This or That Book Tag

This tag by Ayunda originally on Tea and Paperbacks, now at Ayundabhuwana's Blog. No one tagged me because I am not popular, but I wanted to do it anyways.

The questions are:

1. Reading on the couch or on the bed?

My answer: In bed. Our couch is like old and gross so I don't really sit on it anyways. Sometimes in the summer I read outside, too.

2. Male main character or female main character?

My answer: How about neither? Nonbinary people exist, book tag. Those aren't the only two options. Female or nonbinary is usually my preference. Not that into dudes, especially nonqueer ones.

3. Sweet snacks or salty snacks when reading?

My answer: Salty, but I don't eat while reading that often. I take notes while I read, so it can be a bit hard to juggle a pen and a notebook and a book and food. I prefer salt in general over sweet, though.

4. Trilogies or quartets?

My answer: Trilogies, probably. I seem to read more standalone books than anything, though, and I actually really like a good duet.

5. First person POV or third person POV?

My answer: First person for sure. Third person can be good, but I have more trouble connecting to it, and it's just not my preference.

6. Reading at night or in the morning?

My answer: Shockingly, probably the morning. While I read more in like the early afternoon, by the end of the day my brain is kind of done and I usually don't read at night. There will be a very rare time when I read when I can't sleep, but it's very unusual.

7. Libraries or bookstores?

My answer: Libraries for sure. Bookstores are cool, but I'm broke and there's something special about libraries for me. Although if you take me to a used bookstore... I'd be down for that.

8. Books that make you laugh or books that make you cry?

My answer: Probably cry actually? It's cathartic.

9. Black book covers or white book covers?

My answer: 100% black book covers. White book covers get gross way too fast, and I get really grossed out.

10. Character driven or plot driven stories?

My answer: Character driven. I honestly don't mind a book that doesn't have a ton going on in the plot department if the character journey feels strong enough to carry the book.

Okay, that was fun!! Feel free to do this tag yourself and say I tagged you, or just answer that last one, because I'm curious about it especially, in the comments!

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Christmas Cracker Book Tag

I know, two tags on Friday in a row, but it's December and December is a busy time, you know? Plus these are just fun and I'm not super into this month's Book Blogger Hop questions, so we're doing this instead

This tag was created by Lucy from Lucy the Reader and Queen of Contemporary, and it definitely needs a stock image for that good aesthetic.

Awwww. Pretty.

Pick a book with a wintry cover

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

Look at the white and the blue andthe ice and how scary the ice looks. That's so good.

Pick a book you’re likely to buy as a present

Phoebe and her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

Hear me out! Now, I know Luce just wants me to say Chameleon Moon and if I was going to buy them a present, that's what I would buy. But they already have that book :P So, I'm going to look at this as buying a book for a kid, and I think kids would freaking love these books. So I'm choosing this one!

Pick a festive themed book

Young Scrooge by R. L. Stine

I was half-tempted to choose a book about Easter just to be a smart-ass, lol. I read a few MG Christmas books last year and this one, while completely ridiculous, was my favourite of the lot. Maybe I should do that again in 2019? You all decide!

Pick a book you can curl up with by the fireplace

On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis

Last time I answered this question, in the other tag, I said any book worked, really, but I think this one would be a really good one for this prompt. You get to read about all the end of the world adventures and all the stressful stuff while you're safe in your home, nice and warm and able to eat whatever you want.

Pick a book you want to read over the festive period

God Smites and Other Muslim Girl Problems by Ishara Deen

This is my December book for my challenge, so I'm going to read it, but it's the only one I'm committing to, since December can be hard and also really busy.

Pick a book that’s so good it gives you chills

People Like Us by Dana Mele

I still don't think this going to be this way for everyone, but it kind of hit everything I really like in my YA thrillers and I just really liked it.

Pick a book going on your Christmas wishlist

You can see my book wishlist right here, so I'm not gonna answer this like a cheater. Partly because I'm starving and I really need to go get a snack, so I want to wrap this post up! Hopefully you enjoyed it, and let me know what you're thinking.

