I was tagged on bookstagram (the bookie subculture of Instagram) by one of my best book buds for the Bookish Questions tag the other day and figured it may be fun to implement a new ‘Tag Tuesday’ element to my blog. I don’t finish books every day so need to start blogging more than just reviews and hey, I’m just not that creative, so require a little help coming up with ideas. Tags are great because they make you think about the books you have read, want to read, bookish habits, likes/dislikes, etc. So, without further ado, here we go:
1. Do you read one book at a time? Absolutely not! I generally read six to ten books at a time. If I read just one at a time, I feel like I would get bored too easily and end up in a slump – every bookworms worst nightmare. I try not to read multiples of the same genre though, particularly true for fantasy, as I find that can get confusing. Below is a photo of the current books I am reading from my Goodreads bookshelf:
As you can see, if you can read the above, I have the following genres: nonfiction, high adult fantasy, post-apocalyptic, horror, ya fantasy and then three adult thrillers. I find thrillers the least complicated to read multiples of – the plots are generally pretty easy to follow.
2. Where do you read? I have three prime reading spots in my house depending on the time of day. At night, I read in bed for at least an hour prior to going to sleep. During other times of the day I can most often be found on my couch in the living room or sitting up at the bar in the kitchen. In reality though, I always have a book with me so will read essentially anywhere!
3. Do you read the book or watch the movie first? I am actually one of those super rare birds who prefers to watch the movie or television show prior to reading the book (if possible). That way I know how to pronounce all the names correctly and I am not often disappointed. I think it is generally understood that the books are pretty much always better. If I read the book first, I feel like I would never enjoy a movie or television show based on them (exceptions being Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings) – but if you watch first, the books are always an added bonus! Honestly, I don’t know why more people don’t do it this way!
4. Do you have a reading habit? I have a couple I would call habits. One is that I always remove the dust jacket of my hard covers while reading and then put it back on when I put the book back on my ‘current reads’ pile. Secondly, I always update Goodreads ever single day with my reading progress/page locations, etc. My last ‘habit’, or what is becoming a habit, is my bullet journal which I just bought a couple of months ago. I keep track each month of my tbr list, book haul, read-alongs/buddy reads and wrap-up.
5. Do you stop reading mid-chapter? Yes, I do this very frequently. Oftentimes, I will read the very first page of a chapter and then stop. Those pages are usually half pages so add more pages read per day on my Goodreads count if I just get them in…and that my friends, is the true sign of a nerd!
What would be your answers to these questions! Let me know with a comment or message – Cheers!
What got me thinking about this is one of my current reads, Nyxia, by Scott Reintgen. This is a fairly recent YA sci-fi novel that I am absolutely loving! It was published in September 2017 and although I do not see too much buzz about it through social media channels, it definitely deserves some. The book is 
Of course, one of my favorite books of all time featuring a fierce competition would be The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book is pretty much the epitome of competition narrative. When this book was released in 2008 it quite literally took the world by storm. Everyone of every age seemed to be reading it. The story takes kids seriously and puts them into a competition where the ultimate goal is to be the last man (or woman) standing – it was gritty and ground-breaking at the time and has seriously inspired a great assortment of other similar stories in YA-literature.
Now, I couldn’t possibly write a post about competitions in books without mentioning Harry Potter! Although a vein of competition runs throughout the series, through everything from Quidditch games, to the House Cup, my ultimate for the series would be the Triwizard Tournament. The Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in J.K. Rowling’s epic fantasy series, has always been my favorite and I think a lot of that is due to the competition itself. In The Goblet of Fire, we get to meet wizards and witches from other schools, which is also very cool and unique to this book. Even the legendary quidditch player, Viktor Krum is in residence at Hogwarts for this one! (swoon) The Tournament itself, well, it is by no means an ordinary competition – the level of danger and mystery is unequaled and this one, I know, will always stand on a pedestal to me!
Another book with an intense and highly satisfying competition element is, Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas. This is the first book in Sarah’s hugely popular Throne of Glass series and it is where we meet 18-year old assassin, Celaena Sardothien. Celaena is a great character and has quickly taken a place on my ‘favorites’ list. She is snarky, bold and haunted by a violent and mysterious past. In this start to the series, you learn that Celaena has been a prisoner at a labor camp, a mine to be exact, and she gets pulled out by Prince Dorian who offers her a chance to win her freedom. In order to do so, she must act as his champion to compete for the chance of becoming the royal assassin. She agrees to his conditions and travels to the capital to begin her training. Once there she meets all the other champions, all strong, murderous burly men – okay, she is definitely an underdog but does she let it get to her? No way! Not Celaena – this girl is fully confident in her abilities and indeed they seem to be unmatched. She begins training with Chaol Westfall, the Captain of the Guards and Prince Dorian’s long-time friend. No matter what he throws at her she never backs down. I love this girl! The competition is brutal and it pushes all contestants to their limits. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a hearty competition!
Finally, the last book I would like to mention in this fierce competitors post is, Warcross, by Marie Lu. This YA sci-fi novel was released in September of 2017. I pre-ordered a copy of this one for the cover alone but it ended up being one of my favorite books of 2017! The competition in this book is the International Warcross competition – what is Warcross you ask? In this story, Warcross is a VR game that essentially has taken over the world. Everyone in this story plays or at least it seems that way. Set in a rather bleak near-future, Warcross isn’t just a game, it is a way of life. Our main character, Emika Chen, is a brilliant computer hacker who makes her living as a bounty hunter tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. When she uses her hacking skills to actually glitch into the real Warcross games she attracts the attention of the game’s creator, Hideo Tanaka, and our main course of action begins there. 
Well, April is finally here! Ahhhh, Spring…it actually snowed today which was really strange but yes, now the sun is out and it is finally Spring. I just wanted to write my super exciting plans for reading this month. I do not have any reviews currently that I am in a mental space to write so we will do a general status update today.