Category: Book Tags

Posted in Book Tags

The Black Cat Blue Sea Award #2

Posted on by Line

“Dragons,” said Mollander.

First line in A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin

It’s another award post! I needed a bit of an easy one this week and remembered that Nefeli from Biblionebula had nominated me for my second Black Cat Blue Sea Award a little while ago now.

What is The Black Cat Blue Sea Award?

“This award is for bloggers who strive to write for everybody, and no matter how many viewers they get, make an impact on a reader. This award is an expression of gratitude to the nominee. It should be awarded to anybody that you choose deserves it, and it doesn’t mean that they must have hundreds of followers and likes.”

The Rules

  • Anybody nominated can nominate seven (lucky number) other bloggers.
  • Anybody nominated answers three questions.
  • The questions you ask while nominating can be any three questions.
  • If any of the questions asked are offending or the nominee simply does not want to answer them, the nominee does not have to answer them to earn the award.

Nefeli’s Questions

If you had to listen to only one song for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

THIS IS A MEAN QUESTION, NEFELI!

I love music, and I listen to some type of music almost every day. However, even I can get tired of listening to the same song over and over again, no matter how much I like it. So I’m picking a song I have a strong emotional attachment to. It is First Like by the Danish artist Christopher. The title is English but the rest of the song is in Danish, unfortunately, so I will tell you a little about it instead.
It’s a song that he wrote on a Danish talk-show where he had to make the lyrics out of fans’ comments on some of his music videos on YouTube, I believe. That means that we have lyrics such as “OMG you’re too hot” and “If you die then I will die”. It’s all a joke, and it’s so hilarious!
Now the thing is that I’ve attended a lot of his concerts, and First Like has become something of a fan-favorite. It’s now primarily a song that the audience sings, which means I have so many memories of just screaming out these ridiculous lyrics at the top of my lungs alongside my best friend and a few thousand other crazy fans. That is what I think about every time I hear this song, so that is the one song I choose to listen to for the rest of my life.

You’re having five literary figures (real or fictional, or both) over for dinner. Who are they and what are you serving?

This is such an unrealistic scenario for me that I have a hard time picturing it 😅 You see, I don’t cook (especially not for other people), and therefore don’t exactly have people over for dinner. And then those people need to be five literary characters? Well, let me think.

If it wasn’t clear what I’m serving it is obviously take-away pizza. I do have a really good pizza-place, though, so they shouldn’t complain.

The five characters:

  1. Ginny Weasley (Harry Potter) – My favorite childhood character needs to be there of course. She’s also quite talkative and will keep the conversation going.
  2. Magnus Bane (The Mortal Instruments) – You can’t have a dinner party without Magnus Bane. With him there you’re guaranteed entertainment.
  3. Arya Stark ( A Song of Ice and Fire) – Look, I get that Arya would probably rather kill me than attend my dinner party, but I really think her and Ginny could bond. Maybe she’d also be willing to teach me some tricks on how to be no one, although hopefully less violently than in the books.
  4. Thaniel (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street) – I have no reason for this other than he’s a genuinely nice person. Okay, maybe it’s because I hope he brings Katsu, but I still really love Thaniel.
  5. Vasya (Winternight Trilogy) – Of course I also need my all-time favorite character. I think she’ll have some great stories to tell, and she can also let me know if there are strange invisible creatures living in my apartment.

Will all of these characters kill each other when put in the same room? Well, I would say the possibility is there, but doesn’t that only make it all a little exciting? I think this would be a great dinner party.

What’s your go-to activity when you want to lift your spirits?

Listening to the song from above? It definitely always puts a smile on my face, and music is generally what I turn to to feel better. If I’m really down, I’ll often bake some kind of cake, and while doing that I’ll be listening to some upbeat, happy music and dance around in the kitchen. Yes, I spill stuff everywhere so cake-baking and dance is often followed by cleaning and dance. Less fun, but then I have cake.

I posted my first The Black Cat Blue Sea Award not so long ago where I tagged a bunch of people, so I’m skipping that part this time. This week has also been kind of hellish at work, so I’m too tired to think of some creative and fun questions for you to answer. I would love to know your answers to Nefeli’s questions, though. And please go check out her blog if you haven’t already! She writes some killer blog posts over there. Happy reading, guys.

Posted in Book Tags

The Black Cat Blue Sea Award

Posted on by Line

“Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf’s cloak.”

First line in The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

I was nominated for another award! One I’d never heard of this time, The Black Cat Blue Sea Award. I was nominated by Naemi from A Book Owl’s Corner a while ago now, and I finally found the time to answer her 3 questions. I highly recommend her blog if you haven’t checked it out already. Her posts are fun and creative, and my day just gets a little bit better whenever she posts.

The meaning of the Black Cat Blue Sea Award: “This award is for bloggers who strive to write for everybody, and no matter how many viewers they get, make an impact on a reader. This award is an expression of gratitude to the nominee. It should be awarded to anybody that you choose deserves it, and it doesn’t mean that they must have hundreds of followers and likes.”

The Rules

  • Anybody nominated can nominate seven (lucky number) other bloggers.
  • Anybody nominated answers three questions.
  • The questions you ask while nominating can be any three questions.
  • If any of the questions asked are offending or the nominee simply does not want to answer them, the nominee does not have to answer them to earn the award.

