Book Tag: Seven Deadly Sins

I don't often do book tags but I spotted Andy from The Pewter Wolf post this one a couple of weeks ago and it looked like fun so I thought I'd join in. I'm not going to tag anyone else but if you do decide to post (of if you already have posted!) leave me a link in the comments so I can check out your answers :o)

GREED:

What is The Most Expensive Book You Own?

I'm not sure if this really counts since it's technically more of a box set but without a doubt it's the most expensive set of books I own so I'm going to include it anyway - Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey Collectors Edition.

I just realised I've not got around to reviewing this set yet but it really is gorgeous set & I love everything about it, especially the replica of the Monster book of Monsters!

GLUTTONY:

What Book(s) Have You Shamelessly Devoured Many Times?

I could easily count the Harry Potter series for this sin too but I think the series I've actually read the most in the last few years would have to be Ilona Andrew's Hidden Legacy series. To be honest I reread all of Ilona and Gordon's books on a regular basis but when it comes to the Hidden Legacy books  I have literally been known to read the entire trilogy through twice in the space of a week!

If you haven't read these books yet you are seriously missing out, you can read my reviews for the series here.

SLOTH:

What Book/Series Have You Neglected Over Sheer Laziness?

To be honest I'm pretty terrible at starting series and never getting around to finishing them so it's hard to pick just one LOL. It's not that I deliberately stop reading halfway through a series, I just get distracted by all the shiny new books that come along while I'm waiting for the next instalment and don't always remember to go back to them.

For this post I'll just talk about a few of the series that I really want to try and catch up with some time soon.

1. First we have Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunters I love these books so I'm not sure why it's taking me so long to read them but I still have quite a few books to read before I catch up. 
2. Next is J.D. Robb's In Death series, this is a HUGE series topping over 40 books already with at least 2 new books published every year so I worked out recently that reading one book a month it'll take me about four years to catch up. Quite intimidating for sure but I'm going to give it a good try LOL.
3. Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is a bit different to the others because I have already read most of these books over the years but I want to reread them to review them on my blog. I'm also kind of putting off the last few books that I haven't read yet because there will never be any new books written in this world and I kind of like the comfort of knowing that I have a couple saved up ready for when I really need them.
4. Last on the list is Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, these books are so much fun to read so although I read the first 16 or so books before I started blogging I'm trying to slowly reread them to review on my blog.

PRIDE:

What Books(s) Do You Bring Up When You Want To Sound Like An Intelligent Reader?

To be honest I really don't care what anyone else thinks about my reading choices, perhaps I did when I was younger but these days I read completely for pleasure and don't care what judgements others might choose to make.

I sometimes think I should tackle on of those "100 classics everyone should read before they die" lists but then I look at the lists and decide I'm not really that interested after all LOL. If something appeals to me then I'll pick it up, no matter what the genre but I think as long as people are reading then it's all good, whether they choose classics, graphic novels or anything in between.

LUST:

What Attributes Do You Find Most Attractive In Characters?

Ooh that's a difficult question because there are different things that draw me to different characters and what one author can pull off another will fail completely on. I think most of all I want to read books with characters I can relate to in some way, obviously we're not all witches and wizards like Harry, Ron and Hermione but whats so great about them is that apart from their magical abilities they're really quite normal, they still have the same insecurities, fears and weaknesses that we do and still have to deal with the same day to day issues on top of trying to save the world. I enjoy stories where I can imagine myself hanging out with the characters, I want to feel like if they walked off of the pages and into my front room we could be friends.

ENVY:

What Books Would You Most Like To Receive As a Gift?

I could write a huge list of books I'm saving up for or books that I'm desperately waiting to be published  but the biggest unicorn that I would LOVE to own a copy of has to be the limited edition hardcover of The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling. It's such a gorgeous set that comes with art prints and a lovely keepsake box & I think it would go perfectly with the rest of my Harry Potter collection. It's getting harder and harder to find though and the copies that I have seen are FAR outside of my price range but I live in hope so who knows, perhaps one day the book faeries will decide to leave a copy underneath my Christmas tree LOL.

