Birdie Bookworm tagged me for this Norse Mythology book tag that looked too fun to pass up. If you love books and/or Norse mythology def. keeping reading. And make sure you check out Birdie’s blog for more bookish fun. She’s one of my fave book tag suppliers and terrific in general.

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The Rules:

• Link back to the original post on Kyera’s Library so she can see all your answers! (Be sure to do this via pingback, I don’t get notified if you just tag my URL)
• Thank the person(s) who tagged you… show the community some love!
• Obviously, come up with your wonderful answers!
• Don’t forget to tag others to keep the tag going!

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ODIN – Favorite Standalone

Odin is the All-Father, the leader of the Norse Gods. He is the god of wisdom, poetry, battle, death, wine, and war, among other things.

This one was kinda hard because most of my favorite books are actually part of a series or at least have a sequel of some kind. I decided to go with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen because it was a stand alone story to the author even if countless people have added their own take on the material.

So many love stories take their cues from Pride and Prejudice – it’s been rewritten intentionally and unintentionally for an incredibly long time and even though it was written so long ago and shows up on school required reading lists, etc. It’s actually 100% deserving of the hype.

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THOR – A Book that Hits You in the Feels

Thor is the god of thunder, weather, warriors, strength, and storms, so his might packs a punch. He is married to the beautiful Lady Sif.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han is basically all feels all the time. If you need a feel good chicken soup for the soul style love story that is fresh and relevant – Jenny Han is the girl for you. She’ll take you on an emotional roller coaster that you won’t really want to disembark from at all.

This is a YA love story but it’s also about family and growing up and the main character cooks so much good food that you will be starving basically the entire time you are reading.

Good news: It’s the first in a series and the newest book just came out this year.

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LOKI – Biggest Book Plot Twist or Character Betrayal

Loki is the god of mischief, thieves and thrives on chaos.

This might seem like an odd selection for this category if you haven’t read the book yet but I’m guessing that anyone who has read it is nodding their head with me right now going, “Seriously. Did not see that coming.”

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon is a sweet YA love story starring a girl who is literally allergic to everything and basically living that bubble girl life until a new book moves in next door and shit goes down.

It’s supremely well written and a seriously fast read because you will be unwilling to put it down once you start.

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FRIGG – OTP (One True Pairing)

Frigg is Odin’s wife, the goddess of love, marriage, fertility, and fate.

Anne and Gilbert for the win. Honestly Elizabeth and Darcy would work well here, too, but I already talked about Pride and Prejudice so I figured it would only be fair to talk about one of my other fave couples of all book-time. Of course they are basically babies in Anne of Green Gables (or, you know, tweenagers) but over the course of L.M. Montgomery’s series they seriously come to define #relationshipgoals

I didn’t read Anne of Green Gables until I was a grown assed woman so I’m here to tell you it’s never too late if you haven’t read it yet. I get just as much out of this story as a mom to a precocious daydreaming girlie as I did when I was a tweenie myself.

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HEIMDALL – Favorite Second Book in a Series

Heimdall is the god of loyalty, faithfulness and he is who protects the bi-frost, the bridge that connects all nine worlds.

Pretties is book two in a series by Scott Westerfeld. You want to read Uglies first. This series came out twelve years ago and seems to be more of a cult favorite than a global phenomenon but if you like The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Lunar Chronicles, etc. then this series will definitely be up your alley.

In a world where ugliness is literally cured on your sixteenth birthday with an operation that will make you – you guessed it, pretty – things are of course not all that they seem.

This series absolutely sucked me in from the get go and book two holds up just as well as the first. It’s iconic dystopian and heartbreaking at times but soooo good.

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SIF – Most Beautiful Book Cover

Lady Sif is known for her beautiful golden tresses, although she is also the goddess of the harvest and is married to Thor.

