Hello! It’s been a while (a couple of days really) since I’ve last updated this blog and I’m sorry to confess that the inactivity is going to get a lot worse because… school starts back this Thursday for me!
Which also means the summer is almost officially over therefore I thought it’d be appropriate for me to post yet another long overdue post, the Summertime Madness Tag. (Yes, I also decided to post this now lest this be done next summer which would have been way way overdue.) I was tagged by Carolyn to participate. She’s a fellow Vietnamese-American blogger on WP and secretly-ish we’ve been doing a buddy read and reading A Darker Shade of Magic. We both finished it yesterday (8/18/15: well I finished it today actually) and it was such a fantastic story. So be on the lookout for some ADSoM posts in the near future (yeah… I know, I promised a Summer Says post this week but yeah, that’ll come soon too, I hope)!
Gosh, I haven’t even started the tag yet and I’ve already used four parenthetical phrases. I’m so done. Alright, let’s get on to this before I add any more…
1. Show a book with a Summery cover! i.e Sun, Beach etc.
Haha, so when I first saw this I was like “what is a summary cover?” /facepalm/ Anyways… honestly, so many ya contemporary titles like That Summer and Someone Like You (both by Sarah Dessen) and books that had themes like Before I Fall came to mind. But I was like “nah, let me feature a famous local author” and chose The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy, a pretty influential and famous author in Southern literature and is actually from South Carolina. The cover isn’t as summer-y just because the colors are more faded and glum but it works, right
2. Pick one fictional place that would be the perfect destination for your Summer Vacation!I chose this one for a number of reasns. A) I’ve mentioned countless of times that The Truth About Forever and Just Listen are Dessen fan favorites, but I don’t give Along For the Ride enough spotlight. B) Auden in AftR is the most relatable fictional character, for me that is. Our personalities are very similar. C) (and the actual answer to this question/challenge) It’s set in a fictional beach town called Colby, which is based off of Emereld Isle, NC, which obviously isn’t far from SC.
3. You’re about to go on a flight to your Summer Vacation. But you want to read a book that lasts for the whole flight so what novella do you choose?
I don’t often go on vacation, so I have this grand plan that once I graduate college I’ll go travel somewhere (like Ireland or Vietnam, both ideal, dream destinations of mine). And on that plane ride I’d pick Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling because I actually watched the Harvard 2008 commencement speech when I was in high school (I watched a lot of them in my senior year since one of my close friends really loved watching them, thanks to him I also saw this one) and thought Queen Rowling was cooler than ever. Plus, I’d much rather read this than some random novella, The Casual Vacancy, or The Cuckoo’s Calling. This essay is said to be wonderfully moving and inspirational and, let’s face it, I don’t think I’ll ever pick upRowling’s non-HP books lest I be disappointed.
4. You have a case of Summertime Sadness what happy book
do you pick up to shine a smile on your face?
I feel pretty ashamed to say I have not read this yet after participating in the MHTN tag and mentioning a good many times that I was so excited for it… I’m sure there are some heart wrenching moments in this but it’s called More Happy Than Not so there must be some good moments too, right?
5. You’re sitting at the beach all alone…which fictional character would be your beach babe?
Jem. Okay, so this may seem like such an outlandish decision… because Will seems to be the person everyone chooses (don’t read too much into that if you haven’t read TID). I’ve only had three fictional romances if you will. Wes (The Truth About Forever) was my first fictional crush. Jace (The Mortal Instruments series) was my first fictional boyfriend but then we kind of broke up when I met Jem (The Infernal Device trilogy). LOL. So yeah, I’d pick Jem Carsairs because he’s kind, selfless, and near-perfect.
6. To match your ice cream you want an icy cool sidekick! Which fictional sidekick do you pick?
When I think of best friend I think of Simon (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda). When I think of cool character I want to get to know better I think of Annabeth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians series). When I think of a sidekick I think of STURMHOND (The Grisha trilogy), because he’s clever and I know his witty remarks will never let me down.
7. Share the Summertime Happiness! Who do you TAG?
I tried my best to tag bloggers I’ve recalled to never have done this yet.
- Aentee at Read at Midnight
- Ashley at Dreamingthroughliterature
- Bhramori at Thecrazyperfectionist
- Bri at Find Me at the Library
- Chooi at Read, Think, Ponder
- Cristina at My Tiny Obsessions
- Erika at Erika in Bookventureland
- Joey at Thoughts and Afterthoughts
- Kelly at Dancing through the Pages
- Lauren at SERIESous Book Reviews
- Poulami at Daydreaming Books
- Shelumiel at Bookish and Awesome
- Shotobhisha at Confessions of a Bibliophile
- Thuong at I Read Therefore I Am
- Trey at Trey Schnarr Books
- Trisha Ann at The Bookgasm
- Zezee at Zezee with Books
Of course, feel free to ignore this tag if you’ve already done it or aren’t feeling up to participating. I won’t be offended in any way. (I know how monstrous these tags can pile up to be.)
