#(see: my Redwall cookbook for some reason)

[thelastspeecher]

In regards to the Gravity Falls cookbook that we're now -both- manifesting: I was looking at the food page of the gf wiki and realized that there's not much in the way of non-commercial processed foods featured in gf. So... I guess what would you do as a take on Baron Num Nums High Flyin' Beans?

I think the best route to go would be a bean-based dish. Possibly framing it in the cookbook as being a recipe that is on the can of beans, like how chocolate chip packages have chocolate chip cookie recipes on them. Could even have Ford say something about how his "research partner" loved it when he made this recipe back when they were working on the portal, but he never told McGucket that he just got the recipe from the can of beans.

Maybe the title of the dish would be something along the lines of "Baron Num Nums High Flyin' Bean Dish".

To get into specifics for the dish, the classic option would be some sort of baked bean recipe. But a LOT of novelty cookbooks have recipes for baked beans. A more original (and thus more fun!) option would be a calico bean recipe.

Also, I think calico beans are tastier than baked beans anyways!

[typeaadventures]

I was tagged by @lilymaidofgallifrey

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

I mean, if we’re talking literal shelves, everything just got put on this one when I moved back home two years ago. But of all the books on there, the oldest is a ratty paper back of Stormy, Misty’s Foal which is quintessential girl-horse-book phase that I actually had to travel all the way to Mississippi to steal back from a friend who borrowed it for about eight years. 

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

I am currently reading both Frank Herbert’s Dune (which is crazy weird) and beta reading for a fellow writer. Last book I read was Neil Gaiman’s The Sleeper and The Spindle which I highly recommended to anyone who likes graphic novels/fairy tales because the art is GORGEOUS. On my list after I finish these two is probably Dianna Wynne Jones House of Many Ways (although I might have to reread Howl’s Moving Castle first for proprieties sake ;) )

Oh wait! but I’m supposed to read Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt next for @bymylights because she loved the book so much. 

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated?

I mean, Catcher in the Rye was the bane of my existence in high school but I think most people dislike that now. Actually, a lot of classics are that way for me. Hated Wuthering Heights and all things Ernest Hemingway. Also the big YA series (Hunger Games, Divergent, even Percy Jackson, but mostly cause I was older when it came out) don’t hold my interest in the way that most people adore them.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

I mean, I’ve been saying I was gonna read the Jungle Book for months now, but I’ve been putting it off for months now. I really hope I do get to it though. I’m hesitant though because I really didn’t like Man Who Would Be King.  

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

I was not aware this was a thing. I will never run out of books to read, I think, so I’m not really worried. 

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

Usually I’ll leave it til the end. Sometimes if I don’t really care about the book, I’ll skip. I used to be much more prescriptive about not skipping but I’m kinda over it now. 

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

I love acknowledgements. The first few are usually really interesting and personal before they go all Oscar speech and just start acknowledging everyone. But they give you little glimpses about the author, like dedications. 

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

Eowyn, Lord of the Rings. No hesitations. No regrets. Let me be Eowyn, please I beg you. 

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

Sooooooo many. I have a memory associated with where I read pretty much any book, but to keep the list short, probably Magician’s Nephew. It will always remind me of my mother, incandescent lights in a dingy trailer in my grandparents backyard. 

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

I have a copy of Terry Brooks Magic Kingdom For Sale which I got at Shakespeare and Company in Paris. My sister really loves Terry Brooks books, I kind of got it on a whim as my souvenir from Paris. I have a book of Breton fairy tales in German for the same reason. Basically I bought books everywhere during my year on exchange and those are my favourite bookes. 

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

I did a book exchange last year and gave my sister’s friend a copy of Robin Mckinley’s The Hero and the Crown and wrote her a whole letter on the inside cover telling her why I loved the book. Apparently said friend loved the letter and the book and that was really heart warming, because I found the protagonist of that story so inspiring and I was happy it only inspired another young woman. 

