the Book Burger tag

Dear Reader, 

So the object of this book tag is to build a burger using books you own, and it was created by booktuber RyanReads. However, I came across it on Sue Moro's channel, who shares my enthusiasm for fantasy, sci-fi and all things escapism. 

Burger building time!!!

1) First we need the bottom bun. Choose the first book of a series that you love.

Not including The Hobbit, this was the first ever dragon-book I read and have loved it since. Also (as mentioned previously) this book holds a very special place in my heart because it was key in bringing me and my best friend, Codename: Pixie, together; and we have been friends for 10 years now.    

2) Now we need the burger meat. Choose a meaty book that you've recently read and enjoyed (400+ pages).

With a grand total of 533 pages, The Invention of Hugo Cabret was an absolute delight to read. It's light on words, more than half of this book is actually full sided intricate sketches, made by the author, that tell the story as much as the narrative and are not just complimentary artistic drawings (like in the Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld). Though you can't really understand the power of this until you read it yourself. Plus, the pages have this thick, beautiful texture that often I'd lift my fingers from the page to make sure I hadn't smudged the pencil drawing.  

3) Next we add a thin slice of cheese and lettuce. Choose two thin books: one you've read and enjoyed and one you want to read but haven't yet (200 pages or less).

With only 167 pages, this is my rather-blue but leafy lettuce. I read this one a year or two ago when I spent a winter reading ghost stories. 

A 153 paged very-read Leicester cheese. Though, I kind of cheated on this one; I'm actually in the process of reading The Sign of Four, as opposed to having never read it as the challenge requires. You can even see my beaded-bookmark hanging out of it.

4) Time for a nicely sliced tomato. Choose an average sized book you loved or hated (between 200 and 400 pages).

Fire has a total of 334 pages. But finding my tomato was a lot harder than I thought it would be since the majority of the books I own are 400 pages plus. It is plausible for me to work out the exact number of pages in an "average" sized book for me, but it'll take too long and honestly I'm not all that bothered to find out. 

5) Now you add a sauce that you've never tried before and you don't know if you'll love it or hate it. Choose a book that you thought you'd love but hated, or a book you thought you'd hate but, in the end, loved.

The Ringmaster's Daughter is one of those rare books that I thought I'd really like but ended up hating and not being able to finish it altogether. 

6) Finally, we need the bun on top to complete our burger. Choose the last book of a series that you are/were dreading the release of because you don't/didn't want the series to end.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows definitely fits that bill. I knew there would be a final battle, and doubt less people would die. But it was more than just that. The characters in this series had been a constant presence through out my adolescence, and reading the final book in the series truly felt like saying good-bye to old friends. Though it's not a permanent good-bye, as I can re-visit their world any time I wish.   

And finally, this is what my burger would look like put together: 

Quite a mouth full, if you ask me.

Nida 

7 Deadly Sins (Book Tag)

Dear Reader,

This is quite an old book tag created by BookishlyMalyza. But I saw the video by youtuber, Bookables and found it interesting enough to do a blog post about. So here goes. 

Greed

What is your most expensive book? and what is your most inexpensive book?

Box-sets of books are really quite expensive (especially for hardcovers), but I love them and have several, as you can from this picture.

 But my single most expensive book (not counting university text books) is:

This was a birthday gift from friends who knew my love for both books and desserts. Rather sweet of them don't you think, (pun intended). 

My least expensive is:

I got this little discarded treasure for a mere 2p at a book sale.   

Wrath

Which author do you have a love-hate relationship with? 

I have quite an issues with Robin McKinley. I love her book Sunshine, she setup this amazing world with so much potential, not to mention all the loose ends. 

But she refuses, absolutely, 100% refuses to write a sequel, or even a spin off set in that world! Ugh!! So Frustrating!

Gluttony

What book have you deliciously devoured over and over with no shame whatsoever?

I would have to say it's a close call between Romancing Mr. Bridgerton and Brighter Than the Sun, both by Julia Quinn. 

Sloth

What book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

Insurgent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth. I don't even know why. Every time I tell myself that I'm going to read Insurgent now, I always end up reading something else. 

Pride

What book do you most talk about in order to sound like a very intellectual reader?

Idylls of the King by Lord Alfred Tennyson. (But generally I just talk about all the Classics I have read.)

Lust 

What attributes do you find most attractive in male/female characters?

I think that this goes for both male and female characters, that they be genuinely good people who care and always want to do what's good/right. Also, a good sense of humour doesn't hurt either. 

