Guilty Reader Book Tag! But I'm just shameless 🥱

Hullo! I'm Mia. Welcome, or welcome back to my blog. How are you people?

I woke up early today. At 7 freakin' 30! I'm turning into that bitch now? 💁🏻‍♀️ Anyway, so I wanted to do something light today. Like, recommend some books or chat, without going through a months long process of reading. And I thought to myself, what's the easiest way to do that, because I'm lazy as fuck? Book Tags! 

So I went on BookTube, took the first topic I'm interested in, and now we're doing it. While watching the video, it hit me that someone's supposed to tag you. And I felt lonely, lol. But I tag myself, and I AM DOING it! 

It's the Guilty Reader Book Tag! It's not very famous, but it has a fun concept. You're supposed to spill some shit, if you're guilty of it. Kinda like 'Never Have I Ever' bookish version. While thinking through the answers, I think everyone's gonna know how boring and 'goody-two-shoes' I am. But I'm gonna give perspective like the last time, and you're gonna know me better than ever.

Let's start this!

Have you ever regifted a book that you've been given?

Uh.. this question is more fun for people who celebrate Christmas or Thanksgivings (btw, Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!), and they receive books. Both of which, I obviously don't do. I have never been gifted a book. 

Except this once, story time. God, I'm pulling out buried stuff here. An year ago, my bestie lost a book I had lent her. We weren't the tightest, buddiest friends then, and she was shit scared of me (as anyone should be), because she knew how much I loved my books. And lending them, was a new thing I had tried. I had only 3 books back then, and the one she lost was the first book I had ever bought myself. 

So she calls me after realising that she has lost my book, and bitch is on the verge of tears. And after hearing the news, I have bloody turned to stone. The whole thing was dramatic. Surprisingly, I didn't yell at her or loose my mind.

It was bad. We got over it. We didn't get into a fight, but she felt so guilty that she bought me two books, and gifted me her annotated copy of a third book, the next time we went to book shopping. I think in my head, it really built something between us, even though it was awkward – the transaction, ACCEPTING the apology by taking the books, even though I was quite mad about it. But she took the responsibility, and treated it with the importance that made me feel flattered. That's all you need in a bestie – regard for the things you love and are important to you, and taking the responsibility if you ever fuck up to mend things between you and your friend.

Back to the question, I have thought about giving away the annotated book she gave me, a few times. (DON'T GAPE AT ME, MONI!) BUT, in my defense, I do wonder sometimes if I even need a copy of The Fault In Our Stars, that I'm probably not gonna read in years. But then I remember that it's annotated and how much the thought behind gifting that book to me, means to me. And I'll never do it. 

So technically, no. Never have I ever regifted a book that's been gifted to me. 

Have you ever said you read a book when you haven't?

Yeah. And I saw that a lot of people replied to this question, ‘Yeah, back in school when my teacher asked-’. I'm like, no. I didn't do it in school. I think my love for reading emerged in school. There were signs pointing to it, and I was blind to them for so long. 

Like, there was only one novel we had to read in our highschool, just one year. And none of my peers read the whole shit. My friends didn't even bother reading the summary of some chapters. I read the whole thing and annotated it, highlighting the important parts and all. 

To the question, I have done it. Recently infact. There was this giant book, immensely fuckin' boring and hard to finish, and it was a part of series. So I wanted to get to the next book, because I want to join the fandom, but I don't want to read the remaining 600 pages. So I went online, read the chapter summary for each chapter and called it quits. 600 pages in 2 hours. *smug face*

And I'm sure I've done it in past, with books that I wanted to dnf. Like, these books which are so popular and SO BAD, that you think that you got a completely different book from what everyone else's reading. And you keep giving it chances, it keeps failing you, and then you just want to quit, but you have invested so much of your energy already and no one's even gonna look at that because you didn't finish? So you just say ‘Yeah, I read it. If was bad. I wanted to dnf it! (But nobody knows you did🥴).

Have you ever borrowed a book from someone and not returned it?

I haven't done that to a friend or a library.. not intentionally at least. But shit did happen. Like, in highschool, first time giving Boards, I borrowed a sample paper book from my library which I just couldn't find the time to return and after exams, I left the school so I never went back and returned it. I could've gone out of my way to do so if I wanted, but I didn't. And I have no excuse.

And also, once with my aunt. So everyone in India knows about going to their Nani's place (Grandmother's) in their summer vacations. It's like a classic thing here to visit your grandparents in village every summer holiday. Me and my sisters have done that all our childhood. My aunt had these books, rather digests, with short stories in Urdu, most of them romantic. So in no electricity and internet, me and my elder sister would sneak out the digests from her cupboards and devour them throughout the time we're there. 4 years ago, I stole 2 books and brought them home lol. She obviously knows now. My aunt didn't read them anymore but they were memorable to me and I was young and my aunt would never allow and I did what a girl's gotta do. Guilty. But those digests had the most amazing romance EVER! Better than the crap circulating these days, sorry not sorry. 

So yes. I have done it. 

Have you ever read a series out of order?

No. Just no. I'm guilty of probably a lot and I have committed big crimes in this reading community. Thankfully, those don't include this. I don't how's that even possible. HUHHH? You read a series out of order.. how? Like, even if I'm re-reading a series and I'm particularly looking forward to book 3, I would read the first two books first anyway. Maybe I need to be a little more crazy. Who knows. 

Have you ever spoiled a book for someone?

I don't know. Have I?

