We found this back to school book tag through the app Amino, it was made by the user @PercabethSwiftie
We are very sorry that this blog post is one day late, it is due to there being a lot of long answers to the tag questions (especially on Doreth’s part, since she couldn’y choose most of the time).
- English/ Language Arts name your favourite author’s (or books) writing style.
Doreth: I really love individual books by authors and even if I really love the way an author writes I can still completely forget to look up on Goodreads whether they have more books, but this is what I could come up with from the top of my head; Stephany Perkins, Wendy Higgins, Jennifer I. Smith, April Genevieve Tucholke and Rachel Gibson. They all have their own ways of keeping me engaged and entertained and all the books I read from them were really easy to read and get absorbed in. I would definitely recommend checking them out.
Lotte: I personally really enjoy Sarah J. Maas’ writing style. I love that she is great at giving good descriptions. I always feel like I am right there with the characters.
2. Math A book that made you frustrated.
Both: We both thoroughly disliked the book Did I Mention I Love You by Estelle Maskame. Neither of us has actually finished the book (yet), but the part we did read, we felt could have been done better. Firstly, because we couldn’t relate to the main character whatsoever; she felt spineless, unfeminist and unable to stand up for herself. Secondly, because some of the scenes felt vague due to the lack of detail.
Doreth: Also, I just remembered, a book that really annoyed me; Rockaholic by C.J. Skuse. Mainly because I could not relate to the main character at all, which really irritated me considering the fact that I spend a lot of time looking for it after reading the blurb on Goodreads, I had high hopes for this book and felt thoroughly disappointed by all that was left out of the blurb. I hope to someday find myself finishing the book, but I can’t see myself falling in love with it like I’ve done with so many others.
3. Science A book that really made you think or question things.
Doreth: I finally bought myself a copy of the book The Perks Of Being A Wallflower last summer, I’d watched the movie before -something that I usually would never do; watching the book adaptation before reading the book- so I knew what was going to happen, but I was still blown out of my mind by Chbosky’s writing style and found myself falling for Charlie, Sam and Patrick -not hard with Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller playing out the parts in my mind- so finishing the book was quite hard, knowing what was about to happen, but it was worth it in the end. The Perks not only gave me a great playlist while reading, but also taught me not to judge someone until you have literally walked a mile in their shoes, or read their every thought while they were living/ reliving their worse moments.
Lotte: One book that really made me think a lot about life was The Five People You by Mitch Albom. I first heard about this book when I was watching Carrie Hope Fletcher’s video about book recommendations and decided to pick it up short after. It made a great impact on me (Doreth really loves to laugh at me for it haha). I am not religious at all but the story wasn’t told in a way that would only be enjoyable if you are. It just really makes you think about what impact you have on the people around you and what impact they have on you.
4. Social studies/ history Your favourite book from a different time period.
Doreth: Again, I have more than one book I would pick for this category, I have three. I’ll start with one of my favourite books; Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I love how both the main character and the author defy expectations set in their time; Austen by not marrying and becoming a successful author in a time where jobs were for men, meaning there were no successful female authors. And Lizzy by standing up for herself and having an opinion in a time where these things were not expected or appreciated. My second one is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, another favorite of mine. I studied Francis Scott for a project in high school and got to know a lot about him and his books. The 1920s are my favourite time period and if I could time travel like in the movie Midnight In Paris I would go to exactly the same place, or better said time, as Gil did, the 20s. I know the statistical probability of finding Fitzgerald, Zelda, Hemmingway, and Picasso in the same place is highly unlikely if not impossible, but a girl can dream.
Lotte: My pick for this question are all the books in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. They are set far in the future and I very much enjoyed them. I prefer books set in the future to books set in the past because I like to think about the chances of these stories actually happening. I liked how Meyer builds such complex worlds and the fact that she writes about very diverse characters, physically and mentally. I read all the books in the space of a few months and when I finished them I felt happy and sad at the same time. This is one of those series that will stay with you for a long time.
5. Art Your favourite book with pictures.
Doreth: One of my favourite books has a lot of art in it, which is actually one of the reasons I picked it up; Alice In Wonderland, the pictures in the original book were made by John Tenniel and the story was written by Lewis Carrol (obviously). The pictures don’t have any colour to them but the are beautiful in a very individual and personalised way; they look different from pictures you’ll see in other children’s books. But mostly, they make you feel like you are in Wonderland with Alice, eating the Upelkuchens and drinking the growth potion. Also, it sets good groundwork that the Cheshire Cat’s appearance in the later movies was based on. I loved the book and when I went to the expo in the Great Library in London, I fell even more. I think Lewis Carrol and john Tenniel can be really proud of the fact that their legacy still inspires and entertains so many people, young and old. Whether you hear it from your mums or dads before bedtime or if you chose to read it yourself, I hope both the words and the pictures leave as big a mark on you as it did me.
