The Joy of Christmas Book Tag (2018)

Today, I wanted to participate in one last book tag before the year is over. Instead of finding one I haven’t done before, I decided to do The Joy of Christmas Book Tag again to see how much my answers have changed after 3 years. Before I get started, I have to go over some of the technical details.

This tag was created by Sam’s Nonsense (Novel and Nonsense). The original video can be found HERE. And the updated video is HERE. 

Anticipation: The Christmas excitement is real, what book release(s) are you most anticipating?

• Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan 

• The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 

• The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory 

• The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie 

• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

Christmas Songs & Carols: What book or author can you not help but sing it's praises?

I have two answers for this one. Mem by Bethany C. Morrow: it was a short book but an incredibly good one. And Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker: if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about sleep and dreams, then this would be the book to start with.

Gingerbread Houses: What book or series has wonderful world building?

Oh, this one is easy: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and the entire Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. The world building in these books are among my all-time favorites. They’re immersive and atmospheric tales with layers of detail that make the settings vivid with scenery with a bit of political intrigue and magic. I’ve already done a review for Spinning Silver HERE and also talked about it on another post HERE. And as for the final book in the Winternight Trilogy, The Winter of the Witch, I’ll share my thoughts about it closer to the release date.

A Christmas Carol: Favorite classic or one that you want to read
One of my favorite classic novels is Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott, and the one I want to read is Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Christmas Sweets: What book would you love to receive for Christmas

Any volume of The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki.

Candles in the Window: What book gives you that warm fuzzy feelings

The first story from Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi: Death and Night. It’s by far my favorite of the three stories from the collection. And while it’s technically the backstory of some of the prominent characters from the series, it was excellent and there were some cute moments.

Christmas Trees & Decorations: What are some of your favorite book covers?

The book covers from the Heroine Complex series by Sarah Kuhn as well as the ones for the Tales from the Chocolate Heart series by Stephanie Burgis. And, of course, the book covers for the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie, because John Harris did the illustrations.

Christmas Joy: What are some of your favorite things about Christmas And/Or some of your favorite Christmas memories?

My favorite thing about Christmas is probably everything—music, an excuse to bake, spending time with family, etc.—and the fact that it’s in December means that the weather is cooler.

So, that’s about it for today. Don’t forget to check out Sam’s Nonsense over on youtube, and I tag anyone who wants to participate.

The Joy of Christmas Book Tag

It’s December so obviously I wanted to participate in The Joy of Christmas Book Tag, created by Novels and Nonsense. It seems like so much fun, plus its pretty festive. Before I get started,  check out the original video HERE. And, don't forget to check out Novels and Nonsense's channel.

Anticipation: The Christmas excitement is real, what book release(s) are you most anticipating?

Well, I’m looking forward to some sequels for books I read this year but a couple of release dates make me tear up—some of them are pretty far away. But I am looking forward to the sequel to Finding Serendipity, A Week Without Tuesday, which isn’t so far away. Also, I’m looking forward to Untamed by A.G. Howard.

Christmas Songs & Carols: What book or author can you not help but sing its praises?

Illuminae—that book was fantastic—but of course there are other ones too.

Gingerbread Houses: What book or series has wonderful world building?

Oh, this is an easy one—The Darkest Mind’s trilogy by Alexandra Bracken. I read the entire trilogy this year and it was fantastic. One of the things I really liked about it was the world building.

A Christmas Carol: Favorite classic or one that you want to read.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass are two of my favorites. Another good one is A Wrinkle in Time.

Christmas Sweets: What book would you love to receive for Christmas?

This question is harder than it looks because I honestly don’t know. But I guess if I had to pick, I would go with Rivals in the City by Y.S. Lee. I have the other three books in the series and I want to get it to see how the story ends.

Candles in the Window: What book gives you that warm fuzzy feeling?

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. This story was just cute and it remains as one of my favorite novels.

Christmas Trees & Decorations: What are some of your favorite book covers?

Splintered series has some nice ones. The Archived & The Unbound are also nice. The Burning Sky, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the entire Spiderwick Chronicles series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood & Starlight, Gravity & Hover—I could go on forever. So, I’ll just leave it at that.

Christmas Joy: What are some of your favorite things about Christmas and or some of your favorite Christmas memories?

Would it be wrong to say cookies? Ok, I think I need a better answer than that. I enjoy spending time with my family as well as watching classic holiday movies. Decorating the tree is also fun.

As usual, I don’t tag anyone specifically. If you want to participate, go for it. Happy reading!