If you had to write a bucket list, which three things would be right at the top?

I’m not good with bucket lists because I feel like I’m putting more pressure on myself, and I honestly have enough. But for the sake of this question, I’ve come up with a few things that, if I were to have a bucket list, would be at the top (not necessarily in this order).

  1. Move to a house with an extra room so I could have an entire room to fill with books. My own personal little library that I could make really cozy with a reading nook and decorate with all kinds of book merch to show off my weirdness. I imagine non-readers will be super jealous when they see it, but they are probably more likely to wonder what’s wrong with me.
  2. I love football, and I have a lot of games I would love to experience live one day. The unachievable ones such as a World Cup Final, Champions League Final and so on, but also my favorite teams playing against some of their biggest rivals. I’ve already crossed some of these off my list, but I can always find more. I went to see Arsenal against Manchester City a few years back, and that was truly epic. Nevertheless, I can’t tell you how much I would sacrifice to be able to see Arsenal against Tottenham. It will happen one day.
  3. I can’t think of a third. I don’t have goals in life.

What is/was your favorite subject in school and why?

Well, it changed a lot over the years, and there was never a subject I really loved. I was the kind of person who was very good in school but I hated being there. In Denmark, we have this thing where you get two grades in a subject, and one of them is purely based on how much you participate/say in class. For someone with social anxiety, I was sure that was invented just to torture me. A lot of the time, the teachers would just pick me to answer a question randomly to force me to say something, so my favorite subject was always based on which teacher would leave me alone and give me a good grade anyway. But to answer the question properly, I’ll give some subjects.

When I was younger, I believe I liked math because it was so logical. It was easier for me to say something in class because I knew there was a definite correct answer to each question.
Later on, I started liking English a lot, which is funny because I hated that subject with a passion when we started learning it. Like, I was actually dreading those periods, but that changed when I learned more of the language and started reading books in English. Then I couldn’t get enough of it.

I also want to mention a subject I had for one year in high school. It doesn’t translate well to English but my best attempt is ‘ancient knowledge’. Half of that year was spent reading excerpts from The Odyssey, and I freaking loved it. It was the kind of subject that if you’d read all of the Percy Jackson books, you would just cruise through it. Of course, I was the only one in my class to have done so, so the rest of my classmates hated that subject. I couldn’t relate.

…This was a very long and deep answer to a very simple question.

If you could trade lives with a fictional character, would you do it? And if you had to, whom would you chose?

First part of the question: would I trade lives with a fictional character? No. Absolutely not. Never. I mean, I read fantasy, and those characters have sooo many problems. I don’t want that. Maybe at the end of the book when all the conflicts have been resolved, but then the author comes up with a continuation with more problems, and it just never ends.

But since you’re forcing me to choose in this hypothetical scenario, here we go. My unofficial answer is Syl from the Stormlight Archive only so that I could be around Kaladin all the time. However, Roshar is a pretty brutal world, so I don’t think even Kaladin would be worth that life-trade (I’m sorry!).

It was very hard to pick a character, but I ended up going with a character from The Greenhollow Duology by Emily Tesh called Mrs. Silver. I already aspire to one day gain her no-bullshit-attitude, so this would be a short-cut. She is also from a more fairytale-esque world and not a brutal, epic fantasy where I would be dead within 5 minutes.

Those were fun questions, so thanks again to Naemi for tagging me. Here are the people I’m tagging:

Please, don’t feel forced to do this, if you don’t want to or these awards aren’t your thing. I just really like your blog.

My Questions

  1. What are your top 3 TV shows? If you don’t watch any, feel free to make a top 3 of whatever you want.
  2. What is your favorite book of 2020?
  3. When shopping for Christmas presents (or any kind of present), are you a last-minute kind of person or a “I took care of that 2 months ago”-person?

That was it for this post. Please go check out some of the blogs tagged because I highly recommend them. Happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

The Liebster Award

Posted on by Line

“Telsin!” Waxillium hissed as he crept out of the training hut.

First line in The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

I nominated for an award! This time it was for The Liebster Award, and I was nominated by Naemi from A Book Owl’s Corner, so thank you very much! If you’re not already following her, you need to. She’s preparing for some seriously intimidating exams at the moment so please head over there and cheer her up.

What is the Liebster Award?

“The Liebster Award is an award that exists only on the internet and is given to bloggers by other bloggers. The earliest case of the award goes as far back as 2011. Liebster in German means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”

Rules:

  • Say thank you to the person who has nominated you for the Award.
  • Answer the 11 questions the person has asked you
  • Nominate 11 people
  • Ask the people who you have nominated 11 questions

Now let’s jump into the question I was asked by Naemi!

What is a trope you can’t help but love, even though it’s overused?

I will forever be in love with the chosen one trope. It’s not possible to overuse it. However, I don’t think I can explain why I love it. I just find that the chosen one character often is my favorite in whichever book they feature.

Describe your perfect quarantine day!

A quick trip to the store as early as possible (to avoid people) to shop for snacks. Then sit and read for most of the day. Taking breaks to write blog posts or gathering the courage to comment on others. I have been into playing Football Manager a lot lately, so that would also be a break from reading. Of course, I would order take-out for dinner and probably watch a Marvel movie in the evening. Perfect day!

