tags – inkyspells

TAG | The Reader Confessions Tag

06/10/2016

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I was tagged to do this (quite a while ago!) by Mystery Date With A Book! Thank you so much for tagging me! 🙂

HAVE YOU EVER DAMAGED A BOOK?

Never intentionally, but my books do tend to get damaged as time goes by. I do annotate books, and I have dog-eared pages in the past. I do try to keep my hardback books looking nice though, if only because they cost so much more! Probably my most damaged book is my first copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, but I’ve owned that copy since I was about seven years old. You can see how bad it is from this picture:

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There’s also my copy of The Stand, but that was my dad’s and is probably over 20 years old!

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To be honest, I do kind of like the look of a well-read, battered paperback!

HAVE YOU EVER DAMAGED A BORROWED BOOK?

I don’t usually borrow books but, no, I never have. As much as I don’t mind if I damage my books, I know I’d be pretty mad if I lent it to someone and they damaged it, so I’m very careful if I do borrow books.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO READ A BOOK?

It depends, really. If I’m taking notes, then it takes me a little longer. If I’m reading for fun, I tend to read quite fast. It also depends on whether I’m into the book or not!

BOOKS THAT YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED?

There’s definitely plenty of assigned books that I’ve just set aside. The most recent of these is The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch. I also picked up Red Rising by Pierce Brown a couple of years ago and couldn’t get into it so I put it down. I know a lot of people love that book though, so I do definitely want to try reading it again!

HYPED/POPULAR BOOKS YOU DIDN’T LIKE?

Probably Sarah J. Maas’ books. I liked the first couple of books in the Throne of Glass series well enough, but I didn’t enjoy Queen of Shadows at all. I’ve been reading reviews of Empire of Storms in order to decide whether I want to the series or not but it looks like it contains a lot of the stuff that I really didn’t like about Queen of Shadows, so I’m probably going to drop the series! Her books are so hyped though, so I find that I’m always a little disappointed even when I do enjoy her books.

IS THERE A BOOK YOU WOULDN’T TELL ANYONE YOU’RE READING?

Not really, no. Although I didn’t tell anyone I was reading Captive Prince when I first started it, but I completely love that series, so I have no idea why. I guess people get a bit embarrassed about reading romance or erotica so that might have been part of it, but to be honest, I’m mostly quite open about what I read.

HOW MANY BOOKS DO YOU OWN?

Uh.

Probably around 400? Maybe more? I honestly have no idea. I don’t have bookshelves so my books are just sort of…everywhere. I dread to think how many I actually own!

ARE YOU A FAST READER OR A SLOW ONE?

Definitely fast! I only read slowly if I can’t really get into a book.

DO YOU LIKE TO BUDDY READ?

I’ve never done a buddy read before! I’d love to do one though, they look like so much fun!

DO YOU READ BETTER IN YOUR HEAD, OR OUT LOUD?

In my head, definitely. I do like to occasionally read poetry aloud, however. I think a lecturer at university recommended reading poetry aloud, so I just took that advice on board.

IF YOU WERE ONLY ALLOWED TO OWN ONE BOOK, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Does my Kindle count? 😉

This question is so evil! I honestly have no idea. Part of me says The Book Thief because it’s very dear to me, and I’ve reread it so many times. I couldn’t just pick one Harry Potter book, so they’re out of the question. I think I’ll say Les Miserables? I’ve seen the musical twice, but I haven’t finished the book, so at least I’d be reading something new!

So those are the questions! I’m doing my usual and leaving this as an open tag, so if you’d like to do this tag, consider yourself tagged! 🙂

This is a scheduled post as I’m currently away on holiday! I might not be able to respond to comments until I’m back, but I’ll probably be around on Twitter and Instagram 🙂

TAG | The Coffee Book Tag

25/08/2016

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I’m back with another tag! I was tagged to do this by Lauren @ Comma Hangover—thank you again! 🙂

Without further ado, let’s get into the questions!

