Hi, all! So, I found this really fun book tag themed after Christmas songs on the interwebs through Carl Batnag’s blog and thought it would be a treat to give it a whirl for this weekend—especially since I haven’t done a book tag in a while😋 I’m really excited about this one, so let’s dive right in!
🎁 All I Want for Christmas is You 🎁
Favorite Bookish Couple
Howl and Sophie! They were the absolute first to come to mind, and I love them. They are great characters individually, full of spunk and vinegar, and when they come together it’s an absolute riot! Disaster and mayhem ride in their wake, for sure (but everything seems to work out all right in the end, so it’s not ALL bad)
🏠 I’ll Be Home For Christmas 🏠
Name a book where a character is away from home (school, vacation, etc.).
Like, most of them? I mean . . . that’s how most fantasy adventures happen, right? Right?? But I’ll go with THE DOOR WITHIN. This was also a ‘first to come to mind’, and Aidan spends most of the story in the Realm going on epic quests with the Glimpses. It was also one of the first books to thoroughly transport me away from home into this world of noble swordsmen, misguided enemy warriors, and mysterious prophecies. I ought to go in for a reread . . .
🎄Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 🎄
Name your favorite “little” book (children’s book, short story, novella, etc.).
Oh! Oh! I actually have a lot of favorite children’s books, but one of them would have to be THUNDERCAKE by Patricia Polacco. It’s a cute story about a little girl and her grandmother gathering together ingredients to make a cake during a thunderstorm, to help the girl overcome her fear of storms. The best part? There’s an actual recipe for the cake in the back of the book! I’ve always wanted to try it, but never have—yet! This book may have been the first to inspire my love of bookish foods, too, come to think if it!
🎅 Santa Claus is Coming to Town 🎅
What book(s) do you hope Santa brings you this year?
Well, considering I have, like 800 books on my to-read shelf, any of the above? BUT, also considering that our family has already done Christmas (while my brother and his family were up a couple months ago), I can tell you what book I already got (yay!): the collector’s edition of A SILENT VOICE. It’s beautiful! Gorgeous! The hardcovers are huge and packed with such a cozy story of heartache, courage, friendship, and renewal. [I highly recommend it, and if you can’t get your hands on the books, the movie is on Netflix!]
🦌 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer🦌
Which book turned your nose red (made you cry)?
Oooooophhh, this one might have to go to WAYS TO LIVE FOREVER by Sally Nicholls. It’s extremely rare that I’ll be moved to tears white reading—sad, sure. But I don’t weep easily. This one did make my cry a little.
Now, if you want a story in any medium that turned my nose red . . . The CLONE WARS animated series final season wreaked me. For days.
☃️ The Most Wonderful Time of the Year ☃️
Your favorite book/kind of book to read during the holidays.
Anything! Whatever! I’m not one of those seasonal readers who get into summery books during summer and Christmasy books in the winter. I’ll peruse the shelves and pick up whatever I’m feeling like at the time. One year it was THE CHILDREN OF HURIN and A PRINCESS BRIDE. Another year it was manga. This year it might be ILLUMINARE by Bryn Shutt and monster-eating dungeon adventurers!🤣
👑 We Three Kings 👑
Your Favorite Trilogy
Gving it some thought, this is harder than it sounds. I have a bunch of top series, but turns out a lot of them actually have more than three volumes! So . . . within my collection of favorites, the KING RAVEN trilogy by Stephen R. Lawhead is a tried and true story that I go back to now and again. I mean, Welsh Robin Hood? Yes, please!
❄️ Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow ❄️
A character you would love to be snowed in with.
There are a lot of fun characters out there that would be nice to spend some time with, but I know my personality. 😂 If I’m going to be snowed in with someone, I hope it’d be Aoi Tsubaki from KAKURIYO: BED AND BREAKFAST FOR SPIRITS. For one: she is not a high-strung heroine who’s going to start bouncing off the walls with cabin fever after five minutes. We could enjoy hot tea together, chat about our crazy coworkers, and trade recipes to pass the time. And maybe not get mixed up in some mayhem while we’re at it? That would be good.
🌨️ Last Christmas 🌨️
A book that seriously let you down
Thankfully there’s been precious few of these, fewer if we exclude the content preferences. FIRELORD by Parke Godwin got me super excited about an Arthurian legend in Arthur’s POV, but the first pages were so obscure in the storytelling that I struggled to grasp what was going on. When I recognized that I was avoiding reading it (because I didn’t understand or enjoy whatever story I was supposed to be getting out of it), I actually gave up and never finished. I thought I might go back again sometime and have a second go, but I’m not sure it’s worth it.
📖 White Christmas 📖
An upcoming release you’re dreaming about
Several! The one in particular that I’m really excited for hasn’t even had a release date released, but I’m also pretty stoked for the fourth and final instalment of the Droseran Saga, WAR OF TORMENT, by Ronie Kendig. This is the story that got me into space opera. It also has Tigo. AND DAQ-TI. I am anticipating this conclusion with much anticipation. Much.
Another one would be MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION. I loved the anime and have been awaiting the English release of the manga. The date has kept being pushed back every time I checked, it seemed, and the current one is January 31, so we’ll see!🤞
Now it’s your turn, friends! I’d love to hear what books you would choose for these prompts—so consider yourself tagged!
And until we meet again, Merry Christmas!
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