And just for a bit of fun, here's a list of my literary crushes:

Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Brigan from Fire by Kristin Cashore

Mr. Knightley from Emma by Jane Austen

Charles Darnay from A Tale of Two Cities by Charle Dickens

Remus Lupin from the Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling 

(And to a lesser extent, I really like the character development that Mr. Thornton from North and South and Warner from the Shatter Me Trilogy, under went.)

Envy
What books would you most like to receive as a gift?

Hmm.... that would have to be the Collector's Library 6 book box-set of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series, (I'm very particular about edition/publishers and stuff). 

It's such a beautiful little collection but soooo expensive. I'd feel completely guilty if I bought it for myself.    

Until my next post, take care and keep reading.

Nida

Top 5 Wednesday: Genres

Dear Reader,

So I've joined the #T5WFamily. What is the T5WFamily? you may ask. Well, T5W stands for Top 5 Wednesday (as you can see by the title) and it is a "family" of booktubers and bloggers, who list their Top 5 whatever-the-topic-is-for-that-week every Wednesday. This brilliant idea was the brain-child Lainey from gingerreadslainey on youtube, though I first came across it on The Readables. The series is fun and easy to write/watch, and is open to all who want to participate. If you, dear reader, want to know more or want to join in the fun, this is the link for the goodreads group.  

This week's topic is favourite Genres. Here are my Top 5:

5) Autobiographies - as opposed to regular biographies, because I prefer to read the story as told by the person who lived through it. I mostly enjoy reading autobiographies of writers or other historical figures. My favourites include: 

• The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson, 
• Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah, 
• Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed,  
• The Dairy of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and
• From my Sisters' Lips by Na'ima B. Robert.  

4) Historical Fiction - in my opinion this is fiction that's been written in modern times but is set in the past, for example: 

• The Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli,
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak,
• The Sally Lockhart Series by Philip Pullman,
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and
• even those accursed-guilty-pleasure-books by Julia Quinn. 

3) Sci-Fi/Dystopian - I've grouped these two together because there is usually (though not always) a lot of overlap and also because I became a fan of this two genres around the same time and only very recently. Some books I've read from these genres are:

• The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins,
• Uglies Quartet by Scott Westerfeld,
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 
• The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells and
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.  

2) Classics - but more particularly Fiction from the 19th Century (and Shakespeare). My love of Classics began when I first picked up Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen at the tender and impressionable age of 14. Since then I've made it my goal to read 3 to 4 new classics each year. Here are five of my favourites:

• North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell,
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens,
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte,
• Persuasion by Jane Austen and     
• A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthus Conan Doyle.

And finally, number one on my list is (yes you've guessed it),

1) Fantasy - I'm an escapist reader and I love fantasy. From the fairytales I enjoyed listening to and reading as a child, to the first book I remember actually falling in love with, to the section I head to first whenever I enter book shop; all relate to by desire for that fantastical. There are many different sub-genres within fantasy but for now I'll now talk about the Top 5 I like reading most.

• High-Fantasy: this is when the story is set in a completely new/made-up world with their own rules and physical laws, for example The Lord of The Ring by J R.R. Tolkien, The Inheritence Cycle by Christopher Paolini or The Graceling Realm by Kristen Cashore. 
• Low-Fantasy: where the story can be set in the real-world or a fictional one but follow real-world laws but with many fantastical elements. The distinction between the two can be blurry at time but here are a few favourites that are definitely "low" fantasy: Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling, The Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke and The Once & Future King by T.H. White. 
• Fairy-tales: are self-explanatory and which I've already written about several times on my blog. My favourite of all time is The Beauty & The Beast, which is discus in much detail in another post. Fairy tale re-tellings are also rather enjoyable; there are the Jackson Pearce books (Sisters Red, Sweetly and Fathomless) and mostly recently I fell head-over-heals for The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer which I've also reviewed on this blog.        
• Urban-Fantasy: are stories set in the real (usually modern) world, only with some fantastical elements to them, e.g. Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan, Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson and Labyrinth by Kate Mosse.  
• Paranormal: stories about vampires, werewolves, witches, angels, demons, ghosts etc.. hanging out among the human population (though without any of the 'horror' elements). The majority of the YA that I've read falls into this sub-category, for example Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments, The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater or Dracula by Bram Stoker.   

Until the next book, the next review, the next Wednesday, take care and keep reading.

Nida 

Beautiful Book Covers Tag

Dear Reader,

You may remember that a few posts ago I wrote that me and cameras and I don't get along to well. But then I watched this book tag created by theheavyblanks and on an impulse I decided to be brave and face the camera again when making a response. So, yep, I made a youtube video. Its my first ... ever. Here it is. I hope you enjoy it, dear reader. If not, your welcome to tell me how I can improve if I ever decide to make another.    

Nida