Peace and sugar cookies,
Laina

Winter Book Tag

It's December and I feel festive, so let's do some book tags that no one tagged me in. (Hey, how about in 2019 we start tagging Laina in stuff, because I want to be tagged more, lol. Just, like, tell me on Twitter or something so I know.)

I think this post needs a stock image. For the aesthetic.



Yeah, that's the good stuff.

Alright, this tag was created by Marissa from Marissa Writes and it's a lot of fun. Let's do it!

1. Falling Snow: The colors of winter are muted. Choose a book that has whites, light blues, and grays on the cover.

Pieces of Me by Amber Kizer.

I thought about picking Never Fade because it has that silver and I couldn't think of a lot of books with greys, but Pieces of Me is so pale and soft and muted.

2. Crackling Fires: Colder weather makes for the perfect time to sit by a crackling fire in the fireplace. What book is the best to curl up next to a warm fire with?

Honestly, this is going to sound like a cop-out but I think the best book to curl up with next to a fire is one you'll enjoy. I mean, the fireplace in my apartment isn't the kind that you can light a fire in anyways, lol, so I'm probably not gonna be doing this anytime soon anyways, but anything can be a fireplace read if you read it next to a fire.

3. Winter storms can be brutal. What book do you love that takes the characters through a brutal season?

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Now this is a bit of a strange pick, because this book takes place over the summer, but stay with me. The town in this book doesn't have warm summers. A ton of the book's descriptions are about cold weather, and cold water especially. Plus, you know, a summer of ghost-witch murder. It's a summer book that's perfect to read during cold weather.

4. Spending more time indoors allows for more time to dream and wish. What character is living a life that you dream about?

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

I don't read a lot of adult books so this is a bit of a cheat, but specifically, Charlie in Queens of Geek has a goal of being a professional writer, and I would also like that.

5. Hot Cocoa: There is nothing like a hot cup of cocoa during the winter, as adults we often under estimate it. What book do you think should be the next big thing?

I have two that I think are going to be really good, and should get a lot of attention. I haven't mentioned any middle grade in this post, so I'm going to talk about both.

A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Ramee

There are a few upcoming MG novels that have something to do with Black Lives Matter, or police brutality, and I think it can be a little shocking for (white) people to realize this is something needed, but kids notice these things. And the brutal truth is that for many black and brown kids, being young doesn't protect them from being at risk for this kind of thing. And I hope we talk about this book and make it a big one.

And my other choice, which is completely different:

The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth

This came out in October so maybe I'll have been proven right or wrong by the time this post comes out (I'm not telling when I'm writing this), but I think this one is going to be really epic and cool.

6. Lip Balm and Lotions: Soothing dry skin is part of the winter for many. What book is full of soothing and comforting words?

The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding

I debated between this and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World, because that is the sweetest book, but I went with this because it honestly is one of my favourite books ever. It's such good fat rep, and it felt so perfect to read, plus it has the sweetest queer romance, and some great friendships.

7. Peppermint Mocha: What is your go to winter food or drink for those reading marathons of winter?

I like hot chocolate. Especially when my mom makes it, because I am a child, and she does it better.

But I drink a lot of tea in the winter, especially Earl Grey when I can have caffeine, and rooibos when I can't. With French vanilla coffee creamer.

(Ignore the mess in the background. I was only sending this to Luci, so it's not like Instagram ready or anything. But this is one of my favourite mugs. I got it on super clearance and I love this weird dog reindeer.)

The internet says I should try putting candy canes/peppermints in my hot chocolate, though, so I might try that some day.

Thanks for reading! This was a lot of fun.

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Autumn Book Tag

Absolutely no one tagged me in this, but I really wanted to do an autumn book tag, so I decided to go for it. This tag was created by Viktoria of V./Seelie Knight (not sure what their blog name is completely so just go look over there, alright?).

Hold on, this post definitely needs a good autumn picture.

Aw yeah, look at those dying leaves. That's the good stuff right there.

Autumn aesthetic is just everything to me. I was sitting here in July signing over pictues of pumpkins and stuff.

Alright, so, let's do this!

Best autumnal themed book cover?

Honestly, I'm half-tempted to grab a picture book cover. No, you know what, let's do that. First I do have a novel cover, but it's an older one and a little odd, however the colours are so autumnal:

A Fabulous Creature by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, which I surprisingly quite liked.

But honestly let's really go for it and get a great autumn picture book cover.

These are: Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead, Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka (which is hilarious, and if you can ever read to a group of kids, do so), Wild Child by Lynn Plourde, and Leaves by David Ezra Stein.

This first question has taken me so long!

Which fictional friend group would you trust with a Ouija board?

Like with me around them? Nobody, because I am a white person, and white people using Ouija boards does not end well. I watch horror movies. I know this.

But you know what I think would be hilarious? If someone wrote the Baby-Sitter's Club doing using one. And for real, like getting results and haunted and stuff. Does someone want that idea to make an internet skit? I would fully support this.

Like this but with more demons.

Which book setting would you love to be celebrating in during Halloween night?

I can't help but say Hogwarts. I know Harry Potter has problematic elements and JKR is kind of seriously a mess, but I mean. It's Hogwarts. Remember the Halloween feast? You can definitely tell that HP was written by someone who'd not always had the most to eat, honestly.

Like it's just so extra... although reading the wiki really shows that stuff tends to Go Down at Hogwarts on Halloween, so maybe that's not the best choice!

Best autumnal food description inside of a story?

Okay, it's not really an autumn book, but the best food descriptions I've read recently have been in Baker Thief. I've never wanted bread so much. Just thinking about it makes me want a baguette. Honestly if you mention Thanksgiving food to me, though, I'm totally ready to go. Give me all the turkey.

Which fictional character would you dress as?

I'm totally answering this next week in my book blogger hop! So, stay tuned for that!

An antagonist you would pledge your allegiance to?

Weird reply, but Magneto has some valid points.

The creepiest book you’ve ever read?

It's actually a short story from this collection:

Specifically, the story "The Moving Finger". I read it in like 7th grade, I think, when I went through a phase of reading a bunch of King books. (I've actually read like a dozen of his books?) And I think it's going to mess me up a little for the rest of my life XD

A book you’ve yet to read but will read this October?

Um, what's October's book? Okay, I'm reading:

It'll be my challenge book for October. Other than that, I don't have any plans yet.

Which fictional character would you put in charge of the decorations for a Halloween party?

See, the thing is that planning things, especially parties, in books never goes well. Or if it goes well, it definitely doesn't go according to plan. And I am not that great with change, since I'm kind of a bundle of anxiety held together by leggings and hope, so the go-with-the-flow thing is not my favourite thing in the world.

So, um. Can I go back to my earlier answer and pick Claudia Kishi? I feel like that would be rad.

Alright! That was really fun. And I'm even more excited for autumn now!

Peace and spice cookies,
Laina

Book Memory Challenge Tag

I found this tag on Brin's Book Blog and decided I wanted to do it, so I'm going to. This tag was created by Sarah Says Read, which is private now but I'm still going to link to because it feels wrong not to.

The challenge answer the question in this image without the Internet or looking at your shelves and then you're supposed to tag people which I'm not going to do because I'm too old for that much work. So, let's try this!

This is the picture with the questions, but I'll also be writing them out for readability's sake.

1. Name a book written by an author called Michael.

Paddington by Michael Bond

I didn't think of any specific one, so we'll just go with the first book because that's logical or something, right? I don't know why that's the first thing to come to mind, but that's what popped into my head.

