The Cliche Book Tag

I always like a good cliche, and this tag is full of them! Thanks to The Orangutan Librarian for tagging me!

Actions Speak Louder Than Words
A book that wasn’t or couldn’t be better than the movie.

This question comes up a lot, and I always choose the same 2 or 3 books, so let’s do something different this time! The Princess Diaries is a book that I really liked as a young teen, but compared to the movie is awkward and lame. The characters are so much more likable in the movie!

The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side
A Rags to Riches or Riches to Rags Story

Haha, can I choose The Princess Diaries again? In all seriousness, Thomas Cromwell is the original pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps guy, so Wolf Hall is a great example! I’m so nervous to see what happens to him in the third book, whether he’ll fall back down to rags. And I know I could just look it up, but I don’t want to spoil the book for myself!

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree
A Parent/Child Relationship that You Love

Percy Jackson’s mom is EVERYTHING. I absolutely adore her as a character, and she gets a surprising amount of growth over the course of all of the series she makes an appearance in, considering how little page-time she gets. I love how she and Percy take care of each other, and how there’s no embarrassment for Percy about how much they care for each other. I also think the moment at the end of The Lightning Thief when Percy realizes that Smelly Gabe has abused her is amazing. But in the end, Sally takes care of things herself. You go girl!

You Can’t Judge a Book by It’s Cover
A Great Book that Needs a Better Cover

I find the artwork on the cover of Foundation to be awkward, especially considering the sheer brilliance of the novel. Like, the picture makes sense in the context of the book, but I think they would have done better with no picture at all, just some geometric artwork or something.

You Can’t Please Everyone
A Book You Hate that Everyone Loves

There are not enough words to express how deeply I dislike A Song of Ice and Fire, especially the fourth and fifth books. Like, Game of Thrones was kind of cool, but as the series went on I just kind of hated it. Too many point-of-views, too much graphic violence and sex, too much pointless swearing, too many main characters getting killed off. Ugh. It’s like a soap opera, but with swords.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
A Book that Made You a Better Person for Having Read It

While it’s not my favorite book, I think Paper Towns really helped me to see people more complexly and to treat them more like PEOPLE.

Love is Blind
A Book With a Disabled Character or Actual Blind Love

Homer’s Odyssey is the true story of a blind cat and all of the people who fell in love with him. While I wish the book would have been more about the cat than the owner, I just adored this heart-warming memoir.

Ignorance is Bliss
A Book that is Bad but You Just Don’t Want to Admit It

Ha! I have no problem admitting when a book is bad! A lot of times I enjoy them anyway. That was definitely the case for the second half of The Selection series, The Heir and The Crown. 

There Is No Time Like the Present
Your Favorite Contemporary Book

I’ve done an entire post before on why Where’d You Go Bernadette is my favorite contemporary of all time!

Better Safe Than Sorry
A Book You Don’t Want to Read in Case It’s Bad

I’m definitely nervous about Doors of Stone, book 3 in The Kingkiller Chronicle. The Name of the Wind was AMAZING, but The Wise Man’s Fear was a huge letdown. On top of that, Patrick Rothfuss has been working on this book for (no exaggeration) 7 years, and shows no signs of being finished soon. Why is it taking so long? While I’m hopeful that it’s because he wants to improve on book 2, I’m nervous it’s because he’s lost his mojo.

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I don’t really feel like tagging anyone today, and since I was tagged in this a million years ago I have no idea who’s done it and who hasn’t. So, tag yourself if you want.

What do y’all think? Agree or disagree with my answers? Let me know in the comments!