Happy Birthday to Me, I'm 24!
Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!
The time has come, it's my birthday! Today I'm 24, only one year away from my well-deserved quarter-life crisis, so be prepared for that when the time comes. I wanted to do something to celebrate my birthday on here, so I thought I would do the Birthday Book Tag, created by Antonia from Always Books.
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Before I start the tag, I thought I would answer some other quick questions about me and my birthday! Full disclosure, these questions are from the Books Unbound podcast, because Ariel's birthday was last month and she made this mini-quiz and I like talking about myself so you get two tags, really!
1. What is your zodiac sign?
I'm a Scorpio! A very early Scorpio, it's only been a few days since the switch. I've always thought it was ironic, because I have horrible, terrible arachnophobia, and obviously scorpions are arachnids, so I've never liked the Scorpio imagery. Also, for anyone who is curious about my big three, I'm a Scorpio sun, a Virgo moon, and a Cancer rising. Oh, and I'm a Sagittarius Venus, if anyone cares about that either.
2. What is your birthstone?
I'm pretty sure it's opal. Whether it is a regular opal or a fire opal, I don't know. I've heard both as the October birthstone. It was always something I really liked as a child, because there are so many colors in opal, so I felt like I had the ultimate birthstone.
3. How do you feel about having an October birthday?
Oh, I love it. October is my favorite month of the year, and it's not actually because of my birthday. I love Halloween so much, that having my birthday four days before Halloween always felt like an extra treat. When I was a kid, all of my birthday parties were costume parties and Halloween themed, because it just made sense. I don't know if I would still love Halloween as much as I do now if my birthday wasn't so close to it, but it doesn't matter anyway, does it?
4. Is there anyone famous who shares your birthday?
I know that President Teddy Roosevelt was also born on the 27th, and I'm pretty sure so was Sylvia Plath. I remember I had a calendar that had famous author birthdays listed and she was on my birthday.
5. Do you have any birthday traditions?
I don't have any that are super finite or anything like that, but there are a few that we try to make happen. One is between my dad and I: he tries to take me out to sushi for my birthday every year, because we both love sushi. Unfortunately we're not able to make it this year, but that's okay, because my mom is making fondue instead, and that's a close second when it comes to favorite food.
Also, my family has these plates that are specifically for whoever is celebrating their birthday. They're red and say on the rim "You are special today." Whenever we have a dinner that is close to a birthday of a family member, or for that family member, they use the special plates. It's fun, and makes me feel important to my family for the day, which I love.
6. What is one of your favorite birthdays?
My sweet 16. It was my last birthday in high school (I skipped a year) and also my last birthday in my hometown (my parents and I moved to Arizona after I graduated) so we really went all out. It was oldies themed, with a checkerboard dance floor, 50s era music, and a professional photographer. I still have so many wonderful memories from that night.
7. How do you feel about turning 24?
I honestly don't care for it. Most of the time, I still feel like a teenager, so getting older and older and more and more like an adult is a little frightening to me. It's just a reminder that I can't depend on my parents forever, which is scary to me, especially since I have so many health issues and they prevent me from being able to do simple things, like working a job, or standing for too long, or strenuous exercise. So when I said earlier that I'm close to a quarter-life crisis, I definitely wasn't joking. Please wish me luck!
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Okay, now for the Birthday Book Tag!
1. Birthday cake - a book with a cliche plot but you love it anyway
I have to go with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell for this question. It's really such a basic plot when you take a step back and look at it, but it remains one of my most favorite books of all time, and I don't know when, if ever, that will change.
2. Party guests - your most anticipated release of this year
Since my birthday is in the last quarter of the year, most of my anticipated releases have already come out, and I've read a good number of them as well. Though, I haven't yet bought a copy of Rick Riordan's Daughter of the Deep, his newest middle-grade release. I don't know if that is the book I was wanting the most this year, but it is definitely up there.
3. Birthday presents - a book that surprised you with how much you loved it
I feel like this comes as no surprise, but I really do have to talk about Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie once again. I never would have guessed that a historical fiction set just after WWII would affect me as much as this book did, but it's still my favorite book of 2021. I'm hoping to get everyone important to me to read it, so wish me luck!
4. The "Happy Birthday" song - a book that deserved all of the hype it got
Honestly, I don't pay a lot of attention to hyped books that much anymore. I think I'm slowly backing away from the book-internet community so I'm not seeing a lot of super hyped books. And the ones that I can recall at the top of my head, I haven't read yet, so I don't think I have a definitive answer for this.
Oh, I know! I definitely agree with the hype for Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. It caused a lot of buzz in the sci-fi community, and though I don't really pay much attention to science fiction novels, I really did love this one. A true five-star read for me!
5. Happy music - a book with beautiful and memorable quotes
Opposed to the last question, I have way too many answers for this one. I love when books have so many amazing quotes that I just get lost in them, and I definitely prefer purple prose instead of more straightforward writing.
The last book I read that had me tabbing and highlighting practically every page was A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. It was honestly a love-letter to nature, and the writing really reflected that.
6. Getting older - a book you read a long time ago, but you think you would appreciate it more if you read it now
Hmmm, probably The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I first read this book my sophomore year in high school, which was nine years ago now (oh my god, nine years?!). It was the book I liked the most in English class that year, but I haven't read it since. I think I would understand a lot more of it if I reread it now, though I don't see that happening anytime in the future.
7. Sweet birthday memories - a book that kept you happy during sad or trying times
Again, I feel like this is another no-brainer. Definitely the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. My entire middle-school career was honestly really shitty, just one bad thing after another, and these books kept me from going completely insane. I really owe a lot to Uncle Rick, now that I think about it. Reading his books, waiting for the next one to come out, they kept me distracted from a lot of really awful things happening both to and around me. So, thank you Rick Riordan!
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