Pokemon Go Book Tag!

Disclaimer:  Pokemon Go belongs to Niantic and Nintendo, please don’t sue me.

So Read At Midnight has come up with a brilliant book tag for all the aspiring Pokemon Masters out there!  I just have to participate because I too, wanna be the very best like no one ever was.

Rules:

• NIL. Link back to my blog is appreciated but optional. Feel free to use my graphics. Tag people, don’t tag people, whatever. Just have fun!

The first book I remember loving (that actually inspired me to write as well) is Shortcut by Donald Crews.  That was preschool.  As I got older, I read all of the Bailey School Kid mystery novels as well as Lurlene McDaniel novels.  I also loved anything that Bill Wallace wrote.

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle.  This book is so beautiful and so inspiring and it really helped me to understand a lot about the significance of what goes on around us and how we interpret and experience life.

This tag actually made me laugh out loud because it’s TRUE. Zubats are EVERYWHERE and I already have a Golbat so I no longer have any need for Zubats!  Go away, ugly little flying creature!

And I’m just going to have to go with genre here and say anything erotica that features a submissive virginal female and an arrogant dominant male.  I’ve tried to read a few and they simply don’t appeal to me.

Nicholas Sparks’ books are all literally the same book, but I love each and every one of them and read every single new book he releases.

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and Game of Thrones by JRR Martin.  I actually intend to read both someday (Outlander first because I love Scotland), but as of right now, I’m trying to get past the intimidatingly tiny text.

Any time a new Harry Potter book was released, sleep did not exist.  I had to read them straight through.  I actually passed out after the fifth book was released because I was running on no food and no sleep and I was sick.  Another book that kept me up, however, was Defending Jacob by William Landay.  It didn’t keep me up in the sense that it scared me, but oh my goodness, this book stayed with me for forever.  I would just lay awake at night thinking about it.

I think my #1 OTP of all time would HAVE to be Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games.  I love them so much I just don’t even know what to do with myself.  I want a Peeta!

Can I say my own books for this?  Haha!  I wrote them specifically to be fast-paced and fun and easy to read.  I’m not sure how “fire-hot” they are, but I like them.  So I’ll go with the Boy Band series and the Cemetery Tours series by me!

Harry Potter!  Harry Potter!  Harry Potter!  Harry Potter!

I need books on the Marauders and the founders and the Weasleys and Harry’s children and maybe a whole rewrite of the original series from Neville’s point of view and Draco’s point of view and Snape’s point of view and…

I’m actually in the middle of it, but I was really surprised by how much I liked The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin.  I went into it thinking it would be kind of boring and serious.  Quite the contrary.  It was actually fun, dark, entertaining, and even funny.

So, my sister and my little cousin have been trying to get me to read The Selection series by Kiera Cass for forever, and I actually really want to.  I’ve just been trying to find the time to commit myself to all those books!  I am actually really excited to read it!

Oh, goodness, this is difficult because I love old books and I love signed books.  I could definitely use a brand new set of first-edition Harry Potter books, however.  All of mine have been read so many times they are actually falling apart.  OH!  Or I’d love to have the original UK editions!

I’m a bad reader in the sense that I don’t actively go seeking new authors.  I usually let the books find me, haha!  So for this tag, I’m going to mention a few of my friends and their debut novels (even though some of them have been out for quite a while).  I’m excited for Doll by Miracle Austin, Winter’s Curse by April L. Wood, The Wall Outside by James William Peercy, The Conservative Congregant by Paula Walker Baker, The Gay Teen’s Guide to Defeating a Siren by Cody Wagner, and Firebrand by Sarah MacTavish.

My current auto-buy authors are Deb Caletti, Meg Cabot, Nicholas Sparks, Rainbow Rowell and Jodi Picoult.

The wait is almost over! I’m going to the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Saturday!  I would also kill for a sequel to Eleanor and Park and/or Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell but I’m not sure either will happen.  In fact, I’m certain that the latter will not.  Because I’ve asked her.  In person.  And she said no.

Thank you so much, Aentee, for this fantastic Book Tag adventure!

Everyone, go follow her!

Also, if you’re reading this, I CHOOSE YOU!

Ultimate Book Tag!

I’ll be honest.  I love these surveys.  I think they’re so much fun.  This one, I found on Callum McLaughlin’s blog: http://callummclaughlin.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/ultimate-book-tag/ 

1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?
Nope.  Though I’ve got to be honest, I rarely read in the car.  I like to listen to music and watch the world outside the window.  