If you could have any fictional pet, what would you choose?

I want Manchee from A Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. If you haven’t read it, Manchee is the cutest, most adorable dog ever. I’m actually not allowed to have pets where I live, but I’m sure I can figure something out with my landlord. When I tell him that I could have picked a dragon, I’m sure he’ll come around and see that a dog is actually a compromise.

What is your favorite and least favorite thing about blogging?

My favorite thing about blogging is that I get to be creative and write. And that I decide what that means. Some of the posts I’ve made have either been very weird or very niche. Like how would I ever in real life talk about how some book titles work as band names? It’s fun to be creative.
My least favorite thing is the social side of it. You sort of need to interact with other bloggers to really be a part of the community. And yeah, if you don’t know what social anxiety is, then let me you tell about how talking to people is my worst nightmare. It’s not too bad when people comment on my own posts, and I just have to answer them. Invading other people’s spaces and forcing them to talk to me, though? I want to throw up. But I still want to show my love for what other bloggers do, so I always try to comment. Just not succeeding a whole lot.

If you were stranded on a deserted island all alone, which fictional character and which author would you choose to join you and why?

My choice of fictional character is Ronan Lynch from the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater because he has a special ability that I guess is a spoiler to talk about. Let’s just say he would solve a lot of the problems that would arise from living on a deserted island.

My choice of author is Erin Morgenstern for two reasons. I want to ask her about all of the hidden meanings in The Starless Sea, and I also just think she could come up with some interesting stories to pass the time.

Describe your favorite book using emojis or GIFs, but don’t tell us what it is. Let’s see if someone can guess it in the comments!

I don’t have a single favorite book so I just picked one of my favorites. See if you can guess.

If you could have any character from a book teach you one skill, what would you learn and who would be your mentor?

I’m simple. I just want Peeta to teach me how to bake. Anything really. I’m not worth much in a kitchen, but I love cake.

Have you ever dressed up as a character from a book?

No, not a specific character at least. As a child, I dressed up either as a witch or a princess (I know, incredibly original). Since then, I haven’t had many opportunities where it would be fitting to dress up as a book character.

What book are you proudest of forcing on other people? (For their own good, of course…)

I don’t know. I don’t get the feeling that I’m “powerful” enough to make people read something. Friends and family don’t even read what I recommend them lol. I’ve been trying to get my mom to read Harry Potter for the past 15 years, but she won’t touch them 😂.
I may have gotten a few people to read The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith, which I’m immensely proud of. If I haven’t forced it on you yet, here’s my review 😉

What is your favorite blog post that you’ve ever written and why?

The real question is: do I actually like anything I’ve written? 😅

I gave it some thought and figured I had to mention two because I have a favorite serious-post and a favorite funny-post.
The serious one is my discussion on cancel culture and its alternative solutions because that was really hard for me to write and post. I think it turned out great, though, and I was glad to get some things off my chest.
The fun one is a Top Ten Tuesday post about book characters I’d follow on social media. I put way too much effort into that, but it was such a fun creative challenge.

Which post that someone else wrote have you enjoyed recently?

I really liked a post Ikram @Readlogy did recently, which was a guide for non-English speakers who want to start reading books in English. Not that it was relevant to myself, but I thought it was very well put together, and I recognized some tips that I used when I started reading in English.

Another recent post combined my two favorite things: books and football. Nefeli @BiblioNebula told us about which football clubs book characters would support. She gave some very convincing reasons for every choice and had such a fun time reading it. Although, seeing Harry Potter as a Manchester United supporter hurt me a little.

Those were some fun questions to answer. Now, I’ve decided to make my own rules and not nominate anyone else. I very recently answered questions and tagged 11 people for The Sunshine Blogger Award and have generally tagged quite a few people recently. That social anxiety I was talking about is yelling at me to stop, so I hope that’s okay. I would love to know your answers to some of Naemi’s questions in the comments instead. Especially the one about your favorite blog post. Feel free to link it and I’ll check it out. Happy reading, guys!

Posted in Book Tags

Medieval Queens Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“Guilt is a hunter.”

First line in Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

It’s time for a tag and it’s the Medieval Queens Book Tag. I was tagged by Jess from Jessticulates who is also the creator of this tag. Please, go check out her blog. She writes some very interesting posts! But let’s start the tag.

Empress Matilda (1102-1167)

After her father, Henry I, died naming her his heir, Matilda’s cousin, Stephen, subsequently took the throne for himself. Matilda never stopped fighting for what was rightfully hers. Though she would never be named Queen of England in her own right, she was able to convince Stephen to name her son, the future Henry II, his successor over his own children.
Choose a book with a protagonist who stands their ground.

I have to choose Vasya from the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. She lives in a world where women are meant to either marry and have children or go live in a monastery. No other option exists, but Vasya continuously demands her right to go on adventures and be free no matter how many people tell her that she shouldn’t.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)

Before she married Henry II and became Queen of England in 1152, Eleanor was Queen of France as the wife of Louis VII. She sought an annulment from her marriage to Louis and he eventually agreed because 15 years of marriage had produced no sons, only for Eleanor to go on to have eight children with Henry—five of whom were sons. Ouch!
Choose a book or series in which the heroine has more than one romantic relationship.

