Book Tag! Look What You Made Me Do

I wasn’t tagged for this, but I first saw it on Emma’s blog (The Terror of Knowing) and thought it seemed like loads of fun. It was created by Caitlynn at Thrice Read.

I actually started to do this like a month ago, but I found my mind going totally blank on a couple of these, so I thought about it for a while before diving in. I’m not a huge Taylor fan (I didn’t really like her music before 1989 came out), but I’m kind of a little obsessed with this song and can’t get it out of my head. It might not be the greatest song ever, but it’s definitely catchy.

“I don’t like your little games” | Favourite villain

This one is so hard because I’m a sucker for a good villain. I think I’m going to go with the Darkling from the Grisha trilogy, though.

“I’ve got a list of names and yours is in red underlined” | A character with a glorious hit list

This is the one I was totally stuck on because I just couldn’t think of any. Does Kaz Brekker from the Six of Crows duology count?

“Ooh, look what you made me do” | Best revenge plot

Even though I liked the movie way more than the book, I’ve got to go with The Princess Bride for this one. Inigo Montoya, you guys ❤

“All I think about is karma … maybe I got mine but you’ll all get yours” | A character who got what was coming to ’em

Like Emma, I’m going with Bellatrix Lestrange. She was literally the first character who popped into my head for this one.

“I’ll be the actress staring in your bad dreams” | A character who had to put on a role (bad or good)

This is another one I had trouble with, but I think I’m going with Mathilde from Fates and Furies. (I’m not 100% sure she counts, but I think so.) Just…wow.

“I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me” | Favourite anti-hero

Lestat de Lioncourt from the Vampire Chronicles. I gave up on this series after book 4, but I still love Lestat.

“I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, cause she’s dead!” | A character with the most growth

This one is so hard because I keep thinking of tons of characters, then almost immediately forgetting them. Does Ronan Lynch from The Raven Cycle count? I feel like he (my precious book child) counts.

Hop over to Caitlynn’s & Emma’s blogs to check out their answers, and if you want to do this tag, consider yourself tagged by me. If you do it, let me know and I’ll check it out 🙂

T5W: Paranormal Creatures

T5W is a weekly meme created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey, now hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. You can check out the goodreads group to learn more.

October 18th: Books Featuring [paranormal creature of your choice]
–Here is the previously mentioned paranormal creature topic. This topic will revolve around one type of paranormal creature of your choice. So books featuring vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, demons, fae, zombies, etc.

You guys, this almost turned into “Top 25 Wednesday” 😂 I was trying to narrow down what creature I wanted to feature, so I listed the ones I knew I’d read quite a few books about and it was 5 (lumping weres and shifters together because I’ve read some that had both, and most of the ones I’ve read with only one or the other were…disappointing). Then I ended up with at least 5 books from each of those.

Basically, it was really freaking hard to make this list and I’ve been working on it all month I started to do vampires because it was just so easy (I came up with a dozen vampire books/series I’ve liked before stopping), but…I decided to do ghosts.

In no particular order, let’s get to the books/series…

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling– I mean, come on! I couldn’t not include this series. Nearly Headless Nick, Moaning Myrtle, The Bloody Baron, The Grey Lady, Professor Binns… Plus Peeves, if you include poltergeists. (I’m still mad about him being cut from the movies, dang it.)

M.R. James’s ghost stories– I didn’t specify a book here because there are a few, and most of them have most of the same stories…I think (This is the one I read, though.) I do remember really, really liking them, though. I’m a big fan of classic ghost stories.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill– The movie was good, but the book is better (as usual). I loved this one because, again, I love classic ghost stories, and Susan Hill did a great job slowly but steadily building suspense and creating a great, super creepy atmosphere. I think I slept with a light on for a week after reading it. I think this was written in the 1980s, but it really has the feel of older ghost stories.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman– I just read this one and…it wasn’t my favorite. I liked it, but I wasn’t in love with it. I did, however, really like the ghosts in it.

