Harry Potter Tag | via Bookidote

I have a migraine and it seems that it’s here to stay for the week, which means I can hardly think straight so there won’t be any book reviews (as I’d planned but didn’t share on here) for some time. However, a painful head puts me in the mood for Harry Potter (not really but any excuse is welcome) so here’s a Harry Potter book tag.

The tag was created by Trang over at Bookidote and the graphics were created by her as well. The only rule for this is that we’re banned from using the Harry Potter books in the answers. Oh boy.

A book you found the theme interesting, but you’d like to rewrite it.

Gilded Cage by Vic James is a YA dystopian fantasy novel set in the present day where some people, called the Equals, have magical abilities and enslave those who lack them, the Commoners. The novel was published earlier this year and has received mixed reviews. Though I liked it as I read, the story suffered from several plot holes that made parts of it unbelievable. I don’t think I’d do a good job if I should rewrite it, but I do wish the story had a stronger foundation.

The first book in a series that got you hooked.

Well, it’s always the first book in a series that gets me hooked. If I don’t like the first book, then I probably won’t bother to read the others.

I chose Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice for this question because it’s the book that got me hooked on her Realm of the Elderlings series, which is made up of several series, the first of which is the Farseer series that begins with Assassin’s Apprentice. This is an epic fantasy series about a boy who is the bastard son of a prince and grows to become an assassin and develop interesting abilities. I enjoyed the Farseer trilogy, which I began and completed last year, and have since moved on to the Liveship Traders trilogy, which I’m close to completing and am enjoying as well.

A book you wish you could have right now.

That would be the library edition of Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Promise, which I was told contains comments from the artists and creators beside the panels. I’d really like to collect these.

If you don’t know, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a Nickelodeon cartoon, also presented as a comic book series, about a young monk who wakes up after a hundred years to learn that he is the last of his kind. The young monk is the Avatar, a spiritual being that maintains balance in the world, and his return causes some people to hope that the world will once again regain its balance.

My summary there is crap, but this cartoon is really good and has so much depth to it that I know many adults who are as much a fan of it as their kids.

A killer book. Both senses. Take it as you like.

Brom’s Krampus: The Yule Lord has a killer cover. It’s so fucking scary! I hate looking at it but every time I visit the fantasy section of a Barnes & Noble, I see it staring at me. It scares the shit outta me and now I went and included it on my blog. That was stupid of me.

I haven’t read it so here’s what the Goodreads summary says: “A twisted fairytale about a failed West Virginia songwriter who gets ensnared on Christmas Eve in an eternal war between a not-so-saintly Saint Nick and his dark enemy Krampus, aka Black Peter, an ancient trickster demon.”

A book that you found really confusing.

My feelings toward Muriel Barbery’s The Life of Elves is complicated. I love the writing and would purchase a copy for myself and reread it just for that, but the story is confusing as hell and I still don’t know what exactly happened in the battle toward the end. I just kept reading for the writing.

The Life of Elves is a literary, fantasy novel about two girls who must use their abilities to protect the world from evil and save those they love.

Your spirit animal book.

Hmm… I don’t know. Probably…

I think the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series by Hiromu Arakawa (illus.) is the closest answer I can think of because it encapsulates all I love about stories I enjoy reading. Family is of great importance to all the characters. There are debates about religion and science and how much trust people place in either one. We see characters become corrupted by power and others run from the responsibility that comes with power. There is lots of humor yet much depth and reading the books or even watching the anime is simply delightful.

A dark, twisted book.

Sick by Christa Wojciechowski is a psychological thriller about a woman caring for sick husband. It’s listed as a novella, but I think of it as a short story (it’s about 80 pages), a twisted short story that had me hooked but pissed me off and shocked me by the end. It was a good read.

A book that surprised you in a great way; reveals to be more than it is.

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb, the third book in Liveship Traders trilogy, an epic fantasy series about a family of traders that use ships that come alive after a certain number (I forgot how many) of family captains die on its deck. I’m a couple chapters from the end and it’s definitely not what I’d expected when I started the first book. The trilogy has a slow build. If I wasn’t buddy-reading it with Emily from Embuhlee liest, I would have missed out on a great story because I almost gave up on that first book.

Anyone else who’s in the mood for Harry Potter but don’t want to overindulge by rereading the books for the umpteenth time.

Advertisement