I read a lot of pretty books but The Selection series by Kiera Cass have some of my favorite covers. This is another great series for fans of YA Dystopian. It’s kind of a blend of The Hunger Games and The Bachelor and it is seriously so addictive.

Follow America Singer who is rather reluctantly taking part in a competition to win the crown prince’s hand in marriage for the sake of her family. Love triangles, political intrigue, fancy ballgowns and gossip for days. This is a book to lose yourself in on a long summer day.

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FREY – Book/Series that Makes You Happy

Frey is the Lord of weather, god of light, summer, master of agriculture, fertility, and brother of Freya.

My daughter discovered The Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin last year in the form of these new graphic novels and I have to admit they are adorable. It pains me a little that she’s mostly only interested in the graphic novel versions that are out right now but I get over that when we get to talk about which Babysitter we love the most and which one we relate to the most, etc. My darling girl has declared Dawn as her favorite. I always loved Claudia but I’m a total Mary Anne.

I cannot wait until she starts diving into the rest of the series which should keep her pretty busy what with there being over 100 of them.

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FREYA – Favorite Book Setting

Freya is the goddess of love and beauty, fertility, war, wealth and growth, and sister of Frey.

I mean, really, who amongst us doesn’t want to go to Hogwarts? The Harry Potter universe has been one of my favorite places to escape to for a very long time now. I love this illustrated edition of the first book – it is absolutely stunning. And a bit cheaper than going to the Harry Potter world at Universal or flying to London.

For the record, I’ve long considered myself a Ravenclaw though occasionally I have Hufflepuff tendencies. How about you?

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TYR – Favorite Book with a Big Upheaval/Epic Fight Scene

Tyr is the god of war.

I just read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas recently so the big throw down at the end is still pretty vivid in my mind. I am extremely anxious to return to the series but I’m in Book Club Mode right now so it will have to wait along with all of the other books that I am extremely anxious to read (I won’t lie, it’s a long list).

This is the first book in a series about an 18 year old assassin who is released from a prison sentence early by the crown prince but only if she agrees to enter a competition to become the king’s champion and royal assassin.

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ULLER – Character Death that Affected You the Most

Uller is the god of death, winter, archery and hunting.

I know I already mentioned Harry Potter but seriously were any of us okay after this book? I won’t even say the words on the off chance that you haven’t read the series (who even are you?) though I’m guessing the rest of the Internet wouldn’t be as kind.

I recommend this series with every fiber of my being but I won’t lie and say that it won’t break your heart a few times.

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NJORD – Favorite Book that’s an Epic Journey on Water/Ocean Setting

Njord is the god of the wind and the sea.

Okay I know this one is a serious stretch but I don’t read a lot of books that fit this category. Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple definitely involves an epic journey and a cruise ship is involved.

It’s also an Epistolary novel which means it’s written in the form of letters, emails, etc. rather than in a traditional narrative form. Sometimes this format is terrible but occasionally it is awesome. I think this one falls more in the line of awesome.

It’s about a SAHM who basically loses all of her cool about living that suburban soccer mom life and disappears. Her family has to go through her online correspondences to figure out what happened and where she went. Funnier than it should be and relatable if absurd.

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VALKYRIE – Favorite Strong Female Character

The Valkyries, much like the Amazons, are strong female warriors.

There is literally no other appropriate answer to this question. Like it would be a crime against humanity not to say Cinder and all the other leading characters of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. If you are looking for kick ass female characters to root for, this series is here for you.

I am starting to feel less silly telling people that they need to read this book about a cyborg Cinderella who goes on to team up with other fairy tale characters that are totally futuristic dystopian retellings of stories you thought you knew really well. But everyone I have recommended this amazing series to has loved it so I recommend it in full earnestness now: YOU HAVE TO READ THESE BOOKS. THEY ARE EVERYTHING.

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AESIR/VANIR – Favorite Book “Crew”

The Aesir and the Vanir are the two groups of Norse gods, believed to be the old and new gods.

