The Mean Girls Book Tag

Hello, all! 😀 Today I thought I’d try the Mean Girls book tag, which I’ve seen in quite a few places (though not recently), but, as usual, wasn’t tagged for – it’s just such a great film, and with so many great, quotable moments! This tag barely even scratches the surface, despite its length. Speaking of which, I have quite a lot of questions to answer, so I’ll try to keep my answers short. 😛 The Mean Girls book tag was created by Sarah Jane at TheBookLife.

1) “It’s pronounced like Cady.” – Which fictional character’s name did you get completely wrong?

For this one, I’m going to have to admit that I was one of the legions of people who thought for the longest time that Hermione was pronounced “Hermy-own”… But at least our mistake led to J.K. Rowling writing in that brilliant scene between Hermione and Krum in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire.

2) “She doesn’t even go here!” – Which character would you like to place in a fictional world from another book or series?

Disregarding the “book” part of this question (or at least half of it), I’d really love to dump Hermione in the Dragon Age universe, and watch her rage against the Circle system, and the subjugation of the elves. I’ve actually just started an Inquisitor!Hermione playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and it’s been a lot of fun so far!

3) “On Wednesdays we wear pink!” – Repetition. Repetition. Which book gave you deja-vu of another book whilst reading it?

Definitely Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, which was ridiculously like Twilight, but a million times more self-aware. And also with aliens. Clearly there was some very heavy “inspiration”, but luckily the two series go in completely different directions, or else it probably would’ve started to annoy me after a while (even though I think the Lux books are much better than the Twilight books…).

4) “You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.” – Which book gave you the complete opposite of girl power feels?

Maybe Fiesta by Kate Cann? I had a lot of problems with this book that went beyond a severe lack of girl power (& which I talked about in my review), but one of the major ones was the way the main characters – who were supposed to be best friends – always seemed to be turning on each other over boys…

5) “You go, Glen Coco!” – Name a character you felt like you wanted to cheer on whilst reading.

I’m currently in the middle of The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett, and there are a lot of characters that I’m rooting for, but none (for now) so much as Sikvah, who just had her most epic moment yet! 😀

6) “Get in loser, we’re going shopping!” – How long do you typically spend at a book shop?

Bookshops are magical places where I completely lose track of time, so I’m not usually able to tell how long I’ve spent in one… except that it’s always longer than it should be. I try to avoid even setting foot in a bookshop unless I know I have several hours to burn. 😳

7) “It’s not my fault you’re, like, in love with me or something!” – Which character would have to get out a restraining order on you, if they were real?

… I actually don’t know. I love a lot of characters in a lot of books, but none so much that I’d actually go all creepy-stalker on them…

8) “I can’t help it that I’m popular.” – Which over-hyped book were you cautious about reading?

I was very hot-and-cold about whether I wanted to read the Throne of Glass books by Sarah J. Maas, after hearing all the hype… I’m definitely glad I did pick them up, though! 😀

9) “She’s a life-ruiner. She ruins peoples lives.” – We all love Regina George. Name a villain you just love to hate.

Ugh, Umbridge from Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. She’s fantastically-written, but so awful and petty! 😡

10) “I’m not like a regular Mom; I’m a cool Mom.” – Your favourite fictional parents.

He’s not actually Todd’s father, but Ben from the Chaos Walking trilogy is such a brilliant father-figure; I love their whole relationship. ❤

11) “That is so Fetch!” – Which book or series would you love to catch on?

The Emelan-universe books by Tamora Pierce (i.e. the Circle of Magic, The Circle Opens & The Circle Reforged series)! I love these books so much, and they’re reasonably well-known and well-regarded (though not so much so as her Tortall books), but I never hear anyone talking about them! 😦

12) “How do I even begin to explain Regina George?” – Describe your ideal character to read about.

Clever and creative, but without the need to shove it in people’s faces. Understated, I guess. And with a wonderful circle of friends (my love of a character is often based more on how they interact with the people around them than on that character as an individual).

13) “I just have a lot of feelings.” – What do you do when a book gives you a bad case of the feels?

I either call or message my friends and rant about it, if they’ve read it too, or else I badger them incessantly to do so. Immediately.

14) “Nice wig Janice, what’s it made of?” “Your Mom’s chest hair!” – Which character’s one-liners would you love to claim for your own?

You know, I can’t actually think of any books I’ve read with particularly witty one-liners? I would like to steal Beatrix’s internal monologue, though (from Night Owls by Jenn Bennett), and this quote in particular:

“This was the night bus, not a Journey song. Two strangers were not on a midnight train going anywhere. I was going home, and he was probably going to knock over a liquor store.”

