Bookweek 2019 Day 5: The Ultimate Book Tag

Yesterday, when I sat down to write the fifth and final Bookweek 2019 post, I realized that all my remaining Bookweek ideas were rather negative. The worst book I read this year. Boring main characters. A rant about book snobs. Etc. And I just didn’t want to end Bookweek on a negative note. So I scrapped what I had, and went to bed, and decided I’d write the last blog post today (Saturday) instead.

Well, today I hosted a tea party. And now I’m tired. So I have no energy left to come up with a fun creative way to end bookweek.

I know what I’ll do! I’ll use good old Aunt Google, and find a book-related tag to fill out.

Hmm, looks like I’m going to steal “The Ultimate Book Tag” from a blogger named “The Bibliophile Girl.” Let’s answer some random book-related questions!

Do You Get Sick While Reading In The Car?

Only if it’s a sunny day and we’re driving through town or something, with lots of starts and stops.

Which Author’s Writing Style Is Completely Unique To You And Why?

(Okay, my editor brain is not appreciating the way that question is phrased, but whatevs.) J.D. Salinger has a unique writing style, but the only book of his that I loved was Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters. Daniel Handler has a unique writing style, and I absolutely adore his A Series of Unfortunate Events books. However I read some stuff he’d written for adults, and it was too weird for me.

That’s the problem with unique writers. Very often their stuff turns weird. Dark. Overly sexual. Etc. Take Wuthering Heights, for instance. Emily Brontë is brilliant, with a completely unique writing style. I was amazed when I read her work. But can one really like her book?

Harry Potter or Twilight? Give 3 Reasons Why.

To be honest, I didn’t like (or finish) either series. Harry Potter was FULL of plot holes that drove me nuts. Also it got progressively darker as the series wore on. Twilight was interesting for the first few chapters, but the love story was so weird/creepy/obsessive I literally threw the book in the trash. Haha.

Do You Carry A Book Bag? If So, What’s In It (Besides Books)?

A book bag is just a backpack, right? Yes I carry one, but rarely are there books inside, lest I get distracted when I’m supposed to be working.

Things I always carry: My laptop, my laptop cord, at least one pen, my planner, my earbuds, my wallet, my phone, keys

Things I often carry: Snacks, a notebook, my phone charger, a mug

Things I sometimes carry: Spare clothes, books

Do You Smell Your Books?

Only when they have a particularly pungent smell. Certain cheap paperbacks have a very specific odor, and every time I smell it I’m transported to Bag End. The Hobbit was the first book of that smell that I ever read, you see.

I remember getting a new Algebra 1/2 textbook when I was a kid, and loving how it smelled. The smell faded after a while, but I’d still flip to unused pages, stick my nose in close to the spine, and breathe in a big whiff.

Books With or Without Illustrations?

With! I was just talking to Amy about this the other day. Why have publishers, for the most part, stopped illustrating books? Illustrations are so charming! I love stumbling across them in books.

What Book Did You Love While Reading, But Discovered Later It Wasn’t Quality Writing?

For me it’s more of an author than a specific book. Gail Carson Levine. She was my absolute favorite author in my teens. Especially her book Ella Enchanted.

I bought pretty much everything she wrote, back then. But in 2014 I re-read one of her books, Fairest, and discovered that it didn’t retain its charm in adulthood. This was very disappointing to me.

I still think Ella Enchanted is a good book, though. Levine did well when she was sticking to such a simple premise–Cinderella with a twist. She tried to get more complicated in some of her later books, and she just couldn’t quite pull it off.

Do You Have Any Funny Stories Involving Books From Your Childhood?

Once I was in the garden, and I saw a bee. The bee and I had a bit of a scuffle in which the bee stung my hand, and I swatted at the bee. And somehow, in all the chaos, the bee ended up stuck in my hair.

Yes. Stuck. Not, like, in my braid or something, but against my scalp. I could feel it buzzing in there, still alive but unable to escape.

So I went into the house. “There’s a bee in my hair!” I said.

Matt grabbed a book. “Sorry,” he said, and he hit me over the head with the book.

The bee stopped buzzing. It was good and dead.

“You might want to go wash your hair now,” said Matt.

(Whenever I tell this story, people always ask if it hurt when Matt hit me with the book. I guess he somehow knew how to hit hard enough to kill bees, but not hard enough to hurt people. Because I don’t remember it hurting. I just remember being relieved that I wasn’t going to get another bee sting, on the top of my head this time.)

What Is The Thinnest Book On Your Shelf?

Elizabeth and her German Garden, by Elizabeth Von Arnim.

What Is the Thickest Book On Your Shelf?

An enormous copy of the Bible that belonged to my great-grandfather.

Do You Write As Well As Read? Do You See Yourself Being An Author In the Future?

Yes, and yes!

When Did You Get Into Reading?

Good question. I was definitely a “late bloomer” when it came to reading. Learning to read was a struggle. I probably wouldn’t have described myself as “into reading” until my teens.

What Is Your Favorite Classic Book?

Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie. Also just my favorite book in general. As far as grown-up books go, I haven’t thought this through very carefully. But the one that immediately came to mind was Emma, by Jane Austen.

Although to be honest, I’m not 100% sure what counts as “classic.” Will any book do, so long as it’s 50+ years old, and popular enough to be re-printed in modern times? Or must it be something most people are familiar with?

What Was Your Best Subject In School?

Not sure what this has to do with books, but okay. I took a JavaScript class once in college, and got the highest grade it was possible to get in the class. Like, 100% plus extra credit. Super random. I never took another computer science class. But I’m weirdly proud of that grade, esp because I was so confused on the first day of class that I cried. It was really embarrassing because this awkward boy tried to comfort me but he didn’t really know how to deal with crying girls, and personally, I just wanted everyone to ignore me and pretend that I wasn’t crying.

If You Were Given A Book As A Present That You Read Before And Hated, What Would You Do?

I would genuinely thank the person for the gift, because at least they’re buying me books. I think it’s really sweet when people buy me books. It shows they care about getting me a personal gift.

If the book was pretty, I might keep it around. But most likely I’d pass it on to someone who would enjoy it, or give it to a thrift store. Marie Kondo and all that. (Unless the book was Twilight in which case it would go into the trash can, haha.)

What Is Your Favorite Word?

If I’m going to be honest, my favorite word probably is “interesting.” I use it all the time, but that’s because I genuinely find what people say to be so interesting. I show love by being interested in what people say, and I feel loved when people are interested in what I have to say.

Also, I love how people pronounce it all sorts of different ways. Some say “in-tris-ting,” some say “in-ter-rest-ting,” and some say “in-ner-rest-ting.” I used to write in my diary that people had “inner sting” if I thought they were especially interesting. But I love how the word can also sound like “inner resting…” because if I am learning something especially interesting, it does feel like part of me, inside, is at home at at rest.

(I know some people use this word as code for “weird,” but I just feel sorry for those people and their boring lives, haha)

…

That’s all for now. I’d answer the rest of the questions, but…um….just check them out, will you?

What Is A Lesser Known Series That You Know Of That Is Similar to Harry Potter or the Hunger Games?
What Is A Bad Habit You Always Do (Besides Rambling) While Filming?
Are You A Nerd, Dork, or Dweeb?
Vampires of Fairies? Why?
Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?
Spirits or Werewolves? Why?
Zombies or Vampires? Why?
Love Triangles or Forbidden Love?
Full on Romance Books Or Action-Packed With A Few Love Scenes?

Yeah…these questions aren’t really my style. I should just stop.

See you next year, for Bookweek 2020! And don’t forget that book recommendations are always welcome in my comments section. 🙂