I was tagged by Sifa Elizabeth and this tag was created by Cara (Wilde Book Garden) on YouTube.

I can only bare knit, but this looks like a pretty fun tag (even though I don’t know what I’m going to do with some of the prompts). FYI, I don’t know most of the more complicated elements of knitting, but pearling is really backwards knitting, and combining it with knitting is what produces that stretchy, curly texture on a lot of knit sweaters, that has a different feel and appearance on the outside versus the inside. And double-pointed needles are for knitting continuous or circular pieces without producing a seam.

Cast-On

The first section you scope out in a bookshop

I’ve never actually been to a bookshop, not really, but there’s really no question about this one. It would be Fantasy. I might check out other sections (like Young Adult or Children’s) looking for Fantasy that happens to be in those age ranges and might be filed with them instead of in general, as well.

Knit

A super hyped book that completely delivered for you

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

I don’t know if it’s super hyped, or if it completely delivered for me, but I don’t read a lot that’s really hyped, and when I do, as often as not I find it quite a bit of a disappointment. The Priory of the Orange Tree is one that was making the rounds of quite a few book blogs a few years ago, and that even now I see recognition for in a lot of places, and people who’ve read and love it. It’s got dragons, and it’s got female characters who don’t feel at all flat or forced – just like they’re who they’re meant to be, as naturally as if their sex were never even noted. I liked it enough that I’m definitely looking forward to getting A Day of Fallen Night when it’s out in the standard paperback edition.

Purl

A character you believe deserves more love

I’m just going to say Shadow from Cursed Song by Samantha Kroese. Because I definitely loved that character, and wanted more of him, his perspective, and his journey!

Chart

A book or author you've been meaning to read but haven't got around to

This might be The Living Waters by Dan Fitzgerald. I won it in a giveaway sometime last year (was it almost a year ago now?). I just haven’t been in the mood for it yet. There are others, too: but I’ve come across most of them a lot more recently!

Double-Pointed Needles (DPNs)

A book you can read out of order AND a series people might think you can but you actually can't

So, by stars, I read a lot out of order. A series you can definitely read out of order (and my experience with it might not be due primarily to the peculiarity of being someone who will actually read books backwards – not word for word, but chapter for chapter) is The Coming of Aed by EG Radcliff. The publishing order is The Hidden King, The Last Prince, The Wild Court. I read it The Last Prince, The Hidden King, The Wild Court (which is the chronological order). Personally, I think you should at the very minimum have The Last Prince on hand before you read The Hidden King. If I hadn’t, I think I may have thrown The Hidden King at the wall and not looked back for a long time.

As for one people might think you can, but you actually can’t – or at least, shouldn’t? Hmm. Maybe The Empire’s Legacy series by Marian L Thorpe, and specifically Empire’s Heir. Though I’m not sure what would happen if you read some of the others (like Empire’s Bard) out of order. And the only reason I came up with this was because 1) I’m not sure how reading them out of order would have affected my understanding of the characters, which is not something I’m used to feel, and 2) and FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY, though maybe not, but this is why I thought of this: I read a review for Empire’s Heir by someone who had done that and completely misunderstood the book in ways I have no idea how they are even possible, and not just one way, but many!

Cables

A book you heard negative reviews for but you ended up loving

I am not sure? The only way I would certainly remember if this happened would be if I saw negative reviews lambasting the book for something that’s precisely what I like in a book, and those reviews are what prompted me to look into it. And I don’t think this has happened yet, though it is totally something that could happen. I’ve definitely seen reviews that were negative about the things I loved in a book from time to time, or sometimes about things that did not even make sense (like, MAYBE someone didn’t that that person’s character development, but HOW did you think THAT was what was going on???). But mostly after reading and loving the book.

Skein

A trope you can't stand

There are many of these. Probably, there are many of these for everyone. But some things I really can’t stand are the trope that you have to give into torture eventually (or even that there’s any reason to), and mind control that’s fought by Jesuit-like reinterpretation of commands and words, and not by emotions and a deep, true sense of who you are.