2. Name a book with a dragon on the cover.

The Dragon of Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp

I'm not even sure if I've ever read this, honestly. I think I bought it from a Scholastic book order in like seventh grade or something. No, I must have read it, because I read basically everything I bought, but I can't remember a thing about it. But it definitely has a dragon on the cover!

3. Name a book about a character called George.

(George) by E. L. Konisberg

I thought about Alex Gino's book George, but using it for this question seemed a bit iffy with, you knojw, deadnaming and all that, so I'm going with the nostalgic book instead. There's a lot of books that this author wrote that stick in my head and I remember reading, but this is not one of them. I know I have, but I'm totally blanking. Sounds really weird though, lol.

4. Name a book written by an author with the surname Smith.

Night of the Solstice by LJ Smith

I read this book so many times as a kid, and it was the first thing my mind came up with. This is a weird list so far.

5. Name a book set in Australia.

Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung

I actually thought of a more modern one! Lucy and Linh, which I read last year, is set in Sydney.

6. Name a book with the name of a month in the title

Oooooh. This is a hard one. I'm gonna think about this and eat my jello.

Saving June by Hannah Harrington!

That was a tricky one. I was literally sitting there listing all the months in my head and trying to come up with matching book titles.

7. Name a book with a knife on the cover.

Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

I used to read a ton of food mystery books, and it's something I don't do as often, but I still super have a fondness for them. Look how cute that cover is, honestly. It's murder but it's happy murder.

8. Name a book with "one" in the title.

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg

Okay I had to freaking cheat because I blanked and could not think of a single book. Really enjoyed this one.

9. Name a book with an eponymous title.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

One of my favourite books and movies.

10. Name a book turned into a movie.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I couldn't say Coraline again, so... I was actually just talking about this in a book blogger hop, but that one was about bad adaptations. Oh here's one. Inkheart. No one ever talks about the movie, either as a good adaptation or a bad one. It's kind of interesting.

Okay, that's all the questions! Well, this was an interesting post. Very random. It's interesting what your brain comes up with when faced with such somewhat random questions.

If any of you want to do this, consider yourself tagged by me. If you just want to answer like one, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Peace and cookies,
Laina

The Reading Habits Book Tag

I don't have a - dang it, I need to make a graphic, don't I? Okay, hold on.

That's about the best I can do for designing stuff. I am not good at this kind of stuff.

So, I found this tag on a blog called Book Tag Index, and it was created by a Booktuber called TheBookJazz. I don't do Youtube but this sounds fun, so I'm gonna do it as a blog post.

Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

Not really. I mostly read on my bed, but I'm a homebody so that's true of a great many things, lol. When it's warm out, I sometimes like to read outside, which is why some of my reviews have "other notes" about me being chased by bugs and stuff. That can be really relaxing, but also it's not warm here for very much of the year.

Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Both, depending on the situation. If I can't find anything, I'll just use whatever I have on hand (pieces of paper or tissue even), but lately I've been using more bookmarks. There's a library system up north that is like really tiny or something and when they send out books, they put bookmarks in with info about their library and stuff, and I think that's neat. My only problem is I lose bookmarks when I need them most. Sometimes I start reading something and then stop, or mark the first chapter and decide to read something else and lose the bookmark until I start the book again.

Can you stop reading anytime you want or do you have to stop reading at a certain page, chapter, part etc.?

I like to finish chapters, but generally I don't really care.

Do you eat or drink while you read?

Yes. Do people not drink while they're reading? Friends, you're going to get dehydrated. Put the book down and get a drink. Unless this question means like alcohol, because I don't do that, but like. Water? Juice? That kind of thing? Yeah.

I like snacking while reading, but it's a little hard if it's something messy. That's one thing I really like about kindle reading, is that it only takes one hand to turn pages and you don't have to balance it weirdly, so it's really easy for eating while reading.

Can you read while listening to music/watching TV?

Totally. I don't listen to music while reading as much anymore, but I like to watch TV or movies while I read. I like it if it's something that I've seen several times so it's good background music but I don't have to pay a lot of attention to it. Or like cooking shows that I don't really care about that much to care about missing each detail, but I still like watching.

