Hot off the Press // NY-Times By the Book Tag

Another tag today, because I am Tags Trash™. Hopefully my real life issues will go away soon and I can have the energy to write some other posts. I was tagged to do this by the amazing Louise @ Genie Reads. Make sure to give her post a read and follow her blog if you’re not already because it’s fantastic ♥ I can’t say I have ever in my life read the NY-Times or really a newspaper (I just get too angry haha), but I absolutely love watching people do this tag on BookTube so I’m excited to do it!

The NY-Times By the Book Tag was originally created by Marie Berg and you can watch her original video here.

Covers = Goodreads 

 What book is on your nightstand now?

I don’t have a “nightstand” but these are my current reads. I’ve only read about 40 pages of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s really unlike anything I’ve  read before. Laini Taylor’s writing is wonderful. Wrecked is an ARC from Netgalley that’s about a sexual assault that happens on a college campus and I’m halfway through and I’ve never been more angry reading a book in my life. I don’t mean that in a “the book is really bad way”, but just at the events that are taking place because it’s scarily realistic and I hate that so many people have to go through this. It’s not fair.

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What was the last truly great book you’ve read?

I know I keep talking about both these books and you’re probably sick of it bUT I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I can’t recommend The Yellow Wallpaper enough and it’s free on Kindle and Project Gutenberg and anywhere else you can find on the Internet. It is so important and it made such an impact on me – it’s going to stay with me forever. Do I even need to say anything about The Raven King 😂? Blue and her stupid Raven Boys and everyone in this series is going to be the END OF ME. I still have a slight book hangover from this. I finished it at the start of the month and it’s literally all I’ve thought about. I keep rereading all my favourite parts that I have highlighted on my Kindle. I’m not ready to leave this world and I need more 😭😭😭

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If you could meet any writer – dead or alive – who would it be? And what would you want to know?

Okay, so I’m cheating with this because I have a list:

• Sylvia Plath
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman
• J.K. Rowling
• Rick Riordan
• R.L. Stine

I don’t really have questions as such, it’d be more me expressing my undying love and gratitude.

I would thank Sylvia Plath and Charlotte Perkins Gilman for their words and contributions to mental illness. I feel like Sylvia Plath would just be able to put how I feel into words perfectly. And I would just say endless thank yous to Charlotte Perkins Gilman for The Yellow Wallpaper (highlighting how dangerous it is to mistreat mental illnesses) and her stance on feminism in an era that didn’t care about either. With J.K. Rowling and R.L. Stine I’d tell them thank you for shaping my childhood. J.K. made me fall in love with magic and R.L. Stine is what made me fall in love with horror and all things creepy and weird.And then with Rick Riordan I would tell him thank you for writing a series that is my Happy Place™ and then just start crying and ask why certain things had to happen to a certain character who I will NEVER EVER EVER GET OVER. EVER.

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What books might we be surprised to find on your shelf?

I have talked about it before, but I have a weird fascination with true crime and I have a shelf dedicated to books about it. The psychology is fascinating and being a criminal psychologist is like my unrealistic career goals. I find unsolved cases the most interesting like: the Black Dahlia Murder, Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer (I have books on all 3). If I’m not reading true crime books I’m watching true crime documentaries. I don’t even know what it is. I just love the whole concept of profiling and trying to solve cases and put all the pieces together so I guess this is how I do it. I always try and solve the cases on crime procedurals and feel really accomplished when I figure it out, haha. If there’s anyone else out there who shares my weirdness I really recommend checking out The Crime Library, it was an amazing online resource with tons of free articles and information. It closed down in 2014, but all their content is archived and can still be accessed!

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How do you organize your personal library?

 

I’m currently in the middle of reorganising my bookshelves (it’s why only the first two shelves are shown bc the rest are an absolute mess). I’m honestly running out of space so everything is like triple stacked lmao. I need another bookshelf so badly but I’m poor. Anyway, my main bookshelf is in author alphabetical order – except the “display books” (rainbow shelves are pretty af but that would stress me out so much). On my other bookshelf I have all my Harry Potter books, my Rick Riordan books, my true crime books and some random YouTube/Celeb ones. My vinyls and record player are also on this shelf along with some DVDs and some other random books that don’t fit anywhere else. That shelf is an even bigger mess which is why there’s no photo lmao. Then I have all my (physical) TBR books on my desk in a pile that could actually crush me and my laptop to death.

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What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet?

LMAO did you mean EVERY SINGLE BOOK on my TBR?

 Okay, so I’m going with Wink Poppy Midnight because as soon as I heard about the book a few months ago I was dying to read it and I bought it the day it was released and I still HAVEN’T gotten to it!!! I know it’s gotten negative reviews but I don’t care because books like this are my aesthetic so I’m almost certain I’ll love it. Also, The Bell Jar because I’ve been wanting to read it every since I finished Ariel in like 2012 and I still haven’t got to it. I’m the WORST.

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Disappointing, overrated, just not good: what book did you feel you are supposed to like but didn’t?

I said everything in my review so I won’t repeat myself, but yeah. This book was definitely not a favourite. If Sarah J. Maas’ writing style wasn’t so brilliant I would have given it 2 stars. I know how much everyone loves this series and I am going to read ACOMAF, but yeah – I just don’t think this is going to be one for me. Sorry 🙈!

 

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What kind of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?

Horror is my absolute favourite, but I enjoy sci-fi, thrillers, magical realism and fantasy (high fantasies intimidate me though). I like dystopians too even if they might be “overdone” and paranormal, but it’s so hard to find paranormal books that aren’t super romance-y. I avoid romance contemporaries like the plague. I understand why people enjoy them, but they are not for me. Contemporaries in general aren’t really my thing unless they’re dark or dealing with a difficult/important subject. I just really love stories with great character development and beautiful friendships. I love whimisical writing, unreliable narrators and open endings. The vaguer the better tbh. I know that is probably a lot of people’s worst nightmare, but I love it!

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If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

Australia doesn’t have a president we have an extremely questionable prime minister and I hope he and his party are kicked out next election. Do not let me down, Australia. I’d probably force him and his entire party to read a book that talks about how to be decent human beings since they clearly don’t know how to do that 😊

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What do you plan to read next?

Once I’m done with Daughter of Smoke and Bone I’m 99.9% sure I’m going to start Cinder and/or A Darker Shade of Magic. I am super excited to get to both of them, though! I’m crossing my fingers that I love them as much as most people do. I have some review books I should be getting to as well, but we’ll see what happens 😅

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Nominations:

Like always feel free to skip this if you don’t want to do it or if you’ve already done it 😊 !

Sammie @ Bookshelves and Biros • Reg @ She Latitude • Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books • Nephele @ Night Train Books • Esther @ Chapter Adventures • Lindsey @ A Piece of Paradise •  Kourtni @ Kourtni Reads • Amylee @ The Book Lagoon • Fatima @ Noteable Pad • Anyone else who wants to do it!

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Hope you’re all having a fantastic day xx