Tag: Opposite Books Tag

Reading (and therefore review blogging) has been pretty slow lately, but I've been getting into book tags recently. I found this tag from Dreamland Book Blog by doing a random Google search for book tag ideas - kinda lame, I know, what can I say? :) Here is the list:

1. First book in your collection/Last book you bought.
2. A cheap book/An expensive book.
3. A book with a male protagonist/One with a female protagonist.
4. A book you read fast/One that took you long to read.
5. Pretty cover/Ugly cover.
6. A national book/An international book.
7. A thin book/A thick book.
8. Fiction book/Non-fiction book.
9. Very (way too) romantic book/Action book.
10. A book that made you happy/One that made you sad.

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1.
First book in my collection:
Who could remember something like this?! I have no idea. I was going to attempt to list the first books I remember reading by myself, but I can't even remember their titles, so...
Last book I bought:
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, for $1 at the thrift store.

2.
A cheap book:
My bff found me a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling for $0.50, I think that's probably the cheapest book in my collection, even if I didn't pay it myself.
An expensive book:
Generally speaking, I don't buy books at full price, so this could be any book I did buy at full price so, for argument's sake, I'll say that was The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. Really good book, by the way.

3.
A book with a male protagonist:
I've heard people say it before, that in YA books, male leads are pretty rare, and I'm starting to see that more and more! An obvious choice would be Harry Potter, but trying to think outside the box... I'll go with Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, main character Clay. I loved that book so much. It's definitely one I'd recommend!
A book with a female protagonist:
Obviously this would be super easy, because there are so many!! But, again, trying to think outside the box... The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey. I really like Cassie. I haven't read the last book of the trilogy yet, but I've enjoyed the other two.

4.
A book I read fast:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I'm pretty sure I read the whole trilogy in a weekend.
A book that took me a long time to read:
The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman. I liked the book well enough, but for whatever reason, I found it moved pretty slowly and so it took me a while to get through it.

5.
Pretty cover:
Assuming this is books I own, and not just books in general... I think probably I'd choose Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I think it's a beautiful cover, and it portrays the character very well. Plus it's my favourite book of the series so far (haven't finished reading them all).
Ugly cover:
I tend to pick up books based on their covers, so I don't own too many ugly books, except for hand-me-downs. I'll say my copy of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, seeing as it was very "well-loved" before I got it, so well-loved it has no cover.

6.
A national book:
I took this to mean a book written by an author from my country, Canada. In that case, I would have to, of course, go with Louise Penny. If I had to choose just one of her books, I guess I would go with Still Life, as it's the first of the series, and the one that got me hooked. :)
An international book:
I don't really consider the U.S. to be "international," so for a book by an author outside of Canada & the U.S., I'd have to go with The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern.

7.
A thin book:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I just received the most beautiful copy ever in my November OwlCrate!
A thick book:
I have a single binding of all of Jane Austen's works (which I still haven't read yet!!), that's pretty huge!

8.
A fiction book:
If I Stay by Gayle Forman. It was such an emotional story and interesting point of view. I cried reading the book, but it was nothing compared to the mess I was after watching the movie later on.
A non-fiction book:
I feel like I'm always talking about the same books, but when it comes to non-fiction, what I have read leaves me with very few choices... The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster was a non-fiction I haven't mentioned on my blog before... It's not a favourite or anything, but it was a kind of funny and inspiring read. It's sort of like Julie & Julia, but the author used Martha Stewart as her example to follow for a year, vs Julia Child.

9.
A very (way too) romantic book:
In this instance, I'm going to say that romantic really means erotic, and would have to say 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James. Yikes.
An action book:
The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore. Pretty much the whole book is a battle scene. It was action-packed, but really didn't hold my interest. It took me a long time to read, and I have little-to-no recollection of how it ended. The series is getting a bit drawn-out for me.

10.
A book that made me happy:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I know I talk about this book all the time, but it is literally one of my  top three favourites. I hesitate to say absolute favourite, because who can choose, but... it's way, way, up there on my list. It makes me happy just to think about it. :)
A book that made me sad:
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It's such a tragic story of love between family members, and an unexpected ending. I just can't imagine being put in any one of those family member's shoes. It makes me sad, but it makes me thankful for my family and that everyone is healthy.

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That was kind of fun and challenging! I'm not actually going to tag anyone, just do the challenge if you're up to it. Feel free to share a link to your post in the comments below, I would be happy to read your opposites. :)