Book Tag

The DNF Tag

- Bunny Leave a comment

Hello Book Lovers,
I have been thinking about DNFing books a lot lately, because it is something that I struggle with doing. I always want to give a book a fair chance even if I am not enjoying it. I know that is a problem since I read for fun, but I still feel guilty putting a book down. I wanted to see others opinions on this topic, and came across this tag. I thought it was a cool idea, so of course I had to do it for you guys.

I have only DNF a handful of books in my years of reading. It isn’t something I would say that I do regularly, but I am not against it.

Nope! I don’t consider a book read unless I 100% finish it. I think that would be unfair to not only the author, but others that read the whole book. Also, I feel like counting it toward my reading for that month is slightly cheating.

For me, I would say yes. I have some books that I’ve been reading for months, or have put down, but plan on coming back to it within, most likely, a year. I think the main difference is that when you DNF a book you don’t see yourself ever giving it another shot, or at least not for 5 years.

Hmm…I am not sure there are any popular books I have given up on. However, one book that was well rated in the book community that I couldn’t get through was My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. This is a YA contemporary, which is my favorite genre, still I loathed the book. I found the writing slow and the relationship was very instant lovely. I DNF’ed the book when I was about 60% of the way done, and I have no regrets.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks! I was on a huge Sparks kick for a while, and read many of his most popular books. I didn’t like many of them with The Notebook being my least favorite. Nevertheless, Dear John was the one that still annoys me like no other. I found the book super boring and just not my cup of tea. I was not a fan of the characters, or the plot. I did not enjoy the ending, and can’t understand why I put myself through that book. Fun fact, I have a signed copy of this book, so lucky me.

I have not attempted to read a DNF, but I won’t write-off the idea. I hope that it would be successful for me. Although, I am not sure I want to give some books a second chance.

I don’t usually buy books I haven’t read, so I don’t typically have the issue of getting rid of DNF’ed books. I will either get the e-book or audiobook from the library. If I do get a book I don’t like I either gift or donate it.

It isn’t really about the title for me, but more of the genre. I try to stick with my favorite genres so I have a better chance of enjoying the book. However, this year I am pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, which means I might be DNFing more books. This doesn’t scare me though, since we never know if we like something if we don’t give it a shot.

I hope that you liked this interesting tag about DNF books. I would love to get your thoughts on this topic. I tag anyone reading this post, and feel free to leave a comment letting me know if you did the tag. I think it is cool to learn others take on different bookish issues. As always you can share and like this post, and follow the blog to get notified when I post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Taylor Swift Album Book Tag

- Bunny 2 Comments

Hello bookish friends,
In honor, of the Tis the Damn Readathon I thought I would do a fun Taylor Swift inspired book tag. This is my first book tag on the blog and of 2021, so I am ready to get into the questions. I wasn’t tagged by anyone, but I still wanted to take part in doing this tag. This tag was created by the lovely Maria @ A Daughter of Parchment and Paper. I used Maria’s graphics because they are amazing.

At the start of 2021, I read one of my new favorite YA Christmas romances, 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston. Now this book did have some flaws, but it was such a cute young adult contemporary that made me fall in love with Ashley Elston’s writing. The book follows a high-school girl who gets her heartbroken by her longtime boyfriend. Thus her over the top and caring family decided to take it upon themselves to help mend her broken heart leading them to set her up on 10 very interesting blind dates. Honestly, the love story was very predictable yet I enjoyed it and the Christmas season setting.

I don’t think I have ever read a novella before. There are some that I would like to get too, but sadly I have to skip this question. Sorry.

This one is easy since I talked about it in my “Book Blogging Newbie Tag” post. I discovered my love for reading with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares. I know these books seems cheesy and I will admit looking back at them they don’t have the greatest plot. However, the series captivated me in such a way that made me want to keep reading forever. If you haven’t read the books, they follow four best friends that, over the course of the summer, share a pair of jeans that fit each of their differently shaped bodies perfectly. I would give the series 3.5 stars, but I completely recommend the first book which is my personal favorite.

This is a classic that I don’t find a lot of people, including my husband, enjoy. I happened to really like The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Yes, there wasn’t much of a plot to it and Holden Caulfield was a tad whiny at times, still it was an eye-opening read to me. My lovely husband contributes this to the fact that I was a good girl growing up without much raw life experience, but I just think I get Holden on another level.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is my pick for this question. I don’t know if most people would consider this a heart-stopping story, but it is for me. I read this book in about two days and it is a tough, yet important read. It deals with the after math of being raped, losing yourself and finding your voice. Honestly, stories like this are some of the hardest to get through still I found it an incredible read.

This book is a lot like Speak, but taken to the extreme. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott is a story I will never forget and still gives me chills. The plot surrounds a girl called Alice who was abducted by a man name Ray at the age of ten. The story is told by Alice’s present self, now fifteen, and has lived a nightmare for the past five years. I will probably never read this story again, since it makes the pit of my stomach hurt just thinking about it. It is a very powerful read that has stuck with me for years.

