The Twenty Questions Book Tag

You may have noticed I disappeared for the last two weeks. Where was I? Good question. I’m not sure what happened but I just suffered from a major slump and everything – blogging, reading, life in general – felt like a struggle. Still I’m back now, and slowly catching up on the posts I’ve missed over the past couple of weeks.

And what better way is there to get back into blogging than posting a book tag? Because let’s face it who doesn’t have an opinion on whether hardcovers or paperbacks are better, or on love triangles in general? I do, and I’m certain some people already know the answers to these questions I’m that outspoken about them. I was tagged by May at Forever and Everly. Thanks for the tag May, I had a lot of fun answering the questions for this one so I hope you enjoy reading my answers just as much.

How many books are too many books in a book series?

I think three or four books is a good number for a series depending on the story, any more than that is too many.

However there are some exceptions to that rule; I’m absolutely loving the Red Rising Saga which is now going to be six books, and the same goes the Throne of Glass series which between the full-length stories, novellas and spin-offs seems to have more books than I can count.

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How do you feel about cliffhangers?

That depends on if I have the next book in my hands ready to get started on. The wait between A Gathering of Shadows and A Conjuring of Light was unbearable; I had to sit for a year with that cliffhanger and it nearly drove me insane.

There’s a reason I decided not to start The Dark Artifices trilogy until all three books have been released (I say like I’ve actually started Lady Midnight, instead of it still being on my TBR list now).

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Hardback or paperback?

For aesthetic purposes I’m going to say hardcovers, because they look great on my bookshelves and under the dust jackets they can be even more gorgeous, but for portability purposes I’m going to say paperback, because it’s less weight carrying a paperback in my bag compared to a hardcover.

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Favourite book?

My favourite standalone is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern; it’s such a magical story and I love the setting. I’d give anything to be able to visit Le Cirque des Rêves myself.

My favourite series is Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab; it’s full of action and adventure with great characters and brilliant world building. I can’t wait to go back with the Threads of Power series.

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Least favourite book?

The Truth and Lies of Ella Black by Emily Barr

I hated the main character, and in a book told in first person POV that’s the kiss of death for me; Ella’s decisions just made me so angry, and they didn’t make sense. Plus The Truth and Lies of Ella Black had the worst case of insta-love I think I’ve ever read. The second Ella’s eyes met Christian’s she was seeing their whole life together play out, she didn’t even know his name but was convinced they were destined to be together.

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Love triangles, yes or no?

More often than not I think love triangles are just thrown in to add tension between the characters, and all they really end up doing is taking something away from the development of the story or the individual characters. That said if they’re done well then I don’t mind them, but so far the only series I’ve read with a well-written love triangle is The Infernal Devices trilogy.

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The most recent book you just couldn’t finish?

The Lantern’s Ember by Colleen Houck

When I picked up this book for the first time in October/November last year I had started falling into a reading slump, and as a mood reader that was it for The Lantern’s Ember. I didn’t get past the third chapter before I had to give up and add it back to my TBR list because I wasn’t taking anything I was reading in.

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A book you’re currently reading?

Funnily enough my answer for the previous question is my answer for this one as well. I always knew I’d be picking The Lantern’s Ember up again once I was in the mood to read it, and now I am. Granted I’m only about a third of the way through, but it’s further than I made it the last time I picked this book up and I’m always enjoying it a lot more this time around.

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Last book you recommended to someone?

I’m not 100% sure – thanks to blogging I recommend a lot of books – but the last book I remember recommending in person was Iron Gold. I was trying to convince my friend, the same friend who told me I needed to read Red Rising in the first place, to get back into the series and finally finally get around to both Morning Star and Iron Gold.

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Oldest book you’ve read? (Publication date)

The Golden Compass/Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

It was released in 1995 when I was only five years old, so obviously I didn’t read it the year it was released. I didn’t actually pick this series up until I was around 13 or 14, nearly ten years after the release date of Northern Lights, thanks to a recommendation from my best friend.

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Newest book you’ve read? (Publication date)

Enchantée by Gita Trelease

Enchantée isn’t being released in the UK until February 7th, so there’s still month to go until it’s official publication date but I managed to get an eARC from NetGalley. Overall I did enjoy it, but it was slow going and I’m not sure whether that’s down to the fact that I was in the middle of my reading slump when I read it or just the story itself.

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Favourite author?

Because I have so so many I’m just going to list a handful of my top favourites;

• V.E. Schwab
• Leigh Bardugo
• Samantha Shannon
• Laini Taylor
• Marissa Meyer
• Sarah J. Maas
• Rick Riordan
• Amie Kaufman
• Anna-Marie McLemore
• Marie Lu

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Buying books or borrowing books?

Buying; simply because if it’s a book I love I need to have my own copy so I can go back and re-read it over and over again. Plus I like building up my own personal library.

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A book you dislike that everyone else seems to love?

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

I wouldn’t say I disliked this book, just that it wasn’t one I loved and I seem to be an exception there. Every other review I’ve seen has been glowing, and every other blogger who’s read To Kill a Kingdom seems to have loved it, so what am I missing?!

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Bookmarks or dog-ears?

Bookmarks for sure. I’m very precious about my books and don’t want anything to damage them, dog-earring pages hurts my soul.

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A book you can always re-read?

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

It’s such a fun story; there’s magic and tension, high stakes and humour, a cute and shippable romance all at the same time. I love Simon, Baz and Penny, and whenever I’m feeling down or just generally slump-y I’ll automatically reach for Carry On.

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Can you read while hearing music?

I actually need music to read, because if not I get distracted by outside noises around me. I do most of my reading on the train during my commute to and from work, so there are a lot of outside noises that could potentially distract me from whichever book I’m trying to read.

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One POV or multiple POVs?

When I think of some of my favourite books – Shades of Magic and The Night Circus which I’ve mentioned before, as well as Strange the Dreamer, Six of Crows and The Lunar Chronicles – they’re all multiple POV books.

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Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

It don’t really read books in one sitting so I’ll say multiple days. At the same time though there are books I can get through in one day.

Honestly I think it depends on the book and how addictive the story is.

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Who do you tag?

• Anna at My Bookish Dream
• Grace at This Stack of Books
• Kat at Life and Other Disasters
• Olivia at Purely Olivia

Tell me who your favourite author is, do any of the authors who made my list make your list? Are you a fan of love triangles? Do you prefer hardcovers or paperbacks, and what book can you always re-read? Let me know, and if there’s anyone out there who wants to take part consider yourself tagged.