Thursday Tags: Ultimate Book Tag

I saw this tag at The Book Babe's Reads.  This tag was created by Megan on Goodreads!

Questions:
1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?
No, I actually really enjoy reading in the car.

2. Which author's writing style is completely unique to you and why?
Ted Dekker's writing style is completely different than a lot of other fantasy and Christian fiction authors that I have read.  First off, numerous books written by Dekker are tied together eventually (see the picture below).  Minor characters in one series become major characters in another series.  Four series and five standalones that he has written before are tied together.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Dekker

Furthermore, he is incredible at adding suspense in books.  It does not take me long to finish one of his books because they are so action packed and suspenseful.

3. Harry Potter Series or the Twilight Saga? Give 3 points to defend your answer.
If you have read my blog before, you probably know my answer.  Harry potter is one of my favorite series.  I am currently re-reading this series.  One of my favorite things about J.K. Rowling's writing style is that she almost never includes anything insignificant in her books; everything has a meaning.  For instance the notebook in the Chamber of Secrets was mentioned in later books and had a significant purpose.  I will not mention the purpose because I want to keep this discussion spoiler-free.  Another reason that I enjoy the Harry Potter series so much is that Rowling is inovative.  She created a whole new sport, granted it is the combination of a gazillion other sports.  She invented the idea of a horcrux.  She created so many other things in that series also.  Finally, most characters in the Harry Potter series I loved or loved to hate.  None of the characters drove me nuts like they did in the Twilight series.  Bella was incredibly annoying!


4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what is it in (besides books...)?
I am in college and so a book bag is a necesity.  I not only have the books for class, but also leisure books.  I usually have my kindle, an umbrella, and school supplies (like pencils and pens).

5. Do you smell your books?
Yes! I love the smell of new books.

6. Books with or without little illustrations?
I love both.  As you probably know, I am a huge fan of graphic novels.

7. What book did you love while reading but discovered later it wasn't quality writing? (Ex. I read Twilight before I read HP and thought the writing was amazing but read HP and now think Twilight is a little bit of a joke.)
I am not enjoying the Harry Potter series as much as I did the first time I read it.  I still love the series, but I am finding that the writing style in the earlier books in the series is a bit simple, but I think that is because I am reading the series at an older age.

8. Do you have any funny stories involving books from your childhood? Please share!
Not that I can think of...

9. What is the thinnest book on your shelf?

 
Hide and Watch by Jill Hicks Lawson is the thinniest book on my shelf with 76 pages. 











10. What is the thickest book on your shelf?

A compilation of the Circle series (Books 0-3) by Ted Dekker is the thickest book on my shelf at 1600 pages.


 










11. Do you write as well as read? Do you see yourself in the future as being an author?
I am writing a Christian fiction novel and a Christian fantasy novel, but I have not written much of either of them just yet.

12. When did you get into reading?
I have loved reading for as long as I can remember.

13. What is your favorite classic book?

1984 by George Orwell is probably my favorite classic.

 










14. In school was your best subject Language Arts/English?
No, my best subject was math.

15. If you were given a book as a present that you had read before and hated...what would you do?
I would keep it and try to read it again.  Maybe I would have a different perspective this time.

16. What is a lesser known series that you know of that is similar to Harry Potter or the Hunger Games?The Stones of Power by Eric Buffington is similar.  I have only read the first book, The Exile.

 










17. What is a bad habit you always do (besides rambling) while blogging?
Procrastinate...

18. What is your favorite word?
God

19. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above?
Book nerd and video game geek :D

20. Vampires or Fairies? Why?
Fairies are less gory :)

21. Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?

I would have to pick angels.  I just read a cool book about angels called Amity of the Angelmen by T.C. Slonaker. (Review coming soon).

 









22. Spirits or Werewolves? Why?
I do not really read books with either.

23. Zombies or Vampires?
I do not really read books with either.

24. Love Triangle or Forbidden Love
Love triangle!

25. AND FINALLY: Full on romance books or action-packed with a few love scenes mixed in?
Action with some clean romance 

Thursday Tags: Harry Potter Tag

Source: http://www.franklintwp.org/blog/index.php/staff-pick-of-the-week-the-harry-potter-series/

Since Harry Potter is one of my favorite fantasy series, I wanted to do a Harry Potter tag this week.  I found this tag on the blog "Book Lover".

1. Favorite book?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is my favorite book in this series.  I have read it over 5 times.

2. Least favorite book? 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was not as appealing to me as the rest of the series.  I am not really sure why.

