The Reread Tag

I don’t often reread books. Exploring new books always seemed way more exciting than revisiting old ones. Although admittedly, in the past couple of years, I’ve wanted to do it more often. However, in 2021, I don’t want to reread books at all. There are so many new books I want to read way more.

            Even though I don’t want to reread books, it does not mean I don’t want to talk about the ones I would reread. So, thanks to Kristin Kraves Books for introducing me to this book tag!

A childhood favorite that you could read 100 times and still love

I honestly don’t know if I have a specific answer for this one. Like I said, I don’t reread books often enough. Not as much as I did in high school, when I didn’t want to venture too far out of my comfort zone. Frankly, some of my childhood favorites I’m nervous to reread because I know they potentially did not age well, like any of the earlier Meg Cabot books.

A book you DNF’ed but would be willing to give a second chance to

One example I can think of is After You by Jojo Moyes. It is the sequel to Me Before You that came out several years ago. I tried to read it, got 30 pages in, and set it aside. If I’m being honest, I had mixed feelings on its publication. However, despite my initial apprehension, I still bought the third and final novel, Still Me, without having read After You. I liked the main character, Louisa; I wanted to find out what happened to her following the events of Me Before You.

A newer favorite you would reread

I have a few answers for this one. I would reread The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys, because I really like her writing and the characters in this novel were my favorite. I read Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson from the library and I would definitely reread if I get my own copy.

A book you hated and never want to read again

Woman of God by James Patterson…I despised this book. So why do I think about it so much? Because one of the protagonist’s “love interests” had one of the descriptions of my dream man and he was completely whipped by a woman who had no personality, no agency, etc.  

A classic you read in school but want to try again

I own copies of a few classics I read in high school that I bought years after I graduated. In my sophomore year, I became briefly obsessed with Edith Wharton after we read Ethan Frome in my English class. I read her book The Age of Innocence for a book report that same year, I think. I barely remember anything about it but I want to reread it for fun without having to analyze the text.

An author you would reread anything from

It’s a tie between Elizabeth Acevedo and Ruta Sepetys. Both of them have a beautiful writing style that sucks me in immediately.

A series you want to reread for the fun of it

If I would ever reread a series, my first choice would most likely be The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. If I ever wanted to get absolutely lost in my feelings, I would pick up these books.

A book you’ve read but want to listen to the audiobook

If I were to listen an audiobook, it would be the one for The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. It is written in a slam poetry style and read by the author, a slam poet herself. I’m not an audiobook listener at all, though I would consider giving this one a chance.

What’s your favorite audiobook?  

The Last 10 Books Tag

Go figure…a month of spitting out content and now the idea pit is dry. But that’s why we have book tags, don’t we?

            I found this tag on Kristin Kraves Books, who has earned the title of my Book Tag Provider. So, thank you my friend!  

The Last Book I Gave Up On

Last year, when I was naively thinking of all the things I wanted to accomplish in 2020, I made a list of books I wanted to unhaul. That unhaul would include a slight purge of my TBR pile. One of those TBR books was The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. I have absolutely no interest in reading this book anymore. If I’m being honest, I bought it on impulse while walking through Rite Aid, during the first year I started earning my own income.  

The Last Book I Gave Up OLast year, when I was naively thinking of all the things I wanted to accomplish in 2020, I made a list of books I wanted to unhaul. That unhaul would include a slight purge of my TBR pile. One of those TBR books was The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. I have absolutely no interest in reading this book anymore. If I’m being honest, I bought it on impulse while walking through Rite Aid, during the first year I started earning my own income.  

Last Book I Re-read

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, which I reread in May during a reading slump and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning crying over.

Last Book I Bought

The books I recently acquired at the same time were Dear Justyce by Nic Stone and The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu.

Last Book I Said I Read But Actually Didn’t

The last time I said I read a book but I didn’t actually was when I was a sophomore in college. In my British Writers II class, we read Waterland by Graham Swift. It was the driest book we read in that class, which might not have been so bad since we also read Hard Times by Charles Dickens. But I absolutely could not stand the narrator in Waterland, to a point where I could not bring myself to finish it. I just looked on SparkNotes for a summary instead.

