Another Double Feature

Well, hello my little coffee beans. How are you? I, myself, am quite well. Shall we proceed to the tags?

Milk Tea Book Tag

This tag was created by the esteemed Alyssa @ The Devil Orders Takeout (where she includes an explanation for the categories as well as a little historical background), and I was nominated for it by the lovely Tessa Ann @ Books, Bubbles, and Arohanui. (Thanks, Tessa!) Both their blogs are awesome, and you should totally go check them out.

Tea: The Foundation of Your Reading Life

 

I know that I read a bunch of books before I started on Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, but these thirteen books are the ones that stick out the most in my mind. When I was younger, I think I read them at least five times each, and the experience taught me about voice and atmosphere, if that makes any sense. (Also, Lemony Snicket’s NaNoWriMo pep talk from 2010 is pure genius.)

 

 

Milk: A Rich, Smooth Book

I haven’t reviewed THE ASK AND THE ANSWER by Patrick Ness, but I plan to soon, so I’ll be brief. Not only does Ness keep the pacing tight and the plot interesting, he also presents nuanced characters and brain-twisting dilemmas. So, not only is it “rich and smooth”, it’s also a hearty read, full of protein and calcium—good for any writer’s mind.

 

 

Sugar: A Book You love But Is Controversial

This one’s a hard one, because I’m not sure ENDER’S GAME is controversial, but I know that the author is. Regardless, I fell head-over-heels in love with this book when I finally got around to it. Ender and Bean are basically my heroes, and I honestly did not see the plot twist at the end coming. In other words, I should add this to the reread section of my TBR pile.

 

Ice: A Book Just For Fun

 

I feel like nobody talks about Elizabeth Cody Kimmel’s LILY B. ON THE BRINK OF COOL enough, and that makes me sad. Although it’s MG, it’s hardly light and fluffy. Throughout the course of the narrative, Lily comes to realize that sometimes parents aren’t as stupid and blind as they seem, and sometimes the good guys are actually the bad guys. Plus, I haven’t seen too many books about children getting conned, and Lily has a very distinctive, extremely humorous voice.

 

Silk Stocking: A Book That’s Much Better Than It Sounds

 

I had to think long and hard about this, because I tend to get embarrassed when I’m caught reading anything popular, so it’s difficult for me to choose something that legitimately sounds lame, instead of something that simply scars my little hipster-wannabe mind. After much deliberation, I decided on LIFE AS WE KNEW IT by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I very much love this book, but the premise does sound a little iffy. I mean, an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it closer to the earth, thus wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. How likely is that? But it doesn’t feel stupid when you actually read it—or at least, that’s what I tell myself.

 

 

Yinyang: A Book With Foreign Influence

I’m a big fan of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. Portions of the book are set in Transylvania (bet you never saw that coming), and I love the feel of the landscape. Also, we get to see some of the locals, and Stoker includes some foreign words, so, bonus points for him. Just, don’t expect his vampires to sparkle.
 

The Bookish Tag

 

Disclaimer: Annie @ Curious Wren created this tag, but it didn’t come with a picture, so I edited one myself. If you choose to use this tag—and you’re more than welcome to—I would ask that you don’t use this picture, simply because I don’t want to add to the tag, and I don’t want to end up taking credit for something I didn’t create. So, the picture is mine, but the tag is not. Also, you should totally check out her new blog and welcome her to the blogosphere.

What was the last book you read, and would you recommend it?

I guess the last book I finished reading would be 17 & GONE by Nova Ren Suma (you may remember me yammering on about her IMAGINARY GIRLS). This one was interesting... On the one hand, I really liked it, because the writing was beautiful and the characters were compelling. But it was a harder read, for reasons I can’t give without spoiling it, and I wasn’t able to devour it in one or two sittings, which might have slowed it down a little too much for me. Also, there were a couple bits in it that I didn’t like, and I had an enormous amount of trouble when I tried to review it. Still, I do think I would recommend it—I’d just recommend it with a disclaimer because it deals with some trigger issues.

