Friday 6 January 2012

30 days of books tag (in one post)!

I came across this 30 day challenge a while ago, but I decided to post it all in one day like a tag post!

I love reading; books immerse you in another world much more than films do- you have to actually use your imagination to picture scenes and characters, plus it really improves your vocabulary and spelling ability (I was SUCH a bookworm as a child- and I like to think that it helped me a lot- my reading age at 10 was 16+). One of my New Years resolutions is to read more books, so I thought I'd kick start my year of reading with a recap of all of my favourites (and not so favourites) in 30 questions :)


1) The best book you read last year.

This is a difficult one, I read Never Let Me Go, which I liked but I think I need a re-read to understand everything properly, but I think my favourite might be The Devil Wears Prada.

2) A book you've read more than 3 times.

There are quite a few books that fall into this category- like films I like to revisit my favourites on a fairly regular basis- Harry Potter books are probably my most read, but I also have very well used copies of the His Dark Materials trilogy, Bridget Jones's Diary (and the Edge of Reason) The Shopaholic novels, The Time Travellers Wife and Marley and Me.


3) Your favourite series.

I'd like to be able to say something more mature... but it's clearly Harry Potter!


4) Your favourite book of your favourite series.

The Goblet of Fire (4th book) for me it's got the right balance of fun and fighting evil- and I enjoy all the new characters for the world cup/ triwizard tournament. Perhaps I just like it because it's the longest book!





5) A book that makes you happy.

Marley and Me- this could probably go in the next catagory as well as there are some really sad moments that made me cry... but I dare anyone to read this and not laugh out loud at every other page!


6) A book that makes you sad.

The Time Travellers Wife, it's such a lovely story- but the ending it very sad and I cry buckets every time I read it. Another close contender is The Lovely Bones, a fantastic book! But again, very very sad parts (though you don't really expect a book about a dead girl to be overly cheery!) (the film adaptation is also great- both are worth a watch/read) To be perfectly honest though, I can and will cry at anything remotely sad- or happy- so it doesn't take much for me to class a book as sad!


7) Most underrated book.

I'm not sure about this one, I think Artemis Fowl is often written off as a children's book which is a shame (it's an awesome series) and I think people are generally too quick to dismiss books as 'chick lit', but sometimes they can be very well written (I love authors like Cecilia Aherne and Marian Keyes)


8) Most overrated book.

The Da Vinci Code- it was an OK book, but certainly not worth all that crazy hype!


9) A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving.

Oddly enough: Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. I got it as a present when my sister was born in October 1997; the book was only released in the June/July of that year and it wasn't at all well known but had just started to win some book awards (which was why my Granda picked it out for me) I read the first chapter and decided it was boring, so my mum sat me down and read it to me (she was determined that I should read it!) until Harry met Hagrid and things finally started to get interesting.


10) Your favourite classic book.

A toss up between Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice- I love them both equally :)


11) A book you hated.

To Kill a Mockingbird. I was forced to read this for GCSE English Literature and to be honest  I'm not really sure why, but really I hated it. I do, however, love the play and I've seen several film adaptations that are really good too :)


12) Your favourite book cover.

Oh darn, I really cannot decide.... Here's 3 of my faves:



13) Your favourite writer.

Aside from JK Rowling (I think Harry Potter has been the answer to enough of these questions...)  I really  enjoy Sophie Kinsella's writing (the author of the Shopaholic series) I love her style and her books make perfect beach reading :) I also like to use Becky Bloomwood as a role model, mostly of what NOT to do with my money...


14) Your favourite book by your favourite writer.

I think the first Shopaholic novel- Confessions of a Shopaholic (or The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic) is my favourite, but they're all really good.


15) Favourite male character.

Possibly Dumbledore, he's so wise and kind- though I guess he does have a darker side. I'm also a little bit in love with Snape (he's so missunderstood!) Mr Darcy (both the Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice versions...) and Henry in The Time Travellers Wife.