I had to think about this one for a minute, but after doing some digging I chose Starr from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. The book is about police brutality of POC (People of Color) and much more. The main character Starr lives in a poor black popularity neighborhood, yet attends prestigious predominantly white school. Starr tries hard to separate her school and home life, but after witnessing the shooting and killing of a friend at the hands of the police she must speak out for what is right. Starr is use to shrugging off her friends ignorant, racist comments, yet we see her standing up for herself and not taking the hate in silence anymore. I loved seeing Starr come into her own and let go of the toxicity she had been ignoring for so long.

So….I don’t think I have answer for this question. Don’t hate me, but after going through the books I have read I cannot think of any morally grey characters. Oops! I don’t read a lot of fantasy, which might be why. I have instead decided to talk about a book series I’m interested in that I have heard has a morally grey character. The series is The Folk of the Air by Holly Black! I have the first book in the series The Cruel Prince on audiobook, but haven’t been in the mood to give it a chance. I know that this is a fantasy series about fairies, and you either love it or hate it. I have only attempted a Holly Black book once, which was a DNF, so I am nervous to pick this one up. Should I give this series a try?

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan! I don’t remember this book much, but I have a lot of nostalgia for it. This is one of my mom’s favorite classic children’s books. I remember going to the book fair in elementary school and using my reading points to get this book for my mom. It is such a cute story about a widowed man that sends for a mail-ordered-bride to help care for his two children, Caleb and Anna. Thus Sarah, described as plain and tall, answers his call. This is an adorable story of love and family that will warm your heart.

Duh! A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens need I say more. I will probably mention this story multiple times on the blog since it is my all time favorite book. I love the writing in this beloved and classic story. Sure some parts are a bit slow, but there are many amazing passages from this story that I love rereading. My all time favorite being “It is required of every man,” the Ghost returned, “that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world — oh, woe is me! — and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!”

I am going with The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, which might seem weird since I haven’t read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan but hear me out. I have heard only good thing about these two companion series. They are both middle grade books and Greek mythology aspect to them. Percy Jackson is the main series, followed by the Heroes of Olympus books. However, I heard that the series don’t directly connect so they can be read as stand alones. I want to read these books very badly and embarrassed I still haven’t started either of these series.

Woo! Those were all the questions and I had a blast answering them. I am supposed to tag any book loving Taylor Swift fan, although I am still fairly new to the book blogging community so I am going to do the general tagging everyone thing. In the comments, leave your answers or let me know if you did this tag on your blog as well. Don’t forget to visit Maria’s blog and like this post. You can follow the blog to get notified when I post and I would love your support.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

The Book Blogger Newbie Tag

- Bunny 1 Comment

Hello bookish friends,
I thought that I would do the classic “Book Blogger Newbie” tag post. I know that this tag is a time long tradition when becoming a book blogger. I hope that these question help you to get to know me and my little blog better.

Why did you start this blog?
I had a booktube channel, but I just didn’t love the video format. I have always been a writer so I thought a blog is much more my style. I want this to be a place where I can share my love of books as well as other things. I want to talk about TV shows and maybe even some first time mommy content in the future.

What are some fun and unique things you can bring to book blogging?
I know that there are so many blogs out there and you want your blog to stand out. However, I don’t know how fun or unique my content will be. I guess something different is that I haven’t read a lot of the popular books from the 2000s. Currently, I am reading the Harry Potter series for the first time and I haven’t read anything by Sarah J. Maas. Also, this blog will be 75% bookish, yet I want to talk about other topics on this blog too.

What are you most excited for about this blog?
Mostly writing content and sharing my bookish thoughts. I love connecting with others in the book and blogging community.

Why do you love reading?
It let’s me escape into different land. This quote by George R.R. Martinup sums up why I love reading perfectly “A reader lives a thousand lives.”

What series got you into reading?
I fell in love with the The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books by Ann Brashares, which is a very underrated series in my opinion. After reading all of those books I never wanted to stop reading.

What questions would you ask your favorite authors?
I would love to know what they hope a reader gets from their books. Why do they continue write stories? Also, I read somewhere if author think their characters know about them. I think it would be interesting to know if author do think their characters know about them. As if the world they created is some alternate realm of sorts.

What challenges do you think starting a blog will be the hardest to overcome?
Probably staying consistent. Live has many ups and downs, so it is hard to stay on top of blogging. However, I have a lot of post planned and I will be trying to blog as much as I can each week.

When did you start reading?
I was not a reader as a kid at all. I was more of a television watching, Barbie playing kind of girl. It wasn’t until 2005, I was a huge Gilmore Girls fan and my brother mentioned that Alexis Bledel was going to be starring in the film adaption of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I decided I would read the book first, and I never stopped reading. From that day on I was a reader.

Where do you read?
I usually read at home in my bed. I cannot read in cars be I get motion sickness and I never really read when I am out. I just like being cozy in bed with a book or audiobook.

What kind of books do you like to read?
I am a huge YA fan! I will try to read a lot of different YA genres, but my favorite is contemporary. I am a fan of middle grade books, yet I haven’t read as many of them. I want to expand my reading taste this year, still I am kind of set in my ways when it comes to the books I read.

Wow! Does doing this mean I am an official book blogger? If you are a blogger of any kind let me know in the comments. I want to connect with blogger and just readers in general.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny