This tag is so old, but apparently making the rounds again. I spotted it at Dini Panda Reads. I’m not tagging anyone, but you’re welcome to do it as well.
Genre I stay away from
Horror. I’m a wuss. I will give myself nightmares. I can’t deal with jump starts or gore and psychological horror is iffy. I can handle a psychological thriller, but not when it crosses over into horror. The best example is The Cobra Event by Richard Preston. I read this back in high school sometime in the very late 90s shortly after it came out. It was gifted to me, and sounded neat enough. The plot revolves around chemical warfare. I fully own that is was like ’98/’99 when I read this last, so I have few memories about it, but there was one scene in particular that was just too descriptive, especially to be reading it at 2030ish at night. I used to joke that it was responsible for starting my insomnia, but I truly didn’t sleep well for nearly a week.
Worst habit as a reader?
I’m too “extra” about things. It’s the ADHD. I like stats and graphs and having things well organized. I like lists and databases. One of the things I have been working on, is writing out a chapter by chapter summary of each book that I read and adding that into my Notion database so that I can just read the summaries and remember the book without needing to re-read it again. I just get so lazy!!! I jump out of one book and into another so quickly without writing my notes. It took me about 2/3rds of the way into the books I’ve read this year to even track my CAWPILED ratings, much less making notes about anything for my reviews. I’m going to have to scan through like 60 books for my reviews. I’m so behind. What’s worse, I’ve read almost exclusively Pride and Prejudice vagaries this year, so they are all running together.
Do I read the synopsis?
Nearly always. I am horrible. I just books by their covers. The cover art is about 30% of what interests me in a book. If the cover sucks and it wasn’t forced onto me by a friend, then I won’t even read the synopsis. The synopsis is about 60% of what interests me in a book and the remaining 10% is generally the genre in conjunction with my mood at the time.
Do I read used books?
Of course. A book is a book and renting from the library is technically reading used books. I will admit to dying a little inside when I come across a dog-eared page though.
Favorite book from last year?
Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli
Nevermind that it’s one of the few reviews I actually have live here on my shiny new blog, but it was great all around. It sounded neat, sat around on my kindle for nearly 6 months because I was afraid of being disappointed, and then I was mad at myself for waiting so long.
Favorite Classic?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
It’s my comfort novel. I re-read it at least once every year. This year has been really tough, so I’ve read it six times, watched the 1995 BBC series four times, watched the 2005 movie literally every single week this year with it twice for at least a third of the year, and watched Lost in Austen twice. I’ve also read almost exclusively P&P Vagaries. My husband was laid off early in the year and didn’t work for 8 months. Sure, we were able to wait until the last 10 weeks before getting on unemployment, but we ran through all of our backups, which was dumb and now we have regrets. My stress levels have been extreme. My anxiety presents itself in tremors among other symptoms, so my limbs shake like someone who has rheumatoid arthritis or Parkinson’s disease. I’ve felt like a chihuahua all year.
Book I always recommend?
The Archers of Avalon trilogy by Chelsea Fine
I love this series so hard. I’ve recommended it out to everyone for years and years. I read this for the first time back in 2017 and have been obsessed ever since. It’s not often that you find a novel with a plot that features the Fountain of Youth, so it really drew me in.
Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in the forest alone, afraid, and unable to remember anything. Lost and confused, her life was a mystery…until she met a boy with a familiar voice.
Gabriel Archer has a voice from her past, and Scarlet’s determined to remember why. She immerses herself in his life only to discover he has a brother he’s kept hidden from her: Tristan Archer.
Upon meeting Tristan, Scarlet’s world becomes even more muddled. While she’s instinctively drawn to Gabriel, she’s impossibly drawn to Tristan–and confused out of her mind. As she tries to piece together her history Scarlet realizes her past…might just be the death of her.
Current read?
I’ve been knocking out nearly 2 books a day lately, but at the present moment I am about 92% through The Cost of a Kiss by Timothy Underwood.
Books I’m looking forward to reading?
The Colour of Revenge by Cornelia Funke. This was released last month. I love the Inkheart series. It’s seriously one of my absolute favorite trilogies. I never expected that we’d see it continued after so long, but I am so excited. I want to re-read the series to be fresh with it before tackling the fourth book, but I’m planning on binging them next year.
Aside from that, I am looking forward to a handful of Pride and Prejudice vagaries that will be released in the next few months. I don’t keep track of upcoming releases as much as I should, but there are a few authors I’m excited for.
Books I’m ashamed of not reading yet?
ACOTAR. I’ve tried. I’ve tried a bunch of times. I can’t decide if I can’t get into it because of the stress of this year, or because I just can’t get into it, but I feel bad. Reading the synopsis, it should be totally up my alley, but I hate it. I’ve DNF’d it six times. My friends are all so disappointed in me, because we usually are all in the same fandoms when it comes to our reads and now I’m the odd one out and it sucks.
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