Lotte: I’m not someone who reads a lot of picture books or books with illustrations in them for that matter. But the one picture book I remember absolutely loving when I was little is Lotte, Het Meisje met de Parel (it’s called Sarah so Small in English but I always read it in Dutch) by Tanguy Gréban and Quentin Gréban. It’s a children’s book about a girl who shrinks to the size of a teacup. To be very honest, I don’t remember a lot of the rest of the story but I do know I used to love it. The illustrations are beautiful as well so it’s and overall lovely picture book.
6. Drama A book you would love to see turned into a movie.
Doreth: There are a lot of books I would love to see turned into movies, but I suppose my favourite would be Anna And The French Kiss, not only because of how much I loved reading this book, but also because the probability of the others in this series getting turned into movies would become higher too.
Lotte:A book(series) I would love to see turned into a movie is definitely The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I loved the feeling I got from the book, it was all very mysterious and magical. I think it would make a fantastic franchise!
7. Music/ Band Name a character you think (or know) would have the same musical taste as you.
Doreth: For this tag I had to think hard and then look in my bookcase -which is momentarily non-existent, so I have big piles of books everywhere in my room, which sounds cooler than it looks- before I came up with my answer; Tuesday-yes-that-is-her-real-name-Cooper from My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend, AKA Ruby Tuesday, AKA Chew. She has awesome music taste if you ask me -which you didn’t, but let’s pretend you did for the heck of it- and she writes a blog and, well I don’t want to spoil anything but her life is about to take a really big turn and you get to be there with her which feels like an amazing privilege. It’s definitely worth a read. Before I started actually reading Rockaholic by C.J. Skuse I would have probably mentioned that one too, but Jody’s love for music is overshadowed by her obsession for the lead singer -no spoiler there, as this becomes abundantly clear after the first few pages- and it dulls her love for music a little. Not that the description of the concert isn’t amazingly written, it’s just after that jody begins to annoy me.
Lotte: I don’t think Captain Thorne’s music taste is touched upon in The Lunar Chronicles, but for some reason I think it would be similar to mine. I love punk-rock, punk-pop and pop music. But I enjoy pretty much anything. Since Thorne is pretty easy-going but also slightly egdy, I feel like my music taste would go well with his personality.
8. Lunch A food from a book you would love to try.
Both: We would both really love to try all of the foods from Harry Potter. It would be so cool to try out pumpkin juice and have alive and moving chocolate frogs and the Butterbeer (yes, we are aware you can purchase this beverage at various places, but it’s just not the same). Obviously, we are still waiting for our acceptance letters as we are sure they just got lost in the mail, but, in our opinion, it would be really cool to try every food and drink Hogwarts has to offer.
9. Bus ride home A book or author that is relaxing.
Doreth: I would say most contemporary YA books have a relaxing effect as you can, in rough lines, kind of figure out what is happening and what will probably happen after, but I particularly enjoyed reading Trouble by Samantha Towle, I read it recently when I was anxious about school starting soon, especially since I had a year off last year, but the book kept me from worrying too much about myself as you will find yourself worrying about Mia, the main character most of the time. With her troubles from her past and Jordan’s unending stream of dirty and rude thoughts and jokes, you find yourself going from frowning to laughing in no time. or at least I did.
Lotte: This is probably the easiest question for me. The books that are most realxing for me to read are definitely all the Harry Potter books. I know it’s not a very original answer, but I grew up reading these books and they just give me the feeling of coming home.
10. Extra credit A book someone else told you to read and you ended up enjoying it.
Doreth: For me this would be Cinder, the first book in the lunar chronicles by Marissa Meyer, I hadn’t read it because I had been in a reading slump, but my friend -which was Lotte actually kept on nagging me to read it and I loved it. I am really happy to have read it, because it not only made me excited to read the others, but also got me out of my reading slump. Thanks, Lotte!
Lotte: My pick for this question has to be Night Owls (The Anatomical Shape of a Heart in the US) by Jenn Bennett. Doreth recommended this book to me (I swear we have other friends) so I picked it up when I was visiting her in London during her year abroad. It was the first book I read this year I absolutely LOVED it. Thanks, Doreth 😉
We hope you enjoyed this tag!
Love, Lotte & Doreth
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