The Beatles Book Tag

My friend and very favorite blogger, The Orangutan Librarian, recently created The Beatles Book Tag. Little known fact, The Beatles are my all-time favorite band, and my favorite song in the whole world and all styles of music is a Beatles song. So I was so excited to get tagged and would have tagged myself if she didn’t. *smiles*

Rules:

1. Tag back to the original creator Orang-utan Librarian (me)
2. Thank whoever tagged you
3. Tag people and keep it going!

Love Me Do

A book with a character you wish would love you

It’s pretty hard to go wrong with The Orangutan Librarian’s original answer, Mr. Knightly. I would also be okay if Faramir came knocking on my door.

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From Me to You

A book you want to share

I am always and forever recommending The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, partly because it is so unique and special, and partly because it gets so little attention. All of her books fly under the radar, it seems, but I’ve literally never spoke to anyone who read The Goblin Emperor and didn’t love it.

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A Hard Day’s Night

A book to cuddle up with after a hard day’s night

I’ve spoken about Chilling Effect (and the new sequel, Prime Deception, out now!) a couple of times lately, and it’s great for relaxing after a hard day. It has a lot of excellent escapist elements and is SO much fun, but it’s got a solid foundation of characters with depth and thought-out world building. If you like a rip-roaring adventure that is staunchly feminist and Latinx to boot, you’ll love escaping from a hard day’s night with Chilling Effect.

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Help!

A book that helped you out

I don’t really know how to answer this question, because I’m not really into self-help books. But I have read a handful of parenting books, and I like those because even when they aren’t how-to books, they give a perspective on parenting that can help you figure out your own opinions. I really enjoyed Bringing Up Bébé for this reason. It’s about how the French see parenting in such a different way than Americans do, and it empowered me to be comfortable challenging American parenting conventions I didn’t agree with them.

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Yesterday

A book that left a shadow hanging over you

I haven’t talked about this in a while, but it’s the right time of year for it. I was TERRIFIED of Dracula, but in the best possible way. Like, I had nightmares often enough that I had to stop reading it at night, but it was so freaking good that I just kept going and going. I’ve never been brave enough to read it a second time, but I still think about this book like, all the time.

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Day Tripper

A book you would send a one-way ticket

I was once gifted a book called The Edge of the World by Kevin J. Anderson which was the first book in a trilogy that I ended up HATING (but for some reason reading all the way through anyway?). Do yourself a favor and skip this one. Between the lackluster worldbuilding and stereotypical/ignorant depictions of multiple religions, this book has little positive to offer.

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Paperback Writer

A book about an aspiring writer

You might not know this if you didn’t read it, but Kai in Date Me, Bryson Keller is entering a playwriting contest in the course of the novel. It’s not a major plot-point, and I don’t exactly remember what happens with it, but it’s one of the ways that Romeo and Juliet is tied into the book.

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Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

A book that’s plain weird

If you like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or the Discworld series you might find Space Opera by Katherine Valente delightful, but it is SOOOO strange. Basically it’s about an intergalactic Eruovision where humankind gets wiped out if we don’t win, but for some reason we sent a washed-up Bowie wannabie that everyone hates to represent us. I know lots of people who really enjoyed this book, but I’m afraid British humor doesn’t always translate to paper for me and I didn’t really get it. If you want Sci-Fi that’s super queer, this is a book for you.

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Eleanor Rigby

A book that’s about all the lonely people

I recently finished Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, and while I don’t know that it’s about all the lonely people, Queenie is lonely enough to qualify this question by herself, I think. While this book is mostly about mental illness, Queenie is dealing with those issues while also going through a big breakup and learning how to be alone again. Her loneliness and desperation to feel connected lead her to make some pretty self-destructive decisions. This book is BRILLIANT and if you haven’t read it yet you need to, but be aware that it isn’t an easy read. Be in the right headspace.

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Penny Lane

A book that reminds you of a place that is in your heart

Beach Read by Emily Henry takes place on one of the Great Lakes in Michigan, which is where my family roots are. I don’t know much about my family history, but I do know that my great-grandmother was born on Lake Huron, and my family has been vacationing there since she left about 100 years ago. It’s a special place to me. And while the book didn’t quite capture enough of lake life, I enjoyed the heck out of it anyway.

