#my answer is actually a book I dnfed

[smalltownfae]

Don't take it to heart. I just had really bad experiences with these books and I am bored.

It kind of pains me to have a book by Butler here but it is what it is. Sometimes your fav authors mess up really bad.

[gohandinhand]

I don't think these questions are on the list but hopefully you don't mind answering some extras! Are there any upcoming unreleased books you're looking forward to? What was the last book you DNF'd? Do you have any comics, manga or graphic novels to recommend? If your three favorite book protagonists met would they get along or would they hate each other?

oooohh going off-label! here for it!! Are there any upcoming unreleased books you're looking forward to? Alecto the Ninth! would love to be counting down to it except we still don't know when it'll be released lmao good luck tamsyn muir

What was the last book you DNF'd? River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey. i was very intrigued by the concept (based off a very real US congressman's suggestion in the early 1900s to import hippos and build a livestock industry based around them) but i found the actual execution grating and DNFed maybe 40% of the way through

Do you have any comics, manga or graphic novels to recommend? sadly, not a genre i've ever really gravitated to! i have one (1) graphic novel from when i was heavy in the research phase for my selkie au and i did really like it - The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag. it's just a short one-off, though, and i struggle with short stories... i am greedy and always want more

If your three favorite book protagonists met would they get along or would they hate each other? i honestly don't even know who else i would throw in the mix here but given one of them is el... no, probably not 😂 who does that bitch get along with? i love her

[plantdad-dante]

Book #182 - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

(second time read; how can a book both drag and fly by. by being shallow and too long, good answer.)

I have problems with the constant perspective hopping. It's not that there are no differences between the characters, they do all have different kinds of thoughts (Simon is kinda stupid and thinks about food a lot, Agatha is apathetic and annoyed, Penny is smart and worried, and Baz is emo and gay), but the way they express it is annoyingly similar. Like, they are differently characterized by what and how they think, but their narrative voices... it's like they do say different things, but it's all the same voice. Like a bad audio book.

It isn't that much of a deal breaker (I mean, they do all differentiate themselves from one another in content), but sometimes I did need other characters' names in the scene to remind me whose head I'm in, especially when the jumping happened every three pages and in the middle of important plot stuff.

Otherwise, it inherits some flaws from the fact that it is basically a gay HP knock-off, though I suppose the magic system is a fraction more thought out. Didn't stop me from rolling my eyes like a million times, and didn't stop the book from being... confused about racism, fictional and otherwise. For lack of better words. It probably also hasn't helped this book that the last time I read it was 2019, and my already unfavourably opinion of Harry Potter has since then noticably deteriorated further...

Anyway, my first take away back then was that it was too middle-of-the-road for me to understand why the people I heard talk about it were so hype about it? And this second read just kind of... confirmed that. Like, this is derivative of something that was already derivative (drarry fanfiction) of something derivative (Harry Potter), and I am too uninterested in it to contin-

oh right, I did buy the sequels back then. and had started the second one but was immediately struck by the smell of "sequel of opportunity" (aka "ooohhh this book that could stand well on its own did well, let's make this a trilogy actually" sickness), and dnfed it post-haste. Ah well, let's see where this goes, then.

[aurorawest]

16, 17, 24! :)

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Babel by RF Kuang (which I actually finished) and In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune (which I DNFed around page 80). For me, Babel fell apart in the final act. I felt like Kuang was trying to tell a story that she simply doesn't yet have the skill as a writer to pull off (she's young!!). I really found myself wishing that she'd waited ten or fifteen years to write the book, because I think it would have really been something to behold.

In the Lives of Puppets...I recently posted my thoughts on it, but I'll just add here that I'm done reading TJ Klune. I have one more of his books in my TBR, which is the sequel to a dystopian novel which was actually good. In the Lives of Puppets was so bad that it actually makes me question that I ever loved his previous books.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Answered here!

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

Lol so many things. I don't know that it's even worth listing them. Notable ones, I guess, were: In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas, They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody, The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner, The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard, The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver, A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson, and Spell Bound by FT Lukens.

I DNFed them because, in most cases, they were bad. Lol. A few of them were okay, just not for me, but honestly most of them are just not good.

Thanks for asking!!

end-of-year book ask

[snotsloth]

August Reading Log

My August was full of political machinations, capricious gods, trauma recovery, and outrageous amounts of slow-burn mutual pining, yes even in the smutty books. I finished seven books this month and DNFed one. Overall, I had a great time and I’m excited to continue several of the series that I started. 

First off, I finished Godkiller by Hannah Kanner. This is book one of The Fallen Gods series and it was a fun fantasy adventure with good characters and an interesting world. Kissin, one of the main characters has very strong Geralt from The Witcher vibes, and she, along with Skedi, a minor god of white lies were my two favorite characters. It was quite short for an adult fantasy, so in some ways, it felt more like a teaser than a full novel, but it still packed in some cool world-building details and set up a larger quest for our protagonists along with a mystery to solve. So I’m invested enough to keep reading the series. I’ve already purchased the second book, Sunbringer.