In The Broken Earth by N. K. Jemisin we follow the woman Essun throughout a large part of her life so it’s not surprising that we see her in more than one relationship. It’s been a while since I’ve read it so I can’t remember the exact number of relationships but I believe we see about 3 or 4 that are all very distinct and mean different things to Essun.

Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290)

A keen patron of literature and a successful businesswoman in her own right, Eleanor was Edward I’s first wife. He was so heartbroken when she died that he erected the Eleanor Crosses, 12 stone crosses marking the places where her body rested over night on its journey from Lincolnshire, where she died, to her burial place in London. Three of the crosses still survive today.
Choose a bittersweet book.

Most World War II books would probably fit this prompt, but I think Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys is especially fitting. Mainly because of its ending so I’m, of course, not going into too many details. It manages to be both sad and uplifting.

Isabella of France (1295-1358)

Often known as the ‘She-Wolf of France’, Isabella was Edward II’s wife. Unfortunately for Edward he wasn’t particularly good at being king, and Isabella soon grew tired of his (possibly homosexual) relationship with his favourite, Hugh Despenser. After she began an affair with English nobleman Roger Mortimer while on a diplomatic mission to France, the pair returned to England with an army and she deposed Edward and acted as regent until their son, the future Edward III, came of age.
Choose a book where the romance overtook the plot.

I guess it could be positive for the romance to overtake the plot, but I’ve picked an answer where the romance ruined the book for me. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken is an example of a book in which the first half was so exciting. I was completely invested. Then the two main characters meet and fall in love very quickly, and the last half of the book was such a struggle for me to get through. All the interesting personality traits of those two characters went out the window, and everything was just about how much the two loved each other. I didn’t care.

Philippa of Hainault (1310/15-1369)

Queen of England as the wife of Edward III, Philippa was beloved by the English people for her compassion and kindness. The Queen’s College, Oxford, founded in 1341, is named in her honour.
Choose a book set at a university.

I’m only cheating a tiny bit by going with The Magicians by Lev Grossman because it’s not set at just any university. It’s set at a magic university, which is, naturally, so much better. This is a fantasy blog after all.

Joan of Navarre (1368-1437)

Joan was Henry IV’s second wife. Six years after his death, Joan was accused of attempting to poison her stepson, Henry V, through witchcraft and was imprisoned for four years until he ordered her release, just six weeks before he suddenly died.
Choose a book about witches.

Apparently, I don’t read very many books about witches, but one of my favorite series ever is the Half Bad trilogy by Sally Green. The witches here are a little different from what you would typically think of as a witch as they have different abilities, almost like superpowers. They’re supposedly also born either good or evil, which is an aspect the books explore quite a lot.

Those were my answers for this very educational book tag. Who knew there were so many bad-ass English Queens. The people I’m tagging are:

And anyone else who feels inclined to do it, of course. Happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

The Sunshine Blogger Award

Posted on by Line

“Philip heard him.”

First line in The Devil’s Apprentice by Kenneth B. Andersen

Hi, guys. I was so kindly nominated for The Sunshine Blogger Award by Naemi from A Book Owl’s Corner. So thank you, Naemi! 😀

If you don’t know, The Sunshine Blogger Award is given by bloggers to other bloggers they find creative, inspiring and positive. It’s a great way to spread some love within the community.

The rules:

  • Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
  • Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
  • Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
  • List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

Now it’s time to answer the 11 question!

What is an interesting non-bookish fact about you that most people don’t know?

Something that most people here in the online community don’t know about me is that I spent 3 years at university to get a degree I’m not even using in my current job. I studied International Business Communication, which I don’t regret because it still improved my communication skills and anybody can find use of that. I don’t think I would have this blog if I hadn’t taken that education. But now I work as a postal worker. I spend my days alone without talking to people. It’s awesome.

Has your opinion on a book ever changed as you got older? For example: Is there a book you used to dislike that you now love, or a book you adored but fell out of love with?

I haven’t tried going from disliking a book to then loving it. I tend not to give books second chances so I don’t reread books I find bad or average. There are some books I read as a child that I don’t love anymore though. To name one: I don’t think I would love the Percy Jackson books if I read them again today.

Which fictional food would you love to try someday?

I don’t notice food, this was so hard! I’m going with a pretty well-known one: Lembas from The Lord of the Rings. It’s supposed to be the most nutritious thing you could possibly get and also tastes kind of sweet. However, the recipe is kept extremely secret by the elves so I doubt we’ll be seeing Lembas any time soon.

You get to resurrect a fictional character of your choice, but in order to gain the energy necessary to restore their life, you have to kill a different character. Who would you save and who would you sacrifice?

I’m assuming the two characters don’t need to come from the same book because I’m totally taking advantage of that. But as this is a quite spoilery question, both in terms of who to save and who to sacrifice, I’m giving SPOILER WARNING for A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara AND Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab. Don’t read the next paragraph if you don’t want spoilers for those.

Who to save: Willem Ragnarsson from A Little Life. If you’ve read the book, you know I’m also technically saving Jude so there was no doubt in my mind about this. I don’t think I’ve ever been hit this hard by a character death because Willem was just a genuinely good person. He deserves to live and bring happiness to Jude. The one I’m sacrificing to make this possible is Delilah Bard from A Darker Shade of Magic. She’s just the opposite of Willem. Rude, selfish, irrational. She really should have died at the end of that trilogy anyway.