Continue reading “TAG | The Coffee Book Tag”

TAG | The Book Sacrifice Tag

15/08/2016

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I was tagged to do this (forever ago!) by Louise @ geniereads! The tag was originally created by Ariel Bissett on YouTube. In this tag, I have to sacrifice some of my least favourite books. If I mention one of your favourite books here, I’m really sorry, and it’s not my intention to bash anyone’s faves, these are just my opinions.

Let’s get to it!

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Situation: You’re in a store when the zombie apocalypse hits. The military informs everyone that over-hyped books are the zombies only weakness. What book that everyone else says is amazing but you disliked do you start chucking at the zombies?

16143347 We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I read this back when it first came out, and there was so much hype that I couldn’t not pick it up. I didn’t dislike this book, I thought it was just okay. Because of how people were talking about it (and being encouraged to lie about the plot itself as part of its marketing campaign) I knew there was going to be a huge twist, so I read the book with this anticipation, so when the twist actually came I wasn’t as shocked by it. I’d actually kind of guessed it already. I did actually enjoy the writing, I just think I ended up expecting more because of how highly people were speaking of it.

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Situation: Torrential downpour! What sequel are you willing to use as an umbrella to protect yourself?

17227209 Guardian by Alex London. This book is the sequel to Proxy, which I did really enjoy. After reading Guardian, however, I found myself wishing that these two books had just been one longish book. I found that this book tried to fit in way too much, and that in hindsight, not a lot happened in Proxy to set up any of the stuff that happened in its sequel. It might just be that I read them too far apart, but while I enjoyed it, I just became very aware of how it could have been better. I also found that this book ended really abruptly, so it didn’t answer some of the questions I had. It’s not bad, it was just a bit of a disappointment.

classic

Situation: You’re in English class and your professor raves about a Classic that “transcends time”. If given the opportunity to travel back in time, which Classic would you try to stop from ever publishing?

762821 A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne. This book is literally about a man who travels around France and cries at things. It was written in 1768, and is a novel of sensibility, which basically means that it’s very, very, very heavy on the emotion, and light on everything else. From what I remember, it’s written in a style that either is, or is close to, stream of consciousness, so it was really hard to get through, and wasn’t rewarding in any way. The book is less than 150 pages and it took me an absolute age to get through.

least fave

Situation: apparently global warming = suddenly frozen wasteland. Your only hope of survival for warmth is to burn a book. Which book will you not regret lighting?

13536858 Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. Honestly, I wish I had a better or more original answer for this, but I think we can all agree that this is probably the worst book that I’ve ever read. Aside from all the really awful things about it, it’s just boring. Literally nothing happens for so much of this book. I honestly couldn’t believe that it was over 500 pages long! I had to read that stupid contract he wants her to sign twice! So I mean, if we’re talking about setting books on fire to survive, this provides plenty of fuel, so at least there’s that.

And that’s the tag! This was really fun, and it’s interesting to talk about books that I don’t like instead of books that I do like. I’m not tagging anyone again, because I’ve been so out of the loop lately that I have no idea who’s already been tagged! So if you want to do the tag, then please feel free! 🙂

TAG | Harry Potter Spells Tag

02/08/2016

harry potter spells

I’m finally getting around to working through my backlog of tags! I thought that, given the release of Cursed Child, it would be apt to do a Harry Potter themed tag. I was tagged to do this by Lauren @ Comma Hangover! You should go check her out if you’re not following her already 🙂

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A childhood book connected to good memories.

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. Okay, I know that it’s cliche to pick a Harry Potter book, but I do have very fond memories of reading this book particularly. I used to make forts in the dining room in the house I grew up in, comprised of the cupboard under the stairs, the table, and a clotheshorse. I used to sit in the fort and read this, or read it to my brother. I actually wrote a blog post about how into Harry Potter I was when I was a kid. I’m 22 and people still call me and my friends the Harry Potter Gang…..

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A book that took you by surprise

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Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. I had to read this for my Victorian Novel class back in my second year of university, and I hadn’t really heard of it so I wasn’t expecting very much from it. I ended up loving this. It’s a really good mystery, and I really didn’t anticipate some of the turns it took. Usually it takes me a bit longer to get through classic novels, but I think I read this in about two sittings.

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The last book you read.

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne. I mean. Do I really need to say anything about this? I read this in its entirety on the day it came out. Hopefully I should have a review/discussion post up about this either this week or next week!

alohamora A book that introduced you to a genre you hadn’t considered before.

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Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples. Before reading this, I’d never really been into comics. Which is odd really, because I used to be really into manga. Well. I was really into Naruto. But I’d always considered comics to be sort of hard to access? I had no idea where to start, especially with superhero comics, so when I heard about this I decided to pick it up. I’m so, so glad I did. I love this series, and it’s really pushed me to get into comics more generally.

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A funny book you’ve read.

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Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik. I actually don’t read too many specifically funny books? But this was the last book that really made me laugh!

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A book you think everyone should know about.

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Asking For It by Louise O’Neill. This book is definitely well-known, but it’s definitely one I think everyone should read. Asking For It is an incredibly harrowing book about rape and rape culture. I talk more about it in my review, which you can read here if you want to know more about it.

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A book or spoiler you would like to forget having read.

I’m going with spoiler for this one, because unbelievably I managed to spoil myself for the Red Wedding before I read A Storm of Swords. I have no idea how I managed it, but I very much regret that I somehow managed to do it!

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A book you had to read for school.

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’m picking this because I was actually assigned to read it twice, once at A Level and again in my first year at university. When I read it at A Level I liked it fine, but I really liked it when I read it again for university. It’s one of two “classics” that I’ve ever reread (the second being Dracula which I was also assigned at both A Level and university, and also wrote my undergraduate dissertation on).

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A book that was painful to read.

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Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. This book…is so boring. It’s so boring. I had to read this in my first year at university, so maybe I just wasn’t “ready” for it but oh my god. I actually hold so much resentment for this book because I was a goody two shoes and bought the expensive Norton Critical Edition because the reading list said we had to get this version and I was so pumped to finally read such a classic book. I felt so betrayed. And now I’m loath to get rid of it because I spent so much money on this stupid edition!

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A book that could kill (interpret as you will).

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The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. This is probably one of the most disturbing books I’ve read, and I’m going through it at the moment annotating it so I can write about it. Frank, the protagonist, is sixteen and pretty much a psychopath. I mean:

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I’d disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim.

That’s my score to date. Three. I haven’t killed anybody for years, and I don’t intend to ever again.

It was just a stage I was going through.

It’s definitely not a book for everyone, but I’d definitely recommend it if you’re into very dark fiction.

So that’s that! This was a really cool tag! I’m not tagging anyone specifically for this, because I have no idea who has and hasn’t done it, but if you’d like to do the tag, then consider yourself tagged 🙂

TAG | The Diverse Books Tag

25/06/2016

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This tag was created by Naz @ Read Diverse Books and I was tagged by Izzi @ Ravenclaw Book Club! I absolutely love the idea for this tag; in recent years I’ve tried to make more of an effort to seek out and read books from authors who aren’t white, or straight, as it’s too easy to fall into the habit.

Here’s Naz’s description of the tag:

The Diverse Books Tag is a bit like a scavenger hunt. I will task you to find a book that fits a specific criteria and you will have to show us a book you have read or want to read.

If you can’t think of a book that fits the specific category, then I encourage you to go look for one. A quick Google search will provide you with many books that will fit the bill. (Also, Goodreads lists are your friends.) Find one you are genuinely interested in reading and move on to the next category.

Everyone can do this tag, even people who don’t own or haven’t read any books that fit the descriptions below. So there’s no excuse! The purpose of the tag is to promote the kinds of books that may not get a lot of attention in the book blogging community.

So let’s get to it!

Find a book starring a lesbian character.