Meanwhile, I listened to The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky, written by N. K. Jemisin and narrated by Robin Miles. These are the second and third books in The Broken Earth trilogy that started with The Fifth Season. I had previously listened to the first few chapters of The Obelisk Gate but then lost steam and set it aside. This time I was determined to finish the whole series and god, it was so worth it. 

Some people will tell you that The Fifth Season can function as a standalone and while they are technically correct, the first book is just the tip of the iceberg. You don’t understand even half of what is actually going on until you are at least a few chapters into The Obelisk Gate, and most of the real answers and resolutions don’t come until The Stone Sky. This series as a whole is a masterpiece of narrative structure, world-building, and character-building. It is so worth the effort it takes to finish all three books. 

After Godkiller and The Obelisk Gate, I was in the mood for something more romantic, so I picked up A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. This is one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read. Val is possibly the most sympathetic, multi-dimensional, nuanced depiction of a sexual assault victim I’ve ever seen. And it’s within a larger story about slowly becoming a happier, healthier, kinder, and braver version of yourself when you are suddenly removed from a hostile environment and placed in one where you can thrive in the open. I think one of my favorite quotes from Val sums it up really well, “I have lived a cramped life, it seems. So shy of having my greatest indiscretion discovered that I seldom dared indulge in the simpler ones.” 

Moving directly from such a tender love story to a filthy monsterfucker romance might seem unhinged. But the heart wants what the heart wants and I wanted A Bone in His Teeth by Kellen Graves. I went in expecting eerie atmospheric coastal settings, a smattering of the kind of delicious body horror only non-cis people seem able to write, and lots and lots of freaky genderfucker monster smut, and boy howdy this book delivered on all that, and then some. What I was not expecting was a surprisingly tender love story about two people who could never quite fit right into the unjust systems they were born into and chose to burn it all down for the chance of finding a way to fit all their jagged, broken edges together. Alba is my favorite protagonist of any book I’ve read this year, and Eridanys is a literal force of nature with two dicks and a thirst for human flesh in more ways than one. This is Graves’ best book yet and I cannot wait to read what they publish next. 

Riding the high of several delightful books in a row, I started Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco with confidence that I had another banger on my hands. With vampires, body horror, a gloomy atmosphere, and a poly romance, this book had a lot of elements that I expected to love. However, the clunky prose, sloppy world-building, and meandering plot so drastically reduced my enjoyment of the book that I abandoned my read at 70%. 

Needing a palette cleanser after that, I turned to a guaranteed hit and picked up A Restless Truth by Freya Marske. And Marske did not miss! This is the sequel to A Marvelous Light which I read earlier this year and loved, so I was excited to pick it up. Marske is a master of character-driven smut, a.k.a. Sex scenes that serve a purpose to the story and reveal aspects of the characters we would not otherwise know. The setting and core murder mystery were also excellent and kept the plot moving at a decent clip. Maude had been one of my favorite side characters from the first book, so having her as one of the main characters really worked for me. Her love interest, Violet was charismatic and brought her own interesting baggage both to the plot and to her romance with Maude.  On the craft level, Marske is one of my favorite authors working today. Her prose is so bright and evocative in both its emotional and physical details. Her settings are lush and full of historical easter eggs. And her characters breathe with multi-dimensional life. I have one book left in The Last Binding series and I will probably devour it this month, seeing as it just arrived in the mail this week.

My final read of the month didn’t quite measure up to A Restless Truth, but I still had a fun time with Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell. This was another arranged marriage romance set against a backdrop of courtly intrigue, espionage, and a fantastical setting, except this time it was a space opera instead of a historical fantasy. I thought Maxwell struck a good balance between romance elements and space opera elements. The settings were appropriately grand and gorgeous in scale and the political web was an effective tangle of different conflicting interests with no clear immediate solution. However, I felt that the two main characters lacked dimension and uniqueness. I fear part of the problem was that I had so recently read A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, and Winter’s Orbit just could not stand up to the inevitable comparison. Still, it was an easy, entertaining read that kept me engaged while stuck in bed on a sick day. Maxwell has a second book set in this universe and I think I will probably pick it up at some point.

Overall, it was a great reading month with only one dud. For September, I have a few books I know that I want to get through. While I don’t keep a strict order to my TBR, I know I want to finish The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri for my local book club (I’m about ⅓ of the way through at the moment). I am also still listening to A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, which is really starting to pick up in the second half. One of my most anticipated reads of the year, Reclaimed by Seth Haddon arrived in the mail this week, along with the conclusion to The Last Binding trilogy, A Power Unbound by Freya Marske. So, while I’m not certain of what I’ll finish this month, I have a few suspicions of what I will gravitate towards. 

