The Christmas Stocking tag

A Christmas tag?! YES! This one has been created by the very lovely Kate over at Reading Through Infinity and I can’t wait to take part. Thank you to both Kate and Jenn from Jenniely who both tagged me to answer these questions.

Rules

• Link to the person who tagged you
• Link to Kate, as she’d love to read your answers
• Answer all 10 questions, choosing books for each theme
• Tag five people to do this, I tag Connie Reads, What Vicky Read, TackFiction, Northern Plunder and Fiction Tea.

An orange! Which book is refreshing and vibrant, both inside and out?

One book immediately comes to mind for this one, Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. This is an excellent, creative and inspiring novel. It made me feel a lot of things and I think it teaches some very important lessons too!

The next thing you see is a bag of chocolate coins. (Yum) Which book have you recently bought that was expensive, but totally worth the high price?

Both of my Alice in Wonderland and Brother’s Grimm leather bound penguin editions are my pride and joy. They are stunning books and the start of my collection of these designs. Honestly, have you ever seen such an elegant and beautiful book?

You also pull out a bath bomb. Tell us about a book that had explosive action scenes.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas, man that end fight seen was amazing! I love this series and for me, it kept getting better and better. I was hooked on every word by the end and certainly would say it deserves a bath bomb worthy place for this answer.

Next is a pack of playing cards. Which series won you over?

The To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series by Jenny Han. I had this one set one my shelf for AGES and it took the Netflix film’s release for me to actually pick it up. Well I can tell you that when I did, I fell in love with it and binged the trilogy in a week. It is such a cute and cosy story, the perfect easy reading experience in the summer time!

You also get a candle. Which character is a symbol of hope in their story?

Sydney Clarke in Vengeful by V. E. Schwab, she certainly becomes a beacon of light in this series. I love her character and I think her childhood innocence plays a big part in who she becomes in this story. For Victor, Mitch and Dol , I think she is certainly a symbol of hope.

There are socks inside too. Is there a book that you think really encompasses all the distinctive tropes of its genre?

The Secret of Spellshadow Manor by Bella Forrest, a book that I don’t think gets talked about enough online. It’s kind of Harry Potter esk, a magic school, a group of friends, a danger, twisted characters, a dangerous plot for the students. Have I listed enough obvious tropes yet? Really though, this is a very enjoyable read!

There’s also a notebook. Which author’s writing process do you find most interesting/inspiring?

Victoria Schwab because she is amazing and her writing is magical. I think because of her large social media presence too, I really feel involved as a reader in her writing process, the ups and the downs. She writes from the heart and she puts her all into everything she does, she is who I would like to become one day… I mean not literally, I don’t want to steal her body, but I’d like to aspire to be like her.

To go with the notebook, there’s a fancy pen. Is there a book or a series that you’d change if you’d written it yourself?

The Mortal Instruments series. I would remove Jace.

There’s also a small bedside clock. Which book took you a long time to pick up but was worth it in the end?

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, I really have no idea why it took me so long to pick up the first book in this series. It was honestly excellent and I can’t recommend it highly enough, it brings a very magical feel to exploring literature.

Your pile is getting really big. You reach in to pull out the last gift and it’s… a lump of coal? You’re a little disappointed. But you look closer and realise there’s a seam running through the coal. You crack it open and sitting inside is a tiny golden snitch. Tell us about a book that surprised you in some way.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt surprised me because I thought it would be a very heavy going book. I expected it to take me weeks to get through, but instead I zoomed through it and really enjoyed it. I thought the writing style was just right for the tone of the book and it didn’t drag at all.

So that’s it for this tag, it was fun to answer some Christmassy questions and now I’m all excited for my stocking on Christmas day… especially if it contains golden snitch in it!