In Which I Discuss the Best Weapons in the World

In case you don’t understand this blog post’s title:

You’re welcome.

So, quite obviously, I’ll be talking about books today. I was recently tagged by the epic Aria Maher for the Writer’s Book Tag, and I couldn’t ever pass up an opportunity to talk about books, hence this post. To name a few, I’ll talk about a book I’ve never read, a book that has made me cry, and a favorite fantasy novel I recommend.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

First Draft: A book or series that you’ve never read before.

Precisely 129,864,480 manuscripts. All I had to do was ask Google how many books there are in the world as of today and subtract 400 from the number, which is a general estimate of how many books I’ve read so far in my lifetime.

Oh, I need to actually answer the question? Didn’t see that coming.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater has been on my to-read list for a long time because it’s been recommended to me several times and I really enjoyed the book reviews I’ve read. In fact, I almost bought it at Barnes and Noble when I decided to be “good” instead and buy the next book in a series I was currently struggling through (one of Sanderson’s big ol’ bricks. In actuality, I’m not sure what I was thinking when I was being “good.” I really need to take a break from The Way of Kings.)

 

Second Draft: A book or series you didn’t like as much the second time you read it.

I really had to think about this one because if I really liked a book, chances are I’ll read that book again with high chances of liking that liked book even better. And I don’t often reread books because there are so many more books out there that I want to read too!

Scrolling through my “Read” list on Goodreads, I came across Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman. SUCH a great book. I had to read it for school around some time in the 6th grade, and I loved it so much that I decided to read it again about a year afterwards. I wasn’t majorly disappointed, but there wasn’t enough suspense since I knew what would happen already, having already read it. And this book seems to have been written for suspense. If you haven’t read Banner in the Sky, put it on your Christmas list.

 

Final Draft: A book or series that you’ve liked for a really long time.

A book or series means single, not plural, right? Just confirming.

But how can I pick just one?

I believe the Chronicles of Narnia was the first fantasy book series I’d ever read. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was read out loud to me when I was six years old, and then of course I had to finish the series myself and see the movie when it came out a year later. And to this day the Narnia books still hold a special place in my heart.

 

Killing Off Your Characters: A book or series that made you cry.

I don’t usually cry when reading books, but there were a few tears shed upon finishing The Return of the King, the third in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was that bittersweet moment when Sam returns to his family at the very end that tipped the bucket.

 

Plot Holes: A book or series that disappointed you.

The Hunger Games. I didn’t need to think about it twice. The first book was alright. I started getting into the plot and the characters and the possible themes that I could just see coming out into broad daylight in the last two books…but…that’s where the disappointment came in. I wasn’t happy with the second book. The third book ended terribly. The series ended on such a depressing note that it took me a while to recover, even when I picked up The Way of Kings right after.

 

Writer’s Block: A book or series you’ve never finished.

I came up with a rule a while ago to finish every book I started. I don’t like investing in a story and then not finishing it. Now if it’s a series, that is a whole different story all together. An unfinished book series? Those I have plenty of. The Divergent Trilogy was an easy series to ignore after the first book. I strongly disliked Divergent and you will need super amazing persuasion powers to get me to read the second book or watch the movie.

 

Feedback: A book or series you’d recommed to anyone and everyone.

Easy. The Name of the Wind is a beautiful fantasy novel and is very high on my Favorite Books list. It scores way up there next to Narnia and Lord of the Rings. I have not yet read the second book, The Wise Man’s Fear, but I’ve heard good things about it. It’s on my list as well.

 

And that’s it! Cue the end of the Writer’s Tag and the cessation of the discussion of the best weapons in the world. Now it’s time to tag a few bookish writers:

Emrys Merlin @ Random Blogginess

Nate Philbrick @ YouWriteFiction

Hannah Heath @ Hannah Heath

Ryan Penland @ Ryan Writes Things

Jeneca @ Jeneca Writes

 

Do you have the same or different problems with any of the books discussed above? Do we share favorites? If you’re looking for great book recommendations, don’t hesitate to check out The Name of the Wind and Banner in the Sky. Cheers and don’t forget to enjoy the Christmas season craziness.