Hello, welcome to day 2 of the 12 Days of Blogmas! I’m here today with the Book Christmas Tag that I discovered over on Journey Into Books, and was initially created by Callum McLaughlin.
I don’t think there are any rules or pleasantries associated with the tag so let’s dive right in!
Father Christmas: Name a book you received as a child that you treasure to this day.
The Subtle Knife as well as The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, books 2 and 3 in the original His Dark Materials trilogy, which I received the Christmas I was 10 or 11. It’s funny because I remember being incredibly excited for them as I’d already owned and read Northern Lights, and I was a little annoyed when I opened them because the editions were different! I still have them mismatched now and even though I do prefer having matching covers for series, I’ll always keep them mismatched just for that memory.
The ghost of Christmas past: Is there a book or series you like to revisit each year at Christmas time?
I have two. Every year on Christmas Eve I re-read A Christmas Carol and the poem A Visit From St Nicholas.
Christmas Tree – Name a series that reaches new heights with every entry.
I’ve not kept up with it in the last few years (oops) but the one that instantly comes to mind is The Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor. When you think that’s it and the characters can’t be put through more life-threatening danger, Jodi Taylor just comes back to put us through more hell and hilarity and I’m in complete awe of how she comes with all these plots and crazy situations. I really need to get my act together and catch up with the books I’ve not yet read, including The Time Police series.
Friends and Family: Name a book with fantastic characters.
I need to re-read it and remind myself of all the characters, but I’m just going to go with The Fellowship of the Ring as all those characters are incredibly classic.
Decorations: Name a book with a gorgeous cover that you would proudly display on your shelves.
There are too many but one I’m incredibly attracted to is this edition of Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim. I hear a lot of hype for this book too, and whilst I would love to read it as it’s meant to be a retelling of The Six Swans, a Grimm fairytale I’ve never actually read, I doubt I’d ever get round to it. It’s shame that will be the case because I would probably love it and this pastel cover is gorgeous! It would stand out against the really dark books covers on my shelves and bring a bit of lightness to them.
Christmas Cards: Name a book that carries a great message
Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. It was very meaningful, thought-provoking and is definitely a book that’s stayed with me this year.
Ice and Snow: Name a book you were hoping to love but which ultimately left you feeling cold.
I’m going to do my obvious answer as I’m trying to get this written quickly and say The Queen of Air and Shadows by Cassandra Clare. Yes, The Dark Artifices wasn’t my favourite but I was still loving it as a trilogy until Cassandra Clare went in the direction she did and made me lose it. It did not sit well with me at all. I haven’t read a Shadowhunter book since and I have no plans to, unless I get the sudden urge to re-read The Infernal Devices as I couldn’t bear to part with those.
Christmas Lunch: Name a book that was big and intimidating but oh so worth it in the end.
The Priory of The Orange Tree – The most obvious book to fit this question as it is without a doubt the chunkiest book to grace my shelves and it wasn’t the easiest book for me to get into. However the more I read it, the more I loved it and the two weeks I spent reading it were definitely worth it. I just wish I could get past that intimidation for The Mask Falling which will also be incredibly worth it in the end once I finally read it.
Mince Pies: Name a book you found sweet and satisfying.
Since this is a Christmas book tag, I’m going for a Christmas book and saying Letters From Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien. I read this for the first time last December and I fell absolutely in love with it. It’s basically a set of stories that Tolkien wrote as Father Christmas to his children and they are incredibly funny, heartwarming and magical to read at this time of year. I did a review of this for last year’s Blogmas, so you can check that out but it’s definitely one I’ll revisit because it is such a cosy and satisfying read for this time of year.
Presents: What book do you wish you could give everyone to read?
I really don’t know but I suppose if they wanted to know me a bit more and understand my tastes in books then maybe something like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab. I know it didn’t work for everybody but it is one book that certainly had my heart in my throat the entire time I was reading it and the fears of both Addie and Henry hit very close to home for me so it would explain a lot.
Spreading the festive cheer: tag some friends to help spread the festive bookish love.
I don’t know who to tag so I’ll leave it open for anyone else who wishes to join in the fun!
Turn Another Page 