The Nameless Book Blog

I have been gone for quite some time, but I'm back with a lot of new blogpost ideas! Since it's almost Christmas aka my favorite time of the year, I thought it'd be nice for me to return to blogging with a tag that first this time perfectly!

1. Do you have a favorite winter read?
Right now it's Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones. People who have been following my blog for a while know that this is one of my favorite books of the year. It is beautifully written and one of the most incredible stories I've ever read. The title and cover both remind me of winter so it perfectly fits this season. I'm actually planning on rereading it before the second book comes out in February.


2. Find a book with blue on the cover.
The book I just finished has a beautiful blue cover: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
 
3. Find a book that you'd use as a star on a Christmas tree.
 I'm gonna place A Court Of Wings And Ruin by Sarah J Maas on top of my Christmas tree simply bc it was one of the best books I ever read.
Can I get through a single blogpost without mentioning how much I love Sarah J Maas? Nope.

4. Pick one fictional place that would be perfect for a winter holiday.
I'd love to spend Christmas at Hogwarts! I think that the Christmas decorations would bring me in the perfect holiday mood. Maybe I could even go and visit Hogsmeade. 

5. Pick one fictional character that you'd take with you on your winter holiday.
I'd love to spend my holiday with Feyre Archeron from the Court Of Thorns And Roses trilogy (wow I'm mentioning a Sarah J Maas book again can you believe it?). But I'd love to spend my holiday with her because she loves painting and we could spend the entire time making art and talking about how beautiful Rhysand is.


6. Name one book on your wishlist this year.
I asked my parents for Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco. I read Stalking Jack The Ripper earlier this year and thought it was really good. I finished it in like two days and actually want to reread it again soon! Hunting Prince Dracula is the second book in this trilogy and I really want to read it.

7. Favorite holiday drink, treat and movie.
Drink: Hot chocolate, definitely.
Treat: Christmas cookies
Movie: Lord Of The Rings. It's not even a Christmas movie but I love watching long movies during the holidays and LOTR has always held a special place in my heart.

~ Amber

It was our first ever blogpost: the Unpopular Opinions Book Tag. Now, one and a half years of blogging later, it seemed like a fun idea to do this one again, since I have read so many more books since I last did this tag!



1. A popular book or series you do not like
Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth. I know there is a lot of controversy going on around this book with people saying it's racist and all (and I can see why you may think that), but that isn't even why I didn't like this book. It was so boring. I was going to write a review, but I can't even do that because I remember 50 of the 468 pages at the most.


2. A popular book or series that everyone seems to hate that you love
I'm gonna go back a really long time for this one and say Twilight. Everyone is always joking about this book and yes, the movies are not that great, but I did actually enjoy the book when I read it.


3. A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with or an OTP that you hate.
<SPOILERS FOR THE GRISHA TRILOGY>
I absolutely HATE that Alina and Mal ended up with each other. I would've liked Alina with the Darkling, I would have loved Alina with Nikolai, but no, none of that. I don't even wanna talk about this too much, because I'm still pissed.



 4. A book genre you hardly reach for
It's funny, because the first time I did this tag I answered contemporary, while lately I've actually been reading a lot of contemporary novels. This time I'm gonna go for horror. I highly dislike horror movies and I hate being scared. When I read or watch something creepy, I can't sleep for like a month after wards and it just fucks with my head, so I stay as far away from it as I can.


5. A popular or beloved character you do not like
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I highly, highly dislike Chaol Westfall from the Throne Of Glass series. Did that happen because of his ''character change'' in book 4? Absolutely not. I've hated Chaol from the beginning of book 1. I think he's a major asshole and honestly, to me, the best thing about Empire Of Storms was that he wasn't in it.




6. A popular author you can't seem to get in to
I'm gonna say something very funny, since I read all of her books, but I'm gonna go with Veronica Roth. I really liked Divergent, but Insurgent was meh and Allegiant was soooo bad (in my opinion at least). I gave her ''another chance'' with Carve The Mark, but that was even worse than the Divergent books. I don't think I'll ever read another Veronica Roth book again.