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde– I. LOVE. Oscar Wilde ❤ I also just read (re-read?) this one and it’s just so good, guys, trust me. It’s so well written and funny and you should definitely check it out if you haven’t read it before. (It’s a short story, which might be cheating, but I had to include it.)

Do you have a favorite ghost story/book/book-featuring-ghosts?

What’s your favorite paranormal creature?

Book Blogger Hop: October 13th-19th

This weekly hop is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer, featuring a question about books each week. The purpose is to bring bookish bloggers together, basically. To participate, write a post about the question for that week and add your link.

The question this week is: Who is your favorite horror/suspense author and why?

This is a really tough question for me, and I almost didn’t do it because, while I really like horror (in general), I don’t read a lot of it because I haven’t found much I enjoy. When I do, it’s usually only a single book from a particular author.

My first thought is Edgar Allan Poe. So many things I write and enjoy can be traced back to him and his writing, and he’s been a favorite most of my life.

But does R.L. Stine count? I read a ton of Goosebumps books when I was a kid, I just re-read one for the first time since middle school probably, and I still very much enjoyed it.

What about you? Do you have a favorite?

Spooky Book Recs & Discussion: Children’s, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Books

Earlier in the month, I did “Snack Sized Stories” (short stories, novellas, comics & graphic novels), and I’d intended to post one of these book recs lists every Monday in October (replacing my usual “Must Read Mondays” this month), but…I forgot because it was a really busy time

I remembered this week, though!

I actually don’t read a lot of middle grade or children’s books these days, except re-reads of books I loved when I was growing up, or reading aloud with my kid. But, I’ve read a few as an adult, and I remember some from when I was a kid, and I do somewhat regularly still read YA, so hopefully this list won’t be only like 3 book long 😛 (I’m including both things generally considered horror, and some things I just think are creepy/spooky/scary.)

Middle Grade & YA

Goosbumps by R.L. Stine– Just, all of them, basically. If you never read a Goosebumps book, try picking up one of the classics (Night of the Living Dummy, Ghost Beach, Stay Out of the Basement, Say Cheese and Die!, etc.) to see what you think.
The Fear Street Saga by R.L. Stine– These were more for teens, I think, and I only read about 2 of them, but really liked them.
Shivers by M.D. Spenser– There weren’t many of these, and I don’t think they were quite as good or well-known as Goosbumps, but I really liked them.
Bone Chillers by Betsy Haynes– I think I only read like 2-3 of these, but I think I liked them in grade school.
Scary Stories (all 3 volumes) by Alvin Schwartz– Creepy folklore? Yes, please! I think I almost wore out my school’s library copies of these books, and I still love them and sometimes re-read them now that I have my own copies.
Christopher Pike’s books– I can’t remember if these were in a series, but I read a few and remember them being super popular for a while.
Bunnicula by Deborah & James Howe– I…can’t remember if I ever actually read this, or if my BFF read it so much I just knew the story and think I read it
Point Horror series– These were books written by different authors (R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Caroline B. Cooney, etc.), and there was at least one spin off (Nightmare Hall, I think).
Haunting With Louisa series by Emily Cates– I might have only read the first one, but I remember liking it, at least.
Sweet Valley Twins Super Chillers by Francine Pascal– Yep, that Sweet Valley. My cousin had tons of the different Sweet Valley books, but I think I liked her Super Chillers most.
Neil Gaiman– I started to list a couple of books, but pretty much just read any of them and you’re probably going to find something creepy.
Doll Bones by Holly Black– I read this a couple of years ago and really liked it.
The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle– This was one of my absolute favorite books of 2015 ❤
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs– Not super scary, but still has some kinda creepy bits.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black– I really loved this one, too, and I feel like it’s really underrated.
The Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray– Partially because I will use any excuse to talk about, and partially because it has some creepy parts (but it isn’t a horror series at all).
The Witches by Roald Dahl– My favorite Dahl book growing up ❤
In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz– I don’t think this was as well known as Scary Stories, but still great.
Scary Stories for Stormy Nights by Mark & Michelle Kehl– I remember having 1 or 2 of these, and liking them, but I don’t remember much about them now
Bruce Coville– I think I had the Book of Monsters and… at least one other.

