Never Have I Ever Book Tag

Happy Friday, everyone!

I know I’ve been extremely absent from the blogosphere these past few weeks, but I’m still alive! I’m just still very busy with all the coding for my thesis. If you by any chance happen to know how to externally search an online database such as LMFDB within a MAGMA-program, please tell me! You would probably become my new best friend, at least until the next problem crops up 😅

This is literally me right now. All though the “it doesn’t work … why?”-phase unfortunately tends to be a lot more prevalent…

But anyway, since I’ve been very preoccupied with university work, I thought now would be the perfect time to have some fun and do a tag! Why not spill some tea on all of my bad bookish habits by doing the Never Have I Ever Book Tag? I’ve had a ton of fun reading everyone else’s answers to this one, so thanks so much for tagging me and giving me the chance to expose myself as well, Ahaana! If you guys haven’t checked out her wonderful blog Windows to Worlds yet, I highly recommend you do! And a huge thanks also goes to Anne with a Book, who created this tag in the first place!

The Never Have I Ever Book Tag

The Rules

  • Link back to the original creator and the person who tagged you.
  • Answer all the prompts.
  • Add one more prompt of your own.
  • Tag at least 5 people.
  • Don’t lie.
  • Have fun!

The Prompts

Never have I ever… read a later book in a series before reading the first book.

I’ve done this loads of times! Not with books I own myself – I usually do my research there! – but with library books, I’m as guilty as it gets 😂

Often, it happens unintentionally, because there’s nothing about a book that hints at it being part of a series at all. And then I’ll start reading, think “Hmm, this is a little weird,” keep reading, and eventually be so confused by constant hints at more backstory that I’m apparently supposed to understand that I’ll google the book and, voilà, find out it’s actually the third one in a series or something 😅 But of course, I’ll finish it anyway, and if I liked it, I’ll eventually check out the previous books, too!

Sometimes, though, I even read series out of order intentionally… Because if the library only has one of the books, or if the first one in the series is currently checked out, why should I wait? 🤷‍♀️

Never have I ever… burned a book.

Ummm, nooooo 😱 I mean, not unless you count old telephone books – Do you younger people even know what those are? 😜 – because I’ve definitely used those to start campfires.

(Okay, I’d probably save my family and cats first, and then my violin. But then the books! Don’t you dare and burn them!!)

Never have I ever… read a book I knew I would hate.

I totally have 😁 For example, I read the entire Wattpad version of the first After book, just because I was curious whether it was really as terrible as people said it was. (It was.) And I was also fairly certain I wouldn’t like Morning Star because I’d hated Golden Son so much, but read it anyway because I couldn’t stand leaving the series unfinished when I was so close to the end and already owned it. I’m weird like that.

Never have I ever… written a fanfiction about my favorite books.

I have not. I love writing, but I don’t see the point in using someone else’s characters and worlds when I can just invent my own. That would cut into my precious creative writing time and keep me from telling the stories I want to tell!

I do like reading fanfiction every once in a while, though 😉

Never have I ever… loved a book when I was young, yet hated it when I got older.

This rarely happens, because I tend to have a ton of nostalgic attachment to books I loved as a child and refuse to see that they might be flawed 🥰

But I did manage to come up with something! When I was about four, I absolutely loved this German children’s book called Latte Igel, which was about a hedgehog going on a bunch of adventures with his friends. My parents absolutely hated having to read it to me, and now that I’m older, I understand why. The book is so infuriatingly moralistic and dumbed-down that I’m seriously judging toddler-me’s reading tastes 🙄

Never have I ever… dressed up as one of my favorite literary characters.

A lot of my childhood costumes were inspired by books, although I usually didn’t dress up as a specific character, but as someone who belonged in that world. Like a Hogwarts student. Or someone belonging to the Nez Perce tribe, so that I could pretend to be friends with Kaya, whom I was absolutely obsessed with in third grade. Or a pioneer. Or a squirrel from one of my favorite children’s books… I’ve shown you pictures before, but in case you missed them, here’s a quick reminder 😉

Never have I ever… hated a book by an author I love.

Hate is a strong word. But I definitely wasn’t a huge fan of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. Couldn’t you at least have added a few nice moments to all the depressiveness? I also didn’t particularly love Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, or Agatha Christie’s The Big Four. I guess the more books you read by an author, the bigger the chances are that one of them just isn’t going to be your cup of tea… 😅

Never have I ever… gone into a bookstore to buy one book and come out with many more.