Hope you all had as good of a reading month as I did. Let me know what your best book of the month was and what you thought of any of the books I read this month. If you pick up any of the books I recommended, please let me know your thoughts. I’m especially excited to talk to anyone else who reads A Bone In His Teeth. It was such a unique read!

[fastasyoucan1999]

brynn hi hello!!!!! 20 + 13 + 17 for the book asks please <3 i want to hear all your thoughts you are just so cool!! xoxox hope your flights goes well MWAH!! <3

liv hiii!!!! and stop it youre making me blush... the flight is over which i'm thrilled about! how are you what are you thinking abt tell me!

what was your most anticipated release? did it meet your expectations?

i'm not much of an anticipator! i'm really not a part of the wider book culture... i have no clue what's happening out there..

i guess braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer? i'd heard some fantastic things about it and it did for the most part meet my expectations! i think it dragged around the middle and towards the end.. but nearly every essay had me on the brink of tears (pls i'm begging take this with a grain of salt. i cry at dove commercials, and at those barbie ones where five year olds are lecturing to a college class and then it fades out and they were playing with a barbie the whole time...)

uhh and true grit by charles portis... it did come out in the 60s but. the cashier told me i'd love it and he was right. i did

what were your least favorite books of the year?

you're a pot stirrer. do we need to talk more about the seven husbands of evelyn hugo? bc i will. what a bland dry shallow book. it was so.... lackluster? ineffective? unoriginal? i just found it boring on all fronts. i've never read a book that left me with so little after i finished it. i can't even talk about it at length bc it's already slipping from my mind; it might as well have not existed.

also moby-dick. felt like pages were added the more i read. it was some sort of never-ending infinite silk-pulled-from-a-pocket magic trick. shocked and appalled that somehow more pages kept appearing after i finished one... i would've dnfed it but i was reading it for a class :/ and my prof was so kind, she reminded me of jessica day and she loved moby-dick. she loved it so much. so i read all of it for her <3 despised every second

the monk by matthew lewis and the italian by ann radcliffe. classic classic gothic literature. so much happening... so little actually being done. i do however respect how incredibly horny both of them were.

did any books surprise you with how good they were?

east of eden... persuasion by austen... but i'm going to answer this indulgently and say i reread gregor the overlander by suzanne collins. and though i wasn't surprised by how good it was bc collins is fantastic and i trust her implicitly... i just feel the need to emphasize what a masterclass in middle grade fiction the underland chronicles are. whatever youre thinking when you see 'middle grade fiction' literally erase it from your mind bc the series beats out everything i've ever read. percy jackson kid this harry potter kid that... hit me up if you know anything about giant rats and the casualties of war ok

[pigcatapult]

I'd be such a hazard character in a Lovecraftian setting. I see a book titled Forbidden Knowledge* in the secondhand book shop and immediately reach for it. I learn something that deals me psychic damage and I share it with my friends and a thousand internet strangers. If I ever encountered a genuine eldritch horror I have pre-approval from Mr. Piffy to smooch it.

*(It was actually a terrible book about how we should stop being so inquisitive about the universe bc we are learning too much and need to go back to having a religious fear of learning the answers to mysteries the author thinks should remain unsolved. I think I DNFed partway into chapter 2 or 3)

[anneapocalypse]

Tag people you want to know more about!

Thank you for the tag, @rakshadow 💚

Tagging @darethshirl @dreadfutures @melisusthewee @bluewren @ammocharis @tea42

Favourite colour: Depends on the application, but the simple answer is blue.

Favourite food: Sushi

Song stuck in your head: Today, "Way Less Sad" by AJR.

Last thing you googled: Arlathvhen

Time: 12:52

Dream Trip: Scotland

Last book you read: Currently re-reading The Masked Empire.

Last book you enjoyed reading: Currently ugly crying over The Masked Empire, my passionate favorite of the Dragon Age novels, and taking a whole new round of meta notes from it.

Last book you hated reading: I wouldn't say hated but I DNFed The Fifth Season a while back. I really wanted to like it, but stylistically it was just not working for me.

Favourite thing to cook/bake: Oh, there's so many things. I like cooking and baking a lot. I love baking my holiday pies like my grandmother used to make. As for cooking, last week I made an amazing batch of pesto from my herb garden to have with tortellini and right now that just might be my favorite thing ever.

Favourite craft to do in your spare time: When I'm not writing or reading or playing video games, I like to sew!

Most niche dislike: I have a real squick about "soulmates AUs" and similar situations in fiction where love/romance is destined, predetermined, or otherwise "meant to be" in such a way where it's suggested that the characters don't have a choice about it. I say "squick" deliberately; it is extremely Not My Thing but no judgment if it's yours.