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

Ooooooh, I don’t know. I don’t often take books with me more than once? Probably my copies of Lord of the Rings since if I’m not reading anything in particular I’ll bring them with me in case I get bored or need emotional support. But now that I have an eReader I tend to bring that instead. 

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

No. The books I hated in high school I still hate vehemently. 

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

A dried rose. That was pretty cool, though. 

15. Used or brand new?

Both have their own benefits and aesthetics. I think hard cover (if I EVER buy hard cover) I prefer new, but mostly I like used books for two reasons. 1) They’re much, much cheaper and 2) I prefer the older illustrated covers. If it’s a book that has a movie or even just most modern books and their life-like people (I’m thinking a lot of the Throne of Glass series here). . . I don’t like that. I find it off putting. I want crudely drawn, water-colour or just flat matte colours with geometric designs. You don’t tend to see many of those these days. 

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

Gotta admit, never actually read any Stephen King. Probably should. 

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

See, often I’ll like movies better because I didn’t read the book, like the first Percy Jackson (not the second dumpster fire) or the first Maze Runner (again, not the second). 

OH! The Princess Bride, duh. The book is hilarious in it’s own right, but the book is a parody/satire of romance, whereas the movie is a true adventure romance. So I love them both for different reasons, but I grew up watching the movie and it just hits every note perfectly and I love it. 

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

Ugh, the Eragon movie was a nightmare. I didn’t like the sequels anyway, but the first book was really good and the movie just ruined everything except Brom. Poor Jeremy Irons didn’t stand a chance, though. 

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

Oh my gosh, Sunshine by Robin McKinley and literally every Redwall book. I dunno how Brian Jacques makes animal food sound soooooo good but it’s basically food porn. 

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Ooooooh, I don’t think I’ve found that person. I try to take all advice and genuinely look into books recommended to me, but I’m so busy I’m picky about what I actually dig into. 

I’m gonna tag some of my fellow betas, cause I’d love to know what you guys have been reading: @jltillary, @jennalasby, @imtheperkiness, @tcstu, @brynprocrastinates. Also gonna tag @thecaffeinebookwarrior, @raiswanson, @bymylights, @ravineofwillows, and @dwobbit-under-the-mountain if you guys feel like it :)

[melwikwrites]

Reader Questionnaire

I was tagged by @merigreenleaf

Thanks! It’s fun to talk books.

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

Most of my books have been on my shelf since I moved into my house, which was about six years ago, so I can’t give any single answer. An example would be Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald, perhaps—I know that book’s been around for a while. 2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

My current read is Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova. Last read was Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner, which was a long time coming for me. The book I think I’ll read next is The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith or possibly Vicious by V. E. Schwab, uncertain. Could be basically anything else that catches my eye, too.

This leaves out the fairy tale books I was reading last night because those were research and also very quick reads, not to mention I’d read them before.

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated?

I’m more of a “everyone liked it and I just thought it was okay” kind of person. But um…The Program by Suzanne Young was pretty shit. And while I could see the appeal of An Ember in the Ashes, I couldn’t get through it and DNF’ed at about 2/3 of the way through.

Also didn’t like Ash by Malinda Lo but that was a few years ago so I’m considering a reread. And I did like the concept, I just wasn’t a huge fan of the style. 4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

There are so many! I’m trying to be more honest with myself lately, though. I’m still holding out hope for the rest of the “Pushing the Limits” series by Katie McGarry after enjoying the first book, but yeah that’s probably never going to happen. Also a lot of the more Regency/Victorian classics—I admire Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters but it’s not really my thing, though I am struggling through Wuthering Heights right now at a very slow pace. 5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

I’m too young to think about such things. 6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

Wait until the end, but if you’re too worried about a particular plot point you can flip ahead to pages near the end and see “so is this character really dead?” or “is this annoying dude really the love interest?” 7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

Interesting aside depending on how they’re written, valuable for the author either way. But I’m still probably not going to read them. 8. Which book character would you switch places with?

