Would You Rather // Book Tag

HAPPY MAY!!

Rose over at Novels & Teacups recently posted this book tag and it seems so fun! I liked reading her answers, and now here are mine below…

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Would you rather read an amazing book with a disappointing ending, or a book that is lackluster but gets really good at the end?

I have to go with the amazing book with a disappointing ending. At least the majority of the book still holds up! Who wants to suffer through a majority-bad book just to get to the good stuff? Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Would you rather read only books from your favorite authors, or only books from new authors?

This is hard. If I’m trying to find a loophole, I have to ask: is there a limit to how many favorite authors we can have? If I give 1000 favorite authors can I really read all of their works? If so, I’m set!

But if we’re being ~true to spirit~ and I can’t read anyone outside my absolute favorite authors, I’d have to go with books from new authors. There are so many exceptional writers out there and yet to come that I wouldn’t ever exhaust them all, and plus I still have the memory of my favorite authors.

Would you rather write a book (and it could be about anything), or have somebody write a book based on you?

Write a book about anything. I’m no writer, but what would a book about me even say? My life isn’t boring, but I’m not exactly making headlines either 😂

Would you rather read books only as ebooks for the rest of your life, or only listen to them as audiobooks?

Ebooks all the way! I’ve tried audiobooks but just can’t get into them, even though I’m such a huge podcast listener. I don’t know, I think I just don’t like stories being told in audio form? Plus I feel like I’m super nitpicky about my audio listening habits – if I’m playing something and a train arrives or some other loud thing happens nearby that covers up the sound, I have to rewind 15 seconds to hear everything. With podcasts this doesn’t bother me as much since either it’s a talk show where I don’t need to pay close attention, or it’s a nonfiction show. But with stories, you want to hear a continuous story and having the flow interrupted and then rewinding constantly is so annoying to me.

Would you rather read only books from series, or read whatever you want EXCEPT that you’d never be able to finish a series?

Yall, I already rarely finish any series. Usually my MO is just to read the first book in a series, be satisfied with the time I spent in that world, and then move on to other books after that and never return to the series again. Sacrilege to some I know, but an an easy one for me, #2.

Would you rather read on the beach or in a cozy cabin in the snow?

Cozy! Cabin! In! The! Snow! Yeah yeah, beach reading is nice too but honestly I’m not a huge fan of beaches and THE SAND THAT GETS EVERYWHERE. Give me a cute, hygge cabin with a little reading nook by a window and snow falling peacefully outside, and I’m in heaven.

Would you rather read in public a book that makes you laugh hysterically or one that makes you ugly cry?

Oooh this is hard. I think I’m going for the ugly cry book – Rose put it perfectly that it’s the ugly cry books that stay with you (hi A Little Life, hi When Breath Becomes Air).

Funny story, I read the ending of When Breath Becomes Air on my morning commute and a coworker acquantaince sat next to me on the train without me realizing. When I finally looked up, he turned his head to say hi, and froze when he say tears absolutely streaming down my face 😂 I’ve never seen someone look so petrified.

Would you rather read your favorite book out loud to someone else, or listen to a friend read their favorite book out loud to you?

Per above, I think I just don’t like having people read things out loud to me! So I’m going for reading my own favorite book to someone else (I have a decent reading voice if that helps? 😆)

Would you rather be transported to the world of your favorite fantasy/sci-fi novel, or the world of your favorite historical fiction novel?

Don’t even need to think about this one, fantasy/scifi world for sure. I don’t even know what my favorite fantasy/scifi book even is anymore – there are too many incredible ones – but I mean, having a choice of Hogwarts, Middle Earth, Malazan, Roshan, Narnia, the list goes on and on, is a pretty good place to be in.

Also, would I really want to go back in time in the real world? Call me first-world-ist but I like my modern-day trappings – medical technology and knowledge, streets free of horse dung and human excrement and gag-inducing smells, (mostly) equal rights for women and minorities. Yes, while I love imagining living in history, I don’t think it’d actually be that nice to visit if you aren’t a white male of a certain social status and wealth.

Would you rather give up reading for a year or give up your favorite food/beverage of choice for a year?

Definitely give up my favorite food for a year, and I’m not just saying that as a book blogger. There are plenty of second-favorite foods that I could happily live off of for a year – but asking me to not read anything for a year? No can do.

Would you rather only read dog-eared, used copies of books, or only read brand-new unbroken-spine hardbacks?

I could see this being a controversial question. I personally love used, worn, older paperback copies way more than stiff hardcovers – as long as they’re not, like, actually gross, they have so much more character. My bookshelves have very few hardcovers in them…secondhand books all the way. (Plus so much $$$ saved)

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This tag was a ton of fun! Feel free to join in – I’d love to read your answers too!

(photo by Jo Rodgers)