3. Saddest death?
Dobby was definitely the death that makes me cry just thinking about it.  Can I have a tissue?


4. Favorite character?
This is a hard one.  I think I would say Luna Lovegood.  Dumbledore, Dobby, and Hermione are all close choices too.



5. What would your Patronus be?
I think that it would either be a horse or an owl.



6. If you could have the Resurrection Stone, Invisibility Cloak or the Elder Wand which one would you choose?
Invisibility cloak maybe.  I could stay in the bookstore for hours after it's closed reading :)


7. What House would you be in?

Hufflepuff!!

8. Favourite subject in Hogwarts?
I think that would be Quidditch.  Although I do not like sports in real life too much, I think that I would enjoy learning Quidditch.

9. Have you played any of the video games?
I have only played the Sorcerer's stone on PS1 and the Chamber of Secrets on the computer.


10. If you were on the Quiddich team which position would you play?
Probably the Chaser.  I would like to say the Beater because I love baseball, but I cannot imagine throwing a Bludger at anyone...



11. Were you happy with the book’s ending?
I loved the ending!


12. How much does Harry Potter mean to you?
I have always enjoyed the books.  It is probably one of the best pieces of fiction there is.

Thursday Tags: Reading Habits

I found this tag over at Book Junkies. This tag was created by BethJune327 on Youtube. As usual, I tag everyone!  Add links in the comments below.



Question #1: Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
I love reading on the couch or in my bed.  I also read outside sometimes or in the car.  I basically read anywhere.

    

Question #2: Bookmark or a random piece of paper?

If I have a bookmark handy, I will use one.  Otherwise, I just grab whatever I can find to use as a bookmark.

 

Question #3: Can you stop reading anytime you want or do you have to stop at a certain page, chapter, part, ect.?

I usually stop reading at the end of a chapter just because it is easier to remember what is going on the next time that I pick up a book.

Question #4: Do you eat or drink while reading?

I will drink water sometimes when I am reading, but usually I am too afraid I will spill something on my nice pretty book to eat or drink while reading.

Question #5: Can you read while listening to music/watching TV?

I love reading while music is playing.  I can rarely read in a quiet environment.

    
Question #6: One book at a time, or several at once?

I always read several books at one time unless I am SUPER interested in a book.

    
Question #7: Reading at home or everywhere?

I read everywhere.

Question #8: Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently in my head.  I cannot comprehend well when I or anyone else reads out loud.


Question #9: Do you read ahead or skip pages?

I can never skip anything.  I would not want to miss anything in a book, unless it is a text book of course :)

    
Question #10: Breaking the spine or keeping it new?

Keeping it new.  I love my books to be in pristine shape.


Question #11: Do you write in books?
 
I only write in text books and that still feels wrong to me.

Thursday Tags: Questions About Books

I found this tag over at Lauren Reads YA.  I am going to tag EVERYONE on this tag, so don't forget to add links to your posts in the description or put your answers in the comments.

1. What is your favourite book?
Does the Bible count as just one book?  If not, the book of Esther from the Bible :)

2. Who is your favourite author?
I have several.  Ted Dekker, J.K. Rowling, Jenny Nimmo (Charlie Bone series), Neal Shusterman, William Sirls, Cidney Swanson, Kasie West (can you judge an author by only one book read?), Scott Westerfeld, and Marissa Meyer are some of my favorites.

3. What genre do you prefer?
 I read a lot of YA, especially paranormal and fantasy.  I read some YA contemporary.  I also like christian fiction (adult and YA), christian fantasy, and christian inspirational.  I also read some christian historical fiction.  Basically, anything PG :)

4. What is your favourite book series?

Of all time?  Probably Harry Potter. 

5. What books did you hate reading in school?

I love reading, but when it is required it is not as interesting to me.  I never hate reading, but I did not like required reading in school.

6. What is the first book you remember reading as a child?

Anything Dr. Seuss!

7.  Bookstores or libraries?

I love both!  If I had mony to spend, I would buy a lot more books than I do.  I love libraries though because I can read a book and not feel like I am wasting my money if I do not enjoyt the book.  Oftentimes, I just buy the books that I know that I will reread.
 

8.  How many books do you own?

Too many to count... probably around 100 or more.
 

9. Do you read before bed? 

Sometimes

10. What is your most comfortable reading position?

Sitting

11. What is the most recent book you read?

The last book I finished was Death Note Volume 3.

