How I Choose My Books Tag

There is basically no rhyme or reason to the way I choose books. Sometimes I take recommendations, sometimes I just spot a book in a store that looks interesting, sometimes I seek out a particular kind of book. So this tag should be fairly interesting! Thanks to The Orangutan Librarian for tagging me!

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Find a book on your shelves or ereader with a blue cover. What made you want to pick up this book?

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
I was actually working at Borders Books when they went out of business, and I got this book during the liquidation sale. 40% off! I wanted to read Sherlock, and this was the first I’d ever seen that was a stand-alone.

Think of a book you didn’t expect to enjoy, but did. Why did you read it in the first place?

The Host by Stephanie Meyer.
Heaven help me, I’m a sucker for aliens, and even though the characters were RIDICULOUS I enjoyed this book enough that I’ve read it a couple of times. I guess I read it in the first place because aliens.

Stand in front of your bookshelf with your eyes closed and pick a book at random. How did you discover this book? 

(I also cheated and used the Goodreads random feature. I know my bookshelf too well to draw a book at random!)

One Day by Dave Nichols.
I bought this book when I was working at Barnes & Noble. It was on a best-seller display or a buy-2-get-1 table or something. I was really disappointed, I just hated it. 😦

Pick a  book that someone personally recommended to you. What did you think of it?

The only person who usually recommends books to me is my dad. His books are hit and miss with me. One that I enjoyed (duh) was Ender’s Game. Soooooo happy my dad introduced me to such an amazing book! One that I didn’t like was Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi.

Pick a book that you discovered through YouTube/book blogs. Did it live up to the hype?

My husband and I watch the Vlogbrothers every week on YouTube. I knew John Green as a YouTuber before I knew him as an author. I picked up An Abundance of Katherines because it sounded like the book of his that I would like the most. I didn’t like it much at all. I love John, but I’ve only ever liked one of his books…

Find a book on your shelves or ereader with a one-word title. What drew you to this book?

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.
My husband rented this book from our university library when we were discovering Steampunk. It’s one of the few books he’s actually finished since I met him ten years ago. I figured if it was good enough for him to finish a) I should BUY it for him and b) I should read it too!

What book did you discover through a film/TV adaptation?

I had NO IDEA that Stardust was a book. I am in love with the movie, so when I got on Twitter the first time and one of the people I met was obsessed with Neil Gaiman, I figured that was the best place to start! Surprisingly, it was one of the few movie adaptations I like better than the book. Maybe because I watched the movie first?

Think of your all-time favorite book(s). When did you read these and why did you pick them up in the first place?

The Lord of the Rings – I read The Hobbit in my sixth grade English class. LOTR followed in seventh grade, and I read it once a year until I had a baby.

Pride and Prejudice – Our family’s favorite movie growing up was You’ve Got Mail with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. In the movie Meg Ryan’s character writes “Confession, I have read Pride and Prejudice two hundred times. I get lost in the language, words like ‘Thither. Mischance. Felicity.’ I’m always in agony over whether Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are really going to get together. Ah! Read it. I know you’ll love it!” So when I was a freshman or sophomore in High School we picked it up from the library to read together. My mom lost interest, but I flew through in a day or two.

Harry Potter – My fifth grade teacher read this book aloud to our class, bless her.

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I tag:

• Little Blind Book Finds
• The Villain Library
• Kyera’s Library
• Naty’s Bookshelf

Of course participation is optional! Look forward to seeing y’alls answers!