Day: November 18, 2018

Tag: Coffee Book Tag

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I love coffee and I (obviously) love books, so I was really excited to be tagged for this one by Lori!

BLACK: NAME A SERIES THAT’S TOUGH TO GET INTO BUT HAS HARDCORE FANS.

It took me a minute to get into The Raven Boys, but once I did, I was hooked. I marathoned the rest of that series so fast and I’m a huge fan now.

PEPPERMINT MOCHA: NAME A BOOK THAT GETS MORE POPULAR DURING THE WINTER OR A FESTIVE TIME OF YEAR

The Little Book of Hygge is definitely one of those books that makes more sense to read during winter!

HOT CHOCOLATE: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHILDREN’S BOOK?

This is almost as hard of a question as my current favorite book, but I think I have to go with Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. This book taught me so much when I was growing up and it’s one of those books that’s held up really well over the years.

DOUBLE SHOT OF ESPRESSO: NAME A BOOK THAT KEPT YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT FROM START TO FINISH

Definitely 172 Hours on the Moon! I was so spooked but I could not put it down!

STARBUCKS: NAME A BOOK YOU SEE EVERYWHERE

There are so many books that keep popping up, but the one I’ll choose for this tag is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I, of course, have not read it yet, but it’s on my (very long) list.

THAT HIPSTER COFFEE SHOP: GIVE A BOOK BY AN INDIE AUTHOR A SHOUTOUT

With only 168 followers on Goodreads, I think Debbie Tung could be considered an indie author. A book I very recently read was Book Love, so I’ll shout that one out here. 🙂

OOPS! I ACCIDENTALLY GOT DECAF: NAME A BOOK YOU WERE EXPECTING MORE FROM

Ha, I have never in my life accidentally gotten decaf! There are, however, a lot of books I was expecting more from. The one that comes to mind first is Down and Across.

THE PERFECT BLEND: NAME A BOOK OR SERIES THAT WAS BOTH BITTER AND SWEET BUT ULTIMATELY SATISFYING

I don’t think I’ve ever been as sad at the end of a book as I was at the end of Saga, Vol. 7. I think that it was the best volume of the series that I’ve read so far, but wow. That ending broke my heart.

I’m tagging anyone who likes coffee and books! I’ve seen this tag going around for a while now and I’m not sure who’s already done it, but please feel free to steal it and link back to me so that I can see your answers! Also, if you like tags and want me to tag you in things, please let me know. ❤

Book review: Hold Me Closer by David Levithan

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Hold Me Closer by David Levithan
Series: Will Grayson, Will Grayson #2
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Links: Amazon • TBD • Goodreads
Publication Date: March 17, 2015
Source: Borrowed

It’s Tiny Cooper’s turn in the spotlight in this companion novel to New York Times bestseller Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

Jazz hands at the ready! Tiny Cooper (“the world’s largest person who is also really, really gay”) stole readers’ hearts when he was introduced to the world in the New York Times bestselling book Will Grayson, Will Grayson, co-authored by John Green and David Levithan. Now Tiny finally gets to tell his story—from his fabulous birth and childhood to his quest for true love and his infamous parade of ex-boyfriends—the way he always intended: as a musical! Filled with honesty, humor, and “big, lively, belty” musical numbers, the novel is told through the full script of the musical first introduced in Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

It’s once again time for me to say, “I really wasn’t meaning to read this any time soon even though it’s been on my TBR forever, but I saw it at the library and couldn’t resist.” HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID THIS. So many times.

According to Goodreads, I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson back in 2012. That sounds about right, because I remember reading it in my favorite apartment ever right before I left Wisconsin for New Jersey. I am generally not a big fan of standalones randomly getting sequels (or, sorry, “companion novels”) years later, but I loved Tiny Cooper and therefore added this to my TBR almost four years ago. And there it sat, on my TBR, being completely ignored, until I saw David Levithan just next to Mackenzi Lee in my library’s YA section.

The book was fun, I’ll give it that. I enjoyed reading it. I was entertained. But I didn’t feel much of a connection with Tiny, which is sad because even six years after reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson, I remember that I loved his character. Maybe that’s just what happens when you wait six years between books.

This exchange between a five-year-old Tiny and his babysitter is probably my favorite part of this book —

Lynda: Don’t get trapped into thinking people are halves instead of wholes.
Tiny: People are halves?
Lynda: They’re not trying to sell you on it yet, but believe me, they will. The idea that two is the ideal, and that one is only good as half of two. You are not a half, and you should never treat someone else like a half. Agreed?
Tiny: Agreed!

But I also really loved Djane’s advice toward the end of the book:

Ninety-seven percent of the time, it all comes down to this: Don’t do what you don’t want to do. Ask yourself that simple question: Do I want to do this? If the answer is yes, go for it. If it’s anything but yes, don’t.

This isn’t the best book that I’ve read this year, but it’s far from the worst. If you liked Will Grayson, Will Grayson, I’d recommend it. Otherwise, you can probably skip it.

Have you read Hold Me Closer? What about Will Grayson, Will Grayson?
Let’s talk in the comments!

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