~ The Twenty Questions Book Tag ~

Woo! It is time for another book tag! I greatly appreciate being tagged by Louise @Lou’s Book Stuff to answer these questions. I absolutely love looking at her blog and I highly recommending checking it out and following, if you are not already!

This tag is fairly simple as there are twenty questions to answer, nineteen for you to answer about your own reading and the last question is to nominate others. Now on to the questions!

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1. How many books are too many books in a series?

This one entirely depends on multiple factors:

1. The type of series – Something like A Song of Ice and Fire needs more novels to cover what seems like millions of storylines to reach a conclusion. On the other hand, other series that feature a slightly less complicated universe would not require that many novels.
2. Continuation vs Universe – A series like Blood and Ash takes the same set of characters and sets them on a continuous journey where you follow them from start to finish. This series might seem too long if it ended up being 10+ books long. On the other hand, you have something like the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series, which is 52 novels long for the original. The same sets of characters are featured, but the story is not continuous and could be considered standalones as each novel presents a storyline and solves it by the end.
3. My General Interest – Two novels could be too long for a series if it is not written well and 100 novels could seem like too few it the series is very captivating.

2. How do you feel about cliff-hangers?

These can be tolerable in a series where there is still more story to be presented. They can be hit or miss for standalones, though, depending on how they are presented. If a conclusive ending is hinted at, but there is some “open-endedness,”then it is annoying, but does not make me hate the novel. (In these cases though, it is very rare that it is done well.) Now, for those novels that have a cliff-hanger for the sake of one and I am left with more questions than answers, then those are the novels that are difficult to like and remember enough to recommend to others.

3. Hardback or Paperback?

Absolutely fully agree with Lou’s answer. Hardbacks are gorgeous when I display my books on shelves, but paperbacks are just easier to hold while reading.

4. Favourite book?

There are so many novels that come to mind for this question. Immediately, my first thoughts went to The Song of Achilles, Circe, Emma, and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

5. Least favourite book?

6. Love triangles, yes or no?

Yes, if they feel natural for the characters. If two characters have feelings for the character caught in the middle, then it must be presented naturally that fit the characters. If one or both develop their feelings for the sake of the story, then I do not enjoy this and instead stop caring about this part of the story. When love triangles are done right, then it can be an interesting read as the reader can experience the struggle the main character is going through and it can keep you guessing of who the main will end up with.

7. The most recent book you just couldn’t finish?

8. A book you’re currently reading?

At the moment, the two I am reading are Accidentally Engaged and Ace of Swords. I am also listening to the audiobook, Simmer Down.

9. Last book you recommended to someone?

10. Oldest book you’ve read?

11. Newest book you’ve read?

Hmmm….I believe that the most recent release would be The Seat Filler that will be published on April 27, 2021. My most recently completed read is Party of Two, which I read and reviewed yesterday.

12. Favourite author?

This is an extremely difficult questions as there are too many authors that I adore. Some that immediately come to mind are Jane Austen, Madeline Miller, and JRR Tolkien. There are a ton of others that I absolutely love their novels, but that would take up pages and pages of this post haha.

13. Buying books or borrowing books?

Both! I went on a huge buying spree last year and actually ran out of book shelves and make-shift places to put them. I borrowed some novels here and there from friends, but COVID made it difficult to exchange books in person. Digitally, I’ve been given a lot of books as my friends sent me copies of books to keep. Recently, I have been borrowing books digitally from the library and I’ve been loving having even more books to choose from.

14. A book you dislike that everyone else seems to love?

There are two that come to mind – Little Women and You Deserve Each Other. Both novels have been loved by tons of people. Little Women just was not for me as the story just seemed too focused on the details that the main story gets lost. At its core, the story is great, but it gets too caught up in the descriptions that I lost a lot of interest in reading this. I still finished it just to see if got better by the end, but unfortunately it remained the same throughout. On the other hand, You Deserve Each Other just featured a character that I just could not support. I can see how people would find humor and a lighter side to her, but, to me, she just came across as cruel and selfish that it was hard for me to enjoy the novel.

15. Bookmarks or dog-ears?

I have no idea how anyone could answer dog-ears for this question. Bookmarks (actual or make-shift) are the only way to go!

16. A book you can always reread?

Two series that I can reread over and over again are Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Both made excellent novels and were adapted into rewatchable movies, too! They also are featured in the movies in concert series where a live orchestra plays as the movie is shown in the background. If they start again around the world, I would highly recommend checking them out for a fun experience!

17. Can you read while listening to music?

Instrumentals, yes. Music with lyrics, no. It is really mood dependent if I listen to music while listening. If I do end up listening, then I try to match the instrumentals to the tones of the books. I’ll do more epic movie/video game soundtracks to novels featuring battles and calming sweeter music to contemporary type stories. Some books, however, require a nice quiet atmosphere to concentrate in, so with those I like to just have silence around me while I read.

18. One POV or multiple POVs?

Both! There are upsides and downsides to both, but the only time I disagree with multiple POVs is when there are too many to the point where the story gets lost as the reader has to follow multiple trains of thought. I do like when the POVs are clearly identified so I do not have to guess which POV I am reading.

19. Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

Both! It really depends on the book. Some novels are so captivating that I have to keep reading to figure out what will happen next and I end up reading them in a single sitting. Other books that can be more thought-provoking are the ones I prefer and purposely stretch out over multiple days as it gives me time to process each part of the story. Most of the time though, novels tend to be either a mix of the two or are just a matter of timing where I read as much as I can in a day, but then have to put off reading until the next day or so.

20. Who do you tag?

I TAG: Sunny@Sunshine, Lollipops, and Zombies / Yolanda @Past Midnight / Carla @Carla Loves to Read / Saniya @Sunnyside Reviews / Amanda @Bookish Brews.

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Thank you again to Louise for the tag as these questions were really fun to answer! It took a lot of thought to try and figure out some answers, while others were instant. For those that are tagged, do not feel obligated to do this post and complete it with your own answers. For those that are not tagged, feel free to complete the twenty questions as I would love to read your answers!