The Spring Cleaning Book Tag | 2020

Time for a little spring cleaning (albeit more theoretical than actual spring cleaning).

I wasn’t tagged to do this; rather I am refreshing my 2019 answers for this year. It looks like the original creator of this tag is no longer on YouTube, but if you have better information on the originator then please let me know. Now without further ado…

The struggle of getting started: a book or series you struggle to begin because of its size

I’ve always been intrigued by the Outlander series, but between the many large books and novellas/companion reading, I’ve never plowed through my general intrigue to start reading. 

cleaning out the closet: a book or series you want to unhaul

Witches of East End and Serpent’s Kiss have been sitting in my unhaul box for a year? Over a year? I thought the first book in this series was fun and satisfying, but Serpent’s Kiss was much messier and did not feel as cohesive (I have no plans to read the third book).

opening windows and letting fresh air in: a book that was refreshing

The audiobook version of Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie, in that it has helped me get out of my reading slump. It helped to reawaken my desire to read, if you will, and that has felt very refreshing.

washing out the sheets: a book with a scene you wish you could rewrite

I can’t think of a recent example of this, and a less recent example is not coming to mind (apart from the one in last year’s answer). Sorry, bookish “sheets.”

throwing out unnecessary knickknacks: a book in a series you didn’t think was necessary

I’m going to repeat the answer I left under this prompt in last year’s version of this tag, because my opinion has not changed: I don’t think there is one. I’ve completed so few series (have started many) and feel like although there are books that aren’t as strong as others, all the books in the series I’ve read are necessary.

polishing doorknobs: a book that had a clean finish

The Mountains Sing has a sweet, clean finish. The way Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai chose to close the final chapter brought everything full circle, and it really compounded the profound nature of the story.

reaching to dust the fan: a book that tried too hard to relay a certain message

The Hood of Aalayfa tried very hard to relay many messages, but unfortunately did not pull any of them off.

the tiring yet satisfying finish of spring cleaning: a book series that was tiring but satisfying to get through

When I did this last year I anticipated my answer for this to be the final installment of the Mistborn trilogy, The Hero of Ages. Since I had not yet finished it by the time I wrote this post in 2019, and because I haven’t finished a series since then, I am going with The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. It did turn out to be a satisfying end to a satisfying trilogy, and was definitely a little tiring/laborious (in a fulfilling, complex way). 

---

I’m tagging anyone who needs something to take their mind off the current state of things, including but certainly not limited to spring cleaning those bookshelves. 😉 Do you have thoughts on any of the books I mentioned here? Let’s chat in the comments!