Do you ever feel second-hand embarrassment when reading? If yes, name a scene that really made you cringe!

I guess I do feel second-hand embarrassment but not for specific scenes in that sense. It’s more something I come across whenever I have to read a book in my native language, Danish. I try to avoid this so much because it’s really a horrible language. Any emotional or serious scene will get awkward and cringey in Danish and I just can’t deal.

If you could have one item of clothing from a book, what would you pick? Be aware that any magical properties won’t transfer to our world.

It limits the options when you don’t get the magic, too. I think I’m turning to the Hunger Games universe because why would I not choose something Cinna made? One of those fiery dresses Katniss wears would be perfect to make people keep their distance in today’s environment and also just in general.

Do you speak any other languages? If so, what is one unique thing about them? If not – are there any languages you would like to learn?

Yes, I do speak other languages. I just bashed my native language two questions ago. But Danish does still have some unique qualities. When talking grammar, Danish has two genders. Funnily enough, our language decided to be politically correct before that was even a thing, because those two genders aren’t masculine and feminine. They’re called ‘common’ and ‘neuter’ instead. The downside of this, I guess, is that it’s difficult to guess a noun’s gender as a foreigner learning the language.

I also understand a little German as it is the language we learn in school. However, I will hold on to my right to look confused if someone starts talking to me in German.

What is your biggest bookish pet peeve?

Not sure if it applies to this question but I find it quite annoying when I go to Amazon to buy a book and the Kindle version is the most expensive. That’s the only version I buy through Amazon because shipping to my country is way too much money when Book Depository exists. But how does a digital version of a book cost more than a hardcover? There’s something about that that doesn’t connect in my mind because a Kindle version doesn’t actually “exist” if you get my meaning.

What would you like to see more of in books?

I find this difficult to answer because whatever I say, there are probably going to be a lot of books containing that element. I just haven’t found them yet. So I guess my answer is going to be what I would like to read more of.

The “strong female character” is something I so rarely see done right, at least to my taste. It’s not so much that the “strong” part means physically strong. I think authors have listened to that and moved away from it a little. Now, I think my problem with these characters is due to the fact that their strong trait of cleverness means that they become snarky and self-absorbed. Not that I mind intelligence in my female characters. I love that but I wish it would take a different form sometimes. I also wish that empathy would be seen as the strongest trait someone could have. But that might be a societal thing we need to change first.

Short version: I want more female characters like Vasya from the Winternight Trilogy.

What is the first book you ever read by yourself?

I have no idea how old I was, but I’m sure it was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. For some reason, I have some very vivid memories of this.

Recommend a book that you think doesn’t get enough love!

I’m going with The Binding by Bridget Collins which is a highly atmospheric book about books. But some very special books as they hold memories. If there’s something you want to forget, just get your bad memories written into a book.
The Binding is a slow, low fantasy story with characters you quickly fall in love with, and I think more people should read it.

Those were some really great questions to answer. Now I’m going to nominate 11 other fantastic bloggers who deserve some love. I always feel like I’m too small a blogger to tag anyone which makes this a little weird for me but here we go:

Absolutely no pressure to do this. Just know that I think that you and your blog are real nice 😀 ❤️ Here are the 11 questions to answer:

  1. How are you doing at the moment?
  2. Do you have a Twitter or Instagram account where you talk about books? If so, how do you use them in connection to your blog? If you don’t have such accounts, why not?
  3. Pick one character you would have a conversation with (either one you hated or one you loved). What would you talk about?
  4. Are you an indoors or outdoors type of person?
  5. You like music? What is your current favorite song?
  6. Do you read ebooks? Why do you like/dislike them?
  7. Is there a genre you could never see yourself reading?
  8. You have briefly been granted the ability to pull an animal/creature out of a any book to have them live with you. Who is your new pet?
  9. If you were asked to recommend 2 books with a great portrayal of friendship, which ones would you mention? (If you want to mention more than 2, don’t let me stop you)
  10. Do you have any future plans concerning your blog? Are there certain milestones you want to reach?
  11. What are some of your favorite character traits? What does it require for you to love characters? Name as many traits as you want!

This was a really fun post do to and thank you again to A Book Owl’s Corner for nominating me. Happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

Posted on by Line

“There is a pirate in the basement.”

First line in The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Hi, guys. It’s time to freak out because it’s the middle of the year, although I do seem to have been in a permanent state of “freak out” for the entire year. Can 2020 please end?

Nevertheless, the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag is a great way to sum up the first six months of the year. I have read a lot of books if I compare to my normal standards. So far I’m on 35 and might even be able to read more books than I ever have before in a year. My current best is 65 so I think it can be done. But let’s move on to the questions!

What is the best book that you’ve read so far in 2020?

Or rather the best book I’ve read that doens’t fit any other question in this tag. That means that I’m choosing The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. This one opened my eyes to how much I actually love books about books. Mix that with a fairy tale-like story and Morgensterns immersive writing and it simply has to become one of my favorite books of the year.

What has been your favourite sequel of the first half of the year?