Not intentionally atleast. However, I don't put *spoiler alerts* in my reviews very often. Especially with the books I hated, and I'm ranting about them. So I probably might have, but nobody told me. I haven't ever done it intentionally, like tell anyone that Beth dies in Little Women? That's devil's work.

Have you ever dog-eared a book?

So, for the 2-3 years I've been reading physical books, I have been a saint to stuff like that. “I can't BELIEVE people who would do that to their books! That's the limit! They bend their spines?! Why can't they use both hands to hold it? Freaks!” That's been me. 

And slowly, I'm trying to loose the mania. Because, yay, they look sexy when they are intact, but I've been feeling like my second hand books have more personality than the books I bought from Amazon and I absolutely love them. Like, I have underlined so much, but from outside they look like decorations. And I'm getting over from the mentality that my books are supposed to look so good that I can take a pic of them whenever and send online and feel the pride of being their proud mother. No. I feel more proud when they look like they've LIVED. 

Not judging anyone for the way they choose to keep their books, it's a personal choice. But I like it when they look like someone cried and screamed and sat on the edge of their seat while reading this book. Because look at the broken spine and red marker!

To the question, dog-earing was a particularly harder fear to overcome, but I did! I dog-eared Circe by Madeline Miller, which I thought I would finish in a day, I didn't. But it's an amazing book, read it. Instant all time favourite!

Have you ever told anyone that you don't own a book when you do?

You probably need to look at my guilty face for this one. 🤫

I did. I told them that I didn't own a single book, or none of them were with me currently, or SOMETHING along the lines.

I don't even remember because I was trying to lie smoothly without them even getting the chance to question anything further, like ‘So where are they?’ or ‘How do you post the pictures on status?’. I rushed over to ask something like, ‘Do you want some water?’

In my DEFENSE. I'm very protective of my books. They're my babies. They're the only things in the whole world that I can truly say are mine alone. And this person, who was asking, was giving me friends for benefits vibes back then. Like I'm some book lender and that's the only reason they even chat with me. That's frustrating! I was trying to break off that friendship by slowly detaching myself, and not straight out telling them that you were so careless last time, there's a giant pen mark on the front page! How do you expect more from me?

So yeah. I hope it's not only a ‘psycho gatekeeper Mia’ thing, but a general Bookaholic thing. I don't want ANYONE to start taking.. me lending my books.. for granted. And I would do this shit again if I feel like I'm being used.

But I'm getting the feeling the question was about if you told them that you don't own that book because you were embarassed. No, I haven't done that. Everybody knows I hate Colleen Hoover and I have 7 of her books 😐 (I'm desperately hoping to get rid of them.)

Have you ever told someone that you haven't read a book when you actually have?

I can't remember. I mean, I have read 'the most embarassing shit ever' in my life, according to my standards. Books like, My Life with the Walter Boys, which is a YA love triangle between two brothers, about this girl who's recently become orphan, so her mother's friend takes her to her super rich estate and now she's sorrounded with their 12 boys. 

I think younger me had reverse harem fantasies. I still do think of them some nights😉.

For the answer, no. I have always wanted to show off just how much I read. Like, I have no time, I read 70 books a year. I am so smart. Mind you, I DO laugh at myself.

Have you ever skipped a section or a chapter of a book?

Yes! I don't feel like repeating myself from 4 questions above, so I would talk about something else. 

I skip, or as I like to say skim, through a lot of smut. I don't think that any romance book that I've ever read has made me feel hot, or like I thought ‘this is so sexy’. I just feel annoyed. So during those scenes, I just read the dialogues till I know it's over. 

After casually forgetting Mariana Zapata in the above paragraph, I will give her credit. She did make my insides churn in The Wall Of Winnipeg and Me, the scene where they wake up next to each other after last night having guests over, and they were pretending to be married. I think part of why I liked that scene, and I was dying from the heat, was because it took 400 pages of chemistry to build up to this. 

And oh my god! Pride and Prejudice! FOLKS, I'm not repellant to smut. I am repellent to smut without chemistry. 

Back to the answer, yes. I have done it.

Have you ever bad-mouthed a book that you really liked?

I mean, no... Why would I do that? To a book I really liked?

Even though it seems like the kind of thing that younger, people-pleasing me would do.. I can't remember it. I think this question is for people who under peer pressure had to say that ‘Yeah, how stupid that book was’ because everyone's making fun of the book for some reason, but when they go home, they take that book out and tell it.. ‘I'm sorry. I had to do it, but you're still my favourite girl’.

I have never done it because I'm the peer who hates that book. I think I once peer-pressured even myself into saying that The Song Of Achilles wasn't even that cute, just because the hype was making me annoyed.  Now that I've read Iliad and Circe, and I'm falling in love with Greek mythologies, I can see The Song Of Achilles glaring at me from the corner of my eye. I'm sorry.

To the question, I haven't done it technically. But I have downplayed my “like” for it. I keep my bad-mouthing for Ugly Love. Which, by the way! Someone just commented on my Goodreads review that I suck for hating it and they were so mad at me for the review, and now I'm stuck between thinking if I should laugh (because, THAT book? Really, stranger?) or should I feel guilty for being horrible to leave such a review.

🤷🏻‍♀️

So there's it! I'm BUMMED that those were all the questions, because I was having fun answering them. I can't find the og person who created the tag, but her name was ‘Chami’, and the video's been taken private. :(

 Well, I hope to see guys soon! And wish you merry holidays, to those who're celebrating. I hope you have people to enjoy them with and to share food, and hope that you party 🎉☺️

See ya in the next one!✨