Answering 26 Bookish Questions From A to Z

Best sequels, hidden gems, and more

August 9 is National Book Lovers Day! So, to all the people who love reading, today is the day to pick up a book and get lost in a great story.

Alan Simpson recently did a post answering bookish questions from A to Z, and I was inspired to write my own.

If you’ve ever been curious to know my favorite sequel or the best hidden gem book, look no further! And if you decide to answer the prompt yourself, tag me so I can read it.

Author You’ve Read the Most Books From — I’ve got a tie. I’ve read 14 books by Sarah Dessen and 14 books by Cassandra Clare. The runner-up position goes to Sarah J Maas, who I’ve read 13 books from. Maybe I just like reading books by people named Sarah? Speaking of, you can see my ranking of all of those Sarah Dessen books here:

Best Sequel — It’s no surprise that the sequels I loved are from authors I’ve read a lot of books from (they’ve got pretty long series). It’s hard to pick just one. I loved Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare which left me completely shocked with an intense cliffhanger. I also really enjoyed A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas, arguably the strongest book in that trilogy overall.

Currently Reading — I’m reading a few books at the moment. I’m a couple of chapters into The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield, which my boyfriend really wanted me to read (it’s one of his favorite books). I also just started Book Lovers by Emily Henry, but I’m only ten pages in. I picked it up a few months ago and then forgot I was reading it, so I restarted it.

Drink Choice While Reading — I’m not a coffee person, and I usually think tea tastes like sweaty water. So, my drink of choice is usually a hot chocolate in the colder months and a frozen lemonade in the warmer months.

E-Reader or Physical Book — I read both. I love owning physical copies of my favorite books so I can reread them whenever I want and highlight my favorite lines. E-books are really convenient when I’m traveling or taking out books from the library. I usually read E-books on my phone though, not on a separate device.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Dated in High School — I was obsessed with Divergent as a teenager, so I probably would have swooned if I ever met Four in real life. But, to be honest, dating wasn’t really on my mind when I was in high school. I was too busy getting lost in books, spending time with family and friends, and studying.

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance —I didn’t really have a choice because I had to read this book for one of my classes at university, but I was so surprised with how much I loved The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It’s one of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year. If you’re hesitant about classic books, I definitely think you should try this one; it’s worth the read.

Hidden Gem — Everyone’s An Alien When You’re An Alien by Jonny Sun. No one is talking about this book, and it is fantastic. Similar to The Little Prince. I wrote an entire article about it here:

Important Moment in Your Reading Life — There are a lot of moments, such as anytime I met one of my favorite authors (I’ve been lucky to meet Cassandra Clare, Sarah Dessen, and Rick Riordan, just to name a few). But, if I had to pick one, I would choose when I read the Harry Potter series with my little brother for the first time. We read the books together side by side, and it was a magical experience getting to discuss our thoughts on the series in real-time.

Just Finished — I’ve been a little slow on reading lately as I’ve been focussing on work and other projects. But, I finished You Have a Match by Emma Lord at the end of July. It’s a cute story about long-lost sisters meeting at camp.

Kind of Books I Won’t Read — Horror. Just not my thing.

Longest Book You’ve Read — Probably one of my greatest accomplishments was reading and writing a massive paper on Clarissa, or, The History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson for one of my university classes. The book was published in 1748 and is over 1500 pages (though for my class we read the abridged version — don’t worry that was still well over 800 pages). The book is actually an epistolary novel and a really interesting exploration of marriage and social norms. Though I do think Richardson could have been just a little more concise.

Major Book Hangover Because Of — If you don’t know what a book hangover is, it’s basically that feeling when you finish reading a book or series and ask yourself, “What do I do now?” One of those series for me was The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Another series is The Renegades Series by Marissa Meyer. For both trilogies, I read all of the books in a matter of days and absolutely loved them.

Number of Book Cases You Own — At the moment while I am traveling and away from home, I have zero. I’m just stacking my books wherever they fit. But at home, I’ve got a couple.

One Book You’ve Read Multiple Times — If we’re not counting books in The Bible, I’ve probably reread Just Listen by Sarah Dessen the most. I’ve stopped counting, but I know I’ve read the book cover-to-cover at least ten times. I’ve flipped through specific quotes and scenes even more.

Preferred Place to Read — When I’m at home, there’s a couch I love to read on. It’s pretty popular in my house, so with eight people, you sometimes have to lay claim on it early in the morning.

Quote That Inspires You, or Gives You All the Feels, From a Book You’ve Read — “One must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.” — From The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Reading Regret — This might sound cheesy, but I don’t like living my life with regrets. Even books that I hated can teach me something about what books I want to read or write in the future.

Series You Started and Need to Finish — I’ve got a confession, I don’t tend to start series unless they’re already completed. Most of the series I’ve started and haven’t finished are because I don’t plan on continuing. Here’s an article explaining some of the other weird habits I have as a reader:

Three of Your All Time Favorite Books —

• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
• Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Unapologetic Fanperson For — Well-developed realistic characters, space stories, second-chance romance.

Very Excited For This New Release (more than all the others) — I haven’t kept up with a lot of new releases recently, as I’ve been trying to read through my backlog.

Worst Bookish Habit — Sometimes, I can be impatient with books, especially if I’m not familiar with the authors. If it’s not clicking with me in the first fifty pages, even if there’s nothing wrong with the book specifically, I’ll put it down.

X Marks the Spot (start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book) — I’m not home with my bookshelves. So, I closed my eyes and pulled from the ten books I have with me and got The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. If you’re looking for a short classic, and you like science fiction/dystopian, I would recommend it.

Your Latest Book Purchase — I’ve been trying to buy fewer books, both because I want to save money and also because I don’t want to pay an airline overweight fee for my baggage when I go home at the end of the summer after my travels. But, sometimes I can’t resist. The most recent book I bought was Book Lovers by Emily Henry, so that’s part of the reason I’m determined to finish it this month.

Zzz-Snatcher Book (the last book that kept you up late) — One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle. The story has a magical element and I was on the edge of my seat because I wanted to know what would happen next. It’s an emotional summer story about a woman who travels to Italy after the death of her mother.

If you are particularly interested in other alphabetical bookish stories, I wrote an article recommending 26 book titles from A to Z which you can read here:

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