Opinion on circuses now and in history: I'm down to eat overpriced carnival food and watching dramatic feats of acrobatics, not so much for exploitation of animals and people. Can't actually remember the last time I saw a circus.

Do you have a sense of direction and if not what is the worst way you ever got lost: I can find my way out of a department store in a mall, but other than that I'm hopeless. I can work with a map but I don't have the visual memory to keep directions in my head. As for the worst incident, let's just say I have gone the wrong on the interstate and ended up in the wrong state.

[bubblesandpages]

for the end of year book asks: every multiple of 4?

Was gonna answer this after I was free from writing papers and REFERENCING but I need a distraction and pick-me-up

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Listen, Piranesi has been living in my head rent free since October. It is not moving out anytime soon, and I need to get to consuming everthing else Suzanna Clarke has ever written.

As far as I'm concerned, Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwick books are peak middle-grade. We have reached normal-kids-having-normalish-adventures-irl's final form (this genre doesn't have an actual name yet, someone with normal brain chemical levels please come up with one).

Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

Yep :D

My main goal was to just read more than I had the previous year. I had a pretty bad reading slump in my teens – I don't think I read anything for a good 2-3 years, and afterwards my reading was still really sporadic – being able to sit and finish a book now is so satisfying, and something I'm incredibly grateful to be able to do.

I also feel myself feeling calmer when I keep a consistent reading schedule. Something about being able to focus on one task that takes you away from the act of living your life is relaxing and I can feel my anxiety levels dropping, thank God.

Any books that disappointed you?

The second Dread Nation book by Justina Ireland. I loved the first book in the series. It was all swashbuckling female attendants who don't see eye to eye, slaying zombie hoards and dealing with conniving pastors and sheriffs. So so good. The two main characters have one of my favorite friendships in fiction, and I'm still hung up about how the second book turned out.

There was so many things that got introduced in this second book that didn't flow well together . We're introduced to a bunch of people again, and spend a lot of time with them without it amounting to much, plus a time skip that has a s*** ton of character development that we aren't there to see. The internal whiplash pivoting from a five to a one star read is palpable.

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Where the Crawdads Sing.

Pterodactyl screams

What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik didn't work for me the way the first book did. Nothing about the actual writing or trajectory of the story changed but I couldn't get into it. It's become a trend for me where I don't enjoy every second book Novik puts out, which is interesting if nothing else. Always fun to have an unaccountable relationship with a few authors.

This book also made me realize that I don't like the way Novik writes character's physical relationships. Those scenes just . . . do not work for me. At all. No thanks, next.

Did you DNF anything? Why?

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale. The Goose Girl is a beautifully put together story and Hale can write we're not questioning that, but I was board, and wasn't enjoying the characters this time so – dnfed.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars wasn't doing anything for me. I love the Eragon books, but this wasn't for me.

Thanks for the ask. Appreciate the distraction and opportunity to blather!

[tolerateit]

For the ask game, pick 3 you want to answer + your lucky number 💕 ily and go to bed

Nat how are you such a cool bean at ask games aaah tysm for sending this!!

(lucky #) 7. a book you did not finish

I think I DNFed anxious people even though I was excited to get into the story!

131. tag somebody with whom you would want to buddy read a book

Someday I'd love to try buddy reading with you or Jolien or Catie!!

114. your favourite chick lit novel

It's not my favorite per say but I can't remember if it was an actual book or something I found online but I've been looking for it, it was a story called from bonbons to yoga pants?

[yesireadforfun]

10 Questions Tag

Thank you @beautifulpaxielreads for the tag!

1.    Have you ever finished a book out of spite? Like you weren’t enjoying it, but you were determined not to let it beat you?

Literally all of the time. If I buy a book, I feel like I’m making the agreement with myself that I’m going to get my money’s worth and read it. Sometimes it works out and I end up liking it, and sometimes I just want it to be over.

2.    Do you prefer ebooks, physical books or audiobooks? Why?

I prefer physical books because that’s how I started loving books, plus I do get some satisfaction watching as I get closer and closer to the back of the book.

3.    What’s the longest book you have read?

The longest would have to be Inheritance from the Eragon series.

4.    What’s the shortest book?

It would have to be Of Mice and Men which read in school and was one of the obligated reads that I actually enjoyed.

5.    Do you read more than one book simultaneously? Why or why not? If so, what’s the greatest amount of books you have read at the same time?

I don’t because I like to give one book my full attention and I won’t get confused about what’s going on.

6.    Have you ever attempted to read a book that is not in your native language?  (both English and non-English speakers can answer) If so, how did it go?

No, although I could, just haven’t come across any books in Spanish that interest me.