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Hello Goodbye

A book that sends mixed messages

Going to have to finally bring up Harrow the Ninth, and if you read it you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t read it, start with Gideon or it won’t make any sense, but seriously get reading it.

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Lady Madonna

A book that felt heaven sent

I’m trying to find a book I don’t talk about ALL. THE. TIME. for this question, but I only have so many heaven sent books, you know? I feel like I haven’t said anything about Where’d You Go Bernadette? in a while, though, and that’s easily an all-time favorite. What felt so amazing about that book was just how stinking funny it was. I loved that book so much, and was the perfect find in 2013 when I had no idea how to find new books to read.

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Hey Jude

A book that was an emotional roller coaster

When I read The Sun is Also a Star, I was just all over the place. I was laughing, I was crying, I was frustrated, I was swooning. I know that Nicola Yoon’s other book, Everything Everything, had a lot of mixed feelings surrounding it, and it’s just too bad that it’s kept people from reading and loving The Sun is Also a Star because it is just so, so, SO good.

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Twist and Shout

A book that shook things up!

I’ve talked a couple of times this year about We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry, but I’m just still not seeing anyone else talk about this book. It’s different from anything you’ve ever read before, guaranteed. A modern take on Salem, the witches in this book are the members of an 80s field hockey team who have sold their souls to a journal with Emilio Estevez on the cover. It’s smart, funny, diverse, literary, and full of heart. If you’re looking for something to shake up your witches shelf, pick this one up, you won’t be sorry.

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Please Please Me

A book that pleased you

A lot of feel-good graphic novels get attention in the blog-o-sphere, but I rarely see anyone talk about Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani. This book was so full of the sights, sounds, and smells of India, packaged together in a sweet story with GORGEOUS illustrations. Highly recommend for anyone who loved The Prince and the Dressmaker.

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Revolution

A book you thought would change the world (but didn’t)

I mentioned in another post recently that I read Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan, and it just blew me away. It’s such a phenomenal book! But it got very little critical acclaim? I can’t really understand how it didn’t/hasn’t taken the MG world by storm. I think it should go directly into the elementary reading lists across America.

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Get Back

A book that takes you back

I used to read Bunnicula to my students in October, and it always takes me back to the joy of being a kid and finding a series to just fall into. Haha, fall. Because October. Anyway, I’m thinking about reading it to my own kids this month, but we’ll just have to see.

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Ballad of John & Yoko

A book that people want to crucify (but you secretly like)

Confession: I actually kind of like Twilight. I know the writing is bad, and that the relationship between Bella and Edward is terrible, and I hate nice vampires more than I hate just about anything else. But it’s just so … absorbing? I don’t know, sometimes I read it when things really suck just to get away from it all.

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Something

A book that was just something special

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson is such a special book because it manages to perfectly capture the *feeling* of watching a 90s teen rom-com. Except that it’s both diverse and queer. It has just the right blend of light, romantic fun and serious, deep themes. It’s just such a great books, and all YA fans should read it.

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Let it Be

A book that whispers words of wisdom

I adore Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and just love everything he has to say about religion in this book.

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Here Comes the Sun

A book that brightens up your day

If you haven’t read Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston yet, what are you waiting for? It’s just SO CUTE and sweet, but also hopeful and uplifting, and love wins. Love should always win.

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The Long and Winding Road

A book you keep going back to

To prove just how alike The Orangutan Librarian I am, she keeps going back to The Hobbit and I keep going back to The Lord of the Rings. No matter how many times I read it, it never gets old. The story never fails to sweep me away, the characters never stop making me cry. I love this book and I will never stop reading it.

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Bonus Question

What’s your favorite Beatles Song?

My favorite song in the whole world is Let it Be. ❤

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I’m tagging:

• Kristin Kraves Books
• River Moose Reads
• Meeghan Reads
• Book Beach Bunny
• I don’t know, whoever likes the Beatles 🙂