In addition to some of the other great series I’ve already mentioned that feature an incredible cast of characters (Harry Potter, The Lunar Chronicles), My Lady Jane was written by a great book crew –  Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows. And it features a pretty stellar group of characters. Everytime I thought I knew who I was rooting for, the authors would add in more people whom I absolutely wanted nothing but good things for.

If Cinder seemed like an odd book to recommend to people, brace yourself. Because now I have to tell you that you absolutely must read this historical retelling of the story of Lady Jane Grey who is married off to a stranger, briefly the Queen of England, and also falls in love with a horse. Okay only some of those things actually happen. Or do they?

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SEIPYRTS – Favorite Sidekick (Non-Human Character)

Seipyrts is Odin’s trusty eight legged steed, yes you heard that correctly – eight legs.  I promise that he is the god’s horse companion and not a giant spider that he rides around on… although that would probably strike more fear in the hearts of his enemies than a pretty horse does.

So I convinced you to read The Lunar Chronicles and you were there for it but then the series ended and now you are feeling a little angsty and aren’t sure what to do with yourself. Good news! Meyers wrote a graphic novel continuation called Wires and Nerve that picks up where the final book left off and it stars our favorite android sidekick, Iko.

This is a super quick read that lovers of the original series will probably really enjoy but if you haven’t read the O.S. then you might be confused and not get much out of it. So start at the beginning like a good little doobie. I promise it’s worth it.

Wires and Nerve is going to help you scratch that itch that just wants to live in the world of The Lunar Chronicles forever. You’ll get to see what everyone is up to and also SEE them for basically the first time. And there is a second one coming out in 2018 so maybe this never has to end?

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TAG YOU’RE IT

I’m a filthy little rule breaker and don’t feel like tagging people today but if you read this whole post then you are definitely tagged. If you skimmed through it to see if you were tagged then you are tagged but please go read the post, too. Then leave a comment with your favorite YA novel that I didn’t mention yet.

Another day, another tag stolen mercilessly from Birdie Bookworm. This one is all about what draws you to the books you buy. I decided to make all my selections from books on my kindle because it’s probably where most of my impulse book purchases happen. Let’s take a look at the results, shall we?

1. Find a book on your shelves or e-reader with a blue cover. What made you want to pick up this book?

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas jumped out at me recently because I just bought the kindle edition after much urging from one of my fave IRL book friends who turned me onto the series. This is a prequel apparently and will tell you about Celaena and Sam’s relationship before she was sent to prison.

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

Map to the Stars by Jen Malone didn’t have me at hello you could say. Initially I found the main character kind of annoyingly dense and stubborn and the premise seemed a little contrived. It wasn’t until a few chapters in, when the love story starts to pick up and witty banter ensues that I really got on board and then suddenly I was loving it, contrived story and all.

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

Who Thought This Was a Good Idea by  Alyssa Mastromonaco is about Alyssa’s time working as Obama’s former deputy chief of staff. I think I discovered it in one of those kindle books on sale roundups either goodreads.com or Modern Mrs. Darcy.

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

I know I basically just mentioned this series but Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas came highly recommended to me by two different friends and I’m so glad they were persistent because I loved it. If you are into YA fantasy, this one will definitely do the trick. It’s fairly popular in the blogging circles and deservingly so. If you read The Lunar Chronicles after fifteen people insisted you do so (or maybe it was just me fifteen times), this is your next assignment.

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

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Allbertalli has been a social media darling for awhile now. Everyone I knew online was reading it. Sometimes this makes me leery of a book but the premise sounded like my kind of adorable – geeky shy girl thinks she won’t find love but of course does find love. This was such a sweet story but also felt very real – it was like reading your old diary from high school except that when I was in high school none of the pop culture references in this book existed. Shhhh…. no tears now.

