Hello loves!
So I saw this lovely tag by Book Browsing Blog on YouTube on the wonderful A Home for the Lost’s Chanel ( go check her out, not only is she a wonderful human but I love her vibe) and while she didn’t tag anyone specifically she tagged anyone who wanted to give it a go and as musical lover I just had to take up her offer!
Without further ado, lets get on with the tag…
Hamilton, Satisified: pick a book with an unsatisfying ending/ you would like to see a sequel for
Firstly, Hamilton is a masterpiece and this song is just incredible and always hits me in the feels. Poor Angelica, she really went through it. I was super lucky to see it love and now it’s on Disney + I actually might cry (well I cry when I watch it but you know…)
Secondly, the book I’ve picked is Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney.
I know that lots of people love this book but I just couldn’t get into it and the ending just left me unsatisfied. For those people who haven’t read it among other things it follows an affair between two characters and the fact that after everything they went through together they just gave in and got back together…ughhh. I just didn’t enjoy it as an ending to what was otherwise a really interesting book.
I have mentioned this book before as I was underwhelmed by it overall, so I guess the whole book left me unsatisfied and not just the ending.
Everybody is Talking About Jamie, Everybody is Talking about Jamie: pick a book you want to read because of the hype
So I have read lots of books because of the hype that surrounds them and they pretty much always live up to my expectation.
So the book that I really want to read all of the books by V.E.Schwab. I see these books everywhere and they really intrigue me so I have added them all to my TBR list on goodreads which I really need to go through (maybe a down the TBR down needs to happen at some point).
If you’ve read them let me know in the comments below and tell me what you’ve thought as well as any other hyped books that I should read.
Anastasia, Once Upon A December: pick a book with flashbacks or an intense backstory
Once again, I love this musical so much. I found it after I’d seen the movie and I can say that even though I haven’t seen it, i definitely prefer the musical version of this story.
So, I don’t actually remember reading any books with flashbacks so I’m going for the second half of the prompt and focusing on a book with intense backstory.
And that book is… Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi. Haven written the title I realised that it has flashbacks as well so let’s go! The backstory of this is intense as it covers a genocide and vanishing of magic in order to fuel the reign of the mad king who is the villain of the story and I am very excited to see what happens in the sequel!
For my full review check out my earlier blog post on it!
Be More Chill, Michael in the Bathroom: if you were to hide in the bathroom at a party, what book would you want to have with you?
I haven’t really listened to Be More Chill properly but I love this song so much. I meant the teen angst, the anxiety and the vocals, oof.
Now, onto my answer…
Any of the Ruby Redfort books by Lauren Child, but most likely Look Into My Eyes (book 1).
So if you’ve been following me on here since the beginning you will know that I reread the Ruby Redfort series at the start of lockdown and fell in love with it all over again. I can read without paying that much attention and IM sure bathrooms at a party are very loud so I would not likely be able to concentrate properly. Plus this book comforts me and reminds me of my childhood as I used to be obsessed with this series when I was like 11 or 12.
Six, Ex Wives: pick a book that is a retelling of a famous story/historical event e.t.c
Six is honestly incredible, I have been lucky enough to see it twice and I just want to go and watch it again when lockdown is over and it comes back to Edinburgh on tour. (Imagine me freaking out because I love this musical soooo much)
And the book I’m going to choose is The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller. I’m sure that you’ve seen this all over the book side of the internet and the hype s truly well deserved because Madeline Miller is a genius and her retelling of the Trojan War from Patroclus’ view is just beautiful.
As well as a well crafted retelling you have the bonus of the relationship ship between Patroclus and Achilles and Miller takes the gay undertones from, well everywhere and makes them pretty much front and centre and I love it so much! I definitely need to read this again at some point, as well as buying myself a copy as the copy I read was loaned from my local library.
The Last Five Years, Still Hurting: pick a book that hurt me and stuck with me
I love the movie version of this musical, it’s beautiful and has Anna Kendrick in it so go watch it!