I actually haven’t! If I go into the bookstore with the intention of only buying one book, I will stick to that 😇 Or, very rarely, I might buy a second one if I happen to come across something I know I would buy at some point anyway.

If I never intended to only leave with one book though, it’s a very different story! I am perfectly capable of splurging on books if I feel like it! Still, I usually don’t buy that many books at once, because I don’t like having too many unread things sitting around. I finally got my physical TBR-pile back down to zero, and I don’t plan on drastically changing that any time soon!

Never have I ever… read the ending of a book before reading the beginning.

I have not. Why would I take the excitement of a book by spoiling myself for the ending before I’ve even started reading? 🤨

However, what I have done, though very rarely, is flip ahead to the ending of a book I hadn’t been enjoying at all, just to see whether all the boringness would eventually lead anywhere… Which usually only made things even more boring, so I wouldn’t necessarily say this tactic works 🤣

Never have I ever… read a book without the dust cover.

I never take dust covers off while I’m reading, but I have read books without dust covers before. Usually when they were lent to me by friends without the cover on in the first place, or if they were some library book where the dust jacket had already been lost a long time ago.

Never have I ever… skim read nearly half a book.

Fiction, never. I need to know all those details to properly immerse myself between those pages!

Non-fiction, however, is a different story. Do you know how many textbooks I’ve had to read for university?! In like the span of a week? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t skim parts of those. But I did always make sure to thoroughly go over the important sections, so I don’t think I should be condemned for this. In fact, you had better commend me for my marvelous skimming skills! 😎

Never have I ever… pretended to have read a book that I haven’t actually read.

I still feel like a total idiot for having to say this, but I actually have. Once.

I think I was about 17 or so at the time and attending this classical concert together with some other members of our school orchestra and a friend of our conductor’s, who was also roughly our age and sitting next to me. This friend considered himself to be somewhat of a prodigy – and I’m not gonna deny that he was pretty smart! He’d composed a bunch of symphonies and was very well-read as far as German classics where concerned. But boy, he was so arrogant!! He basically had to mention some piece he’d composed or prestigious book he’d read in every second sentence, and he had this way of phrasing things that made you feel really stupid in comparison.

So anyway, the two of us were talking before the concert started, and I already felt really dumb because he had lorded a bunch of musical knowledge that I didn’t know over my head. Then, he mentioned that our conductor had told him that I also liked to read, and didn’t I think Thomas Mann was a brilliant author? I cautiously mentioned that I had just read Death in Venice and thought it was okay enough, but not absolutely wonderful.

“But what about The Buddenbrooks?” he asked. “Surely you agree that it is one of the most brilliant books ever written?”

His tone pretty much already insinuated that he assumed every true reader to have intimate knowledge of The Buddenbrooks.

And this, guys, is where I chickened out 🙈 I was already fuming about his condescending manner, and I didn’t want to sink even further in his estimation by admitting to not having read The Buddenbrooks. So I gave some completely fabricated answer using the few bits of information I did know, about me thinking Thomas Mann’s sentences tended to be overly long and all the family drama being a bit to drawn out for my tastes, yadi-yadi-yada…

And although I did think he was a little bit impressed that I had at least “actually read” the book, I felt like such a fake afterwards. I think I should have just been confident in telling him I hadn’t read the book and called him out on his snobbery directly if he had used it against me. What was the point in lying? It just made me feel bad and gave him the upper hand anyway.

So yeah, I’ve been truthful about what I’ve read ever since. And no, I still haven’t read The Buddenbrooks.

Never have I ever… seen the movie before reading the book.

Me when watching any adaptation, ever.

I usually always try to read the book before I watch an adaptation – at least if it’s a book I’m interested in eventually reading! Because once I’ve seen the movie, I won’t be able to picture things independently anymore, and usually, what my imagination comes up with is just so much better!

However, there are a handful of movies and TV shows I’ve seen before reading the book, such as The Martian, Jurassic Park, or The 100.

Never have I ever… read a book someone else is reading by peeking in their copy.

Not an entire book… But what am I supposed to do when someone sitting on the bus in front of me has a book open? How can I not peek and try to see what they’re reading? Inconspicuously, of course 😈😂

My additional prompt: Never have I ever… had to pay library fees for returning a book late.

