Avengers Book Tag

The Endgame approaches. I hope you're ready.

So I noticed one of my favorite bookstagram accounts coffeeforpages did this Avengers book tag, 

and it looked like so much fun, I stole it.

[her post]

[i'm not back]

Iron Man | book that made you laugh

I feel slightly bad that most of these are middle grade books. Does that say something about my sense of humor? Nah.

So sorry, Tony, but your a middle grade read [the side effects of adopting a Spider-Man].

Howl's Moving Castle gives me so much joy. It's like when you're ten years old, the weather is your favorite, someone randomly gives you your favorite candy, AND you get to run outside and get dirty to your heart's content all on the same day. Simple joy, guys. The best.

Percy Jackson never fails to make me laugh. I could just open any of the books to a random page and within two minutes people will serve me glares and nervous glances because I'm laughing at a social unacceptable volume.

Word by Word is not a middle grade book, but--

It's a nonfiction book about dictionaries, grammar, and anything related to the English language [ok, it's about lexicography]. Aka: much nerd. And it's soooo hilarious. I'm always smirking or chuckling to myself. But when I try to explain the nerd jokes to my mom, she's just kinda like " . . .ok."

Thor | character with strength you admire

Any time I do one of these tags, my brain goes "book, wat book? U red book? Huh." My mind completely blanks, and I have zero memory of what I've read. Ever. So I'm going to go with a movie instead, and I'll be mind-numbingly obvious about it.

Thor. Ok? I like Thor. [Mind you, I like Loki better, but Thor has his merits.] He has one of the greatest character arcs in MCU [right under Tony Stark and Doctor Stephen Strange if you're asking me]. And I'm not talking about his physical strength, so listen.

Everyone regards Thor as ditzy or uncaring because he walks around smiling all the time when his friends hunt his brother down or because he'll team up with someone who had once betrayed him or overstepped boundaries. I could go on for ages pulling examples out of my metaphoric beanie. But I don't think this has anything to do with Thor being stupid. Thor's real strength lies in his character. 

Thor knows how to prioritize properly. Worrying about his situation isn't going to improve it. It'll likely make it worse because he's not focused on the goal. He doesn't let his circumstances keep him from moving forward and taking care of what needs to come first. Infinity War for instance? His family, his kingdom, and all his people, whose lives he was responsible for, and his brother was wiped away in front of him. He had nothing in Infinity War, but did we see him whining on and on about it? Um, no. Some of the other characters cling to their personal squabbles or brood over their awful past or present while the world is literally ending, but Thor doesn't take much part in this. It's not that Thor doesn't care about what happened to those he cares about. It's that not dying and saving the world is a little more important than feeling the feels at the moment. If they succeed, there'll be time for that later. 

He also doesn't let others' actions hold progress back either. He's willing to forgive people, even when he knows they'll likely double cross him [*cough* Loki *cough*]. He wants to let them change and become better. He knowingly opens himself up to a ton of hurt so that he can give people room to grow and cheer them on as they do so [you know, if they do so]. But to him, it's about priorities again. It's more important for that person to be given a chance to become a better version of themselves than for him to be bitter and angry.

[End rant]

Captain America | book set in another era

Who doesn't love the Victorian England setting of Sherlock Holmes? And nowadays, Sherlock Holmes retellings take place in all sorts of settings. [Do you have any fav SH retellings recs?]

Since resurrecting the dead is totally a fabulous idea, I can't leave out Frankenstein in all its literary Romanticism, particularly since Captain America is this category's patron avenger.

Hulk | book that made you angry

I'm about half way finished with Game of Thrones [the book, not the series A Song of Ice and Fire], man, some of the characters . . .

Stark makes me angry almost 505% of the time. I liked him when I first met him, but now all he does is make the worst possible decisions. After I finish the book, I'll rant more, but for now, I'll add that Catlyn annoys me nearly just as much. Why, you might ask? 

Exhibit A:

Catelyn: *is hysterically distraught over one child's unconscious state and refuses to acknowledge her four other children exist and need her*

Catelyn five minutes later: *uncovers a possible conspiracy* "Somebody needs to tell people about this. But it has to be someone smart who'll be believed . . . Oh, wait. That's me."

me: Yes. Everyone's going to readily believe the lady who was last seen barely cognitive. Great plan, Cat. I wouldn't put you in charge of a potato chip.

Need we move to an Exhibit B? I think no.

Lysa, wow. It seems near madness is a Tully trait.

I'll stop there before I destroy a small city.

Hawkeye | underrated book

A Wizard of Earthsea, or rather the whole Earthsea Trilogy, is one of my favorite fantasy books. I'm not sure if they're really underrated? But I never hear anyone talking about them. They deserve more love.

Also, The Princess Bride.

[sorry not sorry]

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch | sibling love

If you want to go Medieval, I'll throw in Njal's Saga because it's blood-for-blood in old Iceland. If you don't avenge your brother, shame on you. 

If you avenge your brother, you or your other brother is at the top of your arch enemy's hit list. 

It's been nice knowing you.

Antman | book you want to read but can't

I've owned The Lost Hero for a while. And I've really, really been wanting to start the series, but I need to read other books first: Hamlet because I want to, Vengeful before my friend stabs me, The Five Poisoned Apples to reread for review, A Thousand Perfect Notes because I'm late for every party. But I still need to finish my three current reads. 

Do I have too many books?

Loki | evil character you like

Um, Loki? Yeah, Loki. [From Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology]

Also, I say Cynfael from Falling Snow [by Skye Hoffert], but I wouldn't really call him evil. Self-serving, yes. A trickster type like Loki, double yes.

___

Don't mind me while I add a few more Avengers to the list.

___

Black Widow | unreliable narrator

The Boy in Striped Pajamas has an unreliable, heart-breaking narrator. We can get even more literary and add The Dubliners by James Joyce. Nearly, all his narrators offer such minimal information, or, worse, they don't even have a real voice of their own? While we're in literary land, I could make a case for Pride and Prejudice. Just think on it for a bit.

Rocket Raccoon | book full of murder babies

Oh, this is my favorite place to be, home to Vicious and Red Rising. I'd love to observe to an encounter between Victor and Sevro over morning coffee.

Doctor Strange | magical settings

Cabeswater in The Raven Boys is mystical and weird. And the trees speak Latin? 

So yeah, I haven't finished the series yet because I'm always behind in everything. [Wait, did I already say that?] But thus far, I love it! Also, because it's Maggie Stiefvater's writing, Henritta, Virginia seems magical too.

Steal the tag if you like it!