Last Book I Wrote in the Margins Of

I highlighted and scribbled in textbooks I used in school, but to me, those don’t count. I never write in books.  

Last Book That I Had Signed

I haven’t been to a book signing since college, when I went to my professor’s book launch party. The most recent signed book I acquired was last year, when I accidentally bought an Owlcrate copy of Amber & Dusk by Lyra Selene through Amazon.

The Last Book I Lost

I don’t know if it counts, but the last book I “lost” was His Hideous Heart by Dahlia Adler. It was a library book I am positive I returned. After I finished it, I put it the backpack I use when I return library books. I distinctly remember leaving it in the outside bin designated for returns and all the other books I returned with it were cleared. Plus, on top of that, my bedroom is so small, it’s impossible I would not be able to see it if I did still have it. Yet, His Hideous Heart is marked as “overdue” on my library account. Fortunately, because of the pandemic, the library is not charging fines. But if it continues, I might have to call them about it.

            (Pray for me.)

The Last Book I Had to Replace

I can’t remember having to replace a book, ever. While a lot of my books have some wear and tear, none are damaged enough to qualify for a replacement.

The Last Book I Argued Over

I didn’t necessarily arguewith anyone over it, but Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. When I admitted I didn’t love the  writing style, the people I talked to on the Internet were polite in disagreeing with me. Still, posting a rant review on such a beloved novel made me a little nervous.

The Last Book I Couldn’t Find

Over the summer, when I was pulling books by Black authors off my shelves, I almost forgot about Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson. Only it wasn’t where I thought I put it. After a few moments of panic, I found it in the back of the shelves inside my bed.

Have you ever lost a library book?  

New Year’s Book Tag

Was everyone else’s New Year’s Eve as…anticlimactic…as mine was?

            When midnight rolled around, I yelled “Jumanji!” as loud as I could multiple times. Then, I fell asleep on the couch while watching Tiger King on Netflix. Knowing everyone else was probably feeling as much FOMO this year as I normally do on New Year’s Eve made me feel better. But 2021 still feels like 2020, at least to me.

            Hopefully, with a few baby steps, that changes soon.

            I found this New Year’s Book Tag on Kristin Kraves Books. January 3^rd, 2021 still feels new to me…and yet still fills me with panic all the same. 2021 NEEDS to go slow!

How many books are you planning to read in 2021?

I have no idea. I set a Goodreads goal of 21 books for 2021. I will probably beat that in the first quarter of the year. However, I set a lower goal on purpose. 2021 is the year I want to get back to living more than reading. I also want to read more 500+ page books. If I read at least 50 books in the year, that’s perfectly fine with me.

Name 5 books that you didn’t get to this past year but want to make a priority in 2021

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich.

Lovely War by Julie Berry

The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

What genre do you want to read more of?

I want to read more fantasy, both young adult and adult, in 2021. It is my favorite genre yet I barely read any in 2020. In fact, most of my TBR is fantasy. I also want to get back into classics, as I have several on my TBR that I am still excited to read.

Name 3 not-related-to-book goals for 2021

Find a full-time job in a library

Move out of my dad’s house

Get into cooking

What’s a book you have had forever and are determined to read?

It’s not a book that I have had forever and are determined to read. I’ll name a few: My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows; The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee; Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson; and Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman.

One word that you’re hoping 2021 will be

Progressive

What is your word for 2021?

12 Days of Christmas Book Tag

I’m getting a strong sense of déjà vu with this tag…I think I did it before. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been listening to the song by Pentatonix on repeat. Either way, thank you to Comfort Reads for bringing it to my attention and to Lizzie Loves Books on YouTube for creating it.

            Bring on the Christmas cheer!

A Partridge in a pear tree: favorite stand-alone book?

This year, my favorite stand-alone book has been Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. A few of my overall favorites are The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia, and A List of Cages by Robin Roe.

Two Turtle Doves: fictional OTP/favorite ship?

My current OTP is one that I think is permanently my all-time OTP, which is Aurora and Kal from the Aurora Rising series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. The development of their relationship was sweet and slow, but the passion, love, and communication was there.

