May 21, 2021

Never Have I Ever Book Tag

Sometimes I love a distraction from my usual review posts. When a twitter friend, Lili, tagged me, I immediately thought “Talking about the reading life is some good Friday fun!”

I hope you enjoy this Never Have I Ever book tag! You are welcome to join in, too!

Rules:

• Link back to the original creator! (Madame Writer)
• Link back to the person who tagged you! (thanks Lili @Blissful Pages)
• Answer all prompts.
• Add one more prompt of your own.
• Tag at least five people.
• Don’t lie.
• Have fun!

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Prompts:

Never have I Ever.. read a later book in a series – before reading the first book.

I’m a strict “read in order” reader! However, I remember one time when I accidentally read out of order. I was intrigued by a review of Beachside Beginnings by Sheila Roberts. I was in between reads and jumped right into this not realizing that it was #4 in the Moonlight Harbor series! It was fine to read as a stand-alone (in fact, it’s my fav in the series), but I spent the next weekend binge-reading #1-3 in the series! I find it unsettling to read out of order. Do you read out of order or in order?

Never have I Ever.. burned a book.

I can honestly say I’ve never burned a book! LOL I have returned a few kindle books to Amazon after starting them! (benefits of digital reading!) I’ve also deleted a couple that I did finish from my Amazon account and kindle device because I just don’t want to see them. I have thrown a couple in the trash (usually when moving) when I decided there was no redeeming value in keeping them or gifting them. I don’t think I’d discard a book I really hated in a Little Free Library because I don’t receive joy in passing around bad books. I might put books I don’t like in a yard sale because it would be someone’s choice (and possibly their treasure!) to pick it up. I do realize that a book I hated might be a book someone else loves. Bottom line, if I really dislike a book, I want it out of my sight. But, no, I’ve never burned one! How do you feel about keeping books you don’t like?

Never have I Ever.. read a book I knew I would hate.

As a person who reads a lot, I know what I like and don’t like. So I’m not likely to read a book I know I’ll hate. This is difficult because I also suffer from FOMO and love the buzz of reading new releases. One time, I remember reading a book out of my usual genre and having doubts about liking it and ended up loving it and binge reading the 3 installment series in one week. If you’re curious, it was The Hunger Games! This was a case of being leery (not hating), and I’m glad I gave it a chance. If I know I’m going to hate it, I probably would not read it. Life’s too short to read bad books. Have you ever read a book you knew you’d hate?

Never have I Ever.. written a fanfiction about my favorite books.

I’ve never thought about writing fan fiction, and it’s not a category I enjoy reading. So I feel good about my answer. Do you enjoy fan fiction?

Never have I Ever.. loved a book when I was young, yet hated it when I got older.

I’m always leery of reading books I’ve loved in childhood for fear that I can’t capture the magic of that first read. I don’t want to destroy any precious memories. Thus, I’ve never reread Gone With the Wind! (my first histfic book hangover!) Have you reread a beloved childhood book? What was your experience?

Never have I Ever.. dressed up as one of my favorite literary characters.

Because I was an elementary school teacher, literary characters were favorite Halloween costumes among the teachers! One year I was Miss Nelson from Miss Nelson is Missing. Have you ever dressed up as a literary character? Which one?

Never have I Ever.. hated a book by an author I love.

Well….yes….. I loved LOVED The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and I didn’t like Bridge of Clay at all and ended up setting it aside. I was so disappointed! What a dreary book for YA readers. Have you had the experience of hating a book by a favorite author?

Never have I Ever.. gone into a bookstore to buy one book and come out with many more.

Complete fail here! Obviously you can’t buy just one book! Or can you?!

Never have I Ever.. read the ending of a book before reading the beginning.

I don’t love thrillers, so when a story gets too tense, I have occasionally peeked at the last chapter….mainly to know if a character lives or dies. This knowledge helps me settle back into the story and enjoy it more without all the tension! I know some other readers would never do this! However, I have never read the end before I’d even started the book! That I would not do! Have you ever peeked at the end either before or during a read?

Never have I Ever.. read a book without the dust cover.

When I was buying physical books, I always kept the dust covers on. The flaps are handy bookmarks! Are you a dust cover on or off reader?

Never have I Ever.. skim-read nearly half the book.

