The #NOTALL Book Tag

 

Today I’m taking inspiration from Nut Free Nerd and the Orangutan Librarian and trying my hand at the #notall book tag! It’s been a hot minute since I did a book tag, and this one really caught my fancy. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

#NotAll Cover Changes || A cover change you liked

I adore these new editions of the Anne books by L. M. Montgomery, with illustrations by Elly MacKay. They are absolutely stunning, and I really think they manage to be faithful to the story, the characters and the time period while also being fresh enough to entice a new generation of readers. A job very well done!

#NotAll Adaptations || An adaptation you love more than the book

Confession time: I didn’t particularly love reading The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps because I read the books after I’d watched Peter Jackson’s masterful film adaptations, I found the original novels to be agonizingly slow, frustratingly detailed, and at times infuriatingly meandering. While I became attached to the characters and enjoyed the world building, it all just felt like there was too much padding around a fascinating kernel of a story. I do feel that Jackson accomplished a rare feat in creating a film adaptation that remained true to the source material while also turning it into an even better version of itself.

#NotAll Tropes || A trope you’ll never tire of seeing

Amateur sleuths. I love stories about amateur sleuths! From the medieval monk Brother Cadfael to the sweet but crafty Miss Marple to the clever Father Brown, I do love to see amateur sleuths show those snooty professional gumshoes who’s boss!

#NotAll Love Triangles || An example of a love triangle done well

I typically can’t stand love triangles. I just can’t. So, it’s rare for me to actually consider a love triangle done well. One of the most moving love triangles that I’ve come across in fiction is in Edith Wharton’s heartbreaking novel The Age of Innocence. Respectable society gentleman Newland Archer must choose not just between two very different women, but between stability and ostracism, between respectability and love. It’s all very well for characters in books to thrown everything to the wind to be penniless lovers, but as Archer realizes, reality doesn’t always work out that way. This is an infuriating love triangle, one that doesn’t resolve itself neatly, and in that way I find it far more moving and memorable than most others I’ve come across.

#NotAll Parents || Bookish parents that actually parent

It isn’t always easy to be a parent, especially when your child is as imaginative and spirited as Ramona, but Mr. and Mrs. Quimby always manage to do their best, while still being very real, flawed and relatable characters. Part of what makes the Ramona books so popular is their accessibility – these are real characters they readers can relate to, who have to cope with real, everyday problems like losing their job, trying to quit smoking, or managing their lovable but at times infuriating children. Like most real life couples the Quimbys aren’t always perfect, and sometimes they fight, but in the end their love for each other and their children never wavers.

#NotAll Villains || A villain you love

OK, this is going to sound a bit strange, but stick with me here. One of the most fascinating villains of literature, as far as I’m concerned, is Satan. Not like, you know, the biblical Satan, but rather John Milton’s Satan, from Paradise Lost. Who can forget that famous quote, “better to reign in hell, than serve in heav’n”? Milton’s Satan is evil, no doubt about it, but he’s also complex, sophisticated, charming, and downright mesmerizing. I don’t know that I’d go so far as to say he’s a villain I love, but he’s certainly one that I can’t forget.

#NotAll Chosen Ones || A chosen one you can get behind

One of my all-time favourite manga and anime series is Naruto, which follows the titular character as he moves from bratty trouble-maker to respected leader and hero. Naruto is about as much a “chosen one” as you can get – his lineage and special powers set him aside from the rest from the moment he’s born. But Naruto isn’t exactly naturally gifted when it comes to school or life, and while his unique powers give him an edge in some respects, they also leave him feeling ostracized, lonely and vulnerable. It is only through blood, sweat and tears that Naruto eventually finds success, and it’s his never-say-die attitude, and his devotion to his friends, that truly makes him a hero.

#NotAll Hyped Books || A hyped book that lived up to the acclaim

So…I don’t read a lot of hyped books. I don’t tend to read a lot of contemporary fiction, so most of the books on the receiving end of buzz and hype don’t really pop up on my reading radar. One book I do recall reading because it was receiving a lot of press and buzz was the zombie apocalypse novel World War Z (which I refuse to pronounce as World War Zee even though I know it works as a play on words, sounding similar to World War Three. It will forever be World War ZED to me. #Canadian). WOW. What a book! I tend to read a lot of nonfiction, and World War Z appealed to me so strongly because it is fiction written in a nonfiction style. The premise of the book is that is a report of the zombie wars, written after the fact as an official record of events. Different chapters record the experiences of different countries during the war, and it’s really brilliantly done. I don’t typically read a lot of horror books, being a giant wuss when it comes to anything scary, and there were parts of World War Z that had me hiding under the covers, but it lived up to all the hype and then some.

Just don’t watch the film adaptation.

#NotAll *Insert Favorite Genre* || A book you’re not keen on from your favorite genre

As I’ve mentioned before I do tend to read a lot of nonfiction, particularly narrative historical nonfiction. Erik Larson is my hero, Bill Bryson warms my heart, and Simon Winchester leaves me confused. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Mr. Winchester’s writing. I love the topics he writes about, and sometimes, as with The Professor and the Madman, he really hits it out of the park. But other times…well, Mr. Winchester hasn’t met a tangent he didn’t want to follow. Some of his books are just so meandering, and it feels like you’ll never actually get back to the main story line. I tried reading Atlantic, I skimmed through A Crack in the Edge of the World and Krakatoa, and all the time I wished he had just done some more ruthless editing to keep things tighter and the pace faster. I’ve still read most of his books, and highly rate him as a researcher, but I’m just not all that keen on his writing style.

#NotAll *Insert Least Favorite Genre* || A book you liked from a genre you don’t often read

I don’t know that I really have a least favourite genre, but I don’t tend to read a lot of short story collections. Perhaps soured by all those short stories we had to read in high school English class, I’ve simply never been drawn to the genre. While taking a class in YA literature back in college I was tasked with reading a YA short story collection, which is when I discovered this little gem – Zombies Vs. Unicorns, edited by Holly Black. Now this is my kind of short story collection. The collection’s contributors are divided into two camps – pro-zombie or pro-unicorn – and each author presents a short story featuring their chosen protagonist. There’s a great variety in style and tone, with stories ranging from hilarious to heartfelt to downright icky. It’s a great concept, and a lot of fun – if only I’d been able to read this short story collection in high school!

Wow, what a fun tag! If you decide to try your hand at this one, do let me know, I’d love to read your answers!