Book Tag Week: Quintessential Summer Book Tag

Onward and forward with BOOK TAG WEEK!!

You know what I’d like to do before summer’s end?

1. Spend an entire day at the movies
   • I haven’t done this since college days. When exam week was over and my mind was goop from intense studying, cramming, and stress from the tests, I’d go to the movies and spend the whole day there watching everything I could sneak into. I’d like to do that again, although I’d probably fall asleep in the theater this time because those new chairs are so soft.
2. Go on an architectural tour of a city
   • I really, really, really want to do this!! I even have a little pocket guide about architectural styles ready for such a tour.

Anyway, here’s the —

Quintessential Summer Book Tag

The Quintessential Summer Book Tag was created by the Bookish Kat. I consider myself tagged by Madame Writer.

Iced Drink
A refreshing book

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

I’m stealing Madame Writer’s answer because Horrorstör was indeed a refreshing read. It’s a horror story set in a store that’s a parody of Ikea. Basically, it’s a haunted house story except it’s set in a store. It’s both fun at times and creepy but not very scary. I enjoyed reading it and loved the edition of the book I got which is formatted to look like an Ikea catalog. There’s even an order form in the back.

Cotton Candy
A book that was fluffy and sweet

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

It’s a YA contemporary romance novel about a girl who’s sent abroad to attend school in France, where develops a crush on a French boy with an English accent. I’m surprised at how foggy my memory of this book is (I read it in 2015), but I remember enjoying the story and thinking it’s sweet. Actually, I was surprised that I liked it since I hardly ever read YA romance or contemporary novels.

Sunglasses
A dark book

Song of Kali by Dan Simmons

A horror novel about an American writer who’s sent to Calcutta, India, to find a noted Indian poet but instead gets more than he bargained for when his trip becomes a nightmare that deeply affects his family. Oh man! This was such a good read. It had me tense and anxious wondering what would happen and how it’ll wrap up. I enjoyed reading it although it is a bit dark and unsettling. It’s pretty good.

Picnic on a Rainy Day
A sad book

Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares

It’s not a sad book, but it did make me shed a tear. Girls in Pants is the third novel in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series, a YA contemporary series about four girls who are all best friends and share a pair of pants every summer. The story focuses on how the girls maintain their friendship despite other issues in their lives and how supportive they are of each other. They are the perfect books for summer. They’re such quick reads!

I hate crying, so I tend to stay away from sad books, but there were moments when I shed a tear because of how emotionally intense certain scenes were and how much I could relate.

Sand
A book that irritated you

Gilded Cage by Vic James

A YA fantasy novel set in present day Britain, where the rich have magical abilities but the poor do not. I really wanted to like this one, but the world-building wasn’t very strong which made me question much about the plot. I DNF’d the series, but I’d like to try a different story by James since I was hooked while reading this despite being annoyed by it.

Summer Blockbuster
Your favorite book-to-screen adaptation

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Beloved is one of the few book-to-screen adaptations I like. It’s probably partly because I saw the movie first. The movie sticks close to the book and both scared me although they aren’t very scary. Beloved is a historical fiction story about an African American woman who attempts to kill her children, but succeeds in killing only one — the baby, to prevent them from being sold into slavery. This is such a great read and so well written. It’s been a while since I last read it, but images from the book and the movie are still stuck in my mind. I highly recommend it.

Dropped Ice Cream
A book you were anticipating that wasn’t good

Behind the Canvas by Alexander Vance

A middle-grade fantasy novel about a girl who enters the world of paintings to help a boy trapped there. I liked the concept, so I’ve always wanted to read this book. I did so earlier this year but didn’t like it. It was so boring. I liked that it mentions various artwork and includes facts about them, but the story was a major bore. I had to skim the end.

Palm Tree
A tall book you loved

Sky High by Germano Zullo, illus. by Albertine

A fun illustrated children’s picture book about two men competing to build the best house. I don’t know how tall this book is, and I don’t intend to look it up. I enjoyed looking through it because of the quirky illustrations.

Bonfire
A book you want to burn

The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

I really wanted to like this one but it didn’t work for me unfortunately. The TV adaptation on Lifetime also wasn’t good, but I stuck with it for a time. The book starts out great but then gets weak around the middle toward the end. It did not work for me. It’s paranormal romance about a woman and her adult-age daughters who aren’t allowed to use magic although they are tempted to during their everyday lives.

Fireworks
A book that exploded onto the scene

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

A YA fantasy romance novel about a girl who’s purported to be the most notorious assassin in her country and who’s freed from hard labor for her crimes to participate in a contest to become the king’s champion (I think). I think this one probably had lots of buzz when it came out, but the story didn’t work for me.

---

That’s it for round three of BOOK TAG WEEK!!

Check in tomorrow for another. 🙂