Calendar Girls October: Book That Lit Your Way Out of a Reading Slump

OCTOBER IS HERE!!!!!!

Guys, I love October. It’s the best month of the year. ❤ If only our weather here in Texas would actually start to resemble October weather… But I’m not here to complain. October is October. Bring on the sweaters and boots!

Our theme this month is a book that lit your way out of a reading slump. I have to come clean with you all, I’ve never experienced the dreaded reading slump. That’s right, you heard me. No, I’m not showing off or bragging, it’s just the truth. I’ve read a book every single day since … 4th grade? Before? Maybe I missed a day or two if I was sick or something, but I’ve never felt like “Bleh, I just don’t want to read anything!”

So I decided to take this prompt from a different direction. While I wouldn’t call it a reading slump, in the 2016/2017 school year I was in a bit of a … rut. I was reading the same books over and over again, it had been a long time since I’d found something new to read that I actually liked. Then, suddenly, MAGIC. A book I loved so much that I started a book blog. That book was …

Top 10 Books I Want to Re-Read

An inadvertent theme here on Never Not Reading this summer has been re-reading. I have been consistently lamenting that I don’t re-read books anymore, and I’ve found out that I’m not alone! Apparently a lot of book bloggers prioritize reading new things over re-reading for the sake of creating content for their blogs, but wish they could find the time to re-read.

So today I bring you the books that not re-reading is breaking my heart.

10. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I read this book my senior year of high school and was so enchanted by it. I want to re-read it partly because it’s been long enough that I can’t remember it very clearly, and I want to get to know it again. But also because I bet that there’s a lot more to this book that I missed. I’m a much better reader than I was thirteen years ago, and I bet I would appreciate it at a much deeper level. I’ve been itching to re-read this one since I saw it on The Great American Read last summer.

The Wonderstruck Book Tag

Confession time: I’m a Swiftie!. After I graduated from college I listened to Speak Now basically on loop. I have all of her albums memorized beginning to end. Except for the newest one… Reputation. Not as much my thing.

So a T-Swift book tag??? YES PLEASE! When I saw this on Hammock of Books I knew I had to do it.

RULES

• Link back to the creator: Olivia from Purely Olivia
• Answer as many or as few of the questions as you’d like.
• Feel free to use any of the graphics in her post. 
• Tag however many people you’d like at the end!

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You’re Not Sorry

A book that unapologetically broke your heart

You guys are probably going to get tired of hearing me go on about Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, but it 100% qualifies for this question. I ugly cried for about 30 minutes after I finished reading it. In the best possible way. God, I am obsessed with this book.

The Dreamy Covers Book Tag

I saw this post on Darque Dreamer Reads MONTHS ago. I don’t think she tagged me, but I liked it so much that I bookmarked it. There are so many PRETTY covers out there, and I just want to share them with you all! Then I can go awkwardly hug all my books… Because that’s not weird…

Rules

1. Thank the lovely person who tagged you, spread the love!
2. Mention Tiana @ The Book Raven as the awesome) creator of this book tag!
3. Use the original tag image in your post. (However, Feel free to add whatever other graphics your heart desires!)
4. At least tag 1 fellow blogger for this tag. Even if your like me sometimes and feel a bit lazy 😉
5. List the rules

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“No Ideas But in Things”

A book cover that perfectly expresses the novel inside it

The cover designer completely nailed this one. I love the color, I love this pose from Evelyn. This cover caught my eye and then the writing caught my heart.

The Mid-Autumn Festival Tag

So after apparently tagging The Orangutan Librarian in half a million tags while they were away for a few months, I have been tagged back with the Mid-Autum tag! I figured I’d better get to this one ASAP, because we’ve apparently used up our two days of fall for 2018 already. We’ve dropped into 40 degree weather, and I don’t have a winter coat yet because my dog ate mine last winter, and APPARENTLY the department stores don’t have their coats in yet. Not that I’m upset about that or anything…

Okay, deep breaths.

So, anyway, thanks to The Orangutan Librarian for tagging me! And away I go!

Reunion of Family

A Book with Family Goals

This might be a little awkward, but I’m going with Eleanor & Park because I love how Park’s parents are still so mushy gushy in love after all those years! I hope that when we’re in our forties my husband and I are still flirting with each other and kissing in front of the kids and generally being embarrassing. ❤

The Literary Dinner Party Tag

If you could invite one book character to dinner, who would it be?

SCREW THAT! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PICK JUST ONE?!?!?!?!

Luckily for me (and all of my dinner plates…) I saw this awesome tag on Kristin Kraves Books that lets me pick more than one person. Yay! It was created by NEHOMAS2 over on BookTube, so go on over and show those ladies some love.

So, who will be at my dinner party? I can’t wait to find out!

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A Character Who Cooks or Likes to Cook

Agnieszka from Uprooted

Art by Taryn Knight

I feel like between her actual cooking skills and her much improved magic, Agnieszka could make us something very delicious. And maybe as long as she’s here make me some nicer clothes. And then perhaps we could be gal pals.

OMG This Song! Book Tag

I saw this tag on River-Moose Reads, and it combines two of my favorite things, books and music, so I saved it for a rainy day. It’s not actually raining right now, but that’s not the point. The POINT is that a) you should go check out River-Moose Reads right now and b) I want to do this book/music tag!

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My Jam

A song you must listen to every time it comes on, no matter how old or how many times you’ve listened to it

A book you’ll never get sick of

At one point I was re-reading Pride and Prejudice every year. When ever we “play” the desert island game, if I could only take ONE book it would probably be the collected works of Jane Austen. I could just read about Elizabeth and Darcy until the end of time!

Me In Book Characters Tag

Thanks to Anatomy of a Book Thief for tagging me in this one! I’ve been watching it go around, and it’s really interesting to see what characters people identify the most with. I think it’s going to be a difficult one for me, partly because I identify with pretty much every character I read, and partly because none of them are quite the same as me. At the very least we should all get a good laugh out of my bending and stretching! Haha.

The Rules:

• Thank the creators of the tag (Us! Ash and Lo @Windowsill Books)
• Thank whoever tagged you
• List 5 book characters who you are most like and why
• Tag your friends!

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Hermione from Harry Potter

by tho-be on Deviant Art

I feel like this almost goes without saying. Is there a bookworm out there who doesn’t relate to Hermione? I know that growing up, especially, I really looked up to her and wanted to be like her. It’s not just her love for books that I relate to, but also her feeling of being an outsider. I never really feel like I fit in either. I also strongly identify with her long-standing crush on Ron. Not that I have a crush on Ron, haha. But once I would get attached to a boy, no amount of lack of interest on his part would cause me to stop crushing.

Top 10 of 2017

This list got off to a very slow start as I was re-reading a lot at the beginning of the year, and then I read several newish books that I didn’t really care for. While not all the books on this list are new (or even written in this century!), here are the 10 books I most enjoyed reading in 2017.

Disney Sidekicks Book Tag

I usually post a tag on Sunday, because tags are fun. But I haven’t been tagged for one in a while. (Come on buddies, step it up!) So I went hunting for one in my reader. And of course, anything with Disney is going to catch my eye. I saw this tag on Books and Other Pursuits, go and check her out!

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Mushu: Favorite hilarious character or comedy/funny book

As I mentioned earlier this week on The Calendar Girls, Where’d You Go Bernadette is the funniest book I have ever read. Even my husband loved it! It’s a unique book too, told almost completely using documents, rather than in narrative form. I highly recommend to anyone who loves satire.