Three French Hens: favorite trilogy?

Until I find another to top it, my favorite trilogy will always be the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare.

Four Calling Birds: favorite fictional beast/creature?

Fictional beasts and creatures are not something I pay attention to in books. Not sure why, but unless a character forms a special bond with a particular magical animal, I forget they exist. Except in the case of Lying Cat from the Saga graphic novels by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. I love sassy, protective, moral compass Lying Cat.

Five Golden Rings: show five golden books

Unfortunately, I don’t own a lot, or any, golden books. Instead, I interpreted “golden” as five of my favorite books. Five of my all-time favorite books are: To Drink Coffee with a Ghost by Amanda Lovelace; The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan; A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas; Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys; and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Six Geese a Laying: Rotten egg—What’s your least favorite book?

Of this year, it’s Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. In all fairness, I went into this book with low expectations. I just didn’t expect it to be 1-star.

Seven Swans a Swimming: show a book with water on the cover

The first book I thought of is Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller, the concluding novel to one of my favorite duologies.

Eight maids a milking: What fictional food do you wish you could taste?

Anything made by Emoni in With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. The food she makes sounds amazing.

Nine Ladies Dancing: favorite dance between two characters?

The dancing scene in the Beauty and the Beast movie. Because I don’t enjoy dance scenes unless I can actually see them, unfortunately.

Ten Lords a Leaping: favorite book-to-movie adaption?

The American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson…which I need to watch more often. It’s a really, really good movie.

Eleven Pipers Piping: favorite book-to-movie soundtrack?

I don’t have one….

Twelve Drummers Drumming: It’s the end of the song; what’s your favorite book ending?

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager threw in a plot twist at the end I didn’t see coming. The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser also had a good ending, if a bittersweet one.

What’s your favorite book-to-movie soundtrack?

Christmas Cracker Book Tag

I was looking for more Christmas-themed book tags I hadn’t done before on my blog. Thanks to Comfort Reads for putting this tag, Christmas Cracker Book Tag, on my radar! If anyone knows who created this tag, let me know.

Pick a book with a wintry cover

While not exactly cheerful or Christmassy, the first wintry cover I thought of was Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. On top of that, the book is set in Siberia, the coldest of cold besides Antarctica.

Pick a book you’re likely to buy as a present

He doesn’t read my blog (to my knowledge), but Is This Anything by Jerry Seinfeld is one of the books I plan to give my dad for Christmas this year.

Pick a festive themed book

The first Christmas-themed book I always think of is The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand. It is a modern retelling of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. If I have the energy to read at all in December, I seriously want to squeeze in a reread of The Afterlife of Holly Chase.  

Pick a book you can curl up with by the fireplace

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is dark and atmospheric. I read it in winter, unfortunately not by a fireplace. But if I had one, this would be a good book to snuggle up with.

Pick a book you want to read over the festive period

Besides a possible reread of The Afterlife of Holly Chase, I have a few non-holiday books I want to read during this festive period. One is The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar sounds like a whimsical story to read around this time of year.

Pick a book that’s so good it gives you the chills

I can handle scary books better than scary movies, at least sometimes. A book that gave me the chills, however, was The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich. Particularly, a scene involving a mirror. I made the mistake of staying up reading one night when I read that scene and I have a mirror next to my bed….

Pick a book going on your Christmas wishlist

Every year, I have to cut my Christmas wishlist down to eight or nine books because I always add too much. A book I originally had on my list is Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed, a young adult novel set in Paris told in dual time periods. If I get Christmas money or gift cards, I will get a copy after the holiday or during my birthday month.

Recommend me a holiday-themed book!

Baby, It’s Cold Outside Book Tag

Where I live, it’s more September cold than December cold right now. But I know the weather will be making up for it in January and February. So, I guess I might as well enjoy it while I can.

            On top of that, I am in need of all the Christmas feelings I can get. Book tags are usually the place to go first. I found this tag on Kristin Kraves Books and it was created by Reading on a Star.

            To the tag!

Snow day: What’s your “comfort” book?

I don’t have a specific book, but genres. Usually, young adult contemporary novels on the more lighthearted side and, lately, middle grade books.