15) “Boo, you whore.” – Name a time a character’s decision has made you roll your eyes.

Jonas from the Falling Kingdoms series has the worst ideas of all time, ever. I’m really enjoying the books, but as the series has gone on, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to suspend my disbelief that anyone could consider him a serious threat.

The Bookish Alphabet Tag

This tag was created by Mariana at fireheartbooks, and I was tagged by the wonderful Loreva from La Book Dreamer, whose blog you should all definitely check out! The goal is to pick out a book for every letter of the alphabet, and the only rule is that you need to own (or to have previously owned and read) every book on the list. You also don’t need to include articles, e.g. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess would count for “C” rather than “A”.

So, without further ado:

MY BOOKISH ALPHABET

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Daughter of Storms by Louise Cooper

Emma by Jane Austen

Fire by Kristin Cashore

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

Half Wild by Sally Green

The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Let It Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle & Maureen Johnson

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Night Owls by Jenn Bennett

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

River Daughter by Jane Hardstaff

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

xxxHolic by CLAMP

Young Blood by Meg Cabot

Zombie-Loan by Peach-Pit

Phew. That was a lot of books! But I’m pleased to say that I have read all of these books, and I still own them all except for Unravel Me, which I gave to one of my cousins, and River Daughter, which I donated (it was a good book, I just couldn’t imagine myself reading it again). And I did have to break out my manga collection for “X” and “Z” – something I’d been hoping I wouldn’t have to do – but I regret nothing. 😎

I tag:

• Chloë a.k.a. SSJTimeLord
• Panda from Panda’s Books

 

August Wrap-Up

Make yourselves comfy, because this’ll be a long one. 😉 I read a grand total of 24 books this month, which is a lot, even for me. Seriously, I’m not even sure that I knew it was possible…

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King. I really loved this book – Vera & Charlie were both believable and likeable, and A.S. King’s writing was as amazing as ever. The only other A.S. King book I’ve read is The Dust of 100 Dogs, which was also great, but of the two, I definitely prefer Please Ignore Vera Dietz.

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang. Technically two books, but I marathoned them, & my love towards each of them was more-or-less the same. I think I liked Saints a little better than Boxers, but, as I said, there’s not much in it. This series made me feel all the feels, & I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes powerfully-written graphic novels.

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth. This is almost a prequel to the Divergent series, told from Four’s perspective. It was really wonderful to get to know Four as he was pre-Tris, and to get another view into his mindset. I actually preferred reading his POV here to his chapters in Allegiant, as he’s much less of an emotional mess in Four. The bonus scenes from Divergent were also pretty cool, but not as interesting as the four novellas that make up the majority of the book.

Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson. I actually picked up the sequel to this book from the library by mistake, and then had to hunt down this book as well. I found it pretty disappointing, though. I liked most of the characters, but the main romantic relationship had some pretty creepy undertones (particularly at the beginning), and there were a few things that happened that were never really explained. I may have rated this book a little harshly, since the writing is actually very solid, but the summary made me think that this was going to be a superpower-book, and I was kind of annoyed when I figured out that it really, really wasn’t…

Reckless by Skye Jordan. My first venture into what is basically erotica. I don’t have much to say about this book except that I was surprised by how much I liked it. The characters were likeable and well-written, and the plot was solid, if somewhat clichéd & a little cheesy at times.

Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson. The (far, far superior) sequel to Ultraviolet. I actually really liked this one. Allison (the main character from Ultraviolet) shows up occasionally, but the story follows Tori in the months after Ultraviolet. I loved Tori and her friend Milo, and I even liked the way that Sebastian was portrayed in this book (through Tori’s eyes as opposed to Allison’s). Also, I’m pretty sure that this is the only book I’ve ever read with an openly asexual main character, which scores it all kinds of bonus points.