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The Night Watch by Sarah Waters has multiple narrators; two of the women are lesbians, and while it is not explicitly stated, the male narrator is a gay man. Many of the side characters in this book are also lesbian women. The book takes place in London throughout the 1940s, so it’s refreshing and interesting to see a book that primarily focuses on the lives of queer people during this time period. I really enjoyed this book, and it’s one that I’d highly recommend.

Find a book with a Muslim protagonist.

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Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik is a wonderful book told from the perspective of the titular character, Sofia, after she has broken up with her boyfriend/potential future husband, after he proves to be a little too close to his parents. It’s a funny and relatable book, and one that I should have a full review of very soon!

Find a book set in Latin America.

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I was surprised to find out that the only book that I actually own that’s set in Latin America is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a book I haven’t yet read. Another book I’ve heard a lot about, but don’t own, is The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende; I’m very interested in family sagas, and I don’t read enough of them.

Find a book about a person with a disability.

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Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom follows Parker Grant, who is blind. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book, and it always catches my eye in the book shop!

Find a science-fiction or fantasy book with a POC protagonist.

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Proxy by Alex London has a POC protagonist, Syd, who is also gay. Syd is a a proxy for a wealthy kid, Knox, which means that he has to take the punishment for any crimes/transgressions that Knox commits. After Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is sentenced to death—and then it all gets much more complicated. I really enjoyed this book when I read it, and I haven’t really seen too many people talk about it.

In relation to diverse SFF, there’s also Kaleidoscope which is a collection of YA short stories, all of which feature diverse protagonists.

Find a book set in (or about) any country in Africa.

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I’m very interested in Africa39, which is a fiction anthology featuring 39 African writers from south of the Sahara. I admittedly haven’t read many African writers, and this looks like a really good way to discover some new authors. I also really want to pick up Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, which for some reason isn’t out in the UK until January next year?

Find a book written by an Indigenous or Native author

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I know that Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko is a celebrated piece of Native American literature. And this isn’t Native American, but I have read Potiki by Patrica Grace, which is about an indigenous Maori community in New Zealand.

Find a book set in South Asia (Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc.)

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I really would like to finish up Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie at some point. This was assigned reading for a postcolonial literature module I did at university, and I got part of the way through it, but ended up having to put it down, as it’s a bit of a chunky book. This is a magical realism novel that follows Saleem, who was born at the precise moment of India’s independence.

Find a book with a biracial protagonist.

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I found The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson, which is an urban fantasy book with a mixed race protagonist. As a plus, it seems this book also has LGBTQ+ themes. I hadn’t heard of Nalo Hopkinson before doing some research for this tag, but a lot of her books sound really interesting!

Find a book starring a transgender character, or about transgender issues.

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There’s been a lot of buzz about If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo lately, and it’s one I think I’ll be picking up in the near future. I’ve also heard amazing things about George by Alex Gino.

And that’s that! I know there are a fair few of these that I haven’t read, but I did go and actively seek out more books for these categories if only to expand my own knowledge (and I’ve ended up adding a fair few books to my wishlist as a result!)

I’m tagging five people today, but if you’re interested in this tag, then I definitely encourage you to do it! I tag:

Apologies if you’ve already done it/already been tagged but otherwise: have fun! And if you have any recommendations for me, based on the categories here, I’d really love to hear them 🙂

The Miranda Sings Award

21/06/2016

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I was nominated for this award by Fatima @ Noteable Pad and Katherine @ Fabled Haven! Thank you both so much! Sorry it’s taken me so long to get around to posting it! 🙂

I love that this award encourages people to feel positive about themselves, although I actually struggled to come up with 7 things. Like a lot of people, I find it much easier to criticize myself than praise myself—or I could point out my more “negative” traits that I don’t really mind, like “I’m bossy” or “I’m short-tempered” haha!

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Rules:

Announce your win with a post, and link the blogger who nominated you.
Include the featured image on your blog post.
Nominate 10 bloggers (or as many as you can think of) and link your awardees in the post.
List seven (7) things you love about yourself. (This can be about your appearance, your personality, your achievements, etc.)
Don’t use negative connotation (i.e. Don’t say things like – “I’m prettier than an average person.” or “People have told me I’m smart.” You are pretty. You are smart.)