Can’t think of any off the top of my head—I like books where the MC’s have a lot of problems and pain, and I hate both. 9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

Most of them—I tend to remember the circumstances of how I read a book. For example, Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian I read while suffering the worst headache in my memory, and it was kind of nightmarish as a result. 10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

I get all my books in fairly normal ways. 11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

No. 12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner has been around. 13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

I’m not ten years later yet. 14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

Just notes by former readers. 15. Used or brand new?

Used is a lot cheaper for paperbacks, but I do often read ebooks. 16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

Aaah…depends on the book. I really like Misery and The Shining. But most of his books I give up after a couple pages because the tone is not to my liking. 17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

Mary Poppins, maybe. 18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

No opinion. Hunger Games isn’t incredible, but I still don’t hate it and it introduced a lot of people to the book, made it more of a cultural phenomenon. 19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

Redwall does this a lot. 20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Absolutely no one.

I don’t have a whole ton of followers on this blog so I’ll just tag those I do have, a grand total of seven: @howlsmovinglibrary @b3tar3ad3r @ameliafaulkner @seventeenbirds @ladyofthewells and @rainbow-pages 

Only do it if you want to, but I’d be interested to see what you come up with. And a few of you only just followed me, so I’d like to learn a little bit more about you, perhaps.

[ink-ravn]

The Reading Tag

Tagged by @ablogofscribbles

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

Virals by Kathy Reichs

Kissed by Cameron Dokey

I got all of these in middle school. 

Also, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe, which I’ve had my whole life. One of my favorite children’s books. 

2. What is your current read, your last read, and the book you will read next?

Current: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb and The Queen of Attolia by Meghan Whalen Turner

Last: The Thief by Meghan Whalen Turner

Next: Dunno. Maybe I’ll reread And I Darken so I can read Now I Rise. If I like The Queen of Attolia I might move on with the series. 

3. Which book does everyone like but you hate?

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Simon vs. The Homo sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Abertalli

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (I like the series, but I find the first book underwhelming and if I had read it before Scarlet, I wouldn’t have continued the series at all)

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Crismon Bound by Rosamund Hodge (words cannot describe the depths of hatred I have for this one)

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read but you probably won’t?

Pantomime by Laura Lam and A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement”?

Almost every classic that I haven’t read yet. 

6. Last page: read it first or wait until the end?

Depends on whether I’m enjoying myself or not. I read three chapters of Three Dark Crowns then skipped to the end to see if I had guessed the plot twist (I did). 

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink or interesting aside?

I don’t feel one way or the other about them. I usually just ignore them. 

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

I wouldn’t

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (person, place, time)?

The Upside of Unrequited--contributes to the reason why I despise it. The main character reminds me of someone in my life I’d rather forget. 

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way

Umm...I have a copy of Paradise Lost that the sub for my English Lit class gave me. Vintage aesthetic

11. Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person?

I only give my books to libraries

12. Which book has been the most places with you?

A Kiss in Time-- I read the crap out of that book. There are tears and bends all over it. 

13. Any required reading that you hated in high school that you didn’t find so bad years later.

Ha nope--I don’t reread things I don’t like

14. What’s the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

I’ve never found anything strange

15. Used or brand new?

I’m not opposed to used, but I’m more likely to buy them new

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

Opiate of the masses--honestly I only really like his work from the eighties

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

Lord of the Rings

Pride and Prejudice

Jurassic Park

Ella Enchanted

Matilda

18. Which book should never have been made into a movie?

Eragon

Divergent

Ender’s Game

I am Number Four

19. Have you ever read a book that made you hungry (cookbooks excluded)?

Redwall by Brian Jaques and the rest of that series. Had my mouth watering. 

20.  Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Everyone’s failed me some way or another so my best bet is to follow my gut. 

Tagging all who wish to partake