An original Book tag by Elaine Howlin, I found this tag on library looter‘s blog. Since I have limited time on my hands currently, I’ve been doing more book tags. This particular tag is quick, easy, and fun! I always put links for the authors and books so feel free to click on the provided links if any seem interesting.
Funny story! Percy and his friends go to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. People probably would recognize it as the sad village in the mountains. Percy buys a plastic rat from someone because he feels sorry for them. So I lived there at the time I read this book! I still think its hilarious.
A book that represents a destination that you’d love to travel to?
I would love to travel to Ireland like Moira Doherty in this book! I have an extensive Irish ancestry. It is on my bucket list of places I want to see in my lifetime.
I’ve read this book multiple times throughout my life, and each reading is special to me. No matter how many times I experience this story it remains memorable and heartwarming.
Which book did you have the most difficulty reading?
I’ve picked my way through several Russian novels but Crime and Punishment is by far the hardest I’ve attempted. I have yet to finish this book completely.
Which book on your TBR will give you the most satisfaction to finish?
Ever since my European tour in 2013, I’ve wanted to read this book. I finished it once upon a time as a teenager and hated it. However, I learned the history behind this classic collection and realized I had read it with the wrong mindset. I would love to dive back into this novel to understand the archetypes Chaucer tried to depict.
Thank you for reading! Spread this tag around! See you tomorrow.
Since I am super busy with other personal projects and moving, here is another fun book tag I found via KRISTIN @ KRISTIN KRAVES BOOKS. Let us begin the cleaning!
The struggle of getting started: a book/book series that you have struggled to begin because of its size.
Last December, I started listening to David Copperfield‘s audiobook on Kindle. Though I found the story really interesting, I realized anew I can’t listen to Charles Dickens novels. He adds so much detail and redirects his story so much I get lost in it. I prefer to read the book the old fashioned way.
Cleaning out the closet: a book and/or book series you want to unhaul.
No words can describe the torment and confusing tug of war I went through when reading Clare The Mortal Instruments series. I loved certain parts of her writing and story and hated other parts of it. I kept going through her books wondering if this dissatisfied feeling would go away but . . . it didn’t. I am not her biggest fan but I like seeing her book covers in the the store.
Opening windows and letting fresh air in: a book that was refreshing.
So many male figures in books are domineering and aggressive. The main character Corbin was shy and struggled to express himself, the exact opposite of many abusive male leads I’ve come across. It’s always refreshing finding stories whose characters don’t have disturbing or questionable behaviors.
Washing out sheet stains: a book you wish you could rewrite a certain scene in.
Throwing out unnecessary knick-knacks: a book in a series that you didn’t feel was necessary.
I would still have this book today if not for the off-putting sex scene and rape vision Marillier wrote into the story. the writing and premise is gorgeous and I like the romance up to that point. Taking the sex scene out in particular would not detract from the story or character development whatsoever.
Polishing the doorknobs: a book that had a clean finish.
If the theme song for The Lego Movie (2014) is “Everything is Awesome” than the theme for Bellman and Black is “Everything is Hopeless.” The main character’s life is devoid of any semblance of love and hope because of an obscure choice he made as a child. Lesson he learns. . . there is no redemption for anyone who kills a rook.
The tiring yet satisfying finish of spring cleaning: a book series that was tiring yet satisfying to get through.
In high school, I remember checking out all the books for this series. It took me almost a year to read all of them but at the end, I was so happy I did. It’s since remained one of my favorite series.
I found this book tag via Elaine Howlin‘s blog! Because of my extensive Irish ancestry, I got super excited when I saw this tag! Here we go.
Green– a book with a green cover
Sally Gardner‘s Historical Fiction novel I’ Coriander. One of my favorite young adult fantasy novels!
In this exceptionally well-crafted tale, Coriander tells the story of her childhood in seventeenth-century London, and of her discovery that she has inherited magical powers from her mother, who was a fairy princess. But her mother’s sudden death brings on a dark time for Coriander, and after mourning her beloved mother and dealing with the disappearance of her father and the wrath of her evil stepmother, Coriander finds herself locked in a chest with no hope of escape and no will to survive. But when a bright light beckons to her, it is then that Coriander’s journey truly begins. Beautifully written, this magical and luminous story is destined to become a children’s classic.
Blarney – a book that deceived you into either liking it or was overhyped and you ended up disliking it
Naomi Novik‘s Young Adult Fantasy Uprooted. So many people gushed about this book but once I read it I hated it. (Check out my review to learn more.)
Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.
Brogue – (dialect) a book where one of the characters has an accent
Sarah M. Eden‘s Historical Romance Ashes on the Moor. One of the main characters Dermot has an Irish dialect, plus many of the children and adults have Yorkshire Accents.