12. What quote from any book will you never forget? Why is it significant?

Mostly, I only remember Bible verses (Jeremiah 29:11, John 3:16, ect.).

13. Science Fiction or Fantasy?

Can I pick both?  I am going to say both.

14. What books do you regret reading?

Anything not PG rated I will not finish reading.
 

15. How large is your bookshelf? 

I have a lot of small bookshelves.

16. On average, how many books do you read per year?

Last year, I read 58 books towards my Goodreads goal of 75 books.  This year, I hope to read 75 books.  So far, I have read 49.

17. What book can you read hundreds of times and never get tired of? 

The Bible

18. Do you like to read outside?

Yes

19. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from a book?

There are many lessons that I have learned from the Bible.  Mainly, that God's love is incredible and there is always hope.  From other books, the biggest lesson that I have learned is that friendship is an incredible thing that you should always be grateful for.

20. Of the past year, what is the greatest book you’ve read? 

The best book that I have read in 2014 is either The Exile by Eric Buffington, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, or Pivot Point by Kasie West.  Yes, I am very indecisive.

Thursday Tags: Opposites Book Tag

First, I want to say that I am sorry that I have not been active on my blog lately.  College finals are killer.  I am happy to say that that I am excited I will begin to be more active this summer.  Next week is the Bout of Books 10 read-a-thon.  If you haven't signed up yet, you should :)  Check out my previous post here for more information about this read-a-thon.  This will be the first read-a-thon that I have done and I am so excited.

Moving on to this weeks tag which is the Opposites Book Tag.  I found this tag over at Bookables.  Here is the original video.

1. First book in your collection and last book in you bought

 I believe that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first book that I bought that I still own.

Pivot Point by Kasie West was the last book that I purchased.  I have read this book and I loved it.  I read this as part of the Epic Recs program.  Look for a review soon!











 2.  Cheap book and an expensive book

I got this book at Goodwill for less than a dollar.  My review for this book is here.

This is the complete set of the Circle books by Ted Dekker including the prequel, Green.  I spent about $35 on this book because it was on sale. Originally it was $50.

 










3.  A book with a male protagonist and a book with a female protagonist

I just recently read this book and you can find my review here. The protagonist is Johnis, a young boy who have been chosen to become part of the Forest Guard in this Christian fantasy world.

This is the second book in the rippler series by Cidney Swanson.  The protagonist in this series is Samantha Ruiz, a girl with the ability to become invisible.  My review for this book is here.











4.  A book you read fast and a book that took you too long to read

 This book I read almost in one sitting.  It is so good!  This is a Christian fiction book about a boy that believes that God doesn't love him because he has suffered so much and his discovery that God really cares and loves to speak to us.  You can find my review of this book here.

This book has taken me forever to read.  It is so full of detail that I can only read a little bit at a time.  I keep putting the book down and I have still not been able to finish it.
 











5. A pretty cover and an ugly cover

This is a completely gorgeous cover!  Purple is my favorite color and I love the dress that she is wearing.  Honestly, I requested this book for review because I loved the cover.  I will most likely buy this book soon!  You can find my review of this book here.


 






I hate to say that a cover is ugly, but this cover just does not give this book justice.  This is an great fantasy novel, but the cover just does not work for me.  As I was doing this tag, I realized that I have not reviewed this book on my blog.  I will be posting a review very soon.












6. A national book and an international book (I took this to mean a book written by an author from my country and one that was not from my country)

This book was written by Sheila Cragg who is an American.  This is a great Christian Nonfiction book.  Here is my review of this book.

This book was written by C.S. Lewis, who was born in Ireland.  This is part of the Chronicles of Narnia series.  Check out my review of this book here.  











7.  A thick book and a thin book

This is the largest book in the Harry Potter series (and the largest book that I own) at a total of 870 pages.

 This is the shortest book that I own at a total of 188 pages.  This is a great Christian Nonfiction novel.  Here is my review of this book.













8.  A way too romantic book and an action book

This book is part of a clean adult romance novella series.  I wouldn't say it has too much romance, but it is really cheesy.  You can find my review here.

This is a book filled with action and adventure.  It does have some romance in it, but not much.  You can find my review here.













 9.  A book that made you happy and a book that made you sad 

 This book is so cute and sweet.  It is a great summer read that I read last summer and it made me so happy!  Here is my review of this book.

 








This book made me cry at several points.  It is a great read filled with both happy and sad moments.  Here is my review of this book.














8. A fiction book and a nonfiction book

 Here is a great fiction YA paranormal book.  You can find my review of this book here.