16) Favourite female character.

Lyra Belacqua (beautiful name too) in His Dark Materials- such a strong female lead, which makes a bit of a nice change really. Honourable mention also goes to Jane Eyre and Hermione Granger, who really reminds me of myself sometimes.


17) Favourite quote from a book.

I keep a little notebook by my bed in which I copy quotes into, so there are many favourites, but here are 3 classics....

'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of wife.' The classic opening line of Pride and Prejudice.

'Resolution #1: uggg - will obviously lose 20 lbs. #2: always put last night's pants in the laundry basket. Equally important: will find nice sensible boyfriend and stop forming romantic attachments to any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, sexaholics, commitment-phobics, peeping toms, megalomaniacs, emotional fuckwits, or perverts.' Words to live by, from Bridget Jones. 

' "I am the most miserable person who ever lived,” he said to the Lord Primus, when they stopped to feed the horses feedbags of damp oats. "You are young, and in love,” said Primus. “Every young man in your position is the most miserable young man who ever lived." ' A lovely quote from Stardust.


18) A book that dissapointed you.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. This is the book that the Wicked musical is based on, and having seen and adored the musical I was expecting good things from the book... alas no, the book is not great; it jumps around confusingly, spends way too long describing things in far too much detail (I'm not a fan of The Lord of the Rings for this reason) and has a really strange ending. Thankfully some genius still managed to come up with an amazing musical from it!


19) Favourite that has been turned into a film.

One question that I absolutely cannot answer Harry Potter to... the films are OK, but as adaptations of the books they are absolutely terrible. Anyway (rant over!) I've not yet managed to read the whole series (for reasons mentioned in the above question) but the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings are fantastic- Peter Jackson is a legend, and I can't wait for The Hobbit to come out :) Also, perhaps swaying my answer slightly....

 
*drooooool*


20) Favourite book illustrations.

The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshoppers Feast- the whole book is a visual feast, I only ever look at the pictures so I can't for the life of me remember any of the words in it! :)




21) Favourite book from your childhood.

But Not The Hippopotamus! I used to be able to recite the whole thing (though it is only a board book...)




22) Favourite book you own.

Erm... all of them! I don't own a book I don't like :)


23) A book you've wanted to read for a long time but still haven't.

Probably The Lord of the Rings. I'm about half way through Two Towers, but I find it really hard to read... I also really really want to read Wuthering Heights, The God Delusion and 1984 very soon too.


24) A book you wish more people would read.

How to Walk in High Heels (by Camilla Morton) is full of awesome life tips for girls- such as how to walk in high heels, how to get ready fast and how to change a light bulb and how to put up wallpaper. In a similar vein, he's just not that into you should probably be compulsory reading for any girl when she starts dating- it's brilliant!


25) The character you relate to the most.

Bridget Jones- I too am clumsy, always speak way before thinking and seem very prone to embarrassing situations... Unfortunately I've never had two guys fighting over me (especially not Colin Firth) but still, a girl can dream...


26) A book that changed your opinion about something.

I'm not really sure there is one- certainly not one that changed any opinions in a big way anyway.


27) The most surprising plot twist or ending.

P.J. Tracey's Dead Run- such a good crime thriller, sadly I don't think it's that well known- if you like crime thrillers you will love this!


28) Favourite book title.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. It doesn't say a thing about what the book is about, but it's fun and very intriguing :)


29) A book everyone hated but you liked.

Not sure there's a book for this category either.


30) Your favourite book of all time.

I think this has to be another Harry Potter, possibly the first one- as it marks the beginning of an amazing series.



So that's my book tag! Sorry it got so long, but I really did enjoy writing it (it took ages!) I tag all of you to answer the 30 questions too! Let me know if you do it :)


                                                                                      xGretalRabbitx

2 comments:

  1. Voila (: http://prysmatique.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/book-tag/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Woohoo! Rushing off to read it now :)
    xGretalRabbitx

    ReplyDelete

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