WRATH:

What Author(s) Do You Have a Love/Hate Relationship With?

There are two authors who immediately spring to mind to answer this question, one is going to be a hugely unpopular choice and the other is an author who used to be one of my favourites so I still find it difficult to believe I'm including their name on this list.

So first we have Sarah J Maas (yes shocking I know!), I was actually a huge fan of Sarah's for a long time, I went to signings and met her twice and I would devour her books the minute I got my hands on them. She was an author I'd preorder immediately and get super excited about but it all started going horribly wrong when she completely rewrote Chaol's character in Queen of Shadows just because she had decided Rowan was a better fit for Aelin. I would have been bitter about that ship change no matter what but if she had written it better then I'd have gotten over my disappointment eventually.

As if that wasn't bad enough the next book she published was A Court of Mist and Fury which I HATED with the passion of a thousand suns. Now I know that is going to be a shockingly unpopular opinion because that series has so many fans but I absolutely hated everything about that book and I've not been able to pick up a book by Sarah J Maas since.  I just hate the way she is so fickle with her pairings, and how in one book certain characters are true mates but then a guy comes along that Sarah suddenly likes better so she has to rewrite history and give her characters personality transplants in order to fit square pegs into round holes. She has absolutely zero skill or subtlety about it and goes about the shift like a bull in a china shop. It's gutting because I did really love Rhys so if she'd paired him with anyone other than Feyre, or even split up Feyre and Tamlin without changing Tamlin into someone he wasn't, then I would have stayed a superfan. As it is I know I want to finish the Throne of Glass series eventually but I have very little enthusiasm left for the series or anything else Sarah J Maas may write in the future.

It actually pains me to say this but the second author on this list is Patricia Briggs. I have been a HUGE fan of the Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega books for years now, if you've been following this blog for any length of time you've probably heard me talking about them before because I've reread the books at least once a year for a long time now. I honestly thought this series would continue to be a favourite forever and I've always been so excited to get my hands on each new instalment.

But then along came Burn Bright and that book destroyed everything. Some of the things revealed in that book have totally ruined my opinion of both one of my most loved characters AND of Patricia Briggs herself. I know it's her world and they're her characters so she's entitled to do whatever she likes to them but this is some seriously messed up shit that I just can't deal with. Not after reading (and rereading again and again!) fourteen full length books (and multiple short stories!) set in this world without a single hint of what was coming. I don't think I've ever felt so betrayed, not even by Sarah J Maas which is really saying something! I hope that one day I'll recover from this enough to be able to enjoy the first fourteen books again but I don't think I'll ever be able to reread Burn Bright or any new books in this world which is utterly heartbreaking because they used to be one of the highlights of my reading year.

So what do you think of my choices? Are any the same as yours? What books and authors would make your Seven Deadly Sins list?

Book Tag: Reader Problems

So I was tagged by the lovely Michelle from Much Loved Books to take part in this Reader Problems book tag and I couldn't resist joining her. If you want to read Michelle's answers you can find them HERE and mine are below.

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

This is a real problem in my house, I have so many awesome books that I'm desperate to get to and sometimes it can be impossible to decide where to start. I'm pretty much a mood reader so I'll think about what kind of book I'm in the mood for - YA/NA/Adult, Contemporary/Paranormal etc. - and then take it from there. This year I've been trying to read more of the books that I bought for myself since they've taken such a low priority since I started receiving books for review. I'm trying to alternate one review book followed by a book I bought but it doesn't often work out that way. If I sign up to take part in a blog tour then that book will get priority but other than that it'll depend what book catches my eye on any given day, I can hardly ever decide in advance what I'll be in the right mood for.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

I hate not finishing books but it's something I've started getting better at over the last couple of years. I still feel guilty if I abandon something but there are so many books that I want to read that I don't see the point in forcing myself to waste time finishing something that I'm not enjoying. If you're reading for fun then it shouldn't feel like a chore to pick up your current book.