Snow Angels: What’s a book that you love so much you would want to be buried with it (a little morbid, but…)

If I am to be buried with a book, it would be with one that I wrote. If I manage to write more than one, it would be the work that meant the most to me.

Warm socks: What’s a book that makes you feel warm inside? (The fluffiest, cutest, romance you’ve ever read?)

Kiss Me in Paris by Catherine Rider is one of the fluffiest, cutest romances I’ve read. This book put me in a really good mood the day I read it. It’s one of the books that made me want to look into fluffier romances.

Hot cocoa: What winter-themed novels have you previously read?

When looking up answers for this question, I realized I have not read almost no winter-themed books. I should probably remedy that. The most obvious one I found was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

Sledding: What’s a book with the best plot twists? Who’s an author that always keeps you on your toes?

The Muse by Jessie Burton, a novel I rarely mention, had a great plot twist I never guessed. As cliché as the author might be, Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson also had one of my favorite plot twists. He and Robert Galbraith are two authors that keep me on my toes.

Ugly Sweaters: What’s a book with the ugliest cover?

Saying a book has an ugly cover is something I do not say often. Blubber by Judy Blume had a genuinely ugly cover. Fortunately, it was a library book, so I don’t have to look at it again.

Movie marathon: What’s the last book you binge read?

I read Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson in under 24 hours. It was less than 200 pages, but the story completely sucked me in regardless. I looked for any excuse to read throughout the day.

Letter to Santa: What’s a book that’s on your wishlist this year?

I have a very, very long Amazon wishlist, as well as one on Barnes & Noble. Some of the few that I picked to go on my Christmas wishlist this year are Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco, The Burning God by R.F. Kuang, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.

Recommend me a snowy book!

Disney Princess Book Tag

I vaguely remember doing a tag like this, which I found on Bookables YouTube channel, on either this blog or on my Books Amino app. But I am trash for all things Disney. Combine that with books, and I’m down.

            On to the tag!

Snow White: your favorite classic

Being a former English major that genuinely does like reading classics (for the most part), I have a few favorites: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare.

Cinderella: a book you kept reading past bedtime

The most recent book I stayed up way too late reading was Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper. I had hit a point in the story where putting it down without finishing was impossible. I didn’t fall asleep until I finished the book and it spurred me to read a few pages of another.  

Aurora: your favorite classic romance

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen is my favorite by her, as well as my favorite classical romance and another of my favorite classics in general. I like Pride and Prejudice as much as the next person, but Col. Brandon is the most perfect man in classic literature, in my opinion.

Ariel: a book about making sacrifices and fighting for your dreams

In With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, teen mom Emoni has to make some really hard choices. She loves her daughter and her grandmother, always putting them ahead of anything else. But eventually she realizes that, to follow her own dreams, she will have to learn when to put herself first and go after what she wants.

Belle: a book with a smart, independent main female character

Noemi in Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a far cry from the typical heroine seen in Gothic romances. She’s feisty and independent. She asks questions the people around her don’t want her asking and goes looking for the answers on her own. While her flightiness got on my nerves occasionally, I appreciated how Noemi did not take anyone’s crap.

Jasmine: a book with a character that challenges the social norms of his or her world

While not so much in the first book, The Poppy War, in the second novel, The Dragon Republic, Rin Fang really starts to question society. The anger she feels at the unjust treatment of her people slowly boils, eventually exploding. Though she is slightly submissive at first, Rin comes into her own and takes it upon herself to turn the system on its head.

Pocahontas: book whose ending was a roller coaster of emotions

I have yet to read a book with a more emotional ending than Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Everything happened all at once. Both times I read it, I had to fight back tears as I flipped through the last 100 pages. And both times, someone was talking to me as I was trying finish!

Mulan: a book with a kick-butt female character

While they might not kick butt in the traditional sense, the girls in A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin are brilliant, savvy spies in training. Each girl has her own kick-butt skill set, whether it be science, a master of disguises, or getting out of a trap.

