Telling Tales | Goodreads Book Tag

Goodreads has been a huge part of my reading life for so many years now, recommending it to everyone I know and being actively near daily since. So, after noticing the existence of this tag I am so grateful to the lovely emmareadstoomuch for tagging me in this. Your answers were so interesting to read, and I’m a huge fan of your blog. Anyone who doesn’t follow should do so immediately, their posts are some of the best I read. Now, onto the tag!

What was the last book you marked as ‘read’?

The last book I’ve read is Great by Sara Benincasa. I’ve recently written a review of it, however, in summary I didn’t enjoy it that much. It’s a contemporary retelling of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which is one of favourite novels of all time. Although, I wasn’t expecting much considering my love for the original, I still expected more than what I was given. There was very little excitement in the story, and all the characters kinda of fell flat. Very disappointing.

 

What are you currently reading?

I’ve just started reading Heartless by Marissa Meyer. There’s a few mixed reviews of it and I’ve seen many people I follow add it to their To-Read lists, however, I felt like it was time to experience it myself. Plus, it being a necessity for my dissertation is also a major reason.

 

 

 

What was the last book you marked as TBR?

I recently added Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. I’ve read so much hype surrounding this book, reading multiple on WordPress, but also updates on Goodreads itself. Everyone seems to love it, and I’m hoping to pick it up soon whenever I have the free time. Plus, I can’t resist the gorgeous cover.

 

 

 

What book do you plan to read next?

Well, if I plan on following my reading list for university, then it’ll probably be either Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, a retelling of Peter Pan, or City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I’m so late where this series is concerned, aware that nearly everyone has read or is in the middle of the series currently. However, I’ve never had the interest to research into it until now, and it seems to have a lot of potential.

Do you use the star rating system?

Most of the time, yes. The rating system is a pretty universally understandable system, meaning I’m sure most people understand what a good and bad rating looks like based on how many stars given. However, the only time I rebel against it is when I’m extremely torn between two stars, mostly around the 2 or 3 star rating. I’ll usually end up giving the lower then stating within the review section that it’s technically ‘.5’ stars. I wish there was a half star rating, it’d make things so much easier to rate.

Are you doing a 2017 reading challenge?

Yes, and I’ve recently completed my challenge. These past few years I’ve had to lower my goal due to university commitments, however, within the next few years I’m hoping to start gradually raising it. Maybe I’ll return to 50 books or higher soon.

 

Do you have a wishlist?

I have three online, yes! They’ve not been updated in a while, as I usually forget they exist and scroll through my Goodreads ‘to-read’ whenever I’m in a bookstore. However, I mostly use it for ordering books for my studies or discovering recommendations when I’m not interested in what Goodreads coughs up for me. I have a general ‘books’ one, which mostly consists of poetry anthologies and any generic Young Adult titles. An ‘LGBT Books to Buy’ one that’s pretty self-explanatory; I refer my family to it during holidays. Thankfully, my ‘Uni Books to Buy’ list is nearly empty at the minute, due the the semester having started up again, so I’m in control in that aspect. However, the size of the others is a little disappointing.

What book do you plan to buy next?

I’m hoping to get Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo soon. I’ve seen so many good reviews on this book, and I’d love to start a new series. The size of it is a little daunting at the moment when balancing so many commitments, but the plot line seems like something that’d move fairly quickly and keep me entertained. Plus, anything fantasy is always high in my estimations.
I probably won’t purchase it any time soon though, my bookshelves are already overcrowded and I haven’t started a lot of them yet.

 

Do you have any favourite quotes? Share a few.

The quotes section on Goodreads is probably my favourite. I’m always saving some from every book I’ve rated highly.

“I hope she’ll be a fool — that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

“You are a Vane, Lorens,” Ruple growls. “You do not falter beneath the weight of the world. You fight until your last breath, no matter the cost.” 
Laurence Beveridge, Unbreakable Hearts

Adam had once told Gansey, “Rags to riches isn’t a story anyone wants to hear until after it’s done.” 
Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Boys

“Do you want to stick needles in the living or scalpels in the dead?”
Alice Broadway, Ink

“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

“You’ve been away a long time. Were you lost?”
“I was wounded, not lost.”
Sally Green, Half Lost

“Give her hell from us, Peeves.” 
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Who are your favourite authors?

I have quite a few, yet I don’t update them on Goodreads as much as I used to, gradually getting braver when exploring new authors rather than keeping to the same ones. However, here’s some of my all time favourites:

• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Sally Green
• Laurence Beveridge
• Darren Shan
• Maggie Stiefvater

I am hugely inspired by these guys, some of them leading me to pursue a career within this field and the main reason I’m studying writing in university. There’s so many more I could add, yet these people in particular are the ones I memorise the works of.

Have you joined any groups?

I’m currently a part of two, yet have never looked into them as much as I should have. I’m a member of the ‘Goodreads Librarians Group’, it prompting me to join after being accepted as a Librarian on the site, and the ‘YA LGBT Books’ group; after getting sick of seeing the same books involving LGBT characters in stores I went to research my own. I used to be a member of the popular poll one, yet I kept being prompted to answer various ones from people I’m not friends with and the notifications caused me too much anxiety so I left. I’m not sure whether you can change that in settings though.

---

This tag has been so much fun! I love rambling about my Goodreads account to people so it was nice to dedicate a post to it. You’re welcome to add me on it here.

I tag:

books, trust & pixie dust

Reading Through Infinity

Books & Munches

FASHION & FICTION

+ Anyone else excited about this tag as much as I was. Feel free to drop me a comment if you’d like to be more officially tagged, however.