7. A popular book trope you are tired of seeing
I am going to say something very controversial, but I am actually going to write a blogpost about this to further explain myself. I'm so sick of books with gay characters where the entire book and their entire character is all about being gay. It's so unrealistic to me. Like when you are gay in real life, it's not your entire being either right? Not your entire live evolves around you being gay. In books that often is the case and people even reach for those books just because it has a gay character. It's stupid.




8. A popular book or series you have no interest in reading
Anything written my John Green. Everybody is obsessed with this guy, I read the Fault In Our Stars, was not impressed, didn't think the writing style was anything special and therefor am not interested in any of his other books.



9. The saying goes ''the book is always better than the movie'', but which movie did you enjoy more than the book
I'm gonna choose Me Before You by Jojo Moyes for this one. I liked the book a lot and thought it was really cute, but I didn't quite feel it the way that I felt the movie. Just seeing this story on the big screen instead of in my head made it so much more sad. The Ed Sheeran music at the saddest part didn't make it better, my friends and I were ugly sobbing the last like 20 minutes of the movie.

~ Amber

Christine from polandbananasbooks just posted a video like this and it was so much fun. Today I've gathered some 'Never Have I Ever' questions that we are going to answer. Actually you're supposed to drink every time you have done something, but since we are very responsible adults, we're not going to do that. At the end of the blogpost, let's see who is the winner (the person that hasn't done the most things).

Question of the day:
Have you ever written fanfiction about a character?



Never have I ever... 

...started a book but didn't finish
Amber: I have. Mostly they were books that were just not right for me at that moment, like The Book Thief and Dragonfly In Amber. I was in reading slumps with both books so they weren't right for the moment. The only book I didn't finish because I just couldn't was Red Queen when I read it a second time to remember what it was about. I couldn't get further than a hundred pages.
Shania: I have... So many times. I should be ashamed of myself, but if I'm not immediately caught up in the book, I get distracted. So I tend to forget I was reading a certain book until I come back around to it and then I try to read it again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...

...owned several copies of the same book
Amber: I HAVE HAHAHAHAHAHHA
Shania: I don't. But I'm not sure if it is a good or a bad thing...

 ...cried because of a fictional character
Amber: All the time. Sometimes books still make me cry months after I read them. *I'm looking at you Empire Of Storms*
Shania: Who doesn't? I get emotional even thinking about it. Great, now I'm crying.

...dog eared a page
Amber: NEVER
Shania: I used to but it makes me feel uncomfortable now... If I could go back in time and tell myself one thing it would be. Don't turn the corners of your pages into dog ears... Srsly, what's wrong with yo?

...written fanfiction
Amber: I haven't. I read a lot of fan fiction, but I've never actually written it. I don't know I'm just so terrified to write fanfic...
Shania: Yes, but you can't read it anywhere because after a week I ended up not finishing my story and well.... You know how that thing goes. You delete it because it was trash.

...read dirty fanfiction
Amber: Yes gehehehehe
Shania: To be honest. Who hasn't?

...skipped school to read/watch a tv show
Amber: I have. It's so bad, but secretly I don't feel bad at all. The last time I did so was when I was reading A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J Maas. I only had about 200 pages left and I needed to finish the book, not knowing what was going to happen next was killing me at school, so I went home and read till I finished it...and then cried a lot.
Shania: Actually, I have never done that.. I usually read the book or watch the tv show in class. Usually I have nothing better to do anyway.


...dreamt about being in a relationship with a fictional character
Amber: I probably did...I never really remember my dreams because I'm way too tired, but I'm pretty sure I did.
Shania: It wasn't exactly a good dream but I once dreamt about some really vague I need to save the world thing, then Gandalf came and told me "You shall not pass", when I literally could walk around him.