One book at a time or several at once?

I can only do one at a time unless I'm reading for some kind of project. Like I read some nonfiction for research for projects, or when I had to read books for classes, I could read more than one thing, but I prefer one at a time and never really do more than that. It just stresses me out, lol.

Reading at home or everywhere?

The furthest I get from reading at home is reading on my deck. I don't really go anywhere, and when I do, it's not things where I'm not doing something, so there's not time to read. Can you imagine someone standing in the grocery store reading a book? XD

Reading out loud or silently in your head?

In my head, but I'm comfortable reading out loud, especially to children. I do a very good dramatic voice.

Do you read ahead or skip pages?

Not really, unless the book is really making me angry and I want to peek and see if I'm going to just keep being angry. Otherwise I read the book as intended. Sometimes I skim a little, especially if it's really boring. Or, honestly, sex scenes sometimes get a little boring and I skim them if they're going on too long.

Breaking the spine or keeping it new?

Spine cracking makes me wince so hard. I take care of my books, darn it. I don't mind if they don't look exactly new and perfect, because a lot of my books are used, but broken spines and things falling apart is just super sad. I wanna be nice to books!

Also, a lot of the books I read are from the library, so I'm not going to destroy someone else's books, you know?

Do you write in books?

Nooooo. Why did these questions get so stressful?? If writing in books (that you own) is your thing, that's great, but I cannot live that life, lol. It's just too much. I can't.

And that's everything!! Did you all find this interesting at all? Let me know what habits we share in the comments.

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Pokemon Go Book Tag Starring Luci

I don't know if you all have noticed, but my blog has been a little review heavy for the last... few years, frankly. And reviews are great, but they're a lot of work, and I also want to do things that aren't just me complaining. Things that are just fun for me and for you all to read. So I started looking at book tags and weekly posts and  things like that, and I found some stuff I want to do, so things are going to be changing a little around here.

And this one in particular seemed really cute. But I never got into Pokemon, either time around.

So I roped Luce into doing it with me! And they went along with it because they love me!

This tag was created by Aentee of Read at Midnight, and all graphics were created by them.

Starters: Book that started your love for reading?

My guess: Something I've never really heard of, because German.

Luci's answer: I don't know. I've always read a lot. The first book I was really into as a smol was "Die Maus Mathilde" (Matilde the Mouse) which was published by some tiny GDR publisher. I knew it by heart and recited it while pretending to read.

Me: I remember you telling me about that one!

Pikachu: An iconic classic that you'll always love

My guess: I'm thinking something by Oscar Wilde or Shakespeare, or the Neverending Story guy.

Luci's answer: I like Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet is hilarious. It has a lot of comedic elements. I did a presentation on that a couple semesters ago. Basically, a looooot of dick metaphors. Really the whole thing without death is pretty much a comedy.

Honestly I like a lot classics. Goethe's Faust is a good one too. Dracula is great because it has a lot of platonic relationships.

Me: Can you tell they're an English major?

Zubat: A book you lost interest in because it's literally everywhere

My guess: Luci got too fast and I didn't get to guess.

Luci's answer: The Hunger Games. I was kinda turned off the whole thing before I even started. I kinda read it late, like everyone was so into it, and then I eventually read it, but it was kinda meh. I didn't really care for it much. Mostly I just read it so I'd know what the hype was about. It wasn't as good as everyone said for me.

Also the whole Grisha thing.

Me: PLEASE ELABORATE. (I think we've documented my Six of Crows dislike...)

Luci: I actually own the first book but everyone is so into and my inner hipster is over it already. Also from my experience books or anything really that gets that much hype always diappoints, and a lot of stuff has aromisia in it, and people don't notice.

Ditto: A book that reminds you of other books/tropes, but you still love anyways

My guess: I feel like you're gonna feel this way about Not Your Sidekick, but you don't have that yet. Maybe one of Austin (Chant)'s books, or another queer romance?

