20 Questions Booktag

So Carry On HAS AN UPCOMING SEQUEL I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT!!!

And, while searching for information, I found a book tag.

And I want to play.

1. HOW MANY BOOKS IS TOO MANY BOOKS IN A SERIES?

More than 4. George R. R. Martin, Louise Rennison, and Sarah J. Maas all crossed that line.

And for authors like Tamora Pierce, who write multiple quartets involving the same characters…I can’t do it anymore. I’ll allow a quartet and maybe a companion novel or set of short stories. Depends on how generous I feel.

2. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT CLIFFHANGERS?

Ugh. BOOOOOOO.

I was so angry with the way Cinder ended. FOCUS ON WRAPPING UP YOUR STORY

Cliffhangers make me think of all the energy I do not have. I devoted hours to reading your book and you want me to pick up part 2 for a satisfying conclusion? Go home.

3. HARDCOVER OR PAPERBACK?

I’ve devoted entire rants to my love of paperback books. I appreciate beauty and convenience.

And, again, the paperback version of Carry On is WORLDS better than the original hardcover.

4. FAVORITE BOOK?

First of all, how dare you.

For the time being, I’ll say The Best Party of Our Lives. I reread it all. The. Time.

5. LEAST FAVORITE BOOK?

The Martian by Andy Weir.

The pastor at my brother’s church once described an entire era of history in painful detail. He kept saying, “GUYS, it’s TRUE. It REALLY HAPPENED.”

That’s how I felt how reading The Martian.

My friends and family described the book as a “wild sci-fi thriller” with “CRAZY plot twists.”

My dad said no less than 4 times, “You HAVE to read this book!”

So I sifted through 200 pages of inane journal entries from a mansplainy science bro who explained how potatoes grow…because science!!

There were no crazy plot twists. Just a grown up Angel Aristotle “I feel sad sometimes” Mendoza complaining about classic rock and making my eyes glaze over with scientific calculations.

“GUYS, it’s TRUE. It’s REAL SCIENCE.”

I cannot overstate how much I hated this book.

6. LOVE TRIANGLES, YES OR NO?

I don’t know, man. I like when an unexpected character challenges the presumed love interest. I like natural chemistry. And I loved the book Clockwork Prince for a really long time because of its love triangle.

I say “yes.” I love shipping too much to say “no.”

7. THE MOST RECENT BOOK YOU JUST COULDN’T FINISH?

I couldn’t connect with Nina Riggs’ The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying. Riggs approached her diagnosis in a lyrical, heady way, which might have been interesting had she not referenced historical figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Montaigne.

Quote research all you like; leave boring literature out of the equation.

8.  A BOOK YOU’RE CURRENTLY READING?

I’m reading quite a few. The two I’m most focused on are:

• This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett: I finished reading her essay on writing this afternoon. She gave some good advice.
• You Play the Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Princesses, Trainwrecks, and Other Mixed Messages by Carina Chocano: Horrifying cultural implications, interesting analysis.

9. LAST BOOK YOU RECOMMENDED TO SOMEONE?

I pulled a bunch of quotes from Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed and sent them to my mom and Claire.

10. OLDEST BOOK YOU’VE READ?

I so don’t care about this question.

I saw someone count Romeo and Juliet and that’s not a book?

Because I hate research, I’m going to say the Bible. Don’t ask me which translation I use.

11. NEWEST BOOK YOU’VE READ?

Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through Science and the Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes. Possibly beaten out by Tangerine by Christine Mangan, but that book’s publication date proves harder to find.

12. FAVORITE AUTHOR?

These are hard questions…

I like both Elizabeth Gilbert’s fiction and nonfiction.

I almost chose Katie Heaney, Marissa Meyer, Maggie Stiefvater, or Kristin Cashore.

I like too many books.

13. BUYING BOOKS OR BORROWING BOOKS?

Oh boy. This has recently changed for me.

I am very poor, live in a closet, and only recently started visiting the library in my neighborhood.

I like getting brand new books for free and giving them back when I’m done. I have SO MUCH FLOOR SPACE all of a sudden.

Now I spend all my money on Funkos.

Like…of book characters. So it’s fine.

14. A BOOK YOU DISLIKE THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO LOVE?

I have two.

I really didn’t like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, even though everyone said I SHOULD have. One of my friends read it after me and said, “You’re crazy! This book is awesome!”

She also said that about Eleanor and Park, a book that severely stressed me out.

That’s the thing: I thought Rowell wrote fluffy fiction. SHE. DOES. NOT.

Carry On is about as fluffy as she gets and it’s still a pretty dark book.

I read Fangirl during my last year of college. I was TA-ing, writing my thesis, and co-authoring a novel; my days were pretty full.

Then the book I expected to be a fun read vomited up dozens of stressful sideplots including plagiarism! Roommate etiquette! Grief! Anxiety! Alcoholism! And the value of fanfiction!

Despite all that, I’ve considered giving the book another shot.

Really quickly, I HATED The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman. I loved the world he created in The Golden Compass, a world Pullman DITCHES to introduce WILL PARRY, the boring, whiny normal boy who TAKES OVER PROTAGONIST DUTIES AND HOGS THE PLOT.

Then Pullman goes all A Wrinkle in Time and starts throwing aliens and magic islands into the mix and puts Lyra in a coma for half a book while Will chills with the angels. I HATE WILL “WHOOPS I CUT OFF MY FINGERS” PARRY MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF.

15. BOOKMARKS OR DOG EARS?

Don’t be disgusting. Bookmarks.

Although…please don’t buy me fancy bookmarks. I find most bookmarks bulky and inconvenient. One nameless individual gave me a page marker that damaged some of my books. Yeah…no thanks.

16. A BOOK YOU CAN ALWAYS REREAD?

I’ve written entire lists on this topic.

But my three golden standards are The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart, and Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe, all three of which I read between middle school and high school.

I KNOW EVERY STEP, I KNOW EVERY SONG, I KNOW THERE’S A PLACE WHERE I BELONG.

17. CAN YOU READ WHILE HEARING MUSIC?

Not anymore. When my anxiety was worse, I would use earplugs to block out my neighbor’s incredibly loud TV.

18. ONE POV OR MULTIPLE POVS?

PLEASE JUST STICK TO ONE POINT-OF-VIEW. I’m SO sick of alternating points-of-view in the first person. I’m done. I’m over it.

19. DO YOU READ A BOOK IN ONE SITTING OR OVER MULTIPLE DAYS?

I work full-time, go to classes, and watch TV. Finishing a book takes me a few days.

20. (Custom question because I hate tagging): MOVIE ADAPTATIONS OR BOOK ADAPTATIONS?

I lean toward movie adaptations. In some circles, that makes me a traitor.

Honestly, it’s a win-win. The movie is either good (possibly even BETTER than the book, Ella Enchanted…) or so bad it’s good. I will watch movies of either quality.

 

I found the questions for this tag here and here. Answer the questions in the comments or write your own post!

Is it wrong to ask you to tag me when I refused to tag others? Whatever. Do it. Tag me in your post.