The Last 10 books Tag + The Vincent Ehindero Blogger Ward

Hooray for more book tag games! I was tagged by Maria @ The Character Study to do both of these tags, so thank you so much, darling!

The Last 10 Books Tag

Last Book I Bought

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

I’ve actually been on a book buying ban since the year started, but only broke it once when Chain of Iron came out in March because I just had to get it. I’m also the type of person who has this “mood” when it comes to buying new books. Even though there are tons of new releases that I have on my radar, my book buying mood hasn’t been on until now.

It actually helps a lot now since I’ve been slowly making progress on dwindling down my physical TBR shelf.

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Last Book I Re-Read

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I actually can’t remember what was the last book I reread, but I’ll be going with my current reread book which is Red Rising. I first read this book back in 2016, but I never continued on with the series because I was so busy with college during that time. So now I finally decided to start it again, and refresh my memory with the first book so that I can finally continue on with the other books.

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Last Book I Gave Up On

Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long

Surprisingly, I haven’t DNF-ed a lot of booka this year, even though I’m notorious in DNF-ing books. I actually received an ARC of Hall of Smoke that was released last January. It had a really interesting premise, and it really felt like it was something in my alley, but I was in a huge reading slump during that month, so I had to stop at around 40%. I still have plans on continuing with this book sometime soon, because I do believe it was just a “it wasn’t the right time” type of book for me.

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Last Book I Said I Read But I Didn’t

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

I actually placed Red Seas Under Red Skies – the second book of the Gentleman Bastards series – on my May TBR, and with May having just a week left, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to squeeze this book in this month. I would push this book on June instead, and finally get back to Locke and Jean’s world again.

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Last Book I Wrote in the Margins Of

Jade War by Fonda Lee

I actually don’t write on my books. Instead, I prefer using colored sticker tabs to take note of my favorite scenes and quotes in books. It’s just a very satisfying sight to see all those little flags on my book, and I could easily locate them. Jade War was the last physical book I read lately, and I placed a lot of flags on it.

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Last Book That I Had Signed

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

To be honest, the last book I got personally signed was Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare when she came over to the Philippines for her book tour with Holly Black a couple of years ago. However, my friends and I got ourselves signed copies of Rhythm of War last November when it was released, so I’m not sure if that counts. It’s basically the “last” signed book I received.

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Last Book I Lost

This is a no-brainer because I have never lost any book – ever.

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Last Book I Had to Replace

The Wrath and the Dawn & The Rose and The Dagger by Renee Adieh

I wasn’t the one who actually replaced these books, but my friend. I lent these books to one of my closest friends a couple of years ago because she was interested in reading it, and I even forgot that I lent them to her. It wasn’t only until she recently sent them back to me did I discover my old paperbacks were replaced with brand new hardbacks! She explained to me the circumstances why she had to replace them which I understand and not mad about.

She’s definitely still my friend, and I would still let her borrow my books in the future lol.

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Last Book I Argued Over

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

Argue seems like an extreme word, but I’ll change it instead to a “interesting discussion”. It’s probably going to be Before They Are Hanged – the second book of The First Law trilogy – which I’m buddy-reading with a couple of friends. We had a really fun and interesting conversation about this book, and obviously agreed this was a masterpiece. We’ll be reading the next book in June again together, and I can’t wait to see where are thoughts and discussion about it would lead us to.

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Last Book You Couldn’t Find

The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

The Tea Rose trilogy is one of my most favorite historical romances, and this is a series that’s so hard to get hold of in the Philippines! I managed to get books 2 and 3 in a secondhand bookstore out of thin air, but until now, I still haven’t found a copy yet of the first book – and the first book is my favorite story among the three.

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The Vincent Ehindero Blogger Award

Rules:

• Thank the person that nominated you with a link to their blog.
• Make a post of the award (with photo).
• Post the rules.
• Ask 5-10 questions of your choice.
• Nominate 10-30 other bloggers (or more) and notify them.
• Follow Vincent Ehindero to qualify for a free blog promotion, shoutout and more blogging opportunities.

What language would you like to be fluent in?

I would really love to be fluent in Spanish. Filipino is already heavily influenced by Spanish (since my country has been colonized by Spain for more than 300 years), so a lot of words, tones, and expressions are already familiar. I feel like it would be a very easy language to pick up, and it would come in handy if I do get the chance to travel to Spain or Latin American countries in the future.

What book has had a great impact on you as a person?

The Art of Racing in the Rain is up until now my most favorite novel ever since I first read it back in 2015. Not only does it appeal to the dog lover in me, but it’s just a book that speaks volumes about friendship, family, loss, and hope that never fails to make me cry whenever I reread it. To view the world in the eyes of a beloved pet will bring out the best kind of light in humans.

Who is your favourite singer/band?

I have a very predictable taste in music, and unlike in books, I don’t often stray away from it. My most favorite band is Parachute, and my most favorite artist is Halsey. I’ve been listening to Parachute since I was 15, and I’ve followed their journey until now. I’m just so happy that even after all these years, their sound has never changed and I love their work even more. As for Halsey, I immediately knew that I will love her tremendously when Badlands was just released – and I was right. She may have went through a lot over the course of her career, but I will always still be a fan of her music. Her latest album is probably my most favorite, and I constantly play it.

Is there a book you love but rarely talk about?

The Unearthly trilogy by Cynthia Hand is a YA fantasy series that I absolutely love until this day, but I don’t mention it often. I first read this back when I was still high school which was the height of angel themed YA stories (e.g. Fallen, Hush Hush), but out of everything I’ve read, Unearthly is the one that struck me the most. I actually still have my copies of the books despite them being old and slightly battered. It actually made me fall in love too with Cynthia Hand’s other novels.

What is your favourite holiday?

My birthday – does that count? lol. If not, then I have to go with Christmas. There’s really nothing like celebrating the holidays Filipino-style, since Christmas here “officially” starts in September. Plus, it the perfect time and excuse to give and receive gifts – and by gifts, I mean give books to myself.

My Questions:

• If you could have a chat with any author you want, who would it be and what will be the first question you’ll ask them?
• What’s your guilty pleasure food and/or drink?
• What are your favorite movies?
• What was the book that everyone loved but you didn’t?
• What are your thoughts on cancelling problematic authors?

Tagging some friends to do this tag too, but please feel free to do it too if you want!

Leo @ Leosthetics

Rania’s Rambling Reads

Jaed @ The Bibliophile Thoughts

Riza @ Pages and Coffee Cups

Nae @ Ink Haven

Rovie @ The Caffeinated Reader

Rendz @ Reading With Rendz

Jon @ Wander With Jon

Prin @ Princess and Pages

Rose @ Rose Among Stories