Oops!!! I have skim-read nearly half the book many, many times! Especially if I’m tempted to DNF but I’m still somewhat curious about the storyline. I will also skim passages that are too graphic. I’m typically a fast reader so skim reading is an easy next level. Do you skim read?

Never have I Ever.. pretended to have read a book that I haven’t.

The only time I’ve pretended to have read a book that I haven’t was when I was teaching 5th grade and allowed students to assume I had read Harry Potter! At times, I think I’ve been tempted to have pretended to have read a classic that I hadn’t…..at this stage of my reading life, it’s embarrassing to think of some books I haven’t read! I try to pick off a couple of these books every year! In high school and college, students frequently pretended to read the assigned books. I always read my assigned book….even now for book club! I’m curious if you have ever pretended that you had read a book when you hadn’t and why.

Never have I Ever.. seen the movie before reading the book.

Usually, I like to read the book first; however, there have been a few instances where I’ve seen the movie first. Honestly, once I’ve seen the movie, I mostly lose interest in reading the book. One example is The Zookeeper’s Wife. It had been on my TBR for a while and I hadn’t read it because of some mixed reviews. So when the movie came out, I jumped at the chance to see the movie and skipped the book. I was always entertained by my fifth-grade students who thought they could simply see the movie and pass a comprehension test! It took me most of the year (and comparing several books to their movies) to convince them that there’s more content in a book! Do you always read the book before seeing the movie?

Never have I Ever.. had a book boyfriend.

I’m sure we’ve all had a book boyfriend! One of mine is Inspector Gamache in the Three Pines series by Louise Penny. Yeah, I’m old! Who is your book boyfriend?

Never have I Ever.. read a history book or anthropology book for fun.

I don’t know if I’ve read a history book for fun, but I have chosen to read some history books. My favorites are ones that are written in a narrative format such as Killers of the Flower Moon, The Only Plane in the Sky, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and The Warmth of Other Suns. Have you ever read a history book for fun?

Never have I Ever.. picked up a book based on the cover alone.

When I used to shop more for physical books in a bookstore, I was sometimes tempted to look at a book because of the cover. But covers are usually the last thing that compels me to read or purchase books. So I do pick up a book based on the cover to look at the summary; but, do I pick up a book to purchase based on the cover alone, no. In a somewhat related thought: do you walk through a bookstore and lovingly touch covers of books you’ve read…like greeting old friends? Too weird?! Do you choose books based on the cover alone?

Never have I Ever.. bought multiple books in a series without having started it.

This is true. I’ve never done this. I would always want to read the first book in the series before I commit. How about you?

Never have I Ever.. kept reading a series even if I didn’t love the first book.

Again, this is true. I’m a completist, so liking that first book is extremely important to me! There is a short series (4 books) that I read but didn’t entirely love, but because I had read the first book, I felt compelled to finish the series. There were good reasons why I continued: I had never read anything by this popular and prolific author and I wanted to give her a try, the series is based in North Dakota and I’m a “dakotagirl” at heart, and I borrowed them from the library so there was no financial investment. I really wanted to give them a chance. However, ordinarily my motto is: life is to short to read bad books! What is your experience?

Never have I Ever.. kept buying books even though my bookshelves are full of unread books.

Actually, I don’t buy a book until I’m sure I’ll read it. So I don’t think my kindle is full of unread books, but there may be one or two. Do you have a shelf full of unread books?

Never have I Ever…bought/read a book because of a booktuber/book blogger.

Books I’ve read because of a blogger’s recommendation are too many to list! I hope you, too, have found some trusted reviewers that share your favorite genres! I think the last two books I read based on recommendations are Beachside Beginnings by Sheila Roberts and Finding Love At Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland….both from Carla at Carla Loves to Read. What is the last book you read based on a reviewer’s recommendation?

My New Prompt:

Never have I Ever…given a book as a shower, birthday, Christmas, graduation, or wedding gift.

Oops! Buying books as gifts is my favorite type of gift giving! I just heard about a book today that I will keep in mind for the traveler in my life! I LOVE thinking of the perfect book gift for everyone on my list! Do you give books as gifts?

Tagging:

(no pressure!)

Kym
Athena
Blake
Brandy
….and anyone who wants to participate!

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QOTD:

Do you like to talk about the reading life?

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Happy Reading Book Buddies!

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke

“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes

“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text

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Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.

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