Also, “orphan is proud of his dad for being a hero and abandoning him and his mom when he was a baby” is one that really gets me mad. I’m open to subversion for most of these, though.

Gauge Switch

An author who is always a good fit for you

George MacDonald.

I actually have not read all of his books, but I totally binged on them one – winter? Probably it was winter. I may have tastes his books do not satisfy, and moods in which I’d like a different style of writing, but for the most part I always appreciate his stories, and he is the only author I would consider insta-buying. Also, the only person’s whose contemporary fiction I will read (I think a lot of it was contemporary when he was writing it, though it would be historical now; frankly, I don’t read historical fiction either). And that I like. Which is saying a lot.

Stitch Marker

A specific scene that stands out to you (no spoilers)

This would probably be when Vanyel meets the Shadow-Lover, aka Lady Death, in Magic’s Promise. I think that’s not a spoiler? I hope so at least. Honestly, I pretty much loved the entire Last Herald-Mage Trilogy, every bit of it more or less, as close as I can say for almost any book, but I think that’s the individual scene that stood out most. I take that back. It is the individual scene that stood out most. By a long-shot.

But there are a lot of other scenes in those books that really stood out, too. Enough that if I had to pick a scene that stood out to me most, but not that one, it would probably still come from that trilogy, though I’m not quite sure which one it would be.

Yarn Weight

Bookish taste buddies

I’m not sure I have any. I have a few friends I share some tastes with, maybe even the most important preferences and interests, but I haven’t really found anyone whose taste really matches to mine.

Novelty Yarn

A book that looked perfect on paper but just didn't work out

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson.

This is one of those books that taught me that I do not do well judging a book by its cover. Because the combination of cover and title just really got my interest. Animal companions? Yes! Dragons are my favourite, but Storm Crow? I love storms, I have nothing against crows, this seemed so perfect! Like another favourite companion creature waiting to be found! And that cover was so sweet and gorgeous! One of the few that just catch my attention that I’ve seen.

But … there was not very much about the crows, it took until pretty far into the book before our heroine’s crow hatched at all, even then there was not too much about him, and I found the characters kind of flat, and the depression/mental illness themes seemed forced. Plus, I found a lot of the nastiness gratuitous and unnecessary. The way the other tropes were done mostly didn’t appeal to me, either, or feel organic.

So now you know why I never judge books by the cover. Or almost never. It has never gone well for me, letting that influence my reading decisions.

Scarf

A good book for getting into a genre

Huh. This is another hard one, since that so greatly depends on where you’re coming from and what you’re looking for! Also, the only genre I really know is fantasy, usually high- or original-world- fantasy. Usually I try to get as much variety into tags as I can but – Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey. If you don’t think you can enjoy romantic subplots – well, that was the one that showed me some romantic subplots could be relationships and I could like them. And if you’re not used to fantasy, but you love character novels, there are fantasy elements and sometimes they’re pretty important, but also it really starts as just the story of a boy with the problems anyone could have, fantasy world or no, and not so many fantastic elements as to send your head spinning or break believability.

Socks

An underappreciated author who deserves more hype

How do I pick and choose from this one out of all the authors I read who deserve more hype? Because most of them do! I will pick Amy Campbell, though. I’ve enjoyed the Tales of the Outlaw Mages all along, but when I beta read Persuader last year it blew me away altogether! This book needs to go far!

Cast-Off

A weirdly specific think you love

The problem with these is describing them! Also if it’s so much something ‘weirdly specific’ as just some things – or some combinations of things – that I don’t come across real often. But a theme I really like is “the god is discovered to be better than his worshipers/than his worshipers believed him to be.”

Crafting Party

Tag people!

EG Bella

Leslie the Upstream Writer

Lauryn at Pro Story Builders

And anyone else who’d like to come!

I love to hear your thoughts on my answers – or see you try the prompts yourself!