Describe the perfect reading spot.

I have an armchair in my bedroom, situated right next to one of my bookshelves, and it’s the best spot to sit. Not only do I read, I also write and watch movies and draw pictures there. When I was in school, that’s where I’d camp out while completing my classwork. I’m moving soon, and I’m very sad that I’ll have to leave the chair at my parent’s house (for space reasons). Clearly it will pine away with loneliness during my absence.

 

Favorite book beverage? Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate? Tears of your readers?

Well, when I’m reading, I’ll drink coffee or water, although sometimes I’ll brew some tea. I’ll admit, I’m not much of a hot chocolate person. Let me rephrase that—I’m not a big fan of store-bought hot chocolate. When I make it from scratch, I really enjoy it, but it takes some time so I usually don’t bother. When I’m writing, I go for coffee sweetened with the tears of my readers, obviously.

Share favorite quotes from four books.

“Ask her what she craved, and she’d get a little frantic about things like books, the woods, music. Plants and the seasons. Also freedom.”—Charles Frazier, NIGHTWOODS. (I’ve never actually read the whole work, but my sister loves this quote, and she shared it with me.)

 

“Some upfront advice on avoiding back injuries: Always lift with your legs, no matter how tempting it might be to use your hands.”—Dr. Cuthbert Soup, A WHOLE NOTHER STORY.

Unfortunately, I can’t think of any more quotes at the moment, so here, have this E. E. Cummings poem instead.

 

What is your most-loved fantasy read? Dystopia? Contemporary? Sci-fi? Classic?

Probably my most-loved fantasy read would be THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien. For dystopia, I’d say THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. For contemporary, IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma (if it really counts as contemporary). For sci-fi, either ENDER’S GAME by Orson Scott Card or THE TIME MACHINE by H.G. Wells. And then for classics, LORNA DOONE by R.D. Blackmore.

List three authors you’ve collected the most books from.

I have about eighteen or twenty (I’m not at home, so I can’t count them) books by Brian Jaques—and I think I’ve only read about six of them. Since I have all thirteen volumes of the Series of Unfortunate Events, that would make Lemony Snicket the next author. And then Ally Carter comes in third because I have ten of her books. There.

What are your thoughts on magic in literature?

I’m fine with magic in literature, although I could go either way. Sometimes it feels overplayed and it gets a bit annoying—sometimes it can be super cool and interesting. It also depends on the sort of magic—I prefer innocent over demonic. 

What types of book covers capture your imagination most strongly? (Feel free to include images.)

 

I cannot get myself to stop drooling over DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth. Like, it’s such a big problem, if I see it on a bookstore shelf I will pull it out and stare at it even though I own a copy. The same with the INSURGENT cover. Also, I like the Candlewick Press editions of the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness. And I might be mildly obsessed with the cover of Suzanne Collin’s MOCKINGJAY.

Mention the first book character that comes to mind. Elaborate on this.

Ender from ENDER’S GAME. He’s such a serious little boy, and he’s wicked smart. Despite his age and all, he handles himself with surprising maturity, and he’s a born leader. Also, he’s very psychologically complete, if that makes any sense, and I love the way he processes what goes on inside his head.

 

Do you lend out your books?  Or is that the equivalent to giving away your own babies?

Well, I do….sometimes. I’ve lent out books and gotten them back dirty, water-damaged, and ripped. And I’m one of those super, nitpicky DO-NOT-CREASE-THAT-BOOK-COVER-OR-SO-HELP-ME-I-WILL-FEED-YOU-TO-MY-PET-KRAKEN sort of people. So I usually only lend my books out to family members, but always with fear and trembling. (I’ve been known to cry when my babies come back even slightly maimed.)

 

Well, there you have it, my little coffee beans. I’m not nominating anyone, but if you feel the urge to tackle one or both of the tags, just let me know and I’ll link to your post.