Luci's answer: I don't know, romance is super tropey generally, but I wouldn't say that books with the same trope remind me of each other much. Maybe I'm weird.

Me: Well, yeah, of course you're weird, but not for that.

Luci: Thanks lol.

Snorlax: A book/series you have not started because of sheer size.

My guess: (Okay, sidenote, this concept is a little fatmisic.) My first thought was Goosebumps because we've been watching that show, lol. Honestly Luci's an English major. I don't think that's really a big thing for them.

Luci's answer: Honestly big books don't really scare me. I can't really think of a single book. I've read the entire bible. The only one that kind of fits is The Second Sex, but that's not so much a size thing as just very complex and a bit convuluted language thing. Theoretical text on feminism, very long, written in French and then translated. It's not that it's not interesting. It's just a lot and it's not like the most gripping book, and my attention span isn't what it used to be.

Gengar: A book that kept you up at night.

My guess: Okay, Luci's a wimp. I don't think they read much horror. They still haven't forgiven me for Poltergeist. They've probably read Chameleon Moon all night.

Luci's answer: I don't read any horror, lol. It's just not my genre. But I've had books that kept me up because I couldn't put them down. Yes, that (to Chameleon Moon). Also Harry Potter, A Little Life, The Fifth Season. Honestly I do most of my reading at night, like pretty much everything I've ever read was at least partially read at night.

Me: Yeah, you don't sleep.

Luci: Nope. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I got it delivered at midnight and stayed up until like 5am reading it, then slept a few hours and finished it at 8. Anyways, lots of late night reading. Oh, Well's Time Machine. I was scared as fuck. Merlocks, right?

Nidoking/Queen: Your bookish OTP.

My guess: Basically everyone in Chameleon Moon. To answer this would literally just be listing the Chameleon Moon cast list.

Luci's answer: YOU ARE NOT WRONG. ZILCH/ROWAN/REGAN FOR LIFE. Also you know their whole extended polycule, but that's like a lot of people. Jude and Pixie from Stake Sauce are Good. All the people from Dracula have like a QPP (queerplatonic partnership) thing going on in my head. Not literally ALL the people, but like the good guys. Wespeth.

Me: They don't know who that is, lol.

Luci: I BUILT THAT SHIP AND I WILL SAIL IT.

Rapidash: A fire-hot, fast paced read

My guess: If this isn't a Chameleon Moon answer I will be shocked.

Luci's answer: Chameleon Moon. Also Stake Sauce and the Fifth Season. I have a book with photos of baby (their dog) and I gotta say that's a real page-turner.

Eevee: A series you'll never get tired of seeing spin-offs for.

My guess: *cackles* Chameleon Moon.

Luci's answer: YES. Basically I love everyone in CM and I will never not want to know more about them, and also it's just a really interesting setting. Like there's a lot to explore there, all the hows and whys, and just a lot of interesting possibilities there.

Also Stake Sauce which actually has a spin-off series already with a NONBINRARY FIRE WITCH. And Stake Sauce/Death Masquerade has vampires AND witches so that's kinda self-explanatory. Vampires are at least in my top 3 of fantasy creatures.

Magikarp: A book/series that was surprisingly awesome.

My guess: I don't really have a guess for this one, but I do think that poor fish is ridiculous looking.

Luci's answer: It can literally only flop around. It's so useless. But then it evolves into gyaados which is awesome and a dragon type if I remember correctly.

Okay, don't laugh, but Chameleon Moon.

Me: I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN.

Luci: For some reason I didn't really expect to like it that much? BUT THEN. Instant fave.

Me: New religion.

Luci: And then reading slump because it was SO GOOD and nothing could compare. I didn't read a lot of sci-fi before CM so I think part of why I didn't expect to be into it was that I just hadn't discovered the genre for myself yet and I kinda associated sci-fi with, like. Nonqueer White Dude Nerd CultureTM

Legendary: An overhyped series you're still excited to read.

