20 Questions Book Tag!

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog! 

I hope you all had a safe weekend, wherever in the world you are. I had to go pick up my partner after they crashed their motorcycle on a mountain road, so there's that. Don't worry, they're completely fine aside from some road rash. Thank god. 

Today I thought I would do the 20 Questions Book Tag. I've seen it floating around the interwebs for a few weeks and it seems fun, so let's give it a go! 

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1. How many books are too many for a series?
    So I'm definitely a fan of series, but I do have to cap at five books. Any longer and the story starts to feel redundant. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and it's not like I'll refuse to read a series if it's longer than five books. But five seems to be the sweet spot for longer series, anyway. I think I prefer duologies or trilogies the most, though. 

2. How do you feel about cliffhangers?
    I hate them. Like I understand why they're so popular and why it's a good literary device to implement while writing, and yes I'll most definitely use cliffhangers in my own writing, but as a reader, I hate them. Especially when it's the end of the book, and the next book in the series won't come out for another year (looking at you, Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan). The only time they don't bother me is if I have the entire series and I'm binging one book after another. Then it's just funny, because the intended wait and suffering the author had planned passes me by entirely. I'm petty that way. 

3. Hardcover or paperback?
    I like hardcovers for collection purposes, but I prefer reading paperbacks, especially if they're big and floppy. I love a good floppy paperback. 

4. Favorite book? 

    This hasn't changed in over six years. It's still The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I don't think I'll never not love this book. Honorable mentions include The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, of course; Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie; and The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. It's crazy that I only read those last two this year. 

5. Least favorite book? 
    I'm sure a lot of those who went to American high school will agree with me on this one, but I despise Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I loathe it, entirely. I also really don't like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, and the short story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce. That last one actually triggered one of the worst panic attacks I've ever had, so there's that. 

6. Love triangles, yes or no? 
    No! God, no. I can't stand love triangles. I don't really like romance in books to begin with, but love triangles really grind my gears. It's because like 90% of the time, it's not a proper love triangle. Instead it's someone with the person of their choosing, and then a third party who keeps trying to butt into the main character's relationship. But even "proper" love triangles bother me. I don't know. Not a fan. 

7. The most recent book you couldn't finish? 
    The last book I DNF'd was The Archive of the Forgotten by A.J. Hackwith. I talk about it more in my Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag, if you want all the details. 

8. A book you're currently reading? 

    Right now, I'm reading Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. I'm really enjoying it too, I love Ruta's writing style. I also have The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling out from the library, so I'll probably read that next. 

9. Last book you recommended someone? 
    The last book I told someone to read was Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater. I loaned one of my copies to Angela. Two years ago I basically forced her to read the entire Raven Cycle series and she really liked it, so I've been pushing her to read the Dreamer Trilogy, or what is currently out of it. However she's someone who really values books above anything else and so she doesn't want to damage my signed first edition of Call Down the Hawk, so she said she's going to buy her own copy soon and read that instead. I told her that 1) I doubt she would damage it and 2) I wouldn't actually care if she did, but she wouldn't hear it. 

10. Oldest book (by publication date) you've read? 
    It has to be one of my Greek books, right? It has to. Stand by......Okay, it looks like the winner is Homer with The Iliad and The Odyssey, both of which I've read. Homer lived somewhere between 800 and 700 BCE. After Homer the next Greek writer was Hesiod with The Theogony and Works and Days, both of which I've also read. 

11. Newest book (by publication date) you've read? 

    I've read a lot of new releases this year. The most recent one would be tied between One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston and Where Hope Comes from by Nikita Gill. Both came out on June 1st of this year. I have books that came out after that, but I haven't read them yet, so they don't count. 

12. Favorite author? 
    I have a few. Rick Riordan is a given, of course. I'm super excited about his newest book, which is a brand new universe and series. It's a modern Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I read that this year as well and I really enjoyed it, which only made my anticipation for Rick's new book skyrocket even more. Also Victoria/V.E. Schwab is a favorite, I loved everything by her and I have all of her books. I do want to also put Paulo Coelho on this list, but I've only read three of his eighteen or so novels, so I don't want to jump the gun. 

13. Buying or borrowing books? 
    Both, absolutely. I use my library religiously, but I love going to bookstores and buying new books, or used books. Bookstore shopping itself is just so soothing to me, I could spend hours browsing. And I've literally spend hundreds of dollars on books in this year alone, so I can't really say I prefer borrowing over buying. But the majority of books I read in a year are from the library, so. 

14. A book you disliked that everyone seems to love? 
    I read My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfeg in January and I hated it. But it has such high ratings on Goodreads, and everyone I know who has read it has loved it. Also a few days ago I read Earthlings by Sayaka Murata and was so profoundly disturbed, but again I haven't seen anyone give it below four stars. I'm starting to think that I just don't like introspective stories like those two, because I can only focus on the more disturbing aspects of them. 

15. Bookmarks or dog-earing? 
    I try to use bookmarks whenever I can, but if I don't have any readily available I'll dog-ear the page. If it's a hardcover book, however, I'll use the inside flaps of the dust jacket to mark my place. 

16. A book you can always reread? 

    I have a lot of different answers for this, but I'll go with The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. It's a childhood favorite of mine, about a mouse who learns how to read and falls in love with a princess. It's so wholesome and sweet, and even though it's a children's book, I still find it just as enchanting as the first time I read it. 

17. Can you read while listening to music? 
    Yes, absolutely. I can typically read through anything: music, the TV, my parents talking, etc. The only time I get distracted is if it's a song/movie/TV show that I really like, or if someone is talking to me directly. Otherwise I'm basically dead to the world. 

18. One POV or multiple? 
    I definitely do prefer one POV, unless it's in first-person. As I get older I find myself getting annoyed with first-person POV and now prefer third-person limited. However, if it's a big fantasy book with lots of characters, then multiple POV is the best for that. 

19. Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days? 
    I binge-read all the time, as is evident by my monthly wrap-ups. There is always at least one or two books a month that I read over the course of only one day. On average, it only takes me two or three days to finish a book. 

20. Who do you tag? 
    Hmmmm, I'll tag my friend Lissanne, and also my friend Ally. And anyone else who wants to do this tag, I tag you! 

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That was fun! I really liked answering these questions. 

Until next time!