7.    Do you prefer to borrow books from the library or buy them at a bookshop?

I feel limited getting book from a library, plus buying books is one of my favorite pastimes that I use as a treat or as therapy.

8.    Have you ever bought a book from an online store?

I recently discovered the joys of the thriftbooks website and book outlet. Although, I do wish there was a giant book outlet somewhere near me that I could spend a few hours in.

9.    Is there one genre or style of book that you will never read?

Definitely political thrillers, they do absolutely nothing for me.

10. When you come across typos in your reading, does it bother you?

It does a little bit because I feel that the author has put so much work into writing this book, so the publisher or the editors should put in the same effort to make it the best that it can be. If its just one or two, we’re human, but I feel it’s a lack of respect for the author when there are tons throughout the book.

I tag @omgreading, @whosgallifreyian, @thefairybookhoarder, @sb-reads

This is totally optional, just something fun to do!

1. Have you done a book haul or bought a large amount of books during the quarantine? If so, which ones?

2. Have you finished a series recently, did you like the ending or were you disapointed? 

3. What is one of your favorite literary characters?

4. What is a book that you have DNFed recently? 

5. Is there a book that you really wanted to like, but just didn’t?

6. What is your favorite place to buy books and how much time can you spend there if no one is rushing you? 

7. Do you think that physical books are making a comeback? 

8. Is there a book that you thought you would hate, but ended up loving?

9. Is there an author that you gave a second chance to? 

10. What is your favorite book cover? 

[thekindworthreading]

12, 24, 36 :)

Thanks!🥰

12. what book was the most out of your comfort zone?

I read a short story collection (Rentier, Raubmord, Rauschgoldengel) and one of the short stories was way out of my comfort zone and I wish there had been a trigger warning

36. what books did you dnf?

I actually didn't dnf a book this year! Almost dnfed The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas but it was only 200 pages so I saw ot through

I've already answered 24 in another ask🥰

[thinksthatit-sbesttonotlookback]

How Well Do I Know My Bookshelf?.

       Hello Everyone! In order to fight boredom while being cooped up, I decided to do the “How Well Do You Know Your Bookshelf” challenge. The way it works is that I have to answer 28 questions about my books, and each book is picked via coordinates that I have gathered from Random.org, @calamariscorpion, and @reverend-pootis . Once again, thank you for helping me with this! Normally you’re supposed to keep track of your score, but I’m too sleepy to care about score right at this moment.

(If you wish to try it, you can look up the questions online!) And now, here are the results!

- Without looking at the description, tell us what the book is about! (7, 41)

The book I ended up landing on was the first edition of the 3-in-1 Fullmetal Alchemist manga by Hiromu Arakawa. This book in particular is about Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are alchemists attempting to search for the Philosopher’s stone in order to restore their bodies.

-Without looking it up, what is the genre of this book? (9, 17)

The book I got was Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston. This is a LGBTQ+ Romance.

- Without looking at the book, tell us what is on the cover! (4, 37)

The book I got was The Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head by Lauren Oliver and H.C. Chester. I love this book so much that I practically memorized the cover. It’s of the Dumfrey Dime Museum, and our main quartet standing in each of the windows.

- Without looking it up, what is the main character's name? (4, 15)

I landed on A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs. The main character is Jacob Portman.

- Without looking, name a side character! (9, 32)

I got Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. I have not read this book yet, so I’ll just throw out the first name that comes into my mind: John. (I’m incorrect)

- Guess how many pages the book has without looking! (If you guess 25 below or 25 above the number, you can count it as a win!) [5, 23]

I landed on The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. I actually DNFed this book, so I don’t know how many pages it has; I’ll guess 649. (I just checked, it’s over 800. I’m sad)

- Without looking it up, what rating did you give this book? If you land on a book you haven't read, pick a new set of numbers. (3, 21)

I landed on The Talisman by Stephen King, which I haven’t even opened. And since I don’t have extra coordinates, I went to the next available read book, which happens to be Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. I gave this book 5/5 stars (It’s one of my all-time favs.)

- Without looking, where does this book take place? (4, 29)

I landed on Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. Even though I haven’t read this, I know that this takes place in Washington.

- Without looking, what are the parent's names? (1, 32)

I landed on This Book is Not good for You by Pseudonymous Bosch. Unfortunately, I don’t remember any of the three parents named in this book, so no points for me!