Up until 2020, I could proudly say that I had never done this. And then the pandemic hit, our university library closed, and deadlines for returning books were extended “until further notice”.

Only I never received that notice! I had huge pile of books sitting around at home ready to be returned, thinking I had all the time in the world to do it… But around the same time, our university changed its emailing system, which meant that all the reminders the library sent out to students about it opening back up and us having to return the books never reached me. I got a tremendous shock when I opened my account and saw that I suddenly had to pay over 7€ in late fees. Hopefully, that was enough to last me a lifetime! 😂

And finally … who am I tagging?

I think just about everyone has done this tag by now, so I’m going to tag a few people who I think haven’t. If I’m mistaken about that, please tell me so I can check out your posts! And, as always, don’t feel pressured into doing this if you don’t want to! I’m so terrible about getting to tags myself that I certainly won’t blame you if you have a ton on your plate right now or just aren’t the biggest tag fan in general 😉

And that was it for today! I hope you had fun reading, and do tell me how you would have answered some of these down in the comments! Did any of my answers shock you? I would love to know!

44 thoughts on “Never Have I Ever Book Tag”

  1. Jan @ thedoodlecrafter says:
    Reply

    Haha your prompt brings back memories when my family forgot to return five library books for five!years!! the librarians were so kind they only accepted about 5% of the enormous fine we’d taken with us when we went to return them. And I’ve been overdue to pay my school’s library’s fees maybe once or twice (I’m a librarians ‘s nightmare hehe). Gosh Boromir’s one does not simply memes never fail to make me smile😂 and ahh you look too cute on those photos! I simply love making bonfires once I burnt some of my old schoolbooks along too – but why would anyone want to burn a storybook??? It’s beyond me.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Gosh, five years’ worth of fines must be an absolute nightmare! It’s so nice that the librarians didn’t make you pay all of it; my seven euros were probably nothing in comparison 😂
      Also, yes to the Boromir memes! Although pretty much anything to do with Lord of the Rings has me smiling, so it wasn’t hard for them to win me over 😁
      And I know! Who would burn books? Just give them to someone else if you don’t want them!!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Strawberrys Corner says:
    Reply

    I have not done this tag, you are correct! But I will be now haha your answers were really cool to read, some things I think we’re pretty similar in and others maybe not 😂.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Nehal Jain says:
    Reply

    Aah, you really make me wanna go and dress up like book characters so baaaad! Also you looked so cute in those pics!
    And ah, you’ve read after 😂. I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions about it and idk if I shud read it or not, what do u say?

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      You should totally put together some book character outfits and show them off to us, Nehal! 😂
      And as to After, I refused to spend any money on it and only read the original Wattpad version, not the edited one that was published, so I can’t give a final opinion on the finished product but… Well… Let’s just say it was incredibly trashy, the romance was horribly toxic, it had hardly any plot, and the writing wasn’t exactly great, either? 😅 But if you want a good laugh, it might be worth picking up anyway 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Definitely Moi says:
    Reply

    I – Who burns books?? Aah, why is that a question? And aw…the little photos were adorable!

    And I never go to a bookstore with the intention of buying a single book. If I go there, I go all out😂

    *dramatic gasp* You haven’t read Buddenbrooks? Naemi! Don’t you appreciate *Intensive Googling* the…1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in the years from 1835 to 1877.

    (And yes. I wrote that all by myself with no help from Wikipedia whatsoever) Also, what does bourgeoisie even mean? 😂

    Haha, that was unnecessary…

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I know! Who could ever be evil enough to hurt a poor defenseless book? 😢 I’m glad you liked the photos, though, and I highly approve of your splurging habits 🤣

      Also, your definitely-not-copied-from-Wikipedia entry about the Buddenbrooks has me crying from laughter 🤣🤣 That sounds exactly like something that guy might have said in response to finding out how uncultured I am 😂 In his defense, though, it IS a very famous German classic, so loads of people here probably HAVE read it… Just not me! I might at some point, though, when I’m craving some fancy bourgeoisie (which is basically a fancy Marxist word for the middle class 😜) literature 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Pilar says:
    Reply

    I have a serious problem when it comes to figuring out what other people are reading 😅 I can’t see someone reading a book and just be ok with it. Most of the time I go out of my way to find out what book it is 😬 And I also try so hard to read the book before watching the movie or show, but when I tell myself I have to read something my brain is automatically discouraged, which usually ends up in me not reading or watching it at all because I can’t decide what to do (*cough* shadow & bone *cough*).