When Evangeline is sent to live in a small mill town in Northern England as a schoolteacher in 1871, she finds herself struggling to fit in with an unfamiliar culture. Raised with the high-class Victorian values and ideals of a sophisticated upbringing, she is unprepared for the poverty she finds in the gritty factory town of Smeatley, where the locals speak with a hard-to-understand Yorkshire accent and struggle to thrive with few resources or opportunities.
Though she has no training as a teacher, she must prove herself successful before her grandfather will release her substantial inheritance to her and allow her to be reunited with her younger sister, the last remaining member of her family after a fever claimed the lives of her parents and brothers.
Evangeline’s sudden change in circumstances is complicated when her aunt—a woman who values class distinctions more than her family relationships—forbids her from acknowledging any connection to her or to her grandfather, Mr. Farr—the man who owns nearly the entire town. For the first time in her life, Evangeline is truly alone.
Heartbroken, she turns to the one person in town who has shown her kindness—an Irish brick mason, Dermot, and his son, Ronan. Despite the difference in their classes and backgrounds, Evangeline and Dermot become friends, due in part to her ability to connect with Ronan, whose behavior requires special attention. The boy is uncomfortable around strangers and rarely even speaks to the other children in town. He often fixates on details other people ignore, and he adheres to specific, self-made rules that give his life order and structure; for example, Dermot’s coat must be hung on a specific peg next to the door.
Evangeline attempts to prove herself a worthy teacher and earn the respect of her hard-to-understand students. Determined to find a way to introduce them to “proper English” while still honoring their unique language and culture, she enlists the help of a local family to write down familiar stories in the Yorkshire vernacular. Because of her efforts, the students and their families warm to Evangeline and she continues to look for ways to give the children a chance to become more than factory workers in the local cotton mill.
When the town learns of her upper-class status, Evangeline must work twice as hard to win back their trust–especially Dermot’s. In the end, Evangeline and Dermot discover that, even though they come from different social spheres, together they can overcome social prejudices, make a positive difference in the lives of even the humblest people, and enjoy the strength that comes when two hearts find each other.
Leprechaun – a book you enjoyed when you were a little person
David Wiseman‘s Children’s Mystery Jeremy Visick. I read this a lot throughout my teens. Whenever I think about the mines and graveyards part of me likes to picture it happening in Ireland.
When Matthew Clemens ventured into the churchyard to gather information about the Cornish miners buried there, one gravestone in particular seemed to call his attention. The inscription was to Reuben Visick and his two eldest sons, all three killed in a mining accident more than a hundred years before. But below the inscription were the words that echoed again and again in Matthew’s head: “And to Jeremy Visick, His Son, Age 12, Whose Body Still Lies in Wheal Maid.” The lines were as clear to Matthew as if he’d heard them spoken. Night after night they drew him to the churchyard, or to the outbuilding behind the Clemens home, where Jeremy Visick had lived, until Matthew began to sense that somehow his destiny and Jeremy Visick’s were inexorably intertwined.
In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.
As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.
Magic – a book that you found magical or a book where you enjoyed a magic element that was found in the storyline
Kate DiCamillo‘s Children’s Fantasy The Tale of Despereaux. When I was thirteen, I must have re-read this book twenty times. I thought Despereaux’s beautiful story was written magic.
Kiss – Your current favorite book pairing or you’re all time favorite book pairing
Megan Whalen Turner‘s Young Adult Fantasy The King of Attolia. Eugenedes and the Queen of Attolia have such a beautiful marriage and relationship in this book. When I picked up this book last year, I read it twice because I loved it so much.
By scheming and theft, the Thief of Eddis has become King of Attolia. Eugenides wanted the queen, not the crown, but he finds himself trapped in a web of his own making.
Then he drags a naive young guard into the center of the political maelstrom. Poor Costis knows he is the victim of the king’s caprice, but his contempt for Eugenides slowly turns to grudging respect. Though struggling against his fate, the newly crowned king is much more than he appears. Soon the corrupt Attolian court will learn that its subtle and dangerous intrigue is no match for Eugenides.
Luck – a book on your shelf that you will luckily get to…someday
Brandon Sanderson‘s Epic Fantasy The Way of Kings. I know I need to read this book. I know I will love this book. But I am never in the mood. Hopefully soon that will change.
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.
Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.
Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.
Jig – a book that if you don’t currently own but if could get a hold of it-it would make you dance with joy. (Can be a book that isn’t released yet or a book you’d really like to own)
Clive Barker‘s Young Adult Fantasy Kry Rising. I have been waiting for Barker to release this book for his Abarat series for nine years. Still nothing. But, I know its coming eventually!
So Many Thoughts 