I found this tag through Delightful Narratives and thought it was really interesting so I decided to join in!
A Library Book
Most of the books I’ve read have come from the library. It’s very rare for someone who reads three to four books a week to be able to afford all of that. Anyway, I loved The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. The world he created was so vivid and the story was impeccable. I highly suggest it!
A Book I Got As A Gift
I haven’t gotten too many books as gifts honestly. People in my family were always telling me to read less so the support of my book fund was low. One book that I did consistently get, I have like six copies, is Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. I am not the biggest fan of Toni Morrison. I like her as a person and activist, she seems like a really awesome woman but her books don’t really do it for me. Yet, this is my favorite novel by her. The images were clear and the emotion was raw and untempered.
A Childhood Book
Unlike most children, I didn’t start off reading Dr. Suess. The first thing I read was the local newspaper in my hometown. Although I later did discover Dr. Seuss my favorite childhood book would have to be The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake. I could really relate to this book: it was about a young dark-skinned Black girl who wanted to be a writer who was often teased because of her skin tone. For a minute, I thought Flake was writing my life!
A Magical Book
The first thing that came to me was the book Magyk, the first in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. Seventh sons of seventh sons and all that.
A Romantic Book
This is a bit hard for me because while I try to give romance a shot, I tend to prefer it when someone shoots their potential partner in the foot. But A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano is pretty interesting. This book is about a woman who had her entire fortune stolen by her fiance and with her father dead, she doesn’t have anyone to help her. So, she goes in search of the cheat and finds someone new along the way, someone who hates her ex-fiance just as much as she does. While they plan their revenge, the discover that they have a lot in common.
A Steamy Book
I don’t read too many steamy books. In fact, I try to stay away from them but Abducting Abby by S.E. Smith is pretty good. Don’t let the title fool you, she is less abducted than she is saved from her stalker who happens to be her small town’s sheriff. And her abductor happens to be an alien. You know, the usual.
An Old Book
This is a play but it is old so I shall include it anyway! Blues for Mr. Charlie by James Baldwin. This book is about two towns and race relations between the two. Black people live in Blacktown and white people live in Whitetown. The play asks a series of questions to the reader including: what is more important, the truth or relationships? Is there such a thing as justice? Does the justice system actually do anything for inequality?
A Book That Makes Me Happy/Laugh
I don’t want anyone to think less of me for saying this but most romance novels make me crack up. They are so unrealistic and sappy! But, since this post would be way too long for me to include those books, I choose Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. You may know him for his other novel, Wicked. Maguire loves turning our notions of who is good and evil on its head and I am proud to say that I have read most of his work. In Confessions, Cinderella isn’t as nice as she seems. In fact, she uses her beauty to get whatever she wants and lies to her potential suitors about how her sisters treat her. The suitors obviously believe her and we see how it plays out.
A Book That Made Me Emotional
What book hasn’t made me emotional in some way, lol! I noticed as I searched through this tag that a lot of people were thinking of books that make you cry specifically. Well, I am more likely to cry when I am angry than when I’m sad so anger it is. I think that a more recent option would be Angie Thomas’ The Hate You Give. This book hit close to home and in the current climate of the U.S. reminded me that I was not alone in my….let’s go with outrage.
A Book With An Ending I Dislike
Well, I know that there are some authors who choose to end on a serious downer and I have no problem with that. The obvious choice would be Little Women but I think that I am going to go with The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. This novel about a young woman trying to live in the early 1900s without a man is amazing. I won’t give the ending away but it was really disappointing. I don’t know what I wanted to happen but I wanted something better for Lily Bart.
Sidebar: Louisa May Alcott ended Little Women like that because she was sick of everybody telling her (including her editor) to write Jo ending up with a husband. So, to stick it to them, she ended up with a man old enough to be her father and Jo became demure. This is what happens when you annoy authors—they crush your dreams!
A Book I Wish Had Illustrations
Oh, there are so many! Illustrations give you a great sense of what the writer had in mind but sometimes it isn’t what you pictured so it is a bit hard to imagine. Since I can only pick one, I guess I am going to have to go with Artemis Fowl. I loved this book when I was a kid (and don’t get me started on how Disney seems to have ruined it). The idea that a young boy could be a criminal mastermind was awesome. I wish I could see some of the things he created!
A Book or Genre I Read When It’s Raining
I love the rain so this is a bit hard for me. I can read anything while it’s raining because the sound of it is so calming. I don’t really have a preference. Sorry!
Nominations:
What’s on your bookshelf? Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you thought of them if you have. And, I would love it if you followed my blog as well as check me out and follow my Instagram.
Happy reading!
Chyina
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