My guess: More Percy Jackson. I know you've been enjoying that series.

Luci's answer: I'm kinda stuck on book three. God, I think I might be a hipster. I think my problem with this question is I'm reading a lot of queer lit right now and it's rare for queer books to be overhyped. And the ones that are, are like allo cis gay books or something, or just stuff that doesn't appeal to me, like Adam Silvera kinda? I keep hearing things about his books, but I don't like sad stories that much. AND the more hype something gets, the less interested I get by default.

Me: Hipster.

Luci: xD Which I guess has a lot to do with how ARCs get a lot of hype already, so by the time it comes out and I could actually read it, it's kinda like I feel like I know all about it already. So I'm not that interested in actually picking it up. Unless I've heard that it has like awesome aro or enby rep, but those aren't really *over*hyped.

Mask of Shadows got a lot of attention, though, and I'm really excited to read that one. It's just that diverse books generally don't get a lot of attention outside of diverse book twitter, so I don't know that overhyped applies there. And the books that actually get overhyped are like, Carve the Mark or The Raven Cycle or whatever, and I don't care about those. I'm like anti-excited to read those.

Mew and Mewtwo: A collector's issue you wish you owned.

My guess: Does Chameleon Moon have a collector's version? I know you wanted a version of some Oscar Wilde stories, and there are some cool Dracula editions. I don't think you're that into that kind of thing, though.

Luci's answer: I actually own a really pretty leatherbound edition of Dracula! But yeah generally I'm not that into collector's editions or anything. Unless the normal editon is like butt ugly. I care more about keeping my books in a good condition, aka PRISTINE. I would totally buy a special edition of CM though. Also we don't get a lot special editions except like movie tie-ins. But like in the US sometimes Target or whatever gets a special edition of a book, and we just don't get that, so tbh like it's just not on my radar.

Poke-Egg: A debut novel you're very excited for:

My guess: We were just talking about Hurricane Child, because the author is nonbinary and that's awesome. Was Mask of Shadows a debut, since you mentioned it?

Luci's answer: I think it was! Both of those. Also yours obviously ;)

Me: Aww dork XD (I haven't even started querying, lol.)

Lure Module: An auto-buy author

My not actually a guess but a fact: RoAnna Sylver.

Lucia's answer: Lol true. Also Claudie Arsenault, and Austin Chant.

Server's Down: A book release you've been waiting on forever

My guess: I know you're terrified to read The Lifeline Signal, although that's been out for a while, lol. Apparently you're into Game of Thrones so that one everyone else is waiting on that may never happen.

Luci's answer: Yes on TLS, and yes on GOT and same thing on the Kingkiller Chronicles, which I'm not even that excited about anymore, but I just want to FINISH it. Also I'm really excited for Baker Thief so it feels like I've been waitingfor a long time.

Me: I nearly mentioned that! Anything else you want to say?

Luci: Chameleon Moon is underrated.

Me: Hey since this is a Pokemon thing, what's your favourite one?

Luci: Eevee is cute. Mimikyu is is my fave I think. It kills people? I love it. It's spoopy. Look up the pokedex entry for Mimikyu. Also the Mimikyu rap on YouTube.

Me: Which one do you think would be my favourite?

Luci: Hmmmm. Oh, that's hard. Oh man you can't ask me that. There's like 700 of them!

Me: I know like three. Pikachu, fake Pikachu, and the plant one that turns into a flower.

Luci: Vulpix is cute and has an Alolan variant that is an ice type. I feel like yours should be an ice/ghost type or ice/dark.

Me: Oh that's cute. Okay, we'll go with that one, why not?


Okay, I think that's everything for us! Thanks for reading, and go follow Luce on Twitter, because they're obviously awesome.

Thanks again for helping me, Luci. And let me know what other posts like this you'd want to see from me!

Peace and cookies,
Laina