Rapunzel: a book that features an artist

In The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Ivan, a gorilla living in a mall zoo, can draw and uses his art in an attempt to communicate with Julia, a ten-year-old girl that is another fellow artist. Woven throughout the book are illustrations of Ivan and the other characters, with snippets of Ivan’s artwork.

Merida: book with a mother-daughter relationship

The protagonist of The Poet X, Xiomara, has a tumultuous, rather toxic relationship with her devoutly religious mother. While she also has a developing romantic relationship and a changing relationship with her religious identity, the primary cause of it all goes back to her mother.

Anna and Elsa: a book with a great relationship between siblings

I have two for this one: You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins and A List of Cages by Robin Roe. In You Bring the Distant Near, sisters Tara and Sonia, despite one meeting their mother’s expectations and the other defying them, manage to have a close relationship. As Sonia breaks rule after rule, Tara has her back regardless. In A List of Cages, Adam and Julian are technically foster siblings, but they are best friends. Adam is fiercely protective of Julian.

Tiana: a character who puts her dreams above a romance

Despite rejecting all the social norms of upper class Victorian women, Audrey Rose Wadsworth of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco is determined to become a forensics pathologist. Even as dreamboat Thomas Cresswell makes it obvious he wants out of the friend zone, she doesn’t let anything get in the way of her goals.

I tag:

ALL THE DISNEY FANS! 

End of the Year Book Tag 2020

The End of the Year Book Tag is one of those tags that tend to pop up at the same time every year like clockwork. I can’t remember the last time I did it on my blog, if I ever have. Probably because my reading between November and December is so sporadic. I either want to read all the books I have not gotten to yet, or read totally random books and save books I’m most excited for to begin the new year with.  

            2020 looks like it is going to fall in the latter category. But given the mood I’ve been in, it will be a miracle if I read anything by the end of the year.

            On to the End of the Year Book Tag, 2020!

Are there any books you started this year that you want to finish?

I want to finally read the library books I kept checking out from the library and returning since going into lockdown. It was a never ending trend this year. I’d get bored with my books at home, so I would go borrow a ton of books from the library. I would proceed to read more or less than half, then feel guilty about reading library books over owned books or lose overall interest in said library books. A few days of wrestling with doubt because there were some I thought I still wanted to read, until finally deciding to return them all. About a month goes by, then repeat the cycle.

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

Between the library books I currently have checked out and the owned books I think I might want to read, the closest two are Ghosts, a graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier, and The Grave Keepers by Elizabeth Byrne. There are some Christmas-themed books I want to get from the library next month. Unless I change my mind again.

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir and The Burning God by R.F. Kuang are two new releases I am most anticipating for the end of 2020.

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

Easy: The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows, and The Ruby Circle, the second half of the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. I would like to finish the series in the same year I started it.

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book?

One of the library books I borrowed is Love and Other Carnivorous Plants by Florence Gonsalves. It is about a college freshman on leave from Harvard to seek treatment for her eating disorder. I also rejoined Book of the Month in November. The three books I selected were The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman, an adult contemporary I was low-key anticipating and the reason I rejoined BOTM; These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong, a Romeo and Juliet retelling; and White Ivy by Susie Yang, another contemporary. Of these, These Violent Delights and The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany have strong potential to be favorites.

Have you already started making reading plans for 2021?

Yes…because never has there been a year I wanted to end so badly. Even the year my mom died.

For my 2021 reading plans, I have three Word documents of TBR books—labeled “priority,” “second,” and “final”—arranged in an order I think I want to read them in. But they are all owned books I really, really want to read, which is the priority of next year.

            As of right now, I have a few reading resolutions in mind for 2021. The first is to set a Goodreads goal of 1 book, or to not set one at all. The stuff I did not get to do in 2020 is going to get done in 2021. Another is cutting back on not only buying books, with the potential exception of BOTM and a few new installments in ongoing series, but cutting back on trips to the library. The goal is to read more of the TBR books I own. Most importantly, a major reading goal of 2021 is to read what I actually want.

            Some of these might be subject to change, but as of right now, I feel pretty confident in what I’m planning for my reading 2021.

Have you made reading plans yet for 2021?

