TAG | The Liebster Award

School is FINALLY starting to wind down, so now I have little to no excuses to not blog!

Ally nominated me for the Liebster award in February, so THANK YOU AND I’M SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG OT GET AROUND TO THIS!! Everyone, please go check out her blog!

The Liebster Award Rules

1. Acknowledge the blog that gave it to you and display the award
2. Answer 11 questions that the blogger gives you
3. Give 11 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate 11 blogs and notify them of their nomination
5. Give these blogs 11 questions to answer

Questions from Ally

1. If you could acquire any ability, what would it be?
   • The ability to hoola-hoop! I’ve literally never figured out how, and I’m pretty sure, at this point, it’s witchcraft (the dark kind).
2. What’s your perfect breakfast?
   • Waffles (preferably chocolate), with two eggs, sunny side up! OR yogurt and toast!
3. What’s your phone background?
   • My lock screen is my girlfriend and I from Christmas and my home background is me and my cat, Jonas!
4. Who was your first favourite author?
   • I have several, but if I was forced at gunpoint to pick just one, to keep it fair (since this author is now dead), I’d say J.D. Salinger.
5. If you could use any spell from Harry Potter, which would it be and why?
   • I have literally never read a HP book in my life . . . sorry (**everyone unfollows)
6. If you could only name your children (or pets if you don’t want children) after the characters in a book series, which series and names would you choose?
   • Ha! Probably the Thrown of Glass series. I like Dorian, Aelin, and Rowan as names.
7. What’s something you’ve recently been obsessed with? Gush about it.
   • BAKING! I just LOVE baking, and I try to find a new recipe to make every weekend, though it’s difficult when 1) you’re attempting to eat as healthy as possible 2) you have a college budget and 3) you have little kitchen space
8. If you could require everyone to read one book, which book would it be?
   • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
9. Hot or iced coffee?
   • Hot
10. What was your favourite subject in school?
    • Math from Sophomore year below. English Junior and Senior year.
11. If you could tell your 15-year-old self one thing, what would it be?
    • STOP TAKING EVERYTHING SO SERIOUSLY NO MATTER HOW SERIOUS THEY MAY SEEM!!!!!!!!!

11 Random Facts About Me

1. I h a t e bacon.
2. My preferred egg style is sunny-side up or scrambled.
3. When I first adopted my cat, Jonas, he had an upper-respiratory infection that was not going away, and the vet scared me thinking he might have feline HIV or leukemia. Lots of money and tests later, it was, in fact, just the sniffles. (pictures of Jonas in little form below)
4. I used to weigh 355 pounds.
5. I lost over 150+ pounds.
6. I used to know someone in high school who was afraid of the number nine.
7. FACT: Dipping your grilled cheese in ketchup is underrated.
8. I was drum major of our local marching band my senior year in high school.
9. I used to have an unhealthy obsession with rollercoasters (still kind of do).
10. Single origin, light-roast coffee is my preferred bean!
11. Hammonds, currently, is my favorite chocolate brand . . . (huge shoutout to Sara for this)

• 

  baby boi

• 

  BIG BOI

My Questions for You

1. Cake or non-cake donut?
2. What is you preferred milk type (two percent, whole, almond)?
3. What’s the last book you check out form the library?
4. Have you ever met anyone famous?
5. What’s the last thing you’ve cooked or baked from scratch?
6. Biscuits or bagels?
7. baby boi or BIG BOI? (refer to and include one above picture)
8. If you could have dinner with one author that’s alive, who would it be?
9. What is your most anticipated release of the year?
10. What’s been your most disappointing read this year, so far?
11. What was the last song you listened to?

I understand we’re doing an 11 theme here but I don’t think that’s happening! NOMINATIONS:

Sara / Crystal / Jessica / Sahi / Bibi / Robin

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Answer a question from one of “my questions for you” in the comments! Let’s chat!

SPRING CLEANING BOOK TAG (Original)

Ah, okay. So, here I am, between books. It’s summer. So, why not make a tag?!

Rules:

• Please link back to Daniel @ Page to Page
• Respond to the scenarios
• Tag 5 people (or however many you like)

 

It’s time to make your bed, but you’re going to have some friends over later and want to pick the perfect book to place on your nightstand for them all to see that you’re “reading”. Which book do you choose?