Night Runner by Tim Bowler. Starseeker, also by Tim Bowler is actually one of my favourite books, so I was pretty excited when I found his most recent release just lying around at the library, but I wasn’t all that impressed by it. I did like the main character Zinny, and the things that he was going through made me kind of want to hug everyone who was even a tiny bit nice to him in the book, but unfortunately I didn’t find the plot particularly interesting.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The first book in the Lux series. I basically only read this book because I heard that it was like Twilight, but with aliens instead of vampires, and I really needed something Twilight-y in my life. This series is probably better described as “Like Twilight, but a hundred times better, and also with aliens.” Needless to say, I loved it, and when I finish the last book in the series, I’ll probably write a series review.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Finishing this (audio)book made me feel ridiculously accomplished. My sister gave me the physical copy of it for my birthday several years ago, but it’s incredibly slow-paced and I found it really difficult to get into. A couple of years ago I decided to give the audiobook a try, and although I really liked it, it’s taken me until now to get through the whole thing, as I don’t tend to listen to audiobooks very often, or (when I do listen to them) for extended periods of time. This book is very slow, like I said, and also very long, so it’s not for the easily intimidated, but once you do manage to get in to it, it’s incredibly funny and enjoyable. The characters are amazingly-written, and the climax is well worth the 900-or-so pages it takes to get there.Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. I actually bought this book (and the sequel) in order to read on the plane back from China, but unfortunately I just wasn’t in the mood for reading (which made the whole flight feel like a horrific waste of time). I finally finished it about halfway through the month, & I actually really enjoyed it. It felt a little lackluster in the beginning, but once it gets going, it’s incredibly exciting. I particularly liked the chapters towards the end of the book, when Tavi and Kitai had to take the Trial of Wits (which was, of course, perfect for Tavi). The characters were wonderful; I loved Tavi and Kitai (though she was only introduced towards the end), and Amara and Bernard’s developing relationship was really sweet to read about. The plot was a little confusing in places, but it’s easy enough to follow what’s going on once you’ve got a grasp of the world, and I’m very much looking forward to the sequel.Isla & the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. The final book in the Anna & the French Kiss trilogy, following Anna & the French Kiss and Lola & the Boy Next Door. This was actually my favourite of the series so far, possibly because (having only read the first two books quite recently) I haven’t had that much time to get really attached to either Anna or Lola. But whatever the reason, I really enjoyed this book. I personally found Isla the most relatable of the three heroines, and Josh was absolutely swoon-worthy. They actually get together quite early on in the book, and it was lovely seeing how they were as a couple, rather than just as teenagers who liked each other a lot (as we saw in Anna and Lola’s books). Most of the criticism I’ve heard of this book is to do with the main conflict between Isla and Josh, and how it really only happened because of Isla’s insecurities, but I found it incredibly realistic, and it actually probably made me like the book even more.Once Upon a Glass Heart by Leah Hocking. An almost-retelling of several fairytales, including Snow White, Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, with a heroine called Lily, who crosses from our world into a place called the Kingdom after finding a glass heart on her doorstep. I bought this book because it was on special offer on amazon, and because I thought it sounded interesting, but I ended up not really liking it at all. I didn’t manage to connect with Lily at all (although some of the supporting characters were likeable enough), and the plot seemed to lack any kind of direction. Basically the whole book felt like pointless filler between the introduction and the conclusion.Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The second book in the Lux series! I loved it! This book was mainly world-building and relationship-development, but it also put together the framework for potentially epic plot in the next book.

At this point in the month, the bout-of-books readathon started, and, in the interest of not repeating myself too much, I’ll link you to the my updates from days 1-3, 4-5 and 6-7, where I’ve talked about most of the books I read. My overall ratings for the books were as follows:

Elidor by Alan Garner: 

Dark Angel by L.J. Smith: 

The Chosen by L.J. Smith: 

Hawkeye Vol. 2: Little Hits by Matt Fraction: 

Lord Sunday by Garth Nix: 

Sabriel by Garth Nix: 

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence: 

Next up, I read Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The third book in the Lux  series, and a much more plotty entry than the previous two. With all the main relationships established, and the framework for the plot laid down, this book was absolutely epic, and I loved it.Percy Jackson & the Greek Gods by Rick Riordan. I just had a really strong craving for Percy Jackson book, and in the absence of the new Heroes of Olympus book, I turned to Percy Jackson & the Greek Gods. Which was not a mistake at all – this book was hilarious. I particularly liked the chapters on Hades and Persephone, and the ones on Kronos and Rhea, Gaia and Ouranos, and Dionysus. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite so much sympathy towards Hades. He’s such an adorable character in this book!Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is the last book I managed to read this month (and I actually only finished it a couple of minutes before I started writing this). I can’t really say much about this book without spoiling major plot points, but needless to say it was amazing. Probably my favourite entry in the series so far.

[EDIT (4/11/2018): Lowered my rating for Dark Angel from 3 to 2 stars. Most of the Night World books are pretty fun – even the not-great ones – but this was definitely my least favourite of them.]