Pumpkin Spice Latte Book Tag

Fun fact: I do not like pumpkin spice.

            All it took was once and I knew it was not for me. Except this book tag, which I saw on Kristin Kraves Books, created by the Book Pusher.

Pumpkin Spice Latte: a book everyone likes to hate on but is delicious

Everyone adores A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, but I prefer the first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses. Yes, there are problems. You all have your perfectly justifiable reasons for hating Tamlin, but Rhys isn’t perfect either (there, I said it). But I am Beauty and the Beast trash. A Court of Thorns and Roses is the ultimate Beauty and the Beast trash.

“Fall is my favorite season”: a cliché you can’t get enough of

When the two main love interests in the book continually deny their feelings for each other is my all-time favorite cliché. Only it has to be both people in denial, not just one of them. I especially like it when other characters comment on it, yet the couple in question, either enemies or friends, are slow on the uptake.

Sweater weather to T-shirt weather: a book you thought was one thing but was completely different by the end

When I picked up Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I went into it expecting a Gothic mystery like Rebecca or Dracula. While this book did have a fantasy element, it was not what I expected. It was so weird, I’m not sure if I liked it or not.

“Spoops”: do you have a spooky book on your TBR?

I borrowed a few spooky books from the library recently, like the anthology His Hideous Heart. On my overall TBR at home, I have a plethora of spooky books, such as Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky, The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh, and Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich.

Tarot reading: a five star prediction

I have a lot of 5-star predictions on my current to be read pile. To name a few: A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir; My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell; Lord of Shadows and Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare.

Sephora Sage + Crystal Set: a book that meant well but missed the mark by a landslide

The plot twist in Final Girls by Riley Sager was just so out of left field, I have no idea how the author came to the conclusion. Shame, because I had enjoyed it up until that point.

Who else is not a pumpkin spice person?

The Cozy Autumn Book Tag

Autumn is my favorite season. I prefer cold weather over hot. Jeans are more comfortable to me than shorts. Halloween is my favorite holiday after Christmas. Unfortunately, autumn of 2020 is a little too cozy.

            Until we are free from the lockdown, there are book tags! This one, the Cozy Autumn Book Tag, was created by the Book Belle and I saw it on Peruse Project. And with that, to the tag.

What book always reminds you of fall/autumn?

Spooky books make me think of fall. The first one I can think of is Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. The cover makes me think of autumn at nighttime.

What is your favorite autumnal book cover?

To Drink Coffee with a Ghost by Amanda Lovelace is the perfect autumn, witchy aesthetic.

What is your favorite autumnal drink to read with?

If I had access to it often, I would read with apple cider. Been a hot minute since I drank it, actually.

Do you prefer to read late at night or early in the morning?

Between the two, I like reading early in the morning. One of my favorite things is waking up early and reading on the couch with a cup of coffee before getting started for the day. However, I do enjoy reading at night, in the quiet.

Halloween is coming! What is your favorite spooky read?

I have a few favorites: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager; Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake; The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert; How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather; and The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich.

What is the ultimate comfort read for you?

Reading in general is the ultimate comfort. That’s why 2020 has been so hard; the lockdown has made it hard to focus, taking away the fun from reading.

What is your favorite autumnal reading snack?

I don’t like eating while reading, in case of stains on the book. And I need both hands.

What is your favorite autumnal candle to burn whilst reading?

Despite my obsession with Bath & Body Works, I am not a candle burner.

When you’re not reading, what is your favorite autumnal activity?

Watching Halloween movies, like The Addams Family, The Nightmare Before Christmas, or Hotel Transylvania.  

What is on your autumn/fall reading list?

Oh lord…I thought I had my fall reading list down pat. I thought I was done feeling slumpy. Then, I realized I was not, because I was reading books I was so used to that I was getting sick of them. Thus, I grabbed a whole new list of books off my shelves and from the library (again). I’m not going to write it down, so not to jinx it. And, let’s face it, there is a 50/50 chance I will change my mind. It’s gotten to a point where I want to forgo monthly TBR piles for the rest of 2020 altogether.

            Like everything else, my reading is an utter mess.  

Recommend to me your favorite autumn scent?