How I Choose My Books Tag

Because obviously everyone is interested in how I choose books to read.* I saw this tag over at Ash’s blog For The Love Of Books Blog and found it super nice so I decided to do it.

I’ve been reading way more books this year and I’m really happy? I’m making such good progress on my Goodreads Reading Challenge for this year. I’ve also been liking more of the books that I read than before so obviously I need to document how I’m doing this. More for myself to refer back later than anything else.

*let’s pretend that’s true for my sake

Find a book on your bookshelves with a blue cover. What made you want to pick up this book?

Because this is one of my most favourite books and I LOVE IT. ACOMAF is bae ❤

Think of a book you didn’t expect to enjoy, but did. Why did you read it in the first place?

The author reached out to me to review this book and the synopsis was very vague, hence making me think that I won’t like it. I’m really glad I gave it a chance, though! I ended up giving it five stars!

Read my review here.

Stand in front of your bookshelf with your eyes closed and pick a book at random. How did you discover this book?

Sad I have to stand up and go to my shelf for this. I’m sitting on the floor and blogging. (I’m very lazy ok.)

I found this book through the book blogging community! I saw it on social media and read a few reviews on it. When I read that it’s about a magical carnival, I was immediately interested. In fact, my tweet about it is actually printed in the UK paperback version! I went and bought the book after it released because I’m in it lol.

Pick a book that someone personally recommended to you. What did you think of it?

My best friend had been trying to get me to read The Name of The Wind for over a YEAR and I finally read it when he lent me his copy. First of all, isn’t this version really pretty??

I thought it was nice but I wasn’t blown away by it. It’s my best friend’s favourite book and I just didn’t like it that much. I rated it 4/5 stars.

Pick a book up that you discovered through booktube/bookstagram/book blogs. Did it live up to the hype?

NO Truthwitch did NOT live up to the hype. I STILL see hype around it and I don’t understand why. I didn’t like the characters, the plot was simply okay and nothing was explained properly. I don’t even know the concepts properly and I’ve read TWO books of the series. I believed in the hype naively and bought both of the books. My biggest regrets and I since then I don’t buy books based on hype online.

Find a book on your shelves with a one-word title. What drew you to this book?

Hmm I already spoke about Caraval and Truthwitch.. let’s go with Legend by Marie Lu.

Nothing specifically drew me to this book. Back before I knew the book community online, I used to randomly pick books in the library or just buy some. I read the synopsis for Legend on Amazon after I saw that it was on a discount and immediately ordered the whole trilogy. Now I realise that if I didn’t like it, I would have wasted a lot of money but fortunately I really liked it.

What book did you discover through a film/TV adaptation?

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I don’t have this one on my shelf as I read it from the library.

I found the movie randomly and ended up REALLY liking it. I only realized about a couple years later that it’s a book and then read it. I like the book better lol.

Think of your all-time favorite book(s). When did you read these and why did you pick them up in the first place?

• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine which I randomly picked in the library when I was a pre-teen. I will reread it any day and still love it.
• The Other Daughter by Lisa Gardner was also a random pick at the library. It was my first book in the mystery genre and it was the one that got me into the genre.
• The Selection by Kiera Cass. I don’t like the other books of the series as much, tbh I hate books 4 and 5, but the first book will always be dear to me. I can reread it dozens of times and still like it. Maxerica forever.

 

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Tag! You’re it.

Rebecca @ mylifeasasportsfangirl

Marie @ drizzleandhurricanbooks

Lu @ lureads

 

How do you choose your books? Do you pick them randomly, by recommendation or through reviews/talk on the book community? Which book do you regret picking up because of hype? Which underrated book did you love? Tell me in the comments!