- Without looking at the hardback, what color is the book under the dust jacket? (6, 48)

I accidentally cheated on this question, so this one does not count for me. I originally got Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki, which is a paperback, like all of my mangas. The next book with a dust jacket was Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender, and I could see under the dust jacket from my bed, which renders this question moot. (It was Yellow, if you wished to know)

- Without looking, is there anything on the hardback? Like an imprint or an image of some sort? (2, 39)

I got The Legend of Luke by Brian Jacques!!! I never took the dust jacket off of this book when I read it last, so I don’t know. I’m going to assume that it has one, because it’s written like an epic. (There wasn’t anything on it :( )

- Without taking the dust jacket off, what is the color of the font on the hardback? (1, 21)

I landed on Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, which happened to be a paperback. The next available book with a dust jacket is All By My Selves by Jeff Dunahm. I believe that the font is yellow! (it’s actually this really nice red)

- Without looking do the chapters have titles or are they just numbered? (8, 46)

I got Soul Eater vol. 2 by Atsushi Ohkubo. Since this is a manga they have titles. 

- Without looking at the book cover, does it have an award on it? (3, 7)

I got the Dark Half by Stephen King, and my copy does not have any type of award on it.

- Without looking, does this book have any author blurbs on the front cover? (3,4)

I got Skeleton Crew by Stephen King, and there are no author blurbs on the front cover.

- Without looking, does the book have a description on the back? (5, 4)

I landed on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and I believe that my copy has a description on the back (No, it doesn’t. All it has is an introduction, some notes, and about the person who wrote the introduction)

- Without looking, does this book have an author photo? (7, 12)

I got the 2nd Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 by Hiromu Arakawa. I don’t believe she has an author photo of herself, but I do know that she has her cow persona on her author segment. Since this question is technically asking about a photo with a human, my answer is no.

- Without looking it up, is this author using a pen name? (6, 49)

I got the Volume 2 of Case Study of Vanitas. I do not believe that Jun Mochizuki is a pen name

- Without peeking, what POV is this book written in? 1st or 3rd? (2, 17)

I landed on Eulalia! By Brian Jacques. Having read quite a few of the Redwall Books, I can safely say that all of them are written in third person.

- Without looking are there any pictures or graphics in this book? (7, 20)

I landed on volume 2 of My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi. This is a manga, which is almost entirely illustrations.

- Without looking, does it have an epilogue? (4, 36)

I landed on The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. I just read this so i should remember this, but I am blanking out on this. I'm just gonna take a risk and say that it doesn’t have an epilogue.

- Without looking, does this book have a prologue? (8, 3)

I can safely say that the third volume of Ouran Highschool Host Club by Bisco Hatori does not have a prologue.

- Without looking, is this book signed? (6, 23)

I got the first volume of Black Butler by Yana Toboso, and it, like my other books, isn’t signed.

- Without looking, do the page numbers have a design above or below them or none at all? (7, 27)

I landed on the 2nd volume of Noragami Stray God by Adachitoka. Because it’s a manga, I know that there’s no designs on the page numbers.

- Without looking, do the chapter headers have designs on them? (4, 54)

I ended up on Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer again. Having not read them, I do not know, but I’ll assume that they don’t have any designs on them.

- Without looking, are the acknowledgements in the front or the back of the book? (4, 17)

The coordinates gave me Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. I haven’t read this since middle school, but I’ll assume that it's in the back�� (The book had no acknowledgements)

- Without looking, what year was this book published? (2, 33)

This is the question I was dreading, especially since I landed on  Mossflower by Brian Jacques. I’m going to lowball it and say that this was written in 2004… (Turns out I highballed it. Mossflower came out in 1988!)

- Without looking, what year did you read this book? (5, 15)

I was also dreading this, as I don’t remember when I read books, just that I have read them. My final book was The Volcano of Fire by Geronimo Stilton. I’m just going to assume that I read it in 2015. (There’s no possible way to verify this)

--

Even though you don’t technically tag someone for one of these, I would like to challenge @cookiecutterwrites and @angelolytle to try this out. Who knows, you may like it!

[The edits aren’t saving]

[kattitudereads]

50 questions you’ve never been asked

Tagged by @theatre-steph. Thanks, Steph! 💖

1. What is the colour of your hairbrush?: Red.

2. Name a food you never eat?: Mushroom. The taste and texture? 🤢

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold?: Too warm. And I hate being hot, lol.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?: Editing an essay for my physics class.

5. What is your favourite candy bar?: Ghirardelli’s Dark Chocolate and Raspberry.

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports event?: A Yankees game in NYC. Aaron Judge almost hit the ball right out of the park, and it was awesome.

7. What is the last thing you said out loud?: “Our bathroom is flooding!” (My landlords were doing laundry upstairs and it overflowed into and then over my bathroom sink.)

8. What is your favourite ice cream?: Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?: Water.

10. Do you like your wallet?: Yes! It was a gift and the pattern is the stained glass scene from the animated Beauty and the Beast. There’s also a matching purse.

11. What was the last thing you ate?: Homemade Beer Cheese Baked Mac and Cheese. 😋

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend?: I haven’t bought new clothes in like over 4 weeks.