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

I feel like this is always my go-to. But, what can I say, it’s one of my favorites! And it’s a classic, haha.

Oh no! The house need dusting, but you just can’t book that book you’re reading down! What book would you buy on audio just so you could continue the story while cleaning?

The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfus

While there where definitely times in this book I was surprised by the main character’s decisions, it is rare that I think a sequel is better than the original. Coming in at nearly 1000 pages, I could hardly put this one down.

Darn it! The ceiling is leaking! Turns out Mass-Market Paper backs are the best things to soak water up! Which popular book do you use to soak up the water?

Wool by Hugh Howey

I was super underwhelmed with this one. You can check out my full review here.

Bathrooms need a good scrubbing, and your 2007 Cosmos are a little outdated and need replacing. What book do you place in the bathroom for some light reading for when people need to take care of business?

Forever by Judy Blume

While this definitely isn’t a masterpiece, the story is light enough and the chapters short enough that you could read it in short intervals.

Family is coming over, but you have no idea what to make for dinner! You read somewhere that tearing up the last chapter of a book whose ending you hated and sprinkling it in a casserole dish makes for the perfect meal! Which book do you choose?

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

You can check out my full rant here. But, honestly, this “novel” was utter garbage because of the ending, in my opinion.

Organization is key, right? When it comes time to organize your bookshelf, you realize you have enough room (and money) to get three new books! Which books do you buy?

I know, I know. I haven’t read Fight Club.The first two are some I’ve been wanting to read, while the last I feel could help a lot with writing and just be really useful. (If you own any of these, please let me know how they are, haha.)

Finally, some piece and quiet! But, before you can relax, you realize you forgot to send your Aunt a thank you gift for the lovely “ADULT LIFE FOR DUMMIES” book she gave you for Christmas (maybe she’s trying to tell you something?) . What book do you send to her to show her how much (this is sarcasm) you appreciate her gift? 

A God in the Shed by J-F. Dubeau

Oh man. I really, really wanted to like this one.

Being in the middle of the semester (when I was trying not to buy books), I went through the process of trying to ILL (Interlibrary Loan) this book through my University. It ended up they decided to buy it to add to their own collection. Since I requested it, I got it first. And the beginning was super promising…then it got past the first 50 pages and just got super ridiculous.

I have yet to find more than 1 or 2 novels to actually freak me out, and I was hoping this would add to that short list. Needless to say, as it progressed, it just got beyond saving and not creepy at all.

I ended up not doing a review on this, but if I did, it would be lucky to get 3 stars from me.

Notes:

Well, those are my picks! I’m curious to see what you’ll choose, haha.

I tag:

Becky @ Velvet Spade Reads

Sara @ The Bibliophagist

Shruti @ This is Lit

Chaz @ Life of Chaz

Jess and Teagan @ Fiction No Chaser

Best,

Daniel

THE READER CONFESSION TAG

Woo! This should be fun!

Have you ever damaged a book?

Haha, yes! I remember when I was reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer I was so into it that I took it out to eat with my family at a Mexican restaurant. I can’t remember if it was on the table or if I was reading it when the the glass of water spilled…

How long does it take you to read a book?

Oye. That REALLY depends. Since I’ve been in school and are an English Literature major, books that aren’t assigned can be anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks, maybe longer (because school is always first, kids). If I’m assigned a book, I’ll always try to make the deadline. Since I’ve been out, I’ve been averaging about 4 daysish to 2 weeks per book, depending on the length and how into it I am.

I’m not the kind of reader who feels pressured to finish books quickly, as I like to really enjoy them. But, it really just depends on the length and how into it I am. I will often read a chapter or two, set a book down, do something else, and come back to it.

Books that you haven’t finished?

Ha! Okay:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I’m sure there are a lot more, as I went through a phase in middle school where it seemed no books were really pleasing me, but those are what I can think of right now,

Hyped/popular books you don’t like?

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

We Were Liars by E Lockhart

Is there a book you wouldn’t tell anyone you were reading?

Not really. There are some genres I want to explore that I don’t think I would call up my mom and tell her I’m reading and have a chat about it, but I frankly don’t care what people think, haha.

How many books do you own?

No idea. Sorry. Maybe, like, 25 to 30 right now? I’m about to move, so I purged a lot.

Are you a fast or a slow reader?

Medium, I guess. Like I said above, it really just depends. Rarely do I finish a book in a day, though.

Do you like to buddy read?

I have never tried it, but would like to!

Do you read better in your head or out loud?

In my head, most definitely. In my head, I can do whatever I want.

If you were only allowed to own one book, what would it be and why?

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

I feel that book has a lot of things to learn from it, most of it just doing the opposite of what the main character does. But, I feel it has a lot of value, and I think it’s a book everyone should read.

Final Comments:

Well, that was super fun! Thanks to Sara @ The Bibliophagist for tagging me!

I tag

Rebecca @ Bookishly Rebecca

Cody @ Peaceful Oblivion

Best,

Daniel

The Mystery Blogger Award

The amazing Becky @ Velvet Spade Reads nominated me for this award! Thank you! This is all very exciting as this is the first one I’ve ever been nominated for! So, here we go!

Rules:

• Display award logo
• List the rules
• Thank the person that nominated you!
• Mention and link the award creator: Okoto Enigma
• Tell your readers three things about yourself
• Answer the questions from the person who nominated you
• Nominate 10 – 20 people
• Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
• Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice

 

Three Things About Myself

1. I’m a huge fan of pop music. A lot of people seem quite in shock that a straight male loves pop music, and that’s a stereo type I would really like to break. Why does music have to have gender associated with it? Lorde and Taylor Swift are my two favorites, and I feel so lucky that I get to see both of them live this year!
2. I’m writing this post from Arizona. While I live about 1,000 miles East of this place, I’m currently visiting Arizona because that is where most of my family lives! Cool to see wild cactuses.
3. The word “semantics” bothers me. And now it’s forever going to plastered on my blog.

Five Questions from Velvet Spades:

• What is that one book you own that you would NEVER lend out to anyone for fear that you might never get it back? (Either due to nostalgia or because you love the book too much to let it go)
  • I would probably say my copy of The Catcher in the Rye. The book means so much to me that it would take a very special person to fork my copy away from me. I read that book for the first time in 8th grade and then re-read it my senior year and found it still held its value to me. It’s just a book I keep coming back to. I just feel it takes what being young is to such an extreme that anyone can relate to it in some way. And while people who read it either love it or hate it, if you haven’t read it yet, I strongly recommend that you do.
• Would you rather go into the past and meet your ancestors or go into the future and meet your great-great grandchildren?
  • Definitely the past to meet my ancestors. I don’t think I would want to know where I end up. I want it to be a surprise.
• If you could go on a two week vacation tomorrow (& of course money is not an issue) where would you go?
  • Europe – just travel everywhere in there. Would love to. Taste all of the wine, chocolate and cheese.
• If you were given a lifetime supply of anything in the world, what would you choose?
  • Front row concert tickets. Yes. That would be quiet nice and save me a lot of money. (Tbh honest, I’ve yet to actually buy front row, only GA and waiting a long time to get to the front haha).
• Good news or bad news first?
  • Bad, that way the good news can (hopefully) make everything better.

 

My Five Questions:

1. Who is one person you would freak out if you met in real life?
2. Front of the plane or back of the plane?
3. What’s the first song that comes up when you hit shuffle on your favorite playlist?
4. What book would you recommend for “non readers”? Why?
5. If you had to write the ultimate fan fiction, which five characters would you choose to include in it?

Nominations:

Sara @ The Bibliophagist

Bentley @ Book Bastian

Erin @ Undercover Binge Reader

Reaghan @ thats so reaghan

Heidi @ bookloverblogs.com 

 

I’m excited to see all of your answers!

Best,

Daniel

3 DAYS, 3 QUOTES TAG (Day 3) + New Rating System

I was tagged by Sara @ The Bibliophagist !! Thank you Sara!! This has been a blast!!

The Rules
1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day)
3. Nominate three new bloggers each day

So, I think I’ve saved one of my all-time favorite quotes for last.

“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”

–J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Some background. This is the last line in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, one of my all-time favorites. This book, and especially this line, I feel capture what it is to be young and so so naïve. While this book usually falls into one of two categories when someone reads it – loving or hating – I feel this entire work describes what it is to be young and make such radical decisions, but to a huge extreme. This is a time when everything is so so vivid and all of our emotions are just so intense. I feel this line manages to sum up the entire mood of the model so well.