A book that hurt me is The Versions of Us, by Laura Bennet. This is the first book to make me cry and that ending destroyed me. If you’ve read it you know.
Also, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak had me crying at that ending too, it was just so harrowing and beautiful! Against if you’ve read it then yo understand what I’m talking about.
Both of these had very intense endings that just destroyed me and will stick with me for a very long time.
Come From Away, Me and the Sky: pick a book that features your dream job
I will admit it, I haven’t listened to all of Come From Away yet but I promise that I’ll get round to it…
So I’m not actually sure what my dream job is so…. this prompt is very hard to pick. I guess my dream job is either working in a museum, teaching or being an academic. If you know any books about museum curators or collectors please drop them in the comments bellow!
However, I am currently reading The Crowns of Croswald, by D.E.Night and the main character is training to be a scrivenist which is sort of a combination of all those dream jobs so this will have to do.
Newsies, Santa Fe: pick a book that features a place you want to visit
Another musical that I need to listen to or watch the pro shot on Disney + at least. But, like the last prompt I want to go visit so many places as well as going back to places that I have been before. Basically I have serious wanderlust. But, one of the places that I really want to go is New York City so my choice is The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan.
Firstly, my love for PJO is literally infinite and I am so hyped for the Disney + TV series to come out because I know that they are going to be absolutely incredible. And also I have wanted to visit NYC for literally forever and The Last Olympian is set around the Empire State Building as well as the city of Manhattan and covers the final battle of the series against the Titan Kronos. It’s an epic ending set in an awesome city that I just want to visit so much.
Waitress, When He Sees Me: pick a book you fell in love with at first sight
So I’m sure you’ve got the gist by now but I love this musical so much and I was fortunate to see it in the West End before it closed, I went last summer and basically sobbed my way through the entire show and got judged by the small child next to me for it.
Anyways, the book I have picked for this prompt is The Familiars, by Stacy Halls. I saw this book in the Waterstones in Edinburgh and fell in love with the cover, which led me to look at the blurb and add it to my wish list to buy it for myself at Christmas. The story of this book was wonderful and a little bit intense at parts but nonetheless amazing and I really want to read her other book, The Foundling!
Dear Evan Hansen, Disappear: pick a backless book that you think is under hyped
Another show that I have watched and sobbed at. The second act hit me hard man! It was also my first ever stage door experience. If you want to see more of me gushing over this musical check out the theatre highlight on my instagram (put below).
And I’m not actually sure what a backless book is but I assume that it’s a book without the blurb on the back, so excuse me while I run around in search of one on my shelves lol.
And I’m back with my pick! She Is Not Invisible, by Marcus Sedgwick. This book is about the power of coincidence and a girls search for her dad in NYC ( I could’ve picked this one for the Newsies prompt). As a kid I loved this book so much and reread it all of the time and I never hear anyone talk about it and they should it’s awesome and criminally underhyped!
Legally Blonde, What You Want: discuss something you want to see more of in books
So I am actually fairly easy to please when it comes to books but there are a couple of things that I want to see more of.
Firstly, and fairly trivial, is ancient history as in the history not just the mythology. You guys should know by now that I love it so much and would love to see it portrayed in more mass media historical fiction books ( i know that there are series out there but I want more).
Secondly and much more seriously I want more representation in books. And that is any sort of representation, be it more BIIPOC rep or trans rep or LGBTQ+ rep or mental health rep or ND rep. As readers we need more repression in our characters because as much as I love all of my classic books my white authors, we should be diversifying our bookshelves and demanding more representation in books that are always in the mass market and all across the book internet. Not just because of recent issues concerning BLM and J.K.Rowling but just because it is the right thing to do.
Thank you so much for reading and thank you so much the wonderful A Home for the Lost for indirectly tagging me, I had such a great time.
Make sure to check out her video, instagram and twitter as well as the original video on Book Browsing Blog.
Stay safe, stay healthy and keep learning !
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