A Tag: A-Z

Hi, and thanks for stopping by.

I recently watched Maddie and Bee from Heart Full of Books do the A-Z book tag, and the questions were so great, I thought I'd do the same! So here we go...

a: author you've read most books from

The answer to this is pretty easy - J.K. Rowling! All seven Harry Potter books (which I've read many times over). According to my Goodreads, my next most-read author is Liane Moriarty! I've read all 6 of her published novels - and I adored the lot.

B: best sequel ever

I'll have to agree with Maddie here - after reading Holly Bourne's Am I Normal Yet? I really didn't think that the rest of the series could possibly be as good - yet they were. How Hard Can Love Be? was the perfectly romantic, hilarious, warm sequel (number 3 was pretty great, too!)

C: currently reading

I've got quite a few books on the go at the moment! I'm rereading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - which I just started this evening, after finishing the first two in as many days. I'm also reading Sarah Dessen's Just Listen as preparation for my dissertation (a play about Brock Turner, rape and rape culture). I've got a great Kindle arc I'm 25% through - Katharine McGee's The Dazzling Heights. Finally, my YA contemporary of the moment is Jennifer E. Smith's The Geography of You and Me.

D: Drink of choice while reading

I love a good cup of tea - English Breakfast, if you want specifics!! If it's a Friday evening or the weekend, though, I'll take a glass of rose!

E: e-reader or physical book?

I definitely prefer physical books - the feel, the weight, the smell! There's nothing better. But, in terms of going on holiday/trips in particular, my Kindle is a complete saviour - you can store hundreds of books and not have to take ten suitcases!

F: a fictional character you’d like to be friends with

This is actually a really tough question - there are so many amazing fictional characters I'd love to meet/hang out with! I'd absolutely LOVE to join the original Spinster Club.

G: glad you gave this book a chance

I'd have to say Emery Lord's The Names They Gave Us - originally I was avoiding it, because I really wasn't a fan of When We Collided. Also, I wasn't totally sure how I felt about reading a book with religion as a core theme. I am SO glad I gave it a chance - it's one of the best YA books I've ever read. You can check out my full review here.

H: hidden gem book

One book series I love that I don't think gets anywhere near enough hype would have to be Josephine Angelini's Worldwalker series - it's probably my favourite fantasy I've read (HP aside, obviously) and definitely the best witchy books I've come across. I have no idea why more people don't love it!!

i: Important moment in your reading life

There are too many moments to name - but I'll pick a personal favourite. Stumbling across Jandy Nelson's The Sky Is Everywhere last year turned out to be the most incredible luck - I went on to read I'll Give You The Sun and came to the conclusion that Jandy Nelson was my favourite YA author.

J: Just finished

As I mentioned before, I just finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. But aside from that five star wonderfulness, I just finished Megan Abbott's The Fever, a couple of days ago - I gave it four stars.

K: kind of books you won’t read

There are still many areas within the fantasy genre that I can't quite get my head around enough to get into and the same goes for sci-fi. Also, I read YA and some adult fiction, but anything younger than YA is a no for me - I just can't relate/connect to it.

L: longest book you’ve read

This easily goes to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is 870 pages long - man, HP is featuring heavily here, isn't it?! I'm really not surprised! Coming in in a close second place is George Eliot's Middlemarch, at a whopping 853 pages.

M: major book hangover because of…

Jenn Bennett. After reading Night Owls especially, but also her latest novel Alex, Approximately, it was so hard to get into anything else! They are funny, entertaining, cute, dreamy YA contemporaries made in heaven. I adore her writing so much.

N: number of bookcases you own

Two. They're super tall and glorious rainbows. I desperately need another one, perhaps even multiple - and soon!!

O: one book you have read multiple times

This one goes to John Green's The Fault in our Stars - YA gold, I don't care what anybody says. It was one of the first real, great quality YA books I ever read (I think I was about 15 at the time) and it stayed with me ever since. It's a book I've read three or four times, and I often reach for and flick through, to read my favourite passages over and over (the "lit up like a Christmas tree" moment WILL make me cry for the rest of time).

P: preferred place to read

My favourite place to read is probably in the bath - especially in winter, when it's freezing outside - a good Lush bubble bath and an amazing book is the dream combination. Other than that, probably sat comfortably on the sofa. Or, of course, poolside! I rarely read in bed, oddly. 

Q: quote that inspires you

If you've been reading my book reviews here on my blog for a while, you'll know how much I ADORE quotes. Here's a few of my favourites:

 1) "I think I might die if you die. I'll never get over it, not even when I'm forty and have kids of my own. And if heaven is real, I can't wait all those years to see you again." - Emery Lord's The Names They Gave Us. Here, Lucy is talking about her mother's cancer coming back and her fear of losing her. It's one of the most beautiful quotes I've ever read. It makes me cry every time I read or write it - I totally get it.

2) "Just... isn't giving up allowed sometimes? Isn't it okay to say, ‘This really hurts, so I’m going to stop trying’?" - Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. For those of us who have also suffered from anxiety, like Cath, this quote couldn't be more relatable.

3) "There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh, a mirror that doesn't matter anymore." - Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls. This quote also makes me cry every single time! It's the most beautiful moment captured - recovery.

R: reading regret

There are a few adult fiction thrillers that I wished I hadn't read because they were too dark for me - they made me feel uncomfortable and unsettled and put me in reading slumps. One of these is definitely B.A. Paris's Behind Closed Doors.

S: series you started and need to finish

I need to get around to Scott Westerfield's EXTRAS, because I've read the first three in his Pretties/Uglies series. I also want to get around to reading the second and third books in Katharine & Elizabeth Corr's The Witch's Kiss series, before I forget what happened in the first!

T: three of your all-time favourite books

I'd have to say Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You The Sun, Emery Lord's The Names They Gave Us and Holly Bourne's Am I Normal Yet? (Also, The Sky is Everywhere and Night Owls...because I'm a cheat!!)

U: unapologetic Fangirl for

Harry Potter. Every. Single. Time. Little else will I fully "fangirl" over.

V: very excited for this release more than all the others

Jenn Bennett's Starry Eyes and Holly Bourne's It Only Happens in the Movies.

W: worst bookish habit

This is so easy - buying loads of books when I already have 30+ unread ones on my shelves.

x: X marks the spot: book 27 from the top left of your shelf

Number 27: Christopher Pike's Final Friends (The Book and The Dance).

Y: your latest book purchase

I bought three at once...oops!! Adam Silvera's They Both Die at the End, Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler's The Future of Us and Chloe Seager's Editing Emma!! I can't wait to read them all.

Z: zzz-snatcher – a book that kept you up way too late

Like I said before, I rarely read in bed, certainly not late at night, but the last time I did, it was to finish Jessica Park's 180 Seconds which I adored and will be uploading a full review of next week!

So that's it! I really hope you enjoyed this - I loved doing a tag for a change. If you have any tag requests, please leave them in the comments section, because I'd love to do some more! I've always felt it isn't all that inclusive to tag specific people only, so if you're reading this and you want to answer these questions then tag, you're it! Please do tweet me a link if you post it on your own blog - I'd love to read your answers, too!!

Till next time

Katie