...read a book in one sitting or one day
Amber: I haven't. There have been a few moments where I could have done so, for example when I read Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo two weeks ago, I could have finished it in a day, but I was too tired at night and didn't feel like reading the final 50 pages.
Shania: Hhahahahaha nope. I'm a very slow reader. Which I honestly don't really mind.

...bought an entire trilogy/series in one buy
Amber: I have...several times actually. I bought the entire Mortal Instruments series and Infernal Devices trilogy all at once. The Elemental trilogy, the Grisha trilogy, the Kingkiller Chronicles, the Harry Potter series...yes...I do this way too often.
Shania: Actually nope. But that's just an excuse, that way I can visit the bookstore more often hahaha!

...used something that is not a bookmark as a bookmark
Amber: I haven't. Never had to, actually. I always have a bookmark in my book and never loose them.
Shania: I've just about used anything near me (as long as it didn't stain the book) if I need to put down my book for a second. 


...bought a book because of the cover
Amber: All the time. I'm not even gonna make a list with books I bought because of the cover.
Shania: Only once, I usually really like underrated books and they have horrible covers. But with Incarnate by Jodi Meadows it definetly was because that cover is just stunning!

...liked the adaptation more than the book
Amber: I have. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. The book was good but it didn't make me cry. The movie was so sad it made me and my friends sob for 20 minutes straight.
Shania: Hmmmm....... I usually see them as two different things.



...spilled a drink over my book
Amber: NO
Shania: No but my mom once bumped my book into the bathtub. She bought me a new version of the book though.

...cracked the spine of a book
Amber: Yes and it hurts so bad. The spine of my A Game Of Thrones mass market paperback is so cracked I don't even wanna look at it.
Shania: It's a pain in my heart, I always try to prevent it. Sometimes it just doesn't work. It cracks. No matter how hard you try.... *ugly sobbing*

It has been a while since we uploaded a Tag, but they're quick to write and fun to read, so why don't we just jump right into the questions??

Question Of The Day:
How do you decide what to read next?



1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?
A gigantic TBR is something I struggle with every day, so this questions is nothing new to me. I have 2 ways of deciding what to read next:
Method 1: If there is a book that I really want to read at that moment, obviously I'm going to pick that one.
Method 2, The TBR Jar: A long time ago I saw some booktubers make a TBR jar and just pull random books from it. I decided to make one for myself as well. It's actually a pretty fun way to pick new books to read, because you'll read books that you didn't actually think about in the first place!

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?
It depends on the situation. There are a few books that I stopped reading because I just wasn't in the mood to read them, like The Book Thief, but I didn't stop because I didn't like it. I've never actually read a book that I disliked so much that I just didn't want to continue reading, but obviously, if I absolutely hate the book I'm reading I won't continue.


3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?
I never had this problem, because I honestly don't really use the Reading Challenge as a 'challenge', but more as a way too keep track of all the books I've read. That's why I always set a low goal for myself. Though, if I halfway through the year notice that I am gonna beat my goal by like 10 books I'll set a higher one.


4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?
I don't. I cry in a corner for the rest of eternity.


5. Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?
I'm sure there will be someone on the internet that didn't like it either, so we can hate on the book together. And if there isn't someone, I will just try to talk about the book with my friend that did like it and explain why I didn't enjoy the book. Perhaps it'll lead to a very good discussion.



6. You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?
Try to keep it in, I don't want people seeing me show so much emotion :')


7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!?!?!?
If I really loved the first book I will reread it, but otherwise I'll just read the synopsis again and maybe some reviews.



8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?
I don't politely refuse, I'll tell them that I don't borrow people books, because if I do and they ruin it, I'll not-so-politely murder them.


9. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?
Just stop reading for a while *omg gasp how can you do that???!!!* It's very simple: when you're in a reading slump, you don't feel like reading, so why would you? Just do something else. Eventually you'll find yourself wanting to read again.


10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?
ALL OF THEM MWUHAHAHAHHAA

11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them? 
I like to say that I immediately read them, but we all know that's not true. There are books that on my shelf that I've been dying to read since January 2016 and I still haven't picked them up.  

~ Amber