For the pre-school(ish) kiddos (or grownups if you like picture books):

Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O’Connell– I read this one to my kid around Halloween and we both loved it. (This one is mostly for pre-school aged kids.)
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler– This one is also very cute.
The Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing & Cynthia Fisher– I think this was my favorite to read to kid a few years ago.
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! by Lucille Colandro & Jared Lee– This one was fun the first 12 times, then it got old. (This was probably kid’s favorite.)
Check for spooky versions/additions to your favorite series, like Berenstain Bears, Splat the Cat, Fancy Nancy, Little Critter, Disney, etc.

Did you read scarier books when you were a kid?

What was your favorite scary book/series?

Birthday Party Book Tag– because it’s my birthday and why not

So, today’s my birthday and since it’s usually one of the worst days of the year (I always have awful luck on my birthday and it’s usually just a terrible day all around ), I decided to try to do at least one enjoyable thing. I looked around and was happy to find this tag from Metaphors and Moonlight, which happens to be one of my favorite kinds to do.

The rules:

For this tag, you just need to choose five different books. Then, for each question, you open the corresponding book to a random page and follow the instructions for the answer. At the end, tell us how well you think your party turned out!

My books:

(Left to Right: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare // A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray // A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab // Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling // Horns by Joe Hill)

I haven’t read any of the prompts and I picked my books randomly from ones I’ve read and liked/loved, so I have no clue what’s going to happen

Answers:

1. Open Book 1 – The first character name on the page is the one who plans the surprise party.

Will (Herondale). Hmm, ok, I can maybe see this not being awful

2. Open Book 2 – The first character name on the page is the one who ruins the surprise early (either by accidentally mentioning it or by telling you on purpose because they can’t keep a secret).

Felicity (Worthington). Oh, I can totally see her doing it on purpose, but not because she can’t keep a secret haha.

3. Open Book 3 – Wherever the current scene takes place will be the location of the party (as specific as possible, e.g. a person’s house, a grocery store, the middle of a forest, etc.).

The royal map room in the Red London palace. Might be a bit intimate, but definitely a kind of unique and cool party setting.

4. Open Book 4 – The first character name on the page is the one who bakes the cake.

Professor Trelawney. Oh gosh, I hope she’s got some kitchen talent (I’d be super interested to see what kind of cake she baked, though!)

5. Open Book 5 – The first character name on the page is the one who sticks their finger in the icing when no one is looking.

Merrin (Williams). So…ghosts are invited, I guess?

6. Open Book 1 – The first character name on the page is the one who buys trick candles (those kinds that never go out).

Charlotte (Fairchild Branwell). I’m not sure I can actually see her doing this, but maybe. It would definitely be more shocking, coming from her.

7. Open Book 2 – The first noun on the page that is a tangible object is the first gift you open.

Piano. Ooh cool! I miss having a piano. (I played when I was a kid/teen.)

8. Open Book 3 – The first character name on the page is the one who puts on the dorky party hat.

Kell (Maresh). Haha, nice 😀 (Now I’ve got this image in my mind of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander but with red hair and a party hat on his head.)

9. Open Book 4 – The first noun or adjective (whatever works) on the page is what the party theme will be.

Potions Class. (Does that count?) If that does count, I think it’s a good party theme and I’d love it 🙂

10. Open Book 5 – The first noun on the page that is a tangible object is what the pinata will be filled with.

Soda. That…that sounds like a very bad idea omg.

How the party turned out:

Eh, some good, some less parts.

