Category: book tag

top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Dynamic Duos

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

It’s a shorter work week for me but this Tuesday morning still feels like it’s been the longest week already. Does anyone ever feel that way?

Anyway, this week’s TTT is all about those awesome duos. I tried to stay away from just romantic couples because that’s a completely separate thing. These are the power duos who work so well together, who have amazing camaraderie, and honestly aren’t their best without each other.

Starting with…

1. Safi and Iseult

These girls are the definition of besties and they fight like a well honed unit. Where one is, the other surely isn’t far behind. Unfortunately they do get separated a lot in this series, but they always have each other’s backs regardless of the distance between them.

2. Katsa and Po

Okay, these two are also romantic partners but their Graces and fighting styles are so well matched that it’s hard not to see how great they are beyond just the romance of it all. They make great investigative partners and their loyalty to each other is everything.

3. Puck and Ash

In this original trilogy, these two boys are part of the love triangle, but they also have such a complicated history with one another. There was even another girl that once came between them, but here we are having the two fight on the same side again against all odds. Their banter makes the series, let’s be honest!

4. Janco and Ari

These guys aren’t the power twins for no reason! You’d rarely see them apart from each other and they make the best pair of loyal friends/guardians anyone could ask for. But watching them fight together is truly a wonder to behold! Even better would be to learn from them.

5. Nate and Bronwyn

Also a romantic couple, they had to be included on the list because their chemistry is off the charts in this opposites attract kind of duo. Their problem solving, the ups and downs of being murder suspects, yep, these two make quite the pair.

6. Will and Jem

I will end off with these two. As part of a complex love triangle where everyone is absolutely lovable, these boys are bound by love themselves as parabatai. Their friendship is to die for, and any snippets of just the two of them in a story is enough to make me tear up. Enough said, they’re the best duo I’ve ever read.

I’m keeping the list a little shorter this week. These are my favourite duos for their chemistry, bond, and ability to be half of a whole. Who’s your favourite duo?

book tag

Real Neat Blog Award Tag

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Thanks to Moya at The Moyatorium for tagging me on this one! What a fun thing to do during the dreary winter in Canada for sure! The rules are simple and I hope that the nominees will participate as well. And without further ado, here we go!

The Rules

  • Display the award logo
  • Thank the blogger who nominated you and post a link to their blog
  • Answer the questions of the one who nominated you
  • Nominate 5-10 bloggers
  • Ask them 7 questions

Questions

  1. If it doesn’t smell bad, how long past the expiry date would you still drink the milk?

    This is an absolutely hilarious first question, and I love it. It’s a good question! I would say milk is risky, it really does go bad quite quickly especially if it’s under-refrigerated or left out. I don’t have the best nose, so actually I can’t smell spoiled milk that well (unless it’s really bad). One easy way to tell is to poor it out and see if it’s lumpy at all though—that definitely means it’s gone bad. Taste some to make sure before putting spoiled milk into any food! I’d say a couple of days past expiry is already very risky.
  2. What’s your opinion on Wordle?

    I usually don’t buy into any hype or trendy things. So I was resistant to starting Wordle for the longest time. That being said, I was bored one day and I tried it. I then realized you can only play once a day, which I found to be very low commitment (something I like nowadays during my busy life). It is fun! I don’t really understand the hype still though. It’s essentially hangman and mastermind combined, if you’re familiar with those two. I like the game, but definitely confused why it has blown up the way it has.
  3. If I stole your phone and changed the lockscreen, what’s the worst thing I could change it to?

    Probably some embarrassing picture of me. Close-up of some insects or something gory would also be awful. Mine is currently a picture of my dog, whom I love dearly.
  4. How do you feel about the smell of cigarettes?

    Absolutely not. Tobacco or even marijuana smoke, I’d really rather not. I don’t think I have the worst reaction to it compared to some people, but I definitely don’t enjoy it and it makes me feel a bit nauseous.
  5. Do you like the scent of rain, or does it smell like misery?

    Petrichor—I definitely love it! It smells earthy and fresh and reminds me new growth and something alive. It really reminds me that the earth is alive and that nature is at work even when sometimes the city just feels so cold. I don’t think I have ever thought of the rain as misery, though sometimes being stuck inside because of the rain when you were planning on going out can be quite miserable. The scent of rain is great though!
  6. When was the last time you broke the law, and are you proud of it?

    I decline to disclose. Haha, just kidding. I’m sure I broke some speeding law or something most recently. I’m not particularly proud of it, but I don’t think I consider it of much importance either. Speeding laws are meant to be keeping us as a community safe, and if you’re driving safely 5 km over the limit, I don’t really think anyone is put in danger…even though you’re technically breaking the law.
  7. What do you do when you can’t fall asleep?

    I don’t usually have a problem with this but I think I end up watching YouTube videos or reading something. Tiring out my eyes is an easy way to just make me lie down and close my eyes. And when those things happen in the dark, I tend to fall asleep soon after.

Nominees

Here are some blogs that we think are neat! We’d love to hear from you:

Leslie @ Books Are The New Black

Louise H @ Life in the Book Lane

Kaya @ A Fictional Bookworm

24hr.YAbookblog @ 24hryabookblog

Marta @ Monogamist Reader

Nehal @ Quirky Pages

Questions for You

  1. If you could live in any book world in a villain’s shoes, which book would that be?
  2. If you could have a superpower that you could only use once a day, what would it be?
  3. If you had to rename the colour purple, what would it be and why?
  4. How much pulp is appropriate for your orange juice?
  5. If you could give years of your lifespan to others (including pets), how would you choose to spend it?
  6. Is low battery or no signal scarier?
  7. If you could be anywhere in the world and read (no restrictions whatsoever), where would you choose to do so?

Looking forward to all your wacky and/or insightful answers!

top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Too Good to Review Properly

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week’s TTT got me thinking a lot: what does it take to write a good review for a really great book? And I couldn’t find necessarily a similar thread between them all until I came to one idea – the book somehow uniquely surprised me in a way that no other had before.

I’m not sure if that’s something you all can relate when you struggle to passionately write about a book that blew your mind away even though it should be easier with so much to say! I think my words are never coherent enough to really portray how I feel about the book accurately.

So here are the books I know for certain I could never (or haven’t been able to) write the best review I would want to for these gems.

1. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

There’s no mistaking how much I couldn’t put this into words. There’s romance and great chemistry, but above all, there’s science. Accurate science! I felt so seen in a fictional book and I couldn’t emphasize well enough how that took my breath away. If you want to see my attempt, my review is here.

2. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

This is my all time favourite book even after all these years. Nothing has surpassed the way it world builds but also excellently crafts these realistic characters that are so unique from one another. I’ve cried and laughed and loved with this book, and have done so on many re-reads. Yet I have never written a review for it (or attempted to) because I know it wouldn’t be able to hold all that I feel for it. Not unless it’s a 10 page essay.

Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday: Books Too Good to Review Properly” →