Tag: Spring Cleaning

I went through my drafts to find a tag I want to do because I have not finished a book in days and I don’t think I will anytime soon. Given that I just moved and therefore organized my shelves and got rid of quite a few books this tag seemed appropriate. I was tagged by Sarah whose wonderful blog you should all check out.

THE STRUGGLE OF GETTING STARTED: A BOOK OR SERIES YOU STRUGGLE TO BEGIN BECAUSE OF ITS SIZE

I am very good at starting series and not good at all at finishing them. The first answer that comes to mind is therefore A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab, not only is it the last book in a series, it is also ridiculously long. I am hoping to finally tackle it in May, when Wyrd and Wonder is taking place.

CLEANING OUT THE CLOSET: A BOOK OR SERIES YOU WANT TO UNHAUL

Honestly? At the moment none. Like I said, I got rid of so many books recently (mostly books I owned for years and that don’t appeal to me anymore) and at the moment I am super pleased with my collection.

OPENING THE WINDOW AND LETTING FRESH AIR IN: A BOOK THAT WAS REFRESHING

I adored Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends enough to be super excited about literary fiction after months of only reading fantasy. Rooney is a genius and everything about her writing excites me.

WASHING OUT THE SHEETS: A SCENE THAT YOU WISH YOU COULD REWRITE

I recently read Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden and while I hated the vast majority of the book, the ending nearly made me throw the book (or my phone). It is a special kind of awful. Rachel’s review is mostly about the ending of that book, if that gives you any indication of just how horrible it was.

THROWING OUT UNNECESSARY KNICK-KNACKS: A BOOK IN A SERIES YOU DIDN’T THINK WAS NECESSARY

Did I mention that I am horrible that finishing series? What I meant is that I often only read the first book. However, I am currently making my way through Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series and that has been a brilliant but sometimes uneven experience. She does a great job at always moving the main story along, but some books are weaker than others (Blaze of Memory for example was boring to no end).

POLISHING DOORKNOBS: A BOOK THAT HAD A CLEAN FINISH

Again, Conversations With Friends is the obvious answer here. The ending is pitch-perfect. Enough so that I have listened to the last chapter twice since finishing the book. Just thinking about it makes me giddy.

REACHING TO DUST THE FAN: A BOOK THAT TRIED TOO HARD TO RELAY A CERTAIN MESSAGE

I don’t usually mind politics in books at all – even if they are included in a way that others perceive as heavy-handed, but I do think that Tolstoy’s books and short stories got weaker the older he got. He argued that only morally worthwhile books can be considered great, which is premise I don’t totally agree with but something that becomes painfully obvious when reading his works in publication order.

THE TIRING YET SATISFYING FINISH: A SERIES THAT WAS TIRING BUT SATISFYING TO GET THROUGH

 

I am not quite sure whether I understand this prompt correctly but the series that came to mind is N. K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy – it becomes painfully obvious early on that the series can only end in heartbreak and I was scared for my heart and for these characters I adored throughout the final book.

I tag Rachel, Naty, Hadeer, Ayunda, and Emily. As well as everybody else who wants to do the tag.

Last 10 Books Tag

I saw this tag on Rachel’s blog and it looked so much fun I decided to steal it.

1. What was the last book you DNFed?

I have two DNF shelves on my Goodreads, “Will probably not finish” and “on hold”. Both show how unsure I am whether a book is really properly DNFed or if I will pick it back up at some point. The last book I put down, and I am dreading admitting this because it is so very beloved, is The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. I will maybe pick it back up at some other point but it is very much not a book for me. I can see why people love it for sure, but for me the melodrama and over-the-topness did not work. I also wished the protagonist would stop talking about his penis so much.

2. Last book you reread?

Oh, hello again, rereading questions. The last book I reread was Kassandra by Christa Wolf. It is my all-time favourite book and the only one I really make a habit out of regularly rereading.

3. Last book you bought?

I preordered the UK paperback edition of Becky Chambers Record of a Spaceborn Few, the third in the Wayfarer series, which I love. I also love this title and I am so glad to proper-sized paperback edition is publishing soon.

 

 

4. Last book you said you read but didn’t?

I rarely do that. But, technically, I did not finish War and Peace because I ragequit it way too close to the end. The only character I found interesting died and I put the book down and just never picked it back up. I read enough to have an opinion of the book (and it is as follows: Tolstoy got worse the older he got and his didactics ruin an otherwise brilliant writer) and as such might have said to have read it at some point.

5. Last book you wrote in the margins of?

It’s probably the last book I bought for my thesis, and I couldn’t say which one it is. I only write in the margins of books I read for an academic purpose.

6. Last book you got signed?

None.

7. Last book you lost?

Not technically lost but I don’t have the first two books in The Hunger Games trilogy anymore and coincidentally, the exact same editions are in my youngest stepsister’s room at her mum’s house. But everybody is backing her up in that these are her books and it seems petty to argue. I still haven’t replaced the books though.

8. Last book you had to replace?

A friend of mine I am no longer speaking to still has my copy of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I went ahead and just replaced the book because it looks pretty and I really loved it when I read it.

 

 

9. Last book you had an argument over?

Not argument per se but I tried listening to It by Stephen King and when I gave up halfway through (after more than 20 hours I might add!), I may have ranted at my boyfriend for long enough for him (who is a very patient man, an attribute I adore) to tell me that maybe I am overreacting. He really likes Stephen King so it was not my most diplomatic moment. But that book drove me up the walls!

10. Last book you couldn’t get a hold of?

Lidia Yuknavitch has two short story collections that are impossible to find. I would love to be able to read those because she is my hero and I think her style would lend itself beautifully to the format.

As I wasn’t tagged, I also won’t do that but if you decide to do a post on this, please let me know!