The final week before Christmas break has begun, and as such I couldn’t help myself but get in the mood just a little bit. When I saw that one of my favourite Youtubers came out with an original Christmas-related booktag, I of course couldn’t resist. This is The Christmas Carol Book Tag, created by Lauren Wade; with 8 prompts themed around the Charles Dickens story by the same name. Links to Laurens channel, her original video, and a video by another favourite booktuber of mine Jean Bookishthoughts, are linked below, at the end of the tag. Without further ado: set aside your Scrooge persona, and let’s share some love of books.
1. The Ghost of Christmas Past - A book that was a childhood favourite
This question is already made for me, as not only do I still love middle-grade as an adult, I also have a lot of bookish childhood memories that I love to think back on. Due to severe physical illness my mother has been in a wheelchair for most of my childhood years, making it hard for her to spend time playing with me. Instead, we went on countless adventures through books, reading together: her reading to me at first, and years later when she no longer could, me reading to her. These moments with my mom are some of my favourite childhood memories, and the books we read together are a physical connection to these moments to this day. Some of my dearest memories I hold to the books by Paul Biegel and Thea Beckmann (both Dutch author, who’s work I’m not sure have been translated to English). We also adored the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, The Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trent Stuart, and countless more books that are well-known enough that I feel I don’t have to mention them. Thank you Lauren, for bringing back some memories with this question…
2. The Ghost of Christmas Present - A recent book that you think will become one of your all time favourites. The most recent book to qualify for that would be Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak. From the author of The Book Thief I was expecting a book I’d like. What I got was a book I adored with all my heart. I have a full review up here, in which you can read some more of my thoughts on it.
3. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come - A book coming out next year that you're most excited about. Just last week, I was planning a blogpost on my anticipated releases for 2020, and to my surprised realised that there weren’t too many books I was anticipating just yet. After doing some more research however, I ended up with 24 tabs open, furiously scribbled notes all over my desk and a TBR bursting at the seams… I now have about 20 highly anticipated books, all of which can be found on the therefore dedicated page. The one I’m anticipating the most at the moment is Sisters by Daisy Johnson. I’ve been anticipating Daisy Johnsons next work ever since I read the early copy of Everything Under and fell in love with her writing style. I hope this familytale of two sisters lives up to my hype. Honourable mention goes to Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss, as it’s probably my most anticipated release of all time. It currently has a pre-order date for August 2020, but I dare not hope just yet…
4. Bah, Humbug! - A book that everyone else loves that you just can't stand I’m completely behind Lauren and her answer on this one: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This book just wasn’t for me at all. I suspected as much based on the description, but the hype drew my into it nonetheless. Safe to say: I should have gone with my gut-instinct. You can find my full review here.
5. Bob Cratchit - An old dependable that you always recommend As you might know, I read from quite a variety of genres, so it really depends on what you’re asking for. Some suggestions, per genre: - Literary Fiction: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - Fantasy (Adult): The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson - Fantasy (YA): Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo - YA contemporary: We are Okay by Nina Lacour - Thriller: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - Middlegrade: The Hour of Bees by Lindsay Eagar - Medical: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi & The House of God by Samuel Shem - Poetry and short stories: No Matter the Wreckage by Sarah Kay
6. Tiny Tim - An underhyped book that you think deserves more love At this point, Kirsty Logan is basically my go-to answer for any question of this kind. I love her and everything she’s written so far. I own all of her books and I think her work is criminally underrated. She is most “well-known” for The Gracekeepers, which was a bit of a polarizing read in the YA-community upon release for being “too slow and character driven”, yet made my favourite list of that year. I also highly recommend The Gloaming, which was my favourite novel of 2018.
7. Today? Why it's Christmas Day! - What's a book that always gets you in the mood for Christmas (apart from A Christmas Carol)? I have a bit of a complicated relationship with Christmas, due to many memories associated with this time of year, both for good and for worse. Some years (probably the majority of them), I just want to curl up in a ball of cynicism and be the Grinch for the entirety of December. My reading taste reflects that, as for the last 2 years, I’ve only read hardhitting non-fiction (mostly medical memoirs) during the Christmas days. Other years, when I’m feeling the Holiday spirit just a little more, I love to read polar fantasies. The aforementioned His Dark Materials Trilogy is perfect for this, as is The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. On my December TBR for this year are A Shiver of Snow and Sky by Lisa Lueddecke and A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos, that both fit in this category.
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol - Your favourite film adaptation of a book Staying in the Christmas spirit: this of course has to go to the Harry Potter series. It’s one of those examples where books and movies are very different entities in my mind, yet I love them equally. I used to have a tradition where I went through a movie every night during the Christmas break, so these films will always have a bit of a link to Christmas.
I hope you have an amazing last week before Christmas, and if you have a Christmas break coming up: I wish you very happy holidays in advance. Happy reading, and until next time!
Link to Lauren Wade’s channel Link to Lauren’s original video Link to Jean’s video