 Here is a great Christian Inspirational Nonfiction book.  You can find my review of this book here.

Thursday Tags: The Book Cake Tag

This week's tag is entitled "The Book Cake Tag".  This is a tag where you relate books to ingredients in a cake.  I found this tag over at Ariel Bissett's Booktube Channel. You should go check out all the amazing things that Ariel is doing on her channel, but you should also check out the video of the creator of the tag, suddenlylorna.

1. Self-rising Flour: a book that started out slow, but ended up exciting

I did not enjoy this book at first, but I received a copy of it through GoodReads FirstReads and so I continued reading the book until the end.  I really enjoyed the last half of the book.  Michelle Barker just took her time at the beginning of the book to do some world building and I respect that.

2. Butter: (the richness in the cake): a book that has a rich plot

This book has the best plot of any book that I have read in a long time.  Addison has the ability to see into the future and see the what would happen if she makes one choice compared to another choice.  Addison's parents are getting a divorce and she has to choose which parent she wants to live with.  The book chapters alternate between what would happen if she chose to live with her mom versus what would happen if she chose to live with her dad.  Although the alternating chapters were confusing at first, I got accustomed to this quickly and I really enjoyed this book!

3. Eggs: a book that you thought would be bad but turned out to be really good

The premise of this book is really dark.  The kingdom that Alexa lives in chooses to rape young girls in order to increase the numbers of their army.  Although this premise is really disturbing, that is not the main plot of the book.  Alexa is forced to dress as a man and serve in the king's army in order to avoid being raped.  Alexa defends her kingdom even though she does not like some of the things that her kingdom does to their citizens.  Alexa gets abducted by a neighboring kingdom and this is when the book really starts to pick up.  The world and the character building in this book are amazing and I am glad that I stuck with this book until the end.

4. Sugar: a sweet book

If you have been following my blog recently, you know how much I have enjoyed "A Ripple Effect Romance" novella series.   This is a clean romance series where a minor character from each book is chosen to be a mjor character in the next book.  These are super sweet cheesy romance stories that I really have enjoyed.

5. Icing: covers a lot of elements that I look for in a good book

Ted Dekker has a way of writing that is like no other author that I have ever known.  If you have ever read any of his books. you know that he is the king of suspense and plot development.  I love when authors use suspense well!  Ted Dekker also has great character building skills.  The characters in his novels are very dynamic.  Ted Dekker also adds a touch of fantasy in his Lost Books  series and oh man I do love fantasy!  Dekker also is very vocal about his faith and includes symbolism in many of his novels.

6. Sprinkles: the series that you keep coming back to that always makes you happy

This was a hard category to choose a series for, but I ended up choosing the Harry Potter series.  I grew up reading this series and it always brings back a lot of memories for me.  My favorite thing about this series is how J.K. Rowling never writes anything into her stories that are not important.  It seems like everything has a purpose to her stories.  For example, the book that was stabbed with the basilisk fang in the second book had a lot more meaning than was originally known by the reader.  Rowling's books are like puzzles and this keeps me coming back to this series to see if I can find anything else in the series that I did not notice before.

Thursday Tags: Top 5 Most Embarrassing Unread Books

I would like to start a weekly section entitled "Thursdays Tags" where I do some of those popular tags about books that are floating around the internet.  The first tag that I am doing is my top 5 most embarrassing unread books.  I found this tag over at For the Love of Books.  So here it is in no particular order.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia Series

I am working on this one currently.  As a Christian and a fanatic about children's fiction (escpecially when it involves fantasy), I cannot believe that I have not read this whole series.  I am working on it though.







2. Cinder

This is a fairytale retelling and it has cyborgs! Why have I not read this yet? I have been wanting to read this book for over a year now because I have heard so many good reviews over this series, but I haven't gotten my hands on this one yet.  The key word here is yet.








3. The Darkest Minds

The fact that this seems to be dystopian and it involves children with powers they cannot control is the central reason that I have to have this book.  I want to read it so bad and it doesn't help that everyone has such positive reviews of it!







4. Any Brandon Sanderson novel

I absolutely adore fantasy novels and yet somehow I have not read any of Brandon Sanderson's novels.  This has to be fixed soon!









5. Fangirl

This story involves a college girl how is a fanatic about a series that is similar to Harry Potter.  I am in college. I love Harry Potter.  I must read this book!







I
f you have read any of these books, comment below on what you thought about them.  I would love to hear your opinions.  What are your most embarrassing unread books?