13. The last sporting event you watched?: The Super Bowl. I read through most of it. 😂

14. What is your favourite flavour of popcorn?: Does kettle corn count as a flavor? 😅

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?: One of my best friends.

16. Ever go camping?: No, but I’m dying to.

17. Do you take vitamins?: Everyday.

18. Do you go to church every Sunday?: I do not.

19. Do you have a tan?: I actually tan very easily, so I always have some variation of a farmer’s tan. I should just give in and go tanning so it’s all even, but I really don’t want skin cancer. 🤷🏼‍♀️

20. Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza?: Right now, Chinese food sounds better. I really want an egg roll. 😂 Another day I might say pizza.

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?: If it’s in a glass, yes. Can or bottle, no.

22. What colour socks do you usually wear?: I’m obsessed with cute socks, so they’re all sorts of colors and patterns, lol. Today I had Luna (from Sailor Moon) socks on.

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit?: Yes, but rarely. I’m a grandma driver.

24. What terrifies you?: Bugs!!! 😱

25. Look to your left, what do you see?: A pile of books I’m reading. Hand sanitizer. Aquaphor. Tissues. Headphones. Cough drops. A notebook and pen. Basically an arsenal. 😂

26. What chore do you hate?: Dishes without a dishwasher.

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent?: I get excited because it’s so different from what I’m used to hearing in my daily life, haha.

28. What’s your favourite soda?: Cream soda. Oooo and Butterbeer soda, which is like cream soda, just more butterscotchy. Also Pepsi over Coke. Fight me. 🤪

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thrus?: Drive-thrus. I hate going in.

30. Who’s the last person you talked to?: My partner. He’s listing random movies to see if I’ve seen them (I have not and don’t want to and I’m trying to read and answer these questions, so can he please shoosh? 🤣)

31. Favourite cut of beef?: I’m not a huge fan of beef, but if I do eat it, I prefer super thin and well done steak. I have no idea what cut. Basically, whatever’s the thinnest, lol. I don’t like when it’s fatty. 🤢

32. Last song you listened to?: Someone You Loved. I’m obsessed with Lewis Capaldi’s voice. 😍

33. Last book you read?: Recently finished The Last Magician (SO GOOD), The Enchanted April (would have DNFed if it wasn’t for a book club), and The Neverending Story (I loved it...and learned the movie only covers the first half of the book!!).

34. Favourite day of the week?: Usually Friday, but what even is time now?

35. Can you say the alphabet backwards?: If I think about it, sure. And slowly.

36. How do you like your ☕️?: Light and sweet. Sometimes black with sweetener.

37. Favourite pair of shoes?: My nude ankle boots. I wear them everyday.

38. The time you normally go to sleep?: I’m a night owl, so late.

39. The time you normally get up?: Usually, I need to be up for work at 5 AM everyday (I teach kids overseas, so yay time zone differences). Sometimes I go back to sleep when I’m done teaching.

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets?: Sunsets. But a good sunrise can be cleansing.

41. How many blankets on your bed?: Currently four. My cats like them. 😅

42. Describe your kitchen plates: Square and turquoise and brown and black...the pattern is meant to look like a rough gemstone.

43. Do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage?: Midori Sours are my favorite. I also love Moscato.

44. Do you play cards?: If by cards you mean Cards Against Humanity, then yes. Poker? Nope and no thanks. I find it boring.

45. What colour is your car?: It’s called Black Currant. It’s like a dark purple.

46. Can you change a tire?: Nope. My sister-in-law did try to show me when I was younger...but I didn’t pay attention. Hence why I have AAA.

47. Your favourite province?: It’s states here, so...Hawaii (dying to visit) and The Berkshires in MA (they have the BEST hiking trails. So gorgeous!).

48. Favourite job you’ve ever had?: My current one. I’m a remote ESL teacher.

49. How did you get your biggest scar?: I was trying to put a collar on one my two rescue kittens. She was really skittish and still needed to be better socialized, aaand she bit me. It went really deep. I was in the hospital for three days and had to keep the wound open for a month. It was gross. 😂 I still can’t bend my finger all the way down, lol. She was worth it, though. After some time and patience, she’s now the most affectionate lap kitty and loves to talk to us. 💖

50. What did you do today that made someone else happy?: Stuck up for a friend, like you do.

Tagging: @howmuchistoomuchgsw (and anyone else that wants to do it!)

[safifonhasstrel]

Totally Didn't Book Tag

(stolen from booktube)

1. Totally didn’t need to have a sequel/sequels.  

One of the most disappointing sequels for me was Ever The Brave (Ever The Hunted #2) I totally think everything could have been put into one book, had book one been like 100 pages longer. In book 2 nothing really happens for most of the time, the major plot point is a love triangle, and as pretty much every love triangle ever, it’s just there to fill the plot and cause drama. I liked book one a lot because it had NO love triangle, and the sequel is filled with the young king getting butthurt because the MC is not wearing the dresses he gifted her. (???????????????? because a king totally has no other concerns, right?) And that basically describes the majority of the book) Book one was fun, but the actual plot points of book two, like the big reveals, totally could have fit into book one.  

