The Folklore Booktag

The Folklore Booktag was created by Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink, upon the release of Taylor Swift’s new album which I have been listening to on repeat for the past few days!

The Rules:

• Link to the original creator Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink
• Tag at least 3 people
• Declare the rules and list of prompts in your post
• Thank whoever tagged you and link to their post

I haven’t been tagged by anyone, but saw the tag on Olivia’s blog @ Purely Olivia, and I wanted to give it a try, especially since I haven’t been that much active on here this past month. I’m tagging Anna @ My Bookish Dream, Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane and Elli @ AceReads.

I’m also using the graphics created by Ilsa, so credit goes to her as well!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I’d heard nothing but excellent reviews for this one before I picked it up, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t let me down. Well it didn’t. It kept the suspense until the very last page, and I absolutely loved it. It’s a stunning book about nature and solitude, which on top of it has a bit of a murder-mystery plot, and it’s definitely worth all the praise!

I wasn’t sure which one to pick for this one at first, because to be honest I cry a lot when I read books that I find relatable which also makes me happy. I have a lot of feelings, okay. But in the end I decided to go with I Want to Eat Your Pancreas by Sumino Yoru. This is a very beautiful book about friendship and grief. We follow a narrator who becomes friend with a girl who knows she has a terminal illness, but hasn’t told any of her friends or people close to her. So basically, he’s the only one who knows. This book made me happy, because I love reading about blooming friendships, but it’s also sad because you know, from the get go, that ultimately she is going to die.

This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. From now on, every time someone asks me about that was well-written, I’m going to say this one. In addition to that, the story is absolutely fascinating. I completely and hopelessly fell in love with every part of this book. The longing. The letters. It’s absolutely brilliant to watch it all unfold.

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp. I was honestly so annoyed by this book, I don’t know how I proceeded to read it until the end. I guess I was waiting for it to get better. Well it didn’t. (Sorry if you liked it, I just couldn’t stand the main character, and the narration infuriated me.)

This is one I read a long time ago, and I know it’s not exactly original to quote a John Green book when it comes to books that made you cry, but Looking for Alaska by John Green completely wrecked me for some reason. It’s a beautiful book that I will forever associate with Marina’s song Lies because I was listening to it while reading the book, and now every time I hear it I think about Alaska and I want to cry. So yeah, that’s a journey.

I’m going to go with a very new release for this one and say Loveless by Alice Oseman. Now, Georgia by the end of the book has figured things out a little bit better than I actually do right now, but I also needed this book. It felt like a hug or a warm blanket, or a permission to just breathe, and feel, and figure it out, and I’m thankful that it has been brought into the world!

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I read them when I was a child and they will always have a special spot in my heart. These stories are truly magical, and I remember waiting and waiting at my local library for one of the sequels that someone had borrowed before me and simply wouldn’t return! I think I have read them at least three times, and I enjoy them on a new level every time. They’re just really special to me!

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman. This book more than deserves a place in this spot (and not just because it has the word summer in the title, that was actually an accident). It screams of the concept of “a whole summer to get better” but it’s also so much more than this. It’s about family and grief, and it’s absolutely stunning. On top of that, it takes place in Hawaii and the cast of characters is fantastic. So if you don’t know yet what to read for this summer, then I’d most definitely recommend this one!

Starling Days by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan. This is one of my most recent reads, and it spoke to me on so many levels. Although I have to admit that it could be a bit triggering in some occasions, it hit close to home. Basically, the main character is struggling with depression, and is trying really hard to get better, but everything can get overwhelming. She recently got married to her ten-years boyfriend, but she also sometimes thinks that he would be better off without her. Her thought process is truly heartbreaking, but also, this book is so important.

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Seriously, this book. First of all, how dare y’all end it like this. And second of all, I did enjoy the first book in the series, but wasn’t entirely smitten with it. However, I really LOVED the second one. There was some great character development, some great plot twists, and I am here for all of this. But really, how am I supposed to wait for the sequel now? After I finished it, I just had to scroll tumblr aimlessly (and that screams book hangover to me.)

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (which could also have been my pick for the book that made me cry endlessly, but it’s even more important that I mention it here.) This book deals with both grief and depression, and I read it at a time when I wasn’t feeling well. To be fairly honest, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I think it really helped me be okay with the fact that I wasn’t okay. And then I did something about it. Which is why All the Bright Places is so important to me. In addition to that, it’s one of the first books I talked about on here, and that makes it all the more important! I also recently watched the movie, and I cried a river, and it was worth it.

The Shade of Magic trilogy by Victoria Schwab, because I LOVE Lila Bard with all my heart. And honestly, did you really think I’d be able to make a tag post without mentioning a book by Victoria Schwab? I certainly didn’t because I know my limits. Lila is strong, badass, and doesn’t care about anything. Sometimes, I wish I could be like her.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power. Maybe “haunting” is not the most appropriate term when it comes to this book, so much as “disturbing” but I’ll go for it anyway. And maybe the problem is that my smart brain thought it was a good idea to read this book DURING A PANDEMIC. But you know, shit happens. Nevertheless, I was absolutely fascinated by Wilder Girls, and couldn’t get it off my mind for a long time after I finished it. It’s haunting in terms of the government doing nothing in the face of a pandemic. It’s haunting to see the people in charge being corrupted. And it’s haunting to see the very same thing happening on the news every day.

Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali. It’s another book that I’ve read during the confinement, and I completely fell in love with it. Zayneb is both badass and adorable. Adam is strong and vulnerable at the same time (toxic masculinity who? we don’t know her in this house). I was literally sitting on my couch, reading this book, and muttering to myself “just hold hands already!!”. That’s how powerful they are. And yes, they are not perfect. But they are perfect together.

Zofia from The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi, without hesitation. I would protect this girl with everything, and I would also die for her if need be. She deserves the world, and I want her to have everything she wants. Protect her at all costs.

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg. I swear I was rooting for this book. I really wanted to like it. But I felt terribly let down by the mental health representation. I really liked the concept, and maybe this set my expectations too high. But really, I don’t know, this didn’t work for me.

And that’s it for today! Thank you so much for reading up til now, and thanks again to Isla for creating this wonderful tag. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go listen to folklore one more time.

And if you still have time for me, I remember that I took part in another tag thing with Taylor Swift songs last year, here’s the link if you’d like to check it out!