Thanks for reading! Until next time! 🙂
Great Answers! I wouldn’t mind sturmhond being my cool sidekick too. 😀
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Who wouldn’t, haha. 😛 Thanks, Raven!
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😀
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Thanks for tagging me!
Judging from the cover, The Prince of Tides seems perfect for reading on a hot day like today. It makes me think of melting ice.
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You’re welcome, Zezee!
I thought so too! I actually haven’t read The Prince of Tides myself but it’s a favorite among the customers where I work.
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great answers, but I wouldn’t pick up More Happy than Not for a smile on my face… tears yes, smile, not so much 😉
thanks for the tag, I actually did this one a couple of days ago 😉
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Oh gosh, sorry about that! I’ll be sure to check out your responses. Thank you, Cristina! I was hesitating when I chose MHTN for that question. I’ll keep that in mind. 🙂
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well, read it first, and then tell me if you think it was a happy reading 😀 😉
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Thank you for the tag! I’ll have to bump this one up to post it in actual summertime 😉
I totally approve of Jem as your beach babe ❤ And I’m glad you enjoyed A Darker Shade of Magic!
Good luck with school!
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I knew you would. 😉
You’re welcome, Lauren! It does seem like an urgent tag now that the summer is slipping away so quick.
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I know! It feels like summer just started and now it’s almost over :O
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hehe you can have Jem and I’ll have Will as my beach babe :p
A beach town sounds perfect for a summer vacation!
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I guess this works out well. Forget Tessa, we can visit a beach town with Will and Jem in tow. 😉
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WOO this tag looks like so much fun! I’m going to have fun writing this – thanks for tagging me, Summer!
HAVE FUN GOING BACK TO SCHOOL! I wish I was back at school, but make the most of the time you have. ❤
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While making this post, I was pretty sad to notice that my summer is coming to an end… but this tag was fun! I hope you have as much fun as I did when you get to it. 🙂
THANK YOU, Chooi! 😀 Ahh, I think we’ve talked about this before! Thank you for reminding me. 🙂
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Those were some good choices, though I’d rather be with Will. 😀 Nice tag
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Why I’m not surprised. 😉 Thanks, Alex!
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😀
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One thing I like about Dessen books is the summery cover 🙂 You had me laughing on that part about you breaking up with Jace for Jem (though I admit I feel that way too). Thanks again for tagging me! You tagged me in a lot of book tags now and I haven’t done most yet. Sorry! I swear to do them soon! Have fun in school (I wish I’m back in school too)! 🙂
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Me too! Well I like most things that involve the summer. 😉 Haha, I’m glad my silliness made you laugh. And it’s totally okay! There’s never a deadline to these, so take your time. I kind of feel guilty for always tagging the same people and making their tags grow… And thanks so much, Trisha! I’m really excited. ^.^
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The Dessen books I bought are the new covers already. They’re nice though the beach-themed and old ones look better. Don’t worry! I’m sure those people (like me) enjoy the tags you do 🙂
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Thanks for the reassurance, Trisha! ^.^
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Great choices of books! Aw Jem is a darling ❤ at first I wanted Tessa and Jem to be together because he’s so sweet and caring, but that was until I read Clockwork Prince and became a Wessa shipper 😀 I need to read J.K. Rowling’s Very Good Lives! I only just realised that the More Happy Than Not book cover is of a smiley face XD I thought it was just similar to the Beginning of Everything cover. Thanks for the tag!
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He’s my favorite TID character for sure. ^.^ Thanks, Thuong!
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Okay, that was weird! When I checked my WP notifications I only saw up to “Jem is a darling” part… Though I liked Tessa way better than Clary, I still didn’t think she was good enough for Jem (I’m a huge Jem fan) so I was a Wessa shipper from start to finish. 😉 AND LOL, Thuong! Yes, MHTN has a cute, happy smiley on the front. Good point! I never thought about that but MHTN and Beginning of Everything are very similar. 🙂
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That also happened to me. I read my email notification and when I checked my WP, the full comment wasn’t there. I liked Tessa too, even though she was kind of a damsel in distress XD I wished there was someone else for Jem other than Tessa. I just don’t believe that she was in love with them both. Its the one thing that irked me about Clockwork Princess. Yeah I thought the smiley face was a roller coaster lols.
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Oh, well that makes me feel better. I literally thought “Only I would be trolled by WP.” I only now just caught on that this has been happening. There’s not telling how many partial comments I’ve replied to so far. XD
And yes, I absolutely agree with your thoughts on the love triangle and romance in Clockwork Princess. At times, the love triangle wasn’t too convincing because it was pretty obvious Will was guy Tessa felt “sparks” and had chemistry with. But I did really enjoy Jem and Will’s friendship. Their parabatai bromance was much more believable for me than Jace/Alec, so I thought that helped make the love triangle interesting sometimes. 😛
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I think WP trolls everyone XD I was trying to reply to a comment when it suddenly disappeared… thats odd. Oh dear; let’s hope it was just this once XD
Yes it was obvious from the very beginning and everyone knew it was going to be Will. Me too! I liked that Will & Jem weren’t fighting over Tessa. I really liked their strong friendship. It wasn’t about who gets the girl. Though I still thought Cassie wrote a cop out when Tessa ended up with a very healthy Jem at the end and I was like whhaaaaat?! Tessa gets another happy ending. Yes it made the love triangle kind of work in a way.