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

Wanderlost by Jen Malone – I read this one before reading Map to the Stars and honestly it took me a minute to fall for this one, too. Malone’s characters are kind of clueless initially but this makes for more character development. In this one Aubree is coerced into running a European tour for senior citizens for her big sister and if the pages of descriptions of European travel don’t do it for you, the love story definitely will. I puffy hearts adored Sam.

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

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams was turned into a pretty amazing series on BBC last year. I haven’t actually read the book yet but couldn’t resist picking it up in case my husband or I need a good read. Douglas Adams is one of the funniest writers of all time – but it’s the best kind of funny. Smart British Sci Fi Nerd Funny.

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

Okay I’m going rouge for this one and not worrying about whether it’s on my kindle. Favorite books include: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen which I read in 2008 about a year before my daughter was born. I was late to the party and probably feeling guilty about being an English major who hadn’t read Jane Austen yet. I’m glad I rectified this because this story especially completes me and I consider it my favorite love story; Harry Potter series by JK Rowling which I started reading sometime in high school or college and finished reading when I was a married mother to a toddler. My husband and I pretty much met and fell in love over Harry Potter and we’re both such big fans of the series that we each ordered our own hard cover copy of the last book because we refused to share. I could go on but I’ll refrain because then we’ll be here literally all day. If you want to know about more books I love, just go here.

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TAG, YOU’RE IT!

Now for the serious business of tagging. Because I’m a tag renegade, I’m tagging all the other tag renegades. The ones who always wait impatiently to be tagged and are perhaps obsessed with talking about books. You, sir or madam, have been tagged. Report to me in the comments section when you’ve finished your list!

 

While I have a few short minutes, here is a short and sweet tag that I stole from Birdie Bookworm (she’s basically my tag pimp these days). A bookish would you rather that you can tackle in twenty minutes – what could be better to fill in that awkward chunk of time between kids’ activities and empty tummies?

Would you rather…

1. Have unlimited money for Ebooks, or a $5000 B&N gift card?

I’d have to go with the unlimited ebooks – I could make that go a LOT further in the long run and as an added bonus the books I would horde with that deal wouldn’t take up any room in my home. I could use my own cold hard cash for the books that I really want to own a physical copy of. My bookshelves would breathe a sigh of relief, honestly.

2. Meet any deceased Poet, or J.K. Rowling?

I’d rather meet J.K. Rowling. I like plenty of poets but I probably like her more and we could talk about writing, parenting and of course Harry Potter. With any luck she’ll adopt me as her protege or at least invite me to go get Butter Beer with her sometimes.

3. Write the world’s most famous book, or visit the world of your favorite book for one day?

I’m not in it for the fame. The big advantage to the first choice would simply be that I wrote a book that I’m hopefully proud of. Visiting the world of a favorite book would be extremely tempting but I’d have such a hard time choosing. Hogwarts? The Lunar Chronicles? Civil War era Atlanta? Pemberly? I’m just going to need the ability to travel through books period, okay?

4. Choose___or___? (Insert characters from your favorite fictional love triangle.)

Joey w/ Pacey vs. Dawson

Buffy w/ Angel vs. Spike

Celaena w/ Dorian vs. Chaol

Hermione w/ Harry vs. Ron

Bella w/ Edward vs. Jacob

Elena w/ Damon vs. Stefan

Katniss w/ Peeta vs. Gale

Lady Brienne w/ Jamie Lanister vs. Tormund

5. Experience Hogwarts in a very realistic and accurate virtual reality, or travel around the world for a year, at no cost.

If I can travel around the world for free, I will make time for both Kings Cross, London area AND the Harry Potter world at Universal in addition to all of the other places on my bucket list which is VAST. I will be basically trampling Europe and Asia like it’s my job in addition to seeing more of the US, Canada, South America, etc. and well you know what I’ll just try to get all the continents in for good measure.

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If you read this whole post and maintained interest through all 5 questions – consider yourself tagged. If you play along or already have, leave me a comment so I can check out your answers!