Oh hey, someone tagged me to do a tag post instead of me just deciding to do it on my own! Thank you so much to the wonderful Olivia from Purely Olivia for tagging me to do the A to Z Book Tag. Be sure to check out her tag post here!

Author you’ve read the most books from:

So Goodreads tells me this is Rick Riordan at 20 books (it’ll be 22 once I catch up on The Ship of the Dead and His Dark Prophecy), but I don’t think that’s entirely true. I actually think it’s a tossup between Jude Deveraux and Johanna Lindsey because they both have massive backlists and I read pretty much everything they ever wrote when I was in high school, but I haven’t gone back and entered them into my Goodreads. I would say I’ve ready at least 40 book a piece, so they’re probably the two authors I’ve read the most books from.

Best sequel:

Oh man. I think A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas is still standing out to me as one of the best sequels I’ve ever read. Maas just did such an amazing job twisting everything I thought I knew from the first book and developing her characters and their relationships. The whole thing was excellent and I’m really excited to go back and reread it now that the series is complete. The plan is to actually take my time reading it this time instead of racing to the end to find out what happens!

Currently reading:

I’ve been listening to Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand when I actually make it to the gym and really enjoy Edward Herrmann’s (Richard Gilmore) narration. I also started rereading Dangerous Books for Girls by Maya Rodale earlier this month for my book club this weekend, but I put it down and haven’t circled back yet. I should do that soon! I was enjoying it and am looking forward to discussing it with my book club.

Otherwise, though, I’m between books at the moment and haven’t quite decided what to pick up next. I should start Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano for Nonfiction November, but Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie and A Daring Arrangement by Joanna Shupe just showed up yesterday, and I’m kind of thinking of reading one of those really quickly before I settle into a nonfiction book. I also keep eyeing the last Magnus Chase book and am overdue to read it, so we’ll see what happens.

Drink of choice when reading:

I really enjoy making a pot of breakfast tea when I curl up with a book, though I’ve been doing a fair amount of oolong lately. I also enjoy a good glass of wine while reading, too.

E-reader or physical book:

Both! Don’t make me choose! I love reading physical books and always buy copies of my favorite books so I can put them on my shelves, but I would never give up my Kindle. It’s just too convenient to travel with a huge back catalogue on such a small device, and I love instantly downloading ebooks from the library and reading them right away on my Kindle.

Fictional character you would have dated:

Meh, I dislike questions like these. I have no interest in dating fictional characters. But I like how Olivia answered this question with some of her favorite book couples, so I’ll do the same. Some of my favorites include:

• Feyre and Rhys (A Court of Thorns and Roses)
• Charlotte and Piers (Do You Want to Start a Scandal)
• Cat and Griffin (A Promise of Fire)
• Katsa and Po (Graceling)
• Yelena and Valek (Poison Study)

Glad you gave this book a chance:

The Color Purple by Alice Walker. This doesn’t sound like the type of book I would normally like and I tend not to be a fan of classics, but I actually really enjoyed this when I read it for Banned Books Week in September. I still can’t get over how much I like this book and definitely recommend checking it out.

Hidden gem book:

Illegal Contact by Santino Hassell is a romance novel I’d love to see get more love (no pun intended). I really loved the chemistry and tension between Gavin and Noah and seriously can’t wait to see what Hassell does with the sequel.

In light of emerging information about Hassell’s inappropriate behavior, I no longer stand by this review of Illegal Contact. Please see this post for more details.

I also really like the Lumatere Chronicles, which starts with Finnikin of the Rock. I don’t see many people talking about this trilogy, but I thought the world of Lumatere was fascinating and I became so invested in the characters. The whole trilogy was excellent.

Important moment in your reading life:

Going to Sarah J. Maas’ signing for the Queen of Shadows book tour! It was my very first signing here in New York and really made me realize that pretty much all authors stop by New York for a signing at some point or another. I realize that you really don’t get to interact with authors much at these events because there are so many fans and it ultimately doesn’t matter that much if a book is signed or not, but attending these events and hanging out with a bunch of other bookish people is a lot of fun for me and I still think it’s pretty neat to get a book signed.

Another one that sticks out is getting my first Nancy Drew box set. I got it for my birthday one year and was surprised by how much I enjoyed the books. What I really remember, though, is the collecting fervor that this series inspired. You could buy sets of five shrink wrapped together at Sam’s Club, and I remember going to the book section every time we went for groceries and hunting through their selection to see if they had the missing sets that I needed. I did eventually collect all 56 that were in the yellow hardcovers at the time, and I still have them all!

Oh, and of course going to the midnight book releases for Harry Potter! Those were such an important part of my childhood and so much fun!

Just finished:

The Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown. I only intended to read the first book and figured I’d circle back to the other two eventually, but I wound up loving Red Rising so much that I had to immediately buy both sequels and binge the series.

