Hey guys and gals,
I saw this booktag this morning on A Novel Purpose, and I am shamelessly stealing the idea off of Lucy over there. I believe it originally comes from here though: https://fallingdownthebookhole.com/2014/12/01/12-days-of-books-tag-original/
Hope you like it!
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: a partridge in a pear tree.
The partridge stood alone in the pear tree. What is your favourite stand alone?
Hmmm… Most books I read seem to come in some form of series. Standalones don’t seem to be much of a thing in Fantasy. Can we count The Hobbit? I’m gonna say yes, but if you don’t agree, then Uprooted by Naomi Novik was a standalone I really, really enjoyed this year.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: two turtle doves.
Love is in the air! Who is your one true pairing?
Kaz and Inej from the Six of Crows duology. They totally count, they have feelings for each other and help each other with their traumatic pasts. Yup, they count.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Three French Hens.
In the spirit of threes, what is the best trilogy you have read?
Oh, this is a hard one! There are so many good trilogies that I haven’t finished yet or haven’t been finished yet so can’t be counted. No fair! I’m going to have to say The Lord of the Rings. Simply due to the massive effect they had on the fantasy genre as a whole. Oh, and those films! Possibly the best book to movie transformation.
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: four calling birds.
Since series usually consist of four or more books, what is your favourite series?
Ok, this one is a bit easier. As a massive series of books, it is pretty hard to beat Harry Potter, isn’t it? I grew up with them as they came out.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: five golden rings.
One ring to rule them all! Who is your Favourite Villain/Antagonist?
Well, George R.R. Martin has created quite the plethora of villains in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. He writes villains and morally-grey characters so well, and I am going to pick one of these. Roose Bolton is one of most straight up evil b*****ds in the whole series of books and I am picking him. He is straight up scary. His son, Ramsey Bolton, might be more violent, malicious and evil, but Roose feels more dangerous due to his patience and intelligence.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: six geese a laying.
Creation is a beautiful thing. What is your favourite world/world-building?
Ok, so it’s two in a row for George R.R. Martin. They aren’t my favourite books, but what he does well, George does very, very well and world-building is one of the things he does well. I love the detail, size and gritty-realism he brings to Westeros and Essos in A Song of Ice and Fire.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: seven swans a swimming.
Who needs seven swans when all it takes is one good animal sidekick? Who’s your favourite animal sidekick?
A tricky one. Mostly because I can’t actually think of many that I think are really great. I’m going to give another one to A Song of Ice and Fire and go for Nymeria. She isn’t Arya’s Direwolf for very long, but I love the fact that they stay connected through latent warging powers.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: eight maids a milking.
Milk is so 18th century. Which book or series takes beverages/food to a whole new level?
Probably Harry Potter here. Those Hogwart’s feasts sound amazing! And all just magicked out of thin air too!
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: nine ladies dancing.
Dancing is just one skill of a Lady! Who is your favourite kickass female lead?
Vasya from The Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. She is such a strong character who refuses to be dragged down and entrapped by medieval Russia’s expectations of women. Here’s to her carrying on kicking ass for a while longer!
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: ten lords a leaping.
How about your favourite leading lad?
Bilbo Baggins! He, and the whole race of Hobbits, seem to embody so much of what is good in humanity. Plus, despite their small stature, they always seem to pull through. Bilbo is such a good role model in that he shows what the little guy can do, whether that is physically or metaphorically, with enough guts and determination to do the right thing.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: eleven pipes piping.
What is your favourite book or bookish thing with musical influence? (It can be about music, reference music a lot etc.)
Music is a huge part of Kvothe’s character in The Kingkiler Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. Getting his pipes at the Eolian or his parents and troupe being slaughtered for singing about the Chandrian are particularly poignant musical moments in the opening book, The Name of the Wind.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 12 drummers drumming.
Drum roll please…what is your favourite read of this year?
My favourite read of this year goes to… The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. Though Uprooted by Naomi Novik and Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri are all extremely close, honourable mentions. I thoroughly recommend all three!
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Thank you for reading!
Jack
Book Reviews | Jack's Bedtime Reading 