2. Totally didn’t need to have more than one point of view. 

I am going to switch it up a bit and go with a book that didn’t need SOME of the random points of views because I really can’t think of one that I think only needed ONE. The Wreath and The Dawn had some pretty, IMO, pointless POVs. Like the MC’s sister got like 2 chapters, and the story would not have changed at all if it had been left out. 

3. Totally didn’t need to change cover art through the middle of a series.

The Bone Season. I still have no idea why they changed the covers, it’s so pointless and the first version was beautiful while the new covers are just terrible. 

4. Totally didn’t need a love triangle.

Literally every love triangle ever. It’s my least favourite trope ever and it’s pointless every time. I am going to spill some tea and say love triangles only exist to cause drama and fill the plot when there is nothing else to write about. I said what I said. 

5. Totally didn’t need this book to be included in this series. 

I really don’t have an answer for this one? I guess is probably meant like the pointless middle filler book in a trilogy, but I really can’t think of one right now. 

6. Totally didn’t need a cliffhanger.

Hmmmmmm.....every book with a cliffhanger? lol. It drives me insane when there is a cliffhanger and I have to wait like a year or more for the next book. 

7. Totally didn’t need to have just one point of view.

I really would have loved to read from Annabeth’s point of view in the Percy Jackson series. She gets a POV in HOO and I loved that, and I think it would have been so great to read from her POV in the original series. Her first impression of Percy, etc. ;)

8. Totally didn’t need that much hype.

I really can’t think of one because I am a very picky reader(for most of the time lol) and check out the first chapters on Amazon to decide if it’s worth my money or not.  

9. Totally didn’t need a relative book reference. (Eg, For example: Hunger Games fan would love Divergent.) planning on doing some!

I have seen people compare Wicked Saints to Shadow and Bone, and literally, the only similarity I noticed was that both are Russian inspired, so yeah, please don’t compare these books. They are both great in their own unique way. Yeah, I am not a fan of comparing books, and pretty much every new release gets compared to an extremely popular book/book series at some point, even though there are only minor similarities. 

10. Totally didn’t deserve my time. 

Given to the Sea. I DNFed this book in June because it was so confusing. 100 pages in and I had no idea what was going on. Beyond a Darkened Shore was such a disappointment. The magical aspects were nice, but everything else? It was sold to me as a Viking inspired book, and then there were lines like “It’s unnatural for a woman to fight”, and the mc was threatened with rape by the all-male Viking crew, and her love interest told her ‘I don’t ask, I take what I want’ ???????????? WHY?????????????????

Tagging: @chase-galathynius, @deanerys, @sxfik, @whydoyoucareaboutmyusername, @neilsjostens, @niklasmalikov, @lilabard, @thegreenprism @winterwildflowers and ????? pretty much everyone who wants to do this. I am so bad at this. 

[ram-reads]

Last book I...

Bought: I just bought the Out Now: Queer We Go Again anthology in hopes of reading a story a day for Pride Month. Unsure if I’ll actually get around to that given I’m in the middle of four other books, but here’s hoping!

Borrowed: Cries From the Lost Island by Kathleen O’Neal Gear. 

Was gifted: The omnibus version of The Promise from the ATLA graphic novel series. 

Gave to someone else: It was either The Lord of the Rings illustrated hardcover edition or The Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast graphic novel. Can’t remember which one was technically the last since they both feel fairly recent.

Started: Chainbreaker by Tara Sim. I’m liking it but I really need to give myself a break from the 400+ page books. 

Finished: All Of Our Demise by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman. It’s technically not out yet but I got my hands on an ARC. I’m so glad I did because I’ve been desperate to read the second book ever since I finished the first one back in March. The sequel did not disappoint. 

Gave 5 stars: Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh. It was basically cottagecore for gays, what’s not to like? 

Gave 2 stars: Blue Flag volume 7. It sucked that I felt the need to rate it two stars, especially after giving volume 6 five stars, but it was just so boring and focused on characters that I didn’t care about. 

Didn’t Finish: I wouldn’t have been able to answer this question last year, but I’ve finally started DNFing books and it’s been so cathartic. I don’t know why I forced myself to finish so many books I knew I wasn’t enjoying. Anyway, the last book I DNFed was The Black Hawks by David Wragg. It wasn’t bad by any means and technically I did skim the whole book. The main reason I didn’t finish it is because I was in a major reading slump and I was looking for a book to get me out of it and this book wasn’t it. If I had continued reading I knew my slump would just get worse. 

Thanks @brightbeautifulthings for tagging me!