7 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MYSELF

I’m honest. Not just in the vaguely mean way either, though I suppose I mean that, too. I don’t think honesty just means “tell someone your mean opinion”, I think it means the good stuff too, so if I think one of my friends looks nice, I’m going to tell them that they look nice.

I’m smart. Usually I’m hesitant about saying this, though I don’t really know why. I’ve always been “academic” in that I always did well at school. I achieved a first on my undergraduate degree, and I’m doing a masters degree. So I’m smart in that sense, but I’m also quick to learn more generally. If I want to learn how to do something, I google it, read up on it, and then usually I can do said thing competently after a couple of tries.

I’m a good listener. Sometimes, things just don’t need my opinion (I know, I’m shocked too) and I like to think that I know when to just listen to what someone has to say. I like to think that, most of the time, I can distinguish between when someone wants advice, and when they just want someone to listen to them.

I’m more confident. A few years ago I could barely manage to say thanks to a bus driver, let alone start a conversation with someone I didn’t know. I’ve learned to be more comfortable with myself and now social situations in general are nowhere near as daunting as they used to be!

I make people laugh. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I’m funny, but I am pretty good at cheering people up.

I’m tough. Not to get Real™ during a tag, and without going into detail, but last December was easily the worst month of my entire life, but I got through it, and I’m pretty proud of that. I don’t mind being the responsible one, and I don’t mind being the person people lean on when things get hard.

I’m kind. Like I said before, I make an effort to say nice things to people—specifically things that I actually mean—because I know how much a compliment can brighten someone’s day.

NOMINATIONS

If you’ve done it before, or you don’t want to do it, then that’s no problem 🙂

Have fun!

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

16/06/2016

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I was nominated for this award by the wonderful Katherine @ Fabled Haven!

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Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site.
Put the award logo on your blog.
Answer the questions the tagger has given you.
Nominate ~~ten~~ other bloggers.
Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer.

QUESTIONS

1. Which fictional animal/pet would you bring to life? (ex: Chainsaw from The Raven Cycle, Hedwig from Harry Potter)

I’d actually go with Chainsaw from The Raven Cycle! I’ve mentioned this before, but I love birds, but I like corvids most of all, because they’re really intelligent.

Believe me, I know exactly how sad that sounds haha!

2. If you could steal any fictional character’s life, who would it be?

I actually struggled with this because I feel like I usually read about people in really awful situations haha! Maybe Sophie in Howl’s Moving Castle, because I feel like going anywhere or doing anything with Howl would be nothing but entertaining.

3. What’s your favorite book-to-movie adaptation?

Probably The Hunger Games films, I’ve always been really impressed by them. They managed to expand the world, because it’s not strictly from Katniss’ perspective, and I thought they did it really well. I also like that it gives that added layer of you being a spectator to the Games, especially in the first film, because you get to be both in and outside the arena.

4. What fairy-tale retelling would you be interested in reading? (For example, I’m really into retellings of The 12 Dancing Princesses!)

I kind of love Red Riding Hood retellings, more specifically ones in the vein of Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, moreso than things like Marissa Meyer’s Scarlet.

5. What’s your go-to snack when reading?

I have a real thing for sweet & salt popcorn, so it’s probably that. As a plus, it’s probably the least messy of snacks, so I don’t have to worry about getting my grubby fingers all over my books.

6. Who are some of your favorite bands/artists?

I know they’ve split up now, but My Chemical Romance will always be my faves. I also love Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco…and I’m realising that this makes it sound like I just stopped listening to new music in 2007…

7. Would you rather only be able to buy 1 book a month OR have unlimited access to borrowing books from the library?

Probably one book a month, because my TBR pile is big enough as it is, and only being able to get one new book would help me actually cut into it. I’d be way too tempted by the library.