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I'm actually well on track for my Goodreads challenge and was thinking about increasing my goal so this hasn't been a problem for me so far *touch wood*

4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

I HATE it when the covers don't match so if it's a series I love I'll often end up rebuying the books so that I have a matching set. I have seen it where the covers on particularly long series change several times over the years though so I'm now much more wary about buying books until the series is complete. If you change mid way through the series I'll stop buying print copies and switch to kindle versions until I reach the end of the series and then make up my mind on whether to buy print copies depending on whether it's a reread type of series or not. One good thing about my kindle is that I don't care what the covers look like on my ebooks because I never see them LOL.

5. Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

My friends tend to have a lot of varied opinions about books so the chances are there will be at least one person who agrees with me. I don't have a problem if I'm the odd one out though, I'm happy to discuss books with anyone, whether they have the same thoughts as I do or the compete opposite. I actually think it can be more fun to chat with someone who disagrees with you - as long as you all remain respectful about it there is nothing wrong with a difference of opinion! I enjoy that kind of discussion with people and it can make me think about things in a totally different way.

6. You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I try really hard not to read books that are going to turn me into an emotional wreck when I'm in public. It's fine when I'm at home with a huge box of tissues and a slab of chocolate to get me through the experience but there is nothing worse than sitting on a train trying to hold back tears because a character you love has just died! If a book catches me by surprise then I'll usually end up putting it to one side and trying to do something different until I get home and can read it in private.

7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you've forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!?!?!?

Before I started blogging I always used to reread the earlier books in a series before a new release came out but I just don't have the time to do that any more. I'm actually getting really fed up with YA trilogies because by the time I get hold of book 2 I've forgotten what happened in the first instalment and I know it's going to be another year long wait for the 3rd book. I will try reading the second book but more often than not I find I'm not enjoying it as much as I could because I've forgotten too much (one of the hazards of reading over 200 books a year I guess LOL). There are a lot of trilogies that I've decided to just wait until all 3 books are available then I'll reread book 1 and then dive straight into the last 2 books.

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

I'm actually happy to lend out my books. Well, I guess I should clarify I'm happy to lend my books to MOST people, if you borrow a book from me and it comes back badly damaged (or doesn't come back at all!) then you'll be off my list but as long as you take care of them you can borrow as many as you like. I'm not too worried about broken spines or books showing that they've been read (even though I tend to keep them in fairly pristine condition myself) so as long as people aren't turning down the pages or REALLY wrecking them I'm fine. The only time I'm more wary about loaning books is if they're signed & that's only because I lost a few signed books that I lent to a friend who I've since lost contact with.

9. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

Thankfully I don't get in reading slumps very often but when I do rereading a favourite series or picking up a new book by one of my favourite authors nearly always does the trick. Paranormal romance and urban fantasy seem to be my go to comfort genres so even trying a new series that fits that criteria tends to give me a boost.

10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

I buy way more books than I should and probably have books on my shelves that I'll never actually get around to reading. I'm trying to control myself more now but I do have a fair number of authors who are on my automatic pre-order list (Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Lara Adrian, Patricia Briggs, Jeaniene Frost and Chloe Neill to name a few - see what I mean about PNR & UF being my go to genres? LOL) but I'm trying really hard not to add any new ones. I'm also trying to be careful about not ordering new books in a series until I've read the previous one. I have so many complete series sat on my shelves where I've only ever read the first book and it's a little crazy really!

11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

That really varies, I wish I could say I got to them quickly but the chances are most books I buy will sit on my shelves for at least a few months, if not longer, before I get to them. My to read pile has now spread to take up 5 whole bookcases so it's going to take me years to get to the bottom of it! This is why I'm supposed to be on a book buying ban but I never seem to manage to resist for long LOL. Some books do jump straight to the top of the pile though, especially if it's by one of the author's I mentioned above.

I'm going to tag:
Kirsty from The Overflowing Library
Sammee from I Want to Read That
and anyone else who wants to take part

Make sure you leave me a link in the comments if you decide to join in (or if you've already posted your answers!) and I'll come and check out your posts.