Kind of books you won’t read:

I absolutely refuse to read horror. Nothing about scaring myself sounds fun. I’m also a bit skittish about a lot of literary fiction. I do read some, but I definitely have a limit. A lot of the times it’s too depressing for me, and I tend to find it rather esoteric and inaccessible.

Longest book you’ve read:

So I thought this might be a George R.R. Martin book; I only made it through A Storm of Swords, which clocks in at 973 pages in the hardcover edition. But it’s actually Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, which is 1168 in hardcover. Good thing I read both of those on my Kindle, huh?

Major book slump because:

I think I’m most likely to shy away from reading when I’m in the midst of a book I think I should read but am not particularly enjoying, like a nonfiction book or a classic. It starts to feel too much like a chore to pick up, so I watch tv and stuff instead because I don’t want to read that book. When I realize that’s what’s happening, though, a lot of the time just picking up a romance novel or other fast read gets me back in the groove and helps me go back and power through the initial book (or convince me to DNF it).

Number of bookcases you own:

Technically four. I have two full-size Ikea Billy bookshelves and two of the narrower ones. One of each is in my living room and my bedroom.

One book you’ve read multiple times:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. This was one of my favorite books growing up and I easily reread it 20 plus times. It’s probably my most reread book.

Preferred place to read:

It kind of depends on the day and my mood, but I’m usually either on the couch or else curled up under the covers in bed. I’d love to have a reading nook one day, but that day is not going to be in a one-bedroom apartment.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

I’m actually not super into quotes. I know a lot of people love tracking them and using them in artwork, etc. as inspiration, but I’ve just never been interested. So I can’t say I have a favorite quote from a book or a quote that particularly inspires me, but I do love the opening line of Pride and Prejudice because they’re so iconic and funny and I know I’m about to settle into a good book.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

Reading regret:

I really regret not joining Goodreads sooner! Or at least keeping some sort of reading log so I could see what I’ve all read and when and what I thought of it. I really enjoy being able to look back on everything now that I’ve started tracking and seriously wish I had all of that data over my lifespan.

Series you started and need to finish:

I’m actually planning a post about this because there are a bunch of series I’m behind on at the moment! The one I probably need to finish first given the hype around it is the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. I read The Final Empire and liked it but didn’t love it, so I’m not really in a rush to continue the series, but I hear such great things about his books that I’m eager to read more.

Three of your all-time favorite books:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Unapologetic fangirl for:

I think this question is meant to be geared more towards specific books and series that might get a lot of flak but are still popular, but I’m actually going to pick a genre: romance.

I understand that not everyone is interested in reading books where the relationship is the central part of the story, but I don’t understand why people need to make fun of the genre or the people who read them. Sure, there are some romance novels that are just as bad as society paints them out to be, but there’s a lot more depth and variety to the genre than most people give it credit for.

Fortunately romance readers have been making progress towards breaking the stigma surrounding the genre, but it’s definitely a stigma that still exists and is one I try not to feed into by refusing to read romance novels in public or mention them on my blog.

Very excited for this release:

My most anticipated release right now is probably Down by Contact by Santino Hassell. Illegal Contact was probably one of my favorite romances of this year and the preview for its sequel sounded so good. I want it to be published already!

Worst bookish habit:

I think my worst bookish habit has been succumbing to the hype around certain YA books being published. Every time a book blogger or booktuber talks about the latest new releases, I get super excited to read them and add them to my Goodreads tbr. I’ve noticed a few times when going back through my Goodreads, though, that I haven’t been blown away by a lot of the YA novels that get super hyped online. There are so many books I want to read and know are good for me to waste my time on mediocre books, so I want to start being more discerning about which hyped YA books I pick up.

X marks the spot: Start at the top left of your bookshelf and pick the 27th book:

So the very top shelf for the bookshelves in the living room is actually my husband’s shelf. Since this is my blog and not his, I’m going to skip his shelf and start with the next one, which is mine. Counting 27 books, that gets us to my Penguin Drop Caps edition of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. I haven’t read this and don’t really have any plans to as I largely consider my Drop Caps to be decorative (they spell out my and my husband’s last names). So if we skip the drop caps and count books I’ve actually read, then we end on The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean, which is a really fun and enjoyable historical romance.

Your latest book purchase:

I bought a copy of Tortall: A Spy’s Guide by Tamora Pierce at a book signing on Monday (that’s right, I got my books signed by Tamora Pierce herself!!). While that’s my most recent purchase, I just had three more books show up yesterday. I bought Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie over the weekend so I can see the movie during Thanksgiving break, and A Daring Arrangement by Joanna Shupe and The Sea King by C.L. Wilson are both preorders that were just released and delivered yesterday.

The latest book that kept you up way too late:

The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. I mentioned earlier that I bought the sequels as soon as I finished the first book, but I also might have borrowed the ebook copies from the library, too, so I could read them on my phone after my husband went to sleep…