I hate this question because I’ve actually read a total of four 5-star sequels so far this year. I’m picking Chainbreaker by Tara Sim because this series needs more attention. It’s a diverse historical fantasy/steampunk series that manages to stay highly relevant and educational. It has the most wholesome characters, too. I really loved the second one for how it just took everything to the next level and expanded on both the world and the story.

Is there a new release that you haven’t read yet but you’re really excited to?

Well, there are a few. Echo Cycle by Patrick Edwards. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune. The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos.

What is your most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab, of course.

What is your biggest disappointment so far?

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth. This follows a group of ‘chosen ones’ 10 years after they defeated the bad guy and really seemed like it was going to dive deep into their PTSD. It didn’t exactly and I’m so disappointed. The story had so much potential. Instead of following all of the chosen ones, we only follow one and the plot itself could have been more relevant to their PTSD.

What is your biggest surprise so far?

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. A hyped YA fantasy book is something everyone needs to be wary of, but I hadn’t needed to with this one. Rogerson’s writing really makes this story come off the pages so I couldn’t help but be invested. Then you have the characters and their banter and their friendships and their romance. Oh, and the plot is centered around books that come alive!

What is your favourite new to you or debut author?

A. J. Hackwith, the author of The Library of the Unwritten.

What is your favourite fictional crush from this year?

I’ve already mentioned this book, but I really love Nathaniel from Sorcery of Thorns so I guess that’s my answer.

Who is your new favourite character?

Rune Saint John from The Tarot Sequence series by K. D. Edwards. He is such a layered character. He has a big heart and cares deeply about the people around him. He’ll protect them at all costs and is very self-sacrificing in that regard. No character deserves as much love as he does.

A book that made you cry?

Only one book has made me cry this year and that is The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. This one follows the life of Cyril Avery as he grows up and tries to live his life to the fullest as a gay man in Ireland. As any other life-story, his has its ups and downs, and there was one moment in particular that touched my heart and made me tear up. Amazing book!

A book that made you happy?

I don’t really read ‘happy books’ so this was kind of hard. I’m going with the first and only graphic novel I’ve ever read which is Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell. A very sweet Halloween story about friendship that was really uplifting to read.

Your favourite book to movie/tv show that you’ve seen so far?

I can never remember what I’ve watched. I guess I’m going with 13 Reasons Why because the fourth season came out in June and I watched all 10 episodes in a day. It’s based on the book Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, which I have not read. Most people seem to hate the show but I really love it for tackling difficult topics and not being afraid of being controversial. I’m so sad it’s over.

What is your favourite post that you’ve written so far this year?

The two posts I’ve written about the Danish translations of Harry Potter (book 1 and book 2) where I really allowed myself to be a language nerd. Those were so much fun to make and looking forward to writing the rest of the series.
I’m also pretty proud of my discussion post about embracing the nuances of the fantasy genre.

What is the most beautiful book that you have bought?

I bought the US paperback editions of the entire Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. I love looking at them on my shelf.

What are some books you need to read by the end of the year?

I did a post recently about my reading goals for 2020 and what books I still needed to read. Just to mention some other books I need to read:

  • Harry Potter (book 3-7, reread)
  • King of Crows by Libba Bray
  • Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
  • Burn by Patrick Ness

That was it for my mid year check in. Was it the best book you’ve read so far in 2020?

Posted in Book Tags

The Birthday Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke.”

First line in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Hi, guys. Sooo… it’s my birthday today. I’m officially 27. I’m not someone who cares very much about my birthday. That’s why The Birthday Book Tag is perfect. Instead of talking about myself, I get to talk about books. Way more fun. This tag was originally created by Antonia. Let’s jump into the questions!

Birthday Cake – A book with a plot that seems cliché but you adore it anyway

The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima. I mean, it has all the clichés and all the tropes you would expect from a YA fantasy series. But it works for some reason. There’s action and political intrigue and I just really loved reading it.

Party Guests – Your most anticipated book release this year

I’m going to assume they just forgot to add an ‘s’ on release because you can’t expect me to only mention one. I have a standalone and continuations of two of my favorite series coming in the Fall. The standalone is, of course, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab.

Then we have The Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith, sequel to The Library of the Unwritten.

Last one is Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, the last and long awaited sixth book in The Queen’s Thief series.

It might be a conspiracy but all of these books have the exact same publication date (as I’m writing this): October 6th.

Somebody must hate me.

Birthday Presents – A book that surprised you with how much you loved it

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. This one was very popular when it came out but it seemed to get mixed reviews so I’d actually decided I wasn’t going to read it. Experience had told me that those kinds of books rarely hit home for me. Then it fit an O.W.L.s prompt and here we are. The characters, the banter, the romance, the friendships, the library setting. I mean, this book just turned out to have all the right ingredients for me to love it.

The Happy Birthday Song – A book that certainly deserved all the hype it got

A lot of books deserve all their hype but since it’s June and Pride Month, I’m going with an old favorite: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Univers by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Such a beautiful story about identity and the importance of family.

Happy Music – A book with some very beautiful and truly memorable quotes

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. There were so many options for this question but just to proove that this one is a great choice, here are some quotes:

“I remember a friend of mine once telling me that we hate what we fear in ourselves,”

“It’s as if she understood completely the condition of loneliness and how it undermines us all, forcing us to make choices that we know are wrong for us.”

“Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And failing.”

But also this:

“You look like a Greek God sent down by the immortal Zeus from Mount Olympus to taunt the rest of us inferior beings with your astonishing beauty, I said, which somehow in translation came out as “you look fine, why?”

Getting Older – A book that you read a long time ago, but you think that you would appreciate it more if you read as a more mature reader

It was much easier to find the opposite of this – books I probably won’t like as much anymore – but my answer is probably A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin which I read when I was about 16 or 17. The thing is that I really liked it back then but I’m sure I would appreciate it a lot more now and pick up on a lot more. Back then, I wasn’t reading adult fantasy and also didn’t know much about the differences between YA and adult. Now that I’m a more experienced adult fantasy reader and I also know the ending of the series, it would be fun to read the first book again.

Sweet Birthday Memories – A book that kept you incredibly happy during a sad or demanding period of your life

I was really trying to be original but there’s only one answer for this: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. I’ve been lonely for a large part of my life, especially in my early teens, but these books gave me an escape so I didn’t have to be sad all the time. Being a part of the fandom also helped me make friends (online of course), and one of them is still my best friend.

These books are also still helping me. During my latest reread of the second book, I was reminded that the bravest thing you can do is ask for help when you need it. It was just the thing I needed to hear to realize that I needed to seek help with my anxiety.

Yeah, it’s not like I’m going to tag anyone lol. It’s a fun tag so I’ll probably do it again next year. Happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

5 Star Fantasy Books in 5 Words

Posted on by Line

“Place ten dozen hungry orphan thieves in a bank burrow of vaults and tunnels beneath what used to be a graveyard, put them under the supervision of one partly crippled old man, and you will soon find that governing them becomes a delicate business.”

First line in Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

Hi, guys. 5 star books in 5 words was originally created by Matthew Sciarappa over on Youtube and is actually a really fun tag. I’ve seen it around a lot as part of Wyrd and Wonder already and wanted to add my version. The rules are:

  • Pick 5 books you rated 5 stars.
  • Describe your love for each book by picking 5 words.
  • Don’t explain the words. To those who haven’t read the books, it might not make sense.

Since it’s Wyrd and Wonder month, I’ve of course chosen 5 fantasy books so let’s get to it!

The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith

Hell – Books – Friendships – Hero – Authors

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Doors – Volumes – Feelings – Honey – Destiny

Timekeeper by Tara Sim

Clocks – Spirit – London – Anxiety – Damage

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Light – Politics – Spren – Bridge – Swords

Half Bad by Sally Green

Witch – You – Heritage – Captivity – Betrayal

Were you able to make any sense of that? Well, it was fun to do so if you fancy doing it yourself, feel free to consider yourself tagged.

Posted in Book Tags

Get to Know the Fantasy Reader Tag (Wyrd and Wonder)

Posted on by Line

“It was late winter in northern Rus’, the air sullen with wet that was neither rain nor snow.”

First line in The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Hi, guys. It’s time for a tag. I picked Get to Know the Fantasy Reader Book Tag because this is my first time participating in Wyrd and Wonder so it felt appropriate to make a sort of introduction. This tag was originally created by The Book Pusher on YouTube and is a modifiction of another tag called Get to Know the Romance Reader. There are 10 questions so let’s get to it.

1. What is your fantasy origin story? (How you came to read your first fantasy novel)

I’m not sure but I believe the first book I read outside of school was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when I was about 9 or 10. I had gotten the first two books in the series for 2 Christmases in a row when I was 6 and 7. Otherwise known as ages where you’re not able to read yet. My mom didn’t seem to care about that so she kept buying them for me, and books are just not the most exciting present when you’re 6 years old. I tried reading the first one with my grandmother but we didn’t even get through chapter 1. Starting the series from the POV of Vernon Dursley was actually a risky move on Rowling’s part.
So yeah, the books sat on my shelf for a few years until one day when I was bored out of my mind and I thought “I might as well give it a go.”. Proving that old saying that it’s good for you to be bored sometimes.

2. If you could be the hero/heroine in a fantasy novel, who would be the author and what’s one trope you’d insist be in the story?

I love this question. The author would be Katherine Arden. She has written my favorite heroine in fantasy (Vasya) so I would trust her to make me look great and improve the things that need improvement. The one trope I would insist on is the exsistence of a magical library. Preferably for me to live in it.

Now I really want Arden to write a book about a magical library. Any kind really. I just want her words describing it.

3. What is a fantasy you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read?

Talking about magical libraries, The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith isn’t being read by enough people. It’s about a library in Hell which holds all the books that have yet to be written and the ones that never will be. What’s really cool is that characters from these books may materialize to search for their authors. It also has the best group of flawed characters that are so easy to latch onto.

4. What is your favorite fantasy subgenre? What subgenre have you not read much from?

It might not be my absolute favorite subgenre but I want to mention historical fantasy as something I really enjoy. I’m just very picky about it and therefore haven’t read much from it. In my experience, these books tend to very romance heavy and that’s not really what I want. I just want the fantasy in a historical setting. Some of my favorites are The Binding by Bridget Collins and Winternight Trilogy by Kathering Arden. If you know of any similar books, please share.

The subgenres I’ve read the least from would probably be steampunk or paranormal fantasy. Not really something I have an interest in either.

