Books by Leynes made a video of this tag, first created by Between Lines and Life. Without further ado, let's get into it!
･:*:･ﾟ’✫,’✫’ﾟ･:*:･˙
What do you look for most when you pick up a book?
A beautiful writing style
A character-driven story
A plot-driven story
2. I always gravitate towards character-driven stories, because when it comes to reading, it's the characters with whom I fall in love, not necessarily the writing or the plot. If a character is excellent or dazzling, I will follow them anywhere, even through writing or plots that aren't quite working out for me.
What are your pet peeves in books?
With physical books, I hate it when books in a series are printed in different sizes, so they don't match when you put them on your bookshelf. I also hate it when the cover styles change mid-series. I also hate it when the eBooks are given a cool new cover design after I've purchased the less-awesomely designed physical copy.
When it comes to the writing, I hate it when a character's voice doesn't sound like their own, but sounds like the author's. It's basically a situation where the author is invading the text. This happens with word choices that don't quite make sense, or lengthy descriptions...if a character wouldn't take the time to talk through all of this stuff in real life, why would they do it in the narrative?
To give you an example, a book in first-person had the character spend a lengthy time describing the clothing of every single character in great detail using very specific terminology, but the character doesn't have an interest in her appearance or clothes.
Or, as another example, there was a character who lived on the street his whole life and never had any formal schooling or had an interest in reading but suddenly used a phrase like "loquacious" in his first-person narration or suddenly have a command of deep similes and metaphors.
This isn't the character talking. It's the author talking.
My last pet peeve is the use of sentence fragments. I understand them as a stylistic choice, but they really throw me for a loop, especially when they're used frequently. It's annoying to me. I do use fragments in my own writing, but very, very sparingly. I was super annoyed when someone reading my manuscript for Son of the Siren actually took complete sentences of my own and rewrote them as sentence fragments. Arrgh!
If you could print one quote on your wall, which one would it be?
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
--Toni Morrison
Which genre would you like to explore more?
Romance. I write relationships into my fantasy novels, but I always think romance is so hard to pull off. I want to read more romance to get a better grasp on how to tell a story with romance in it. Basically, I want to learn from the pros!
Was there ever a movie adaptation you liked better than the book?
Definitely The Lord of the Rings film adaptations worked better for me than the books did.
If one of your favorite books would be adapted or get a new adaptation, which book would it be and which role would you like to play?
If The Folk of the Air series ever got adapted into a movie or streaming series, I'd like to play Nicasia because it would be a lot of fun. Plus I'd get to have gorgeous hair and clothing.
A hyped book you wouldn’t recommend at all?
Not going to name and shame, but there's a sophomore book by an author that was filled with beautiful language but was ultimately boring AF, that, while I finished it, I wouldn't recommend. I don't know if the book was hyped, but the author was for their debut novel. I didn't read the debut; I read their second book.
A book that highly influenced your life and way of thinking?
I feel like if I had one, it would be nonfiction, but I don't really read nonfiction except for writing craft books. I honestly can't think of a book that shaped my life in such an integral manner. I have books that have inspired me to write, but nothing that shapes my life and way of thinking.
Are you a fan of re-reading books, do you do it often?
I don't really re-read books. When I have, it's to recapture the feeling that I had when I first read them. I think I've done this maybe two or three times in my life.
I will reread manga or comics, though, especially if there's been too much time in between releases and I need to refresh my memory.
Which book title could easily be the title of your life?
I don't have a book title, but an album title: Did I Shave My Legs for This? by Deana Carter. I've never listened to any of the music from it, and I honestly don't know anything about the singer, but this album first came out in 1995 when I was twelve years old. I remember seeing the title and committing it to memory. The reason why I chose it is because I feel like I put a lot of effort into things, especially things that are expected of me, only to feel a bit of disappointment, or to question its worth after all is said and done. Whew! I guess this sounds depressing...but it's pretty much how I feel about my adult life.
Which book should be required reading for everyone?
I honestly can't choose one, but if I were to choose a topic, it would be about kindness and compassion.
･:*:･ﾟ’✫,’✫’ﾟ･:*:･˙
Readers, you know I love you, so I'm tagging YOU! This was a lot of fun, and I want you to have fun with it too. Be sure to either answer in the comments, or give me the link to where you've filled it out on your own. Enjoy!