8. Would you rather find one place to settle in for the rest of your life OR move around every 2 years?

Settle. I think? I’d probably end up feeling a bit lonely if I moved around all the time. Plus, moving is hard work and I’m lazy.

9. Do you prefer musicals or plays?

Musicals! I haven’t been to see too many plays, so I don’t really have much of a comparison to go on, but I so really love musicals.

10. Who is your ultimate fictional crush?

It’s been years, but I’m pretty sure I fancy Sirius Black just as much as I did the first time around haha!

MY QUESTIONS

Do you prefer to marathon a series, or read the books as they come out?
What’s the most inspiring movie you’ve seen/book you’ve read?
What’s your favourite genre? (Books or films!)
What’s your least favourite genre? (again, books or films!)
Have you ever put yourself on a book buying ban? If so, how did it go?
Paperback books or hardback books?
What’s your pet peeve?
What’s your favourite Disney movie?
What are some of your favourite albums?
How would you spend your perfect rainy day?

NOMINATIONS

Have fun! 🙂

This is a scheduled post as I’m currently away on holiday! Unfortunately I may not be able to answer comments and the like until I’m back, but I’ll probably be around on Twitter and Instagram 🙂

TAG | Summertime Madness Tag

14/06/2016

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I was tagged by the lovely Katherine @ Fabled Haven! Thank you for tagging me! I’m on holiday as this post is going up so I’m definitely in a summer mood right now! 🙂

Show a book with a summery cover! (sun, beach, etc.)

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The colours of Lola and the Boy Next Door remind me of a sunset, and for some reason sunsets are always associated with summer for me!

Pick one fictional place that would be the perfect destination for your summer vacation.

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I mean…this isn’t a fictional place, but Anna and the French Kiss takes place in Paris and I’d love to go to Paris.

You’re about to go on a flight to your summer vacation, but you want to read a book that lasts for the whole flight. What novella do you choose?

I actually read very fast, so I feel like a novella might not be enough for a whole flight for me — I read Eleanor and Park in its entirety on a 4 hour flight. A Court of Mist and Fury is at the top of my Holiday TBR, so I’ll probably have spent the flight getting stuck into that.

You have a case of Summertime Sadness — what happy book do you pick up to put a smile on your face?

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I’ve mentioned Stephanie Perkins’ books a lot in this post, but they’re really feel good books. Other books that always put me in a good mood are Howl’s Moving Castle and Carry On (though Carry On feels more like a winter book to me?) so either of them!

You’re sitting at the beach all alone…which fictional character would be your beach babe?

I’m going to go with Finnick Odair, because how could I not? 😉

To match your ice cream you want an icy cool sidekick! Which fictional sidekick do you pick?

They’re not sidekicks, so technically I’m cheating, but I feel like the Marauders would make very entertaining beach companions!

This was such a fun tag! I’m not sure who is and who isn’t enjoying (or enduring, I guess) summer right now, so I’m tagging anyone who wants to do it 😀

TAG | Problematic Fave Book Tag

06/06/2016

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This tag was created by Izzi @ Ravenclaw Book Club, and I was also tagged by Izzi!

I feel like there might be some unpopular opinions in this? So, y’know, remember that they’re just my opinions, you don’t have to agree with them, I’m not saying my opinions are “right” or “better”, etc., etc., etc.

A character everyone loves that you hate.

Vague spoilers for the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.

Aelin Galathynius, the artist formerly known as Celaena Sardothien. I don’t hate her, per se, it’s just that her entire character seemed to change between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. She cast off Celaena as if she were casting off her coat, and it really didn’t work for me. I found myself growing incredibly weary of hearing about how hot and powerful she was — like, okay…but some character development would have been nice?

A character everyone hates that you love.

Guys… I really like Kylo Ren. He’s a petulant manchild, I know, but I’m so interested. I can’t wait to learn more about his character; I’m so interested in how he got involved with Snoke, and why no one in his family apparently thought to tell him about Vader before somebody else could. I also like that he’s a snarky asshole.

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A character that started out problematic but grew to be a better person.