2. Which author’s writing style is completely unique to you and why?
That’s a tough one.  The one that has always stood out to me, however, is Madeleine L’Engle.  I remember the first time I read A Ring of Endless Light, she simply had me captivated.  Her writing, her thoughts, were just so incredibly beautiful.  This quote, in particular, has stayed with me for years:

If I’m confused, or upset, or angry, if I can go out and look at the stars I’ll almost always get back to a sense of proportion. It’s not that they make me feel insignificant; it’s the very opposite; they make me feel that everything matters, be it ever so small, and that there’s meaning to life even when it seems most meaningless.

3. Harry Potter Series or the Twilight Saga? Give 3 points to defend your answer.
Is this even a question?  Harry Potter! 

1) Harry Potter is real magic.  It’s not just a story.  JK Rowling created an entire world, a society, a culture.  It’s intricate and brilliant and colorful and simply alive.

2) Harry Potter got me through the toughest time in my life.  I even wrote a whole blog post about it. https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/i-believe-in-dragons/

3) Characters are always my favorite parts of any book and Harry Potter’s characters are all truly exquisite.  I wish several of them were my best friends.  Sadly, very few of my very favorite characters actually survived the series.  

4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what is it in (besides books…)?
I don’t have a book bag, per se, but when I need to carry a book with me, I use my giant orca purse.  It’s a bag with a lot of pretty embroidered killer whales and dolphins on it.  It also carries my phone, wallet, planner, and notebook.  

5. Do you smell your books?
Oh yes.  

6. Books with or without little illustrations?
I haven’t read a book with illustrations in a while (unless Harry Potter counts with the little pictures at the beginning of every chapter), but I don’t mind them.  In fact, I like seeing what the author or illustrator had in mind.  It’s always interesting to see others’ interpretations.

7. What book did you love while reading but discovered later it wasn’t quality writing?
Every Nicholas Sparks book ever.  I love them all.  I read each one the day it comes out.  However, in the end, they all kind of end up being the same book.  Except The Guardian.  That is one heck of a good book! 

8. Do you have any funny stories involving books from your childhood? Please share!
I started wearing glasses when I was in first grade.  I didn’t mind really, except that I really, really wanted to be a Disney Princess and none of them wore glasses.  So I went through all of my big Disney picture books and drew glasses on all the princesses.  

9. What is the thinnest book on your shelf?
Either Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard or a book of Episcopal Haikus.  Yeah, I’m that kind of person. 

10. What is the thickest book on your shelf?
Either The Complete Works of William Shakespeare or The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.  

11. Do you write as well as read? Do you see yourself in the future as being an author?
Now that you mention it…

12. When did you get into reading?
I can’t remember a time I wasn’t into reading.  My mom was reading to me from the day I was born.  

13. What is your favorite classic book?
This is going to sound nerdy, but I really love Beowulf.

14. In school was your best subject Language Arts/English?
Yep.  That and Biology.  I really love animals and nature.  

15. If you were given a book as a present that you had read before and hated…what would you do?
I would act like I loved it and then sell it to Half-Price Books.  

16. What is a lesser known series that you know of that is similar to
Harry Potter or the Hunger Games?
I recently discovered the Inescapable series by indie author Amy A. Bartol and I’m kind of loving it.  However, it’s probably more similar to Twilight than it is to Harry Potter or The Hunger Games.

17. What is your favorite word?
Ergo.  I love it so much.  

18. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above?
I prefer fangirl. Or Ravenclaw.

19. Vampires or Fairies? Why?
I actually haven’t read many Fairy books (unless Midsummer Night’s Dream counts) so I guess I’ll have to go with Vampires. 

20. Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?
Angels.  Because I secretly wish I had wings.  

21. Spirits or Werewolves? Why?
Spirits.  Because Cemetery Tours.  

22. Zombies or Vampires? Why?
Depends what I’m in the mood for.  If I’m in the mood to be scared then ZOMBIES.  If I’m in the mood for dark, supernatural romance (or Twilight), then vampires.

23. Love Triangle or Forbidden Love?
Forbidden love. If a girl is going to have two hot guys fighting over her, she’d better be pretty darn awesome.  

24. AND FINALLY: Full on romance books or action-packed with a few love scenes mixed in?
Oh gosh… I read both and I enjoy both.  Again, it depends!  If I’m sick or in a particularly girly mood, I’m going to choose romance.  Usually, however, I do prefer a bit of action.  

To whoever has read this… I tag you!  Only if you want to, that is.  I hate internet peer pressure.