This tag was great! There is a recap of all of the quotes I chose below!

 

Tagged:

Indiana and Pete @ Lit Lense

Ivy @ Ivy’s Well Used Library Card

Paul @ Paul’s Picks

Also…

I have decided to switch to a straight 1 through 5 rating for my reviews rather than find the average total of several categories, as I felt that was just getting a little too convoluted and irrelevant, as I try to explain all of my compliments and issues in the review itself. I just feel a lot fresher about this new way for this blog.

Most of the previous reviews that use the old rating system will not be altered, however from now on the new version will be used. I will include the details below.

5 out of 5: Thoroughly enjoyed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

4 out of 5: Enjoyed, with little critique. Would recommend.

3 out of 5: It was okay. Wouldn’t necessarily not recommend, but wouldn’t be my first choice.

2 out of 5: Meh. Would not recommend.

1 out of 5: Absolutely would not recommend.

I am very excited for this change as I am still new here and are excited whenever I find something that isn’t quite working and can fix it.

Best,

Daniel

TAYLOR SWIFT BOOK TAG & 3 DAYS, 3 QUOTES TAG (Day 1)

In celebration of the Reputation Stadium Tour starting in 2 days, I thought this would be appropriate.

I wasn’t tagged for this, but I believe it originated from Kat, owner of Katytastic on YouTube.

**Note: I removed some of the questions and updated them with some newer songs. All of the questions added by me will have a ** beside them, indicating they were not part of the original tag.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Pick a book or series that you were pretty sure you were in love with, but then wanted to break up with.

Panic by Lauren Oliver

—For some reason I just remember thinking this book would be the coolest, so I guess I had high-hopes from the beginning. When I was done with it, I knew I was disappointed, but was like “it was such a cool concept, so that saves it.” But, three years later, I have realized “a cool concept” is not a saving grace, haha.

 

Red

Pick a book with a RED cover.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

— You already knew this is going to be on here somewhere, haha. Just…go read it if you haven’t.

The Best Day

Pick a book that makes you feel nostalgic.

Throne of Glass by Sara J. Maas

—When I read this, I was sitting on the beach with sand between my toes.

.

**This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Pick a book you feel shames its genre.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

—Glorifies Suicide (check), glorifies rape (check), boring as hell (check)… For someone who was just getting into contemporary at the time, thanks for putting a bad taste in my mouth.

I Knew You Were Trouble

Pick a book with a bad character you couldn’t help but love.

Winter by Marissa Meyer

— OKAY LEVANA CAN SLAY ME ANY DAY

Innocent

 Pick a book that someone ruined the ending for.

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

—Some blog spoiled it 100 pages in…yay.

**Don’t Blame Me

Pick a popular book that you couldn’t finish.

City of Bones by Cassandra Calire

—Sorry, not sorry universe.

You Belong With Me

Pick your most anticipated book release.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

—FSHADKJSHASLd

**Getaway Car

Pick a book with a badass main character.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus

—Kvothe is the baddest it gets.

 

Come Back, Be Here

Pick the book you would least like to lend out, for fear of missing it too much.

You Get So Alone Sometimes That It Just Makes Sense by Charles Bukowski

—Ha. Try and take this from me.

 

I’m only going to tag 1 since I’m about to tag 3 below, haha.  But, please, feel free to do this tag! 

— Sara @ The Bibliophagist (sorry I was so quick to get ya’ back)

I was tagged by Sara @ The Bibliophagist !! Thank you for being so kind to me ! Your blog is amazing !!

The Rules
1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day)
3. Nominate three new bloggers each day

This quote is slightly depressing, but it has been stuck with me for a very long time.

“No one can hate you with more intensity than someone who used to love you.”

–Rick Riordan, Blood of Olympus

This quote, to me, is so intense, and really sticks with me, especially when I’m reading or writing and come across a hateful relationship between two characters. It just really gets me thinking about if there was ever love to begin with.

Tagged

Simone @ Simone and Her Books

Hollie @ HOLLIEBLOG

Ceara @ ReadingArsenal

Best,

Daniel