I actually really struggled for this one because I’m not really about redemption plot lines, I’d much rather see people become increasingly awful as time passes. Also, I’m incredibly hesitant to pick this character because he doens’t really redeem himself, but Jamie Lannister? He’s very content to have his world confined to just Cersei when the books start out, and he’s incredibly cocky and self-involved. As the series develops (and, really, when he loses his hand) he starts becoming a different person, something that’s probably best exemplified in his rescue of Brienne.

A character that started out good but became problematic.

giphy2 I’m not taking problematic to mean that I disliked them here, but rather that they’re a character who became more and more corrupt, so: Walter White! He’s my second problematic fave, but I’ll just mention him here because I love the way his character develops. I mean, his starting motivation was to provide for his family and it’s absolutely fascinating seeing that motivation completely disintegrate as the series goes on. He becomes so self-involved and obsessed with power that each and every time he says “I’m doing this for my family” it becomes more and more of a lie (I mean, spoilers? But in the finale when he finally admits that he did it for himself? I was LIVING). His is probably one of my favourite character arcs of all time. It’s brilliant.

A problematic couple that you ship (doesn’t have to be canon).

I probably have quite a few, but you’ll never catch me confessing to them, so I’m stealing Izzi’s answer and going with Draco and Harry. I just think their dynamic is incredibly interesting, and I love seeing people’s interpretations of their lives/personalities post-Hogwarts.

A couple everyone ships that you find problematic (doesn’t have to be canon).

Again, spoilers for the Throne of Glass series.

Aelin and Rowan!!! He’s awful to her in Heir of Fire, and suddenly they’re all over each other in Queen of Shadows? I don’t get it! There’s been no relationship development for them, and I’m just not feeling it. Is it just because they’re hot? Like, I’m supposed to ship them because they’re the most ~aesthetically pleasing~ together? I can’t take it seriously. All that Aelin wandering around in her skimpy nightwear and Rowan being consumed with lust or whatever — isn’t he supposed to be a hundred years old? The man needs to pull himself together.

A problematic trope that you love.

I love whiny/broody men. The whole “my tragic backstory has made me a total dick” thing? I’m here for it. I am 100% here for the Sasuke Uchihas of the fictional worlds, I don’t care. It’s the worst and I don’t care.

A book/movie/TV show that is problematic but you love anyway.

Probably Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt? I know there are issues with it, and some of the jokes/plot lines make me uneasy, but mostly I watch this show for Titus.

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A book/movie/TV show that you hate because it’s problematic.

I don’t think there’s one I feel particularly passionate about? Usually I’m pretty good at knowing when a something’s going to contain something that I’ll end up getting mad about. I mean, I can’t really get behind Fifty Shades. And I’m petty as hell, so I’m still kind of mad that Game of Thrones cut out Arianne Martell’s character, and I’ve only been half watching it since then really, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I hate it? I don’t really have an answer to this one haha!

Your problematic fave.

giphy Isn’t Amy Dunne the ultimate problematic fave? The woman’s a psychopath, but I loved her character. She’s so, so interesting. She’s absolutely ruthless and so, aggressively intelligent. I actually found myself surprised at how far back into her own past her manipulations reached. Her whole character is what kept me reading this book. I also really enjoyed the film adaptation; Rosamund Pike got Amy absolutely spot on, and watching the film actually made me like the book more!

I’ve already mentioned Walter White, but I figure Saul Goodman should get a mention too. I’m very enamored by Better Call Saul. It’s really interesting watching his transition from Jimmy McGill to Saul Goodman, and it’s so painful watching it when you know exactly what’s going to happen. Everything Jimmy/Saul does comes from a good place, but his methods are so very, very wrong.

I’m going to tag:

And anyone else who wants to do it! This was such a great tag, so I hope you guys have as much fun with it as I did! 🙂

Versatile Blogger Award

29/05/2016

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I was nominated for this award by the lovely Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews and Casey @ adoptabookaus! Thank you both 😀

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