words of all of them. Though I do like “defenestration…” Not sure what that says about me.

18 – Are you a nerd, dork or a dweeb?

Hmm… I think I’m about 90% nerd, and 10% dork. I can be incredibly ditzy at times. But at least being a ditz is a source of amusement for my friends!

19 – Vampires of Faeries? Why?

As much as I love a good vampire story, faeries just have way more range. A vampire is always a vampire, but with faeries it can go multiple directions. Will we get the mischievous kind? The cruel kind? The benevolent kind? Who knows! Plus, I like faerie folklore just slightly better than vampire folklore. Most vampiric origin stories are just… gross.

20 – Shapeshifters or angels? Why?

This one is hard, because I don’t have much experience with either. Though I think I’m gonna go with shapeshifters. Again, the range is just a little larger, and the possibilities are endless if you can shapeshift!

21 – Spirits or werewolves?

Okay this one is hard because I enjoy both. I love ghost stories and I think spirits are super interesting and ~spooky~ but I also love werewolves! But if we’re going in terms of which books with either I enjoyed more, I’m gonna say spirits.

22 – Zombies or Vampires? Why?

Now I’m gonna choose vampires. Zombies are just creepy, haha. And vampires are usually cunning and scheme a lot, and zombies… not so much.

23 – Love triangles or forbidden love?

Oh man, I hate love triangles so much. The only time I tolerated it was in the Shadowhunter books. Soooo forbidden love it is! Which I actually really enjoy. Give me all the books that have forbidden romances!

24 – Full on romance of action-filled books with a little romance?

Lots of action please! I genuinely enjoy romance sub-plots in the books I read, but like I said before: I like them best when there’s still a plot without the love interest. It’s not so much that I don’t enjoy full romance books at all. I don’t read them often, but sometimes I’ll branch out. It’s just that I don’t like it when the book is sold as a fantasy/sci-fi and it turns out it’s really just a romance with ~some~ elements of fantasy/sci-fi.

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Wow, this tag was long! 24 questions in total. But still lots of fun to do! Feel free to tag yourself and participate! Also if someone knows the original creator please tell me…

In search of more fun tags to do? Check out my Tag Archive!