The Bookish Thanksgiving Tag

This was originally a YouTube tag by Erin and Becca that I discovered on Kat Bouska's website, Mama's Losin' It. It's based off of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, with one food item per book. Yummy! Except...a lot of these prompts are name-and-shames, and given my policy to trash books anonymously, there are going to be a few answers where I don't tell you what the book is, and merely describe it. Sorry about that!

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Bread- What book is purely fluff, and has no real plot line?

A blank white book on a blank white background. — Photo by Media Modifier via Unsplash

There's a book that's been marketed as a thriller that I really love but so much time is spent on quoting social media in the book that the plot seems to take a backseat for a big chunk of it. The book isn't plotless; there's just a big digression.

Turkey- What book made you want to fall asleep?

There was a thriller we had to read for one of the residencies at Seton Hill and I couldn't get into it. Unfortunately I didn't read it and when it came time to do the group discussion, I of course floundered and was caught red-handed not reading it. I was so embarrassed and still feel guilty to this day about it.

Gravy- What book makes the whole series worth reading?

The Wicked King is the second book in the Folk of the Air series and is the best of the bunch, but it's so good it makes you want to read the entire series.

Stuffing- What book is stuffed full of action scenes?

I wouldn't say this book is stuffed with action scenes (I tend not to read those kinds of books), but the action scenes in Whalefall were harrowing and worth the mention.

Mashed Potatoes- What book looked good, and then wasn’t?

There was a horror novel about a mysterious island where a certain amount of people on the island would be killed as sacrifices in order for the land to prosper. It was described as a combination of "Midsommar" and "The Wicker Man." It sounded good, the cover was intriguing, and then the book fell flat for me at the end.

Cranberries- What book has the sweetest romance?

I don't know if it's the sweetest I've ever read, but it popped into my head first, and that's the relationship between Lia Mara and Grey.

Corn- What’s the corniest book you’ve ever read?

OK. So, I confess, I haven't read this book and I never will. But I've watched countless BookTube videos dissecting it, going over the plot extensively and directly quoting the book several times...and some of the corniest stuff I've ever heard appears in it. If I directly quoted it now you'd be able to identify it immediately, so I'm holding back, even though it's taking all of my willpower not to share how awful it is.

Green beans- What book is too long and needs to be shortened?

I haven't really read much romance but I keep hearing how contemporary romances are ballooning in size to over 500 pages, which is not the norm for that genre. I've seen a lot of BookTubers complain about this.

Pumpkin Pie- What book do you read to get out of a reading slump?

I know I just posted this image in another recent tag, but honestly, what gets me out of reading slumps is reading BL (boys love) manga. I love them so much! I read BL all the time, even while reading novels. And I also read BL when I don't have the brain capacity for anything else. It's my favorite thing to read besides fantasy.