5. Who is one of your auto-buy fantasy authors?

I don’t exactly have one but Leigh Bardugo is probably the closest. I own 4 of her books and at least consider buying anything she puts out. Victoria Schwab is a close second.

6. How do you typically find fantasy recommendations? (Goodreads, Youtube, Podcasts, Instagram..)

Mainly on YouTube or other blogs.

7. What is an upcoming fantasy release you’re excited for?

There’s a lot of course so I’m going for something I haven’t seen talked about much. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix which is out September 22nd 2020. I mean that is the best title I’ve ever heard so that alone makes me excited.

8. What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest?

I think some people have the misconception of fantasy as it being only epic battles, epic quests and epic political scheaming. You know… epic. Especially when talking about adult fantasy. There are so many other facets to the genre. I mean, Circe by Madeline Miller and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern are also adult fantasy just to mention a few. I’ve actually been working on a dicussion post about this which will be up very soon.

9. If someone had never read a fantasy before and asked you to recommend the first 3 books that come to mind as places to start, what would those recommendations be?

Jesus.. Well, first I would have to conduct a 30-minute interview to get to know their taste. In this hypothetical scenario I guess I’ll just throw in 3 great starting points.

10. Who is the most recent fantasy reading content creator you came across that you’d like to shoutout?

Becca and Her Books is a BookTube channel I recently starting following. She reads both fantasy and romance and is a huge Sarah J. Maas fan. Even though I don’t read Maas, I still like watching Becca’s videos. She creates her TBR around a game of bookopoly every month and for some reason that is so satisfying to watch.

Now you know a little bit more about me as a fantasy reader. Feel free to do the tag yourself. I thought it was some really interesting questions and would love to see other people’s answers. You can also just write some of your answers in the comment section. Happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

The Reader Problems Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle.”

First line in Paper Towns by John Green

Hi, guys. I wanted to do a get-to-know-me kind of tag and had seen this one being done quite often. It was originally created by the BookTube channel About To Read a long time ago but it’s still a great tag if you ask me. So let’s just jump into the questions so that I can tell you how I deal with typical reader problems.

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

First of all, I’m pretty good at keeping my TBR fairly short (currently at 88) so I can easily go through it and pick whatever peaks my interest at the time. Second of all, I read a lot of series. That means there’s always a sequel I need to read and I usual jump to another series after reading just one book in a series. I like to switch it up.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

I can’t quit on a book, and I hate myself for not being able to. But for some reason I can’t help but think “What if the ending is so good, it changes what I thought about the beginning?” I must admit that right now I can’t think of a book where that actually happened. It’s more common for me to not like the first book in a series but then loving the sequels. Then I’m glad I ended up pushing through that first one.

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I’ve never not met my Goodreads goal because I always set it to something I know I can manage. Maybe that defeats the purpose of it being a goal but I like that satisfying feeling of Goodreads telling me that I’m ahead of schedule. Don’t judge me. So in the case that I for some reason can’t reach my goal… then I’ll just lower it. I don’t want to stress about it.

4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

I haven’t encountered this problem as I don’t buy very many books and once I do, they are often completed series that I know I love. Then I can just buy the covers that match because that does matter to me for some reason. Not enough though that I would go out and buy several copies of the same book just to get the covers to match.

5. Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

…No one. I don’t have any friends who read the kind of books that I do or the amount of books I read. I feel like that’s quite common for people here in the online book community. We’re here because we don’t have anyone else to talk to. So I guess I’ll talk to whatever book blogger or BookTuber I can find who shares my unpopular opinion which is just as great!

6. You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I do a lot of reading in public as a I have a long commute to work so this is a very relevant question. I very rarely cry when reading and when I do, it’s often a book I know will make me cry. So I just don’t read that one on the bus. My problem in public is that I can sometimes react in other ways than crying when I’m reading. It is no less embarrasing but I try to be as subtle as possible. If I can’t then too bad. I’m not too worried about something like that.

7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book?

Occasionally, I will reread the previous book. Mainly if it was one that I really, really loved and would reread in the future anyway. Normally I skip the reread because it’s just too time consuming and sequels tend to recap the important stuff anyway.

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

Nobody has ever wanted to borrow my books, so if anybody ever asked I would likely answer with a “YES, please take them!”. Just so I can get more people to read my favorite books. The only exception would be my Harry Potter books. They are old and have great sentimental value so I’m expecting people to be understanding.

9. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

Luckily, I rarely get hit very hard by reading slumps. I very much appreciate my time on the bus to and from work in that regard because that really helps. Like when your options are reading or looking out the window for 45 minutes, you might as well read. I manage to get through the less good books that way and get to the amazing ones that often are the cure to a reading slump.

10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

Extremely few. I only buy new books it’s a book I’m sure I’ll love. That often means that I have to know the author and/or it’s a sequel to an all-time favorite of mine that I can’t wait for library version of. I might also buy some of them later on if it turns out that my library won’t get them.

11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

The few times I do buy the new books, they don’t even hit my shelf before I start them. Sometimes, I will even start reading them on the bus on the way home from the bookstore.

That was The Reader Problems Book Tag. Let me know if you find my answers weird or you somehow relate to some of them. Otherwise, happy reading!