The Spring Has Sprung Book Tag

Hello, everyone! Today’s post is A TAG (!!!) because it’s been a while since I’ve done any. I’m so happy that spring is finally here, even if the weather is still pretty wacky where I live: One day it’s freezing, the next it’s brilliantly sunny and warm. Is this global warming, or is it just another spring day in the Midwest? WHO EVEN KNOWS?!

Anyway, I’m stealing this spring-themed book tag from Cristina @ My Tiny Obsessions! Enjoy!

FLOWERS.

Look on your shelves. What is the most beautiful book both inside and out?

Batwoman, Vol. 0: Elegy by Greg Rucka has gorgeous illustrations both inside and out, as well as a compelling story that twists and turns in surprising ways. I absolutely love the black-white-red color palette used in this comic; it’s just so pleasing to the eye.

GRASS.

What is a book that you find others like way more than you do?

There are people who like Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. And then there’s me. It seems like a lot of people disliked the third book in the series, Isla and the Happily Ever After, but I found the second book the most disappointing. After the cuteness (yes, I’ll admit it even though it’s super super het) of Anna and the French Kiss, I was expecting… well, definitely something more than what I got. I thought Lola was boring and also kind of ridiculous, if I’m being honest. Oh, well. At least the series ended on a high note for me!

RAIN.

What’s a great book that lifts your spirits when you’re down?

E. Lockhart’s Dramarama is one of my all-time FAVORITE books about friendship! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve reread it… I tend to borrow it from the library in the summer and then flip through it almost compulsively whenever I feel down or just plain bored. It makes me feel all the emotions because I’m so attached to the characters at this point.

DEW.

What book made you feel alive?

I read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness back in January and AHHH MY HEART. I checked what I had to say about it in my Goodreads status updates just now and this is what I found: “Ahh my chest feels tight and I’m getting all emotional as I read this… I’ve been wishing I found it easier to cry while reading books because it’s always such a cathartic feeling and this book is perfect for that.”

STORMS.

What book did you find unpredictable?

Can I cheat here and name an entire series? Because I was continually surprised by Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant books. Like, I thought I was in for a cute, fun children’s series but I ended up having my heart ripped out and stomped on not once but MULTIPLE TIMES??? What’s up with that? And OH THE PLOT TWISTS. THERE ARE MANY. I CRIED. A LOT.

RAINBOW.

What was a book that you struggled with only to be happy that you read it in the end?

I picked up Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art last fall expecting it to be a quick read because of its graphic novel format. I WAS SO WRONG. SO VERY, VERY WRONG. It’s basically an instruction manual for how to read and interpret comics – very academic, draws HEAVILY upon art theory, et cetera. Not that those are bad things, just that they weren’t what I was expecting! This is a good book to really sink your teeth into. I know I’ll definitely have to reread it one or two or a thousand times until I fully understand it!

CHILLY WEATHER.

What’s a book that you couldn’t finish or didn’t enjoy?

I almost always finish the books I start – I find it really hard to DNF, like, ANYTHING, no matter how bad it is – so I did finish Divergent by Veronica Roth, but it was a total waste of my time. (Later I tried to read the sequel, Insurgent, but gave up because I kept falling asleep. No joke.)

WARM WEATHER.

What book did you love and want more of?

I sooo want more of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery novel And Then There Were None! I want to know what happened both before and after the events of this story. I love her writing style, pacing, characters, et cetera and I wish she were still alive to write more books.

GREEN.

What book have you not read yet but really want to?

Nina LaCour’s Everything Leads To You has been on my TBR list for about three years now! Every couple of months I’m like, “Oh hey, I should finally read that,” and then I immediately get busy with something else. It’s like the universe is conspiring against me and trying to stop me from getting my gay little hands on this book. SOMEDAY I WILL BUILD A COZY BLANKET FORT AND MAKE 1,000,000,000 CUPS OF TEA AND BINGE-READ NOTHING BUT LESBIAN FICTION ALL DAY LONG.

PINK.

What book made you feel a strong connection to the characters?

Probably The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater? Honestly, I could choose any book from her Raven Cycle series but I think the second one really spoke to me because it delved further into its characters’ minds. I feel as if I’ve met all of the characters in real life… their feelings and motivations and worries and dreams (pun totally intended) are THAT well described.

PURPLE.

What book makes you feel safe when you read it?

I’d have to say… Matilda? Just about any of Roald Dahl’s books, TBH. Curling up with one of his stories is very comforting because each and every word (not to mention those fantastic illustrations by Quentin Blake!) is familiar to me: I grew up reading them. They were among the first books I ever read, actually. So, yeah. I’d pick that one. It relaxes me, takes me back to a time in my life when I felt safer than I do now because things were so much less complicated and confusing.

ORANGE.

What book do you feel is intelligently written?

I finished Between the World and Me with a longer TBR list than I’d had when I started. In this nonfiction novel about race and racial tensions in America, author Ta-Nehisi Coates name-drops dozens of black writers, some of whom I’d never even heard of before. Plus, his writing style is amazing. (I occasionally used it as a model for my own writing in Prose Style, a course I took last semester about how to construct the perfect sentence!)

YELLOW.

What book puts a smile on your face?

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray is just so witty and feminist and FUN! It’s probably one of the most over-the-top books I’ve ever read, which makes my smiles while reading it even bigger. This book has so many POV characters that there is never a dull moment: There’s always something going on and it’s usually completely silly!

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I’m tagging:

• Kate @ The Magic Violinist
• Boquinha & Dr. Mark @ Sushi and Pizza
• Orphu @ A Mirror Made of Words
• Evi @ Adventuring Through Pages
• Eve @ Twist in the Taile
• whimsywriter3 @ Rambling Writer
• Matt @ The Little Engine That Couldn’t
• Alex Brant @ Miss Alexandrina
• Shanti & Shar @ Virtually Read
• Holly @ Nut Free Nerd
• Sara @ Freadrom Library
• Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense
• Alli @ Eclectic Alli 
• Jolien @ The Fictional Reader
• Mahima @ The Controversies

And as always, feel free to participate whether or not I tagged you. (Or ignore this tag, if you so choose.)

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How has your spring been so far? Have you had nice weather? Read any good books lately?