Hi!
Today I’m doing the Makeup Book Tag in collaboration with one of my bestest chums, Holly Da Silva. Holly and I have been friends since we were 17 and I love her to pieces. She is hilarious, incredibly supportive and always down for a McDonald’s date!! I am really loving her Blogmas series of posts. She’s doing an amazing array of lifestyle posts and I am so proud of her!! So far she’s covered styling Christmas jumpers, gift guides, makeup and skincare reviews and more!!
Holly and I are doing this tag a little differently. Inspired by Estée Lalonde and Ariel Bissett, Holly is going to answer all the questions while recommending makeup products (she is the go to for the perfect products!) and I’m going to be recommending books! You can read her answers by clicking here. Let’s get cracking!
1/ Primer: Pick a book that left a lasting impression on you.
I read The Gender Games by Juno Dawson in the summer and I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Juno is a trans woman who wrote a lighthearted, analytical and informative book about the social construct that is gender. I’ve reviewed this book already on my blog and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to read about gender, coming of age, transitioning and the Spice Girls! There’s a lot of this book that has stuck with me over the months, for example I am still always making an effort at work to stop calling customers gender specific names such as “Sir”. Definitely one that will stay with you for good reasons.
2/ Foundation: Pick your favourite first book in a series.
Based on what I’ve read this year…I’m going to pick Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend. This is a really fun, whimsical and imaginative middle grade book about a cursed child who gets whisked away to the land of Nevermoor to compete to join the Wondrous Society. Although a middle grade book, it is really fun and captures the feelings I had when I read Harry Potter for the first time. I am not in any way ashamed of reading this as a 22 year old. It’s a bloody good time!!!
3/ Concealer: Pick a character you wish you could get rid of.
I have read the first 4 books in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas and I would 100% get rid of Chaol from books 2-4. In the first book I kind of loved him, but from book 2 onwards I thought he was just a twat and for reasons that I didn’t feel were strong enough.
4/ Powder: Pick your favourite last book in a series.
As predictable as it is, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the most satisfying conclusion to a series I have EVER read. Deathly Hallows made me ugly cry and continues to every time I reread it. There’s so much action and conflict and character development. It’s a dark book but also has the ending that I wanted. This book also has so much nostalgic value attached to it for me because I vividly remember queuing at the midnight release to get it and having to wait until my mum and older brother finished it! Torture!!! And who doesn’t love Harry Potter? If you don’t…are u ok???
5/ Eyebrows: Pick book that you think everyone should read.
I think everybody should read So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson. I think this book is a very necessary palette cleanser for anyone who has a social media profile of any sort. It’s all about what it’s like to be on social media and have your life ruined by one mistake and the ways in which we all engage in shaming each other without thinking of the consequences. Definitely a good book if you want to be a bit more mindful of how your actions online can effect others! I’ve reviewed this book on my blog if you’re interested in learning more.
6/ Eyeshadow: Pick a book that has your favourite colours on the cover.
I adore coppers, and so for that reason I’ve picked my favourite book of the year for this: Circe by Madeline Miller. Circe is a Greek myth retelling and I honestly am obsessed with it. I can’t wait to reread it. The writing is stunning, the story is so captivating and I found it so immersive. This book cover is absolutely gorgeous. See my review here if you want to!!
7/ Eyeliner: Pick a dark and mysterious book.
I recently read Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride – a mystery novel following police detective, Logan MacCrae, set in Aberdeen (where I’m from!). This book followed Logan investigating the deaths of a number of young children, which I found really dark and unsettling. However, this book was really compelling and mysterious and had a good plot. I was guessing until the end and I have since read another two books in the series!
8/ Mascara: Pick a long book.
This year I finally took the plunge and I read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It is an absolute chunker at 864 pages and I was really sceptical when I started it as I knew it was a romance, which is not my genre. However, it really surprised me and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would! I loved the historical setting and it made me feel slightly patriotic. Not only that, but I have to admit the romance really got me. I really want to watch the series now!
9/ Blush: Pick a book that had some cringe worthy romance.
I don’t know what compelled me, but this year I read How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather. This is a (pretty bad) YA story about a girl who is the descendant of one of the main scaremongers and villains of the Salem Witch Trials and follows her moving back to Salem and being under scrutiny by the town. In this book, there is a really bizarre and cringey romance between the main character and…a ghost. What even?!
10/ Highlighter: Pick a book that brightened your day.
I recently read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and this book was the most wholesome and heart warming thing ever. This book follows letters between an author living in London and the members of a literary society in the island of Guernsey in the aftermath to WW2. I honestly loved every single character in this book and I went from laughing to crying in minutes. The ending of this book made my heart so happy and had such a good ending for my favourite characters. If you’re interested, I wrote a mini review of this book!
11/ Lipstick: Your favourite book kiss.
Now I’m not much of a romance lover in books, but I have to admit that I was so invested in the main romance in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (I’m not going to tell you who it’s between…because spoilers). But I was so emotional when a certain couple reunited after a length of time in this book, and it melted my heart! Evelyn Hugo is one of the best characters I’ve ever read and her life story was amazing. I can’t say much without spoiling, but I did write a review if you want to know more!!
And that’s the tag! I hope you guys enjoyed this. Make sure to go and check out Holly’s answers for some makeup recommendations. And Holly, thank you so much for collaborating with me. You’re a keeper.