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LOL. That TID ending was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. And I absolutely agree, for any other writer I probably would be throwing my book (nah, I would never do that, poor books (that reminds me of Christine, haha…) but I always forgive Queen Clare because, well, she’s awesome. XD
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Well I have this tag written up in my drafts and I was going to tag you but… well hah I’ll go edit it XD
I picked Colby as my vacay destination too! I’m not a huge beach fan but there’s a lot of other stuff I could do in the town!
Why am I not surprised that a Grisha book made it onto the list?
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Oh, haha! It’s the thought that counts; thank you! I bet Colby was a popular destination among Dessen fans. It just seems like a town full of possibilities and summer flings. 😛 AND LOL, I cannot wait until you meet the Darkling! And Sturmhond! 😀
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Thanks for the tag Summer! This was a super fun tag and a nice last hurrah for summer, the season haha. As always, I loved reading your answers 🙂
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You’re welcome, Ashley! And thank you! It is a really fun and festive one. Haha, I also loved that you clarified summer, the season. XD
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Hahaha 🙂
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Loved reading your answers! 🙂 And thanks for tagging me though I’m seriously lagging behind all these tags and awards! I miss talking to you Summer, we should definitely catch up sometime and fangirl about fangirling! (If that made any sense! XD)
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Thank you! You’re so welcome! Please take your time with all of them; there’s no rush at all. And aww, I miss talking to you too, Poulami! I haven’t been as interactive in the blogosphere. But we most definitely should have a talk/fangirl session sometime soon! 😀 (Don’t worry, I totally understood what you meant!)
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Could Jem and his super sickliness really handle the beach, though 😛 I kid I kid. I need to get onto reading More Happy Than Not as well! It sounds amazing and the author is so funny on twitter, I expect great thing for this book. I shall attempt to do this tag when the weather turns remotely warm here, thanks for remembering me, Summer 😀
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Ahh, I always forget how different the weather is over there. XD But I look forward to it, Aentee! Actually, I had the same exact thoughts when I chose Jem to be my beach babe. And Adam seems like such a cool guy. Wesaun @Oreo and Books and Shelumiel @Bookish and Awesome love him as a writer as well so I’m looking forward to MHTN. I hope we both enjoy it. ^.^
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Thanks for tagging me! ❤ I seriously need to catch up on all my tags… they’ve all been pending up since forever. Sigh. 😦
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Ahh, that’s okay, Bhramori! It’s okay to be behind on these things. After posting quite a few this summer, I’m going to take a break from them. And you’re welcome! ^.^
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I have this list where I keep track of all my tags and nominations, and, well… let’s just say that that list is just pretty long right now. I’m not complaining (I’m flattered, if anything) but I wish I can catch up on them. And soon.
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I totally understand what you mean, Bhramori! The good thing is that your nominator/tagger (if that makes sense) probably doesn’t expect you to post them immediately anyway. Plus, WP’s pingbacks, when they do work properly, are so useful. It makes tracking so much easier. Anyway, I hope you-the both of us really-get to your long awaited tags. ^.^
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Yeah, exactly. But the thing is, most people when they’re nominating you for something, they link to your homepage. But pingbacks don’t work for the homepage, you see — only when someone links to a post/page of yours. So you have to practically hunt for your tags/nominations and keep an eye out, for fear you miss anything (because missing it would be considered rudeness, right?).
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Yeah, I know! I really wish it wasn’t that way but I guess it makes sense since there wouldn’t be an exact place for the pingback but I still wish the notifications would work though… I started to link to bloggers’ “about” pages for this very reason. And me too, when I get a notification I always feel obligated (in a good way) to read and comment on my nominator/tagger’s original post. It’s like an invisible blogger courtesy in my opinion, but I don’t really feel offended if my nominees/tagged individuals don’t comment on my posts since I totally am sympathetic to life’s usual business. 😛
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Great post! Simon is definitely best-friend material (I’d probably have him as my sidekick), and Jem is definitely one of my fictional boyfriends. 😀 I’m yet to read More Happy Than Not too, but if it has the word ‘Happy’ in the title, it must be a happy book, right…?
~ Denise @ The Bibliolater ❤
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Thank you, Denise! Yes, I absolutely agree! Simon is just so lovable. I’m so excited for More Happy Than Not mainly because Becky Albertalli is good friends with Adam Silvera, so he must be an awesome writer right? And I’ve heard there’s some heart wrenching moments in MHTN so it can’t be too happy of a book, but I hope we both enjoy when we snag ourselves copies!
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