Last, Now, Next Book Tag

Thank you to Aster Marie (over at Happy Bookish After) for the tag! One of the things I love about doing these is seeing all of the different answers people come up with (which does sometimes result in expanding my TBR a bit), so I can’t wait to dive into this one!

As the title suggests, this is all about your last, current and next reads and there are a few rules to follow:

• Link back to the ORIGINAL CREATOR-@Shivakshiiifyblogs.
• Show gratitude to the person who tagged you.
• Mention these points in your post.
• Answer the following questions and use the original graphics and featured image.
• Use the tag “Book Tag |LAST, NOW, NEXT|” in your post.
• Tag as many bloggers as you want.
• Have fun!

So, without further ado, let’s go!

Last

What was the last book you read?

The last book I read was A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow. This was *technically* a re-read for me, as I’ve been trying to read the Best Novella shortlist for the British Fantasy Awards.

Did this book meet your expectations?

When I first read A Spindle Splintered back in 2021, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. All I knew was that it was a take on fairy tales and multiverses and based on that, I picked up the novella. It certainly delivered and I really enjoyed this.

Will you recommend this book to others?

Absolutely. I think A Spindle Splintered and its sequel, A Mirror Mended are good introductions to Harrow’s work and I do recommend picking up her novels though (I would definitely check out the content warnings though for the 2 novels if you decide to give them a go)

Now

What is your current read?

Babel by R.F Kuang. I feel like this book needs no introduction, given how much it is going around social media. I am very much enjoying reading this at the moment and it makes my nerdy little linguist heart so happy.

Okay, my photos really do not do this justice, but this is the Illumicrate edition of Babel. Now, Illumicrate do some gorgeous editions, but this left me speechless when I opened it. It is absolutely stunning in person

Why did you pick this book?

Partly because I have seen it all over my Twitter feed and partly because the Illumicrate edition is *stunning* (yeah, I know you’re not meant to judge a book by it’s cover, but anyway).

How much time do you think you’ll take to finish your current read?

I honestly have no idea. I feel like Babel is a book to be savoured rather than devoured (as much as want to sit and just read huge chunks of it!) I would like to finish it over the bank holiday weekend, but I’m not even halfway through it yet, so that might be a bit ambitious!

Next

What genre would you like to read next?

See, I would like to say that it would something other than fantasy, but we all know that probably won’t happen! Given that it’s extremely likely that my next read with be fantasy related, I’m going to try and pick something that has other elements to it (e.g. fantasy romance)

What would you like to pick: a long read or a short read?

I’ve binge read so many novellas recently and what with Babel coming in at around the 500 page mark, I’m going to try and pick something in the middle – not too short, but not too long either!

Mention some books you’re eyeing!

I’m eyeing up a few on my shelf at the moment, but there are two that are screaming my name. This first is Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I know this is going to break me, so I’ve been trying to find the right time to read it. I’ve also seen it doing the round on social media, which I’m taking as gentle encouragement to pick it up and read it.

The second book is The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope. To be fair, I don’t know much about this one, which is absolutely fine. I’ve seen it on Orbit’s social media and the premise for this one sounds really interesting. It was also on Waterstones’ buy one, get one half price offer, so I thought I’d give it a go!

This was a fun one to do and if you’re reading this and would like to give this tag a go, please consider yourself tagged! I look forward to seeing your responses 😀