    Thanks so much for tagging me Naemi! It was so fun to read all your answers ☺️

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I’m exactly the same! I just get so incredibly curious when I see a book anywhere that I HAVE TO know what it is! 😁 Even though I don’t particularly like when other people read over my shoulder, so maybe I shouldn’t do it myself… But I just can’t resist! 🤣

      And I totally feel you on movies, too! I’ve procrastinated watching shows so many times because I wanted to read the book first but also didn’t want to pressure myself into reading it… But if it’s any help at all, I’d say Shadow and Bone is definitely worth checking out!! 🥰 I liked the Grisha Trilogy well enough, but I am OBSESSED with the show. And Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are absolutely epic!

      Also, you’re very welcome for the tag! I’d love to hear what kinds of confessions you’ve got waiting for us 😄

      Like

  6. Line says:
    Reply

    You read series out of order when the first book is checked out at the library so why should you wait? Well, because it makes sense, Naemi! 😂 Seriously, my organized mind cannot handle such chaotic behavior 😅.

    And your story about that condescending guy is golden! I think it was totally acceptable to lie in that situation just to throw him off. And the fact that you still haven’t read the book is kind of statement, I think 😄

    I rarely see people reading on the bus but whenever I do, I’m just like you! I’m so unbelievably curious, but I rarely succeed in figuring out which book it is 😅 One time I believe I spotted a Song of Ice and Fire book based on the chapter title artwork, but that’s about it.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Well… but what if I’m incredibly curious and just can’t wait? 😁 But if it makes you feel any better, I usually don’t do it with series where the books plots are so interconnected that they barely make any sense independently of one another. And if I have very high hopes for a series, I wouldn’t dream of reading it out of order either! But sometimes you’ve just got to make do with what the library has to offer… 😂

      Also, it’s nice of you to make excuses for me and think it was acceptable to lie in that situation 🤣 I’m not so sure, but at least we can agree on that guy having been horribly annoying… Although the bad thing is that if I do ever end up wanting to read the book, it’ll probably always remind me of him now 🙄

      And haha, spying on people reading on the bus is such a great pasttime 😁 And since busses here always tend to be incredibly crowded – at least in the afternoon when schools also let out, I’ve gotten some pretty good glimpses and even managed to read a page or two here and there 😇 Though recognizing a book from its artwork isn’t bad, either!

      Liked by 1 person

      • Line says:
        Reply

        Okay, I guess I can accept reading out of order if the books aren’t that interconnected. Not that I’d ever do it myself 😁

        And yeah, you’re probably right. He kind of ruined that book for you by being so awful.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Corrie.S.P. says:
    Reply

    OMGOSH! you tagged me??? thanks! I am soo happy? do i answer the same questions? I actually only had to pay a fee once and that was because the library made a misstake. they said i did not have to pay but i did anyway. I loove that meme about movie versions of books!

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I’m glad you’re this excited about being tagged, Corrie! 😄 You’re very welcome, and I can’t wait to see what answers you come up with!
      And yes, you get to answer the same questions 😉 Although you get to come up with the last prompt yourself, so feel free to get creative!
      And you’re such a commendable person for paying that fee even when you didn’t have to! I’m not sure I would have done that, given the choice 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

  8. ahaana @ Windows to Worlds says:
    Reply

    awww naemi you were so cute 🥺 those pictures are everything haha. also i 100% support your decision in pretending to read the buddenbrooks because i HATE obnoxious people! like there’s this one girl in my grade, and her sister got through to like an ivy league, and this girl thinks she’s smart (but no, not really), so when she brags it’s super annoying, and i probably would have done the same 😂 some of my friends like the after movies, and they haven’t read the books because they hate to read (i just read the first one on wattpad and stopped because it was SO awful), and im still trying to tell them everything wrong with it lmao

    i also FEEL you on being late to do tags – i have like almost year old tags that i haven’t even thought about doing yet sooo 🙈

    i loved reading your answers!! 💞💞

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Aww, thanks, Ahaana! 💙 Your comments are always the sweetest! I’m so glad