The party location was definitely a success, and Trelawney’s cake (a giant red velvet “crystal” ball with ominous dark blogs) was a hit, the piano was a fabulous gift, Kell was adorable in hit dorky hat, and no one got knocked out by the falling soda cans from the pinata (though Felicity’s skirt did get soaked in grape soda, which served her right for blabbing about the party and spoiling the surprise).

What do you think? Would you come to this party?

Have you ever had a surprise birthday party in real life?

Tell me about a favorite birthday memory of yours 🙂

NaNoWriMo Prep Update

This was supposed to go up yesterday Not sure what happened.

I haven’t done nearly as much on-paper planning as I’d meant to/thought I would have by now, but I’ve got a lot of different things floating around in my head still. The problem is deciding which ones to keep and then figuring out how I’m going to link them all together

But, at least I think I know my MC’s name, plus two other characters. I have a general idea of my MC’s personality and history, and how she might react to things. We’ll see how it goes next month, though, I guess. I know what the setting looks like. Like, the images are so clear in my head I want to scream because I’m not talented enough to draw or paint them.

Next up, I need to make a pinterest board or something for my characters and things that will be in the story. I haven’t actually done this before, but I did use something similar (some online corkboard thing, I think) one year and it was just ok. Pinterest is way better, though, so I’m hopeful it’ll help keep me motivated and inspired, and remind me of what something looks like when I have a freak out and my mind goes blank and I forget everything -_-

I’ve written down a few pages of notes and I’m just about ready to start actually outlining. It would be nice if I could figure out the middle and ending before NaNo starts, for a change. (Actually, I think I had the ending last year, but no middle at all and it was a nightmare.) I have some ideas, but I keep discarding them all and trying to think of something new. I’m hoping I’ll be inspired soon, so I’m not panicking about it when NaNo begins. I might even just pick one of my not-great endings, because I can always go back and change it later.

This doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to be good. This doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to be good. This doesn’t… (Anyone else have to keep repeating things like that as a reminder to chill out?)

One thing that’s drastically different this year from every other year I’ve done NaNo is that I’m not going to try to win. This year, I will win. It will be an ugly mess that might never be fit for other human eyes, and I will almost certainly have bits that are just me typing in things like “Add [whatever kind of thing should happen here] in a couple months when you come back to edit! Move on!” but I will get those 50k words this year. No more excuses, no more giving up. It’s happening.

(Somebody remind me I said this when I inevitably hit the “I can’t do this!” stage around day 10-15 next month, please.)

Blogtober Babbling: When you’re in the mood for specific books and don’t have any of them :/

First off, happy Friday the 13th!

I hate this particular type of…well, it’s not really a book slump, but it’s similar in some ways, because trying to work around it means I’m struggling to read.

Right now, I’m in the mood for a few books I know of, but I don’t have any of them. I kind of understand when I’m in the mood for a particular trope or theme, or type of character, but this is strange because all the books I’m in the mood for seem pretty different.

Like: The Vegetarian by Han Kang, The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (ok those two are similar enough I guess), Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (kicking myself for not snagging this one when it was a Kindle daily deal a few days ago), A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire…

See what I mean? And there are more. Like, probably at least 5 others I’d love to read right now because I’m in the mood for them, but I just don’t have them. My library also doesn’t have any of these, in physical format or on Overdrive. *sigh*

I think I really need to apply for an out of state card from the Brooklyn library. I think it’s like $50/year, but their Overdrive selection makes it totally worth it. I mean, if I *don’t* buy 2-3 hardcovers because I checked them out from there, the card pays for itself. Anything after that is money I’m saving. (Have any of you done this? Gotten a card from a large library in another state to use for their digital titles?)

Right now I’m trying to decide between a few books I do have, particularly The Witches of Eastwick vs The Stepford Wives (if you have an opinion on which I should read first, let me know!), but I just kind of feel like sitting on the couch and staring at horror movies instead.

Speaking of which…It’s Friday the 13th, which means my movie selection for tonight has been made for me. Yay (I’m not a big fan of Jason or Michael. I’m a Freddy fan.)

Wow this really is a babbling post