Let’s continue the Halloween book tag trend with this Addams Family Book Tag.
ZeeZee With Books did an Addams Family book tag several years ago (check it out here) but she based the gifs and such she included in her post on the 1991 movie, which she loved as a kid–and I loved as an adult. However, today’s Addams Family Book Tag was created by White Rose Stories, who loves the 1964 TV show edition of the Addams Family. This is new to ZeeZee because she didn’t know the Addams Family had been around for so long. She thought the 1991 was the first one. Sadly as a Boomer (though barely-1962) I was in the initial Adams family generation. I still love it. I can still sing the schoolyard, un-p.c. version of the theme song from circa 1967, too. (Proud, not proud). ZeeZee included the gifs she saw in Rose White’s post here, in case you’re unfamiliar with the 1964 show too.
This will be a very hard one to do without resorting to old favorites I’ve used to death. Hmmmm……
Morticia Addams — A book containing your favourite character
AUNTIE MAME is ONE of my very favorite characters. I don’ thave A favorite character.
Gomez Addams — A book about unconditional love
Unexpected, but unconditional. Akin by Emma Donoghue
AKIN
Wednesday Addams — A character with a… special hobby
Lady Violet works on and rides (astride) on motorcycles!
Not the normal thing for aristocratic ladies today, let alone in the early 20th century.
Pugsley Addams — A character that is both normal and abnormal
PIRANESI
Grandmama — A book that ended up being more fun than you thought it would be
Lula is the world’s finest, kick-a## sidekick. Sidekick par excellence! Day glo spandex? You bet! A bucket or chicken or a box of donuts just when you need it? Sure thing. Lula. Sidekick of the Ages. Stephanie Plum would be nothing without her!
Grandma Mazur is almost tied with Lula though. Grandma–the one you want on your side, unless she’s packing a sidearm! She can find the cookie plate at any funeral. That’s a super power.
Uncle Fester — A weird but lovable character
RUTH
Aristotle, the octopus — A book where a character has a unique pet
ROSA
Ruth Zardo’s pet duck, Rosa who only says “F—“
Charles Addams — An author you would like to thank in person for the world and characters they created
So many authors!
Cousin Itt — A memorable, non-human character
IT
IT, not to be confused with Cousin ITT above, the evil disembodied brain with powerful abilities that controls the planet Camazotz [Wikipedia]
Kitty Kat, the lion — A book with a lion on the cover or in the title
Born Free
The Cemetery — A book set somewhere you feel at home
MITFORD
Well, if you can boogie down like these two, then I tag you!
What better to end a week that included the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than a Beatles tribute book tag? The Orangutan Librarian created this amazing book tag by taking some key songs from their repertoire and doing a mash up with some questions and jammed in some graphics (which anyone is welcome to use). Since I cannot remember life without the Beatles–and we were a Beatles-loving family, this is perfect for me! So thank you, O.L.for creating this tag!
NOTE: I had to delete a few songs–I just didn’t have an answer for some.
Other than the men in my works in progress, lol? Well….I’m limiting myself here to books I’ve read this year so I don’t repeat the same old candidates like Rhett Butler! James, Marquess of Walderhurst sounds pretty dreamy in his way. And he has servants, land, money….sounds like a great retirement gig!
There are so many! That’s why I write this blog! Again, I’m limiting myself to this year. It’s one book, I promise! Just in the USA and UK covers and titles. I love this author! Her first book, Meet Me at the Museum, is beyond wonderful and this one is so sweet and fun that I’d actually think of re-reading it next summer.
Just about any Judy Leigh book will do! She writes about love at a, ahem, later time in life. I like that. It gives hope to all of us of a certain age that there could be someone who doesn’t just want an unpaid cook and housekeeper or, worse, a nurse with a purse. Heading Over the Hillwas so fun and the marriage it depicted was believable.
It is not every day that a book assigned in a graduate course makes a real difference in your own life, but Flourishdid–and has. Coming from a negative family who complain all the time this was a big help–even at the late age of 59. It is very readable, too.
One that left a dark shadow: East of Edenby John Steinbeck. The dark shadow included real-world nightmares. I did not finish this book. It was too much for me psychologically.
I interpret this as it is so bad you’d send it away!
Opening with on-the-desk-rear-entry-not-truly-consensual-sex is just not a way to win me over. Yuck. Not even bothering to link to it.
Get the audio version–the author is the voice of this story in every way. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.
But GOOD-WEIRD
It is hard to describe this book. It should have been all the things I dislike, but I loved it! Piranesiby Susanna Clarke.
In all seriousness, this book had a far more poignant note to it than I expected and spoke volumes about the nature of loneliness in our society. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams.
Don’t make me chose between Precious’s Botswana and Three Pines!
All my old favorites: GWTW, Auntie Mame, The Joyous Season, …And The Ladies of the Club, All Creatures Great and Small, The King’s General, Rebecca...How to decide between them?
Annnd time for a quick Bonus Question: What’s your favourite Beatles song?
The Long and Winding Road, Penny Lane, Hey Jude are definitely among my favorites. But so is just about every Beatles song.
Phase 4 – First Date: A first book of a series which made you want to pursue the rest of the series. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy.
Phase 5 – Late night phone calls: A book that kept you up all night long. Piranesiby Susanna Clarke.
Phase 6 – Always on my mind: A book that you could not stop thinking about. Milkman by Anna Burns.
Phase 7 – Getting Physical: A book in which you love the way it feels.The Great Fire: A Novel by Shirley Hazzard.
Phase 8 – Meeting the Parents: A book in which you would recommend to your friends and family. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (translated by Philip Gabriel).
Phase 9 – Thinking about the future: A book or series that you know you’ll re-read many times in the future. (Well, I would re-read it if I still re-read things. I’m too old–not enough time for all the other books now). The Provincial Lady Seriesby E.M. Delafield. Diary of a Provincial Ladyand The Provincial Lady Goes Further.
Phase 10 – Share the love!!! Who would you like to tag?
Thank to Read, Bake, Create where I discovered this book tag and to the Tag’s creator, A Darker Side of Whitney (see her video at the end of this post). I also enjoyed the version at This Splendid Shambles. Why not be nice, take a few minutes, and click and read their versions, too?
My Tag
1. Recently Watched:The last book you finished reading
Rick MacDonnell is a book guy on youtube I’ve recently found and enjoy. This Book Tag sounded fun so here are my answers.
In and Out Book Tag
1. Reading the Last Page First: Never
2. Enemies to Lovers: As long as there is no Outlander-like forced sex, it could be ok.
3. Dream Sequences: Not after Bobby Ewing all those years ago.
4. Love Triangle: Hmmmm possibly.
5. Cracked Spine: On a human–no. On a well-loved personal copy of a book, sure.
6. Back to My Small Town: It depends. Not if it’s as dumb as a Hallmark movie, unless I’m in the mood for as dumb as a Hallmark movie that is.
7. Monsters Are Regular People: No. Only Frankenstein.
8. No Paragraph Breaks: NO
9. Multi-Generational Saga: Yes if they are historically accurate and beyond the 300 page book club limit AND have family trees included. I used to LOVE these–R.F. Delderfield’s God is an Englishmanis a great example. Today they are too short and often silly.
10. Re-Reading: I have favorites I re-read for comfort, but at 59 I don’t feel I have time for that. But if I keep getting DNFs, I’ll re-read.
11. Artificial Intelligence: Ugh–no sci fi
12. Drop Cap: Pretentious, so no.
13. Happy Endings: Love ’em
14. Plot Points That Only Converge At the End: It depends
15. Detailed Magic System: NO
16. Classic Fantasy Races: NO
17. Unreliable Narrator: Another “it depends”
18. Evil Protagonist: How evil? Probably not, but “it depends”
19. The Chosen One: WT??? I don’t read stuff like that.
20. When the Protagonist Dies: Maybe
21. Really Long Chapter: If well-written, sure.
22. French Flap: Pretentious, but sometimes ok.
23. Deckled Edge: Pretentious, but sometimes ok.
24. Signed Copies by the Author: Why not?
25. Dog-Earing Pages: Of course not!
26. Chapter Titles Instead of Number: Doesn’t bother me
My Additions
27. Dual timelines: NO MORE! None. Linear please. I’m so sick of finding “Grandma’s old Scrapbook” type stories–I can just see the swirling tv screen as we go back or forward in time.
28. Untranslated French or Latin or other phrases. TRANSLATE IT
29. Female WWII Spies. Ugh, ENOUGH. There were more female spies than male soldiers it seems.
30. Intentionally raunchy sex scenes that appear crammed into the story to check some box: NO Keep self-pleasure, odd positions, graphic details etc for e r ot i c a .
Please take time to watch Rick’s video at the top of this post and while you are there, give him a thumbs up!
Answer the questions below using only books written by women
Feel free to use the same graphics
Tag 8 others to take part in the tag
My extra rules for me: No old favorites! No GWTW, no Anna Karenina, etc. None of my real life female role models that I’ve written about too many times! No Eleanor! No Jane Addams. Newer ones! And all must be newer-to-me books!
The Shadow King: A Novelby Maaza Mengiste which I am still reading. She’s written some of the world’s best battle scenes though. Wow.
A Book Set in Space
A Wrinkle in Time in Timeby Madeline L’Engle which I first read as as an adult. I don’t read sci-fi so I’d have to look through the astronaut books if I couldn’t use this one!
A Book About LGBTQ+ Characters
The Miseducation of Cameron Postby Emily M. Danforth. The story of a lesbian teen sent to a faith-based gay conversion therapy center was my choice for Banned Books Week a few years ago.
A Book About a Woman in a Position of Power
I could not decide between these two. Twice in American history, a woman has been both the wife of a U.S. President and the mother of one. Abigail Adams is as much a Founding “Father” of our nation as her husband, John. Barbara Bush, was one of the most likeable First Ladies in my lifetime. No one knows just how much of any successful man is the wife behind him. The power the President’s wife wields is not to be underestimated. Dearest Friendby Lynne Withey and Barbara Bush A Memoir.
An Underappreciated Book
Ok, ONE Roosevelt book. This is a lovely novel, even if it is about a love affair that destroyed a marriage. Lucy: A Novelby Ellen Feldman is a book I wish I’d written. The tone of this novel inspired the tone of my work in progress.
A Book With Beautiful Writing
4 full pages of quotes in my Commonplace Book! The Professor’s House by Willa Cather.
A Book That Inspires You
While it has it’s precious and preachy moments, this book inspires me. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, the best but one to come out of DePauw! Scroll down in the linked post to my review from my old blog.
Do you like book tags? Or Women’s History Month? Then consider yourself tagged!
I’ll be honest–I didn’t go through the 1,000 plus books on my Goodreads TBR to find the longest! I just added this one and, by today’s standards, it incredibly long–over 650 pages.
Alphonso: A hyped book you love
Totapuri: A book with a green or yellow cover
Ok, I know! But I couldn’t decide! One with green, one with yellow, one with both!
Neelam: A rainy day book recommendation
Mango Pickle: A book that makes you feel nostalgic
Mango Pickle! Love it with rice, and beef stir-fried with only garlic! Delicious!
Mango Kulfi: A feel-good book recommendation
Consider yourself tagged if you love mangoes, want to eat a mango, Have never eaten a mango, don’t know what a mango is, hate mangoes, have a pet called “Mango,” are thinking about mangoes! (Nandini)
Hopewell's Public Library of Life 