The Stay at Home Book Tag

Hey, everyone, hope everyone is having a good morning/ afternoon/ evening wherever you are in the world. 

So, last week (or two weeks ago- I have officially lost all track of time) I did the cake flavoured book tag, and that was really fun! Unfortunately, I’ve not been tagged in anything else but then I got a lovely comment reminding me that I had been unofficially tagged in the stay at home book tag. And, since I’ve fallen off the radar with posts recently it seemed like the perfect time to do it (well that and the fact that we’re all stuck at home). 

Laying in Bed – A Book I Read in a Day.

There aren’t too many books I’ve read in a day, although there’s lots of books that I’ll start reading and then end up reading half of it in one sitting! (I’m looking at you Birthday by Meredith Russo and Eliza and Her Monsters). But one book I did read in one sitting was the English translation of Invisible Differences by Julie Dachez. You can read my (overwhelmingly positive) review of this book here. 

Snacking – A Book That is My Guilty Pleasure.

Definitely Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. I must’ve read this years ago, and even though I’ve read a lot of her books and most of her books feel quite samey, this book is definitely my guilty pleasure. I love the story and the characters, and while it does cover some difficult topics, it’s still quite a lighthearted read.

Netflix – A Series I Want to Start.

Bookwise I would really like to read the Throne of Glass series or the Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. I have the first book of both series so I don’t really have an excuse!

What series would you recommend reading first?

TV series wise I really need to watch either His Dark Materials (which I finally finished reading the first book in the trilogy) or the Alex Rider series. As a long time fan of the Alex Rider series, I’m really excited to see what the new series is like! Especially as it’s based on the second book in the series which was always my favourite. 

Deep Clean – A Book That Has Been on My TBR List For Ages.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I bought this book a couple of years ago just before I went on holiday, and I still haven’t got around to reading it.

Animal Crossing – A Book I Bought Because of the Hype.

Daisy Jones and the Six, I picked this up a couple of months ago because of the hype surrounding but I’ve yet to read it. But since lockdown has provided me with the perfect excuse to read more maybe I’ll get around to it soon!

Productivity- A Book That I Have Learnt From/ Impacted Me.

Oooh that’s hard. Again I’m probably going to have to go with Invisible Differences by Julie Dachez. (Am I allowed to use the same book twice?) 

The main character has high functioning autism, and as someone who lives with someone with high functioning autism, I thought this was a really helpful and insightful glimpse into what’s going into their brain.

FaceTime – A Book I Was Gifted.

TL:DR; I read a lot (as you might have guessed) and so people don’t tend to buy me books unless I:

1. Won’t shut up about how good the author is.
2. Specifically ask for it. 

But one book that doesn’t fall into either of those categories is Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. A couple of months ago before receiving this book I had been debating about whether or not to pick up this book before ultimately deciding not to. To say I was thrilled when I got this book would be an understatement, and this book definitely lived up to my expectations.

Self Care – One Thing I’ve Done to Look After Myself.

Read more! I definitely feel like I’ve been reading more during lockdown, but also I’ve really enjoyed colouring, I personally find it really relaxing.

So, there you have it! Feel free to consider yourself unofficially tagged! I’d love to read everyone’s answers. 

The Cake Flavoured Book Tag

So, after four years (I think?), I’ve been tagged in my first book tag! I don’t know about you but even though book tags look fun, I always feel way too awkward just writing a post without being tagged! So thanks Jess from the Eternal Library for the tag.

Chocolate- A dark book that you loved.

TL:DR; I don’t tend to read horrors or any books with “darker” themes, but I really enjoyed Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I fell in love with the world, and I loved the stylistic choice of having the images woven in the story.

Vanilla- Favourite light read. 

This is probably the hardest category for me, since I read so many contemporaries! But I think my recent favourite would have to be What if it’s us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. I quickly become very attached to both Arthur and Ben, and this book resulted in me falling down the rabbit hole of Becky Albertalli’s books!

Red Velvet- A book that gave you mixed emotions.

TL:DR; Part of the reason why I ended up picking up “What if it’s us” is because the title is a reference to one of my favourite songs from the musical “Dear Evan Hansen”, so it should come as no shock to you that I ended up reading Theatrical by Maggie Harcourt. I wanted to love this book so badly. However, even though I loved the glimpse of what happens behind the curtain, I had a hard time connecting with the characters.

Cheesecake- A book that you’d recommend to everyone.

Everyone needs to read Are we all Lemmings & Snowflakes by Holly Bourne, and that’s the tea. Bonus points if you read it while eating cheesecake!

In all seriousness though, I loved this book and like all Holly Bourne books I fell in love with the characters, and I loved the representation of mental illnesses in this book.

Coffee- A book that you started but never finished.

Forget about the book you never finished, who would leave a coffee cake unfinished?! Like a lot of people I try my hardest not to leave books (& cakes) left unfinished! But like all best intentions there are always some exceptions and for me this is Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus.

I really enjoyed One of Us is Lying, and more recently One of Us is Next. However, for some reason I couldn’t get into Two Can Keep a Secret. Although, I’ve just read a glowing review, so maybe it’s time to give it another go.

Carrot- A book with great writing.

Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. I fell in love with the writing of this book, and I loved reading both about Eliza and her webcomic “Monstorous Sea”. This novel also tackles themes such as stress & anxiety really well.

And that concludes my picks for the “Cake Flavoured Book Tag”, I tag Rebecca at Big Books and Hot Chocolates , Val at Behind that Story and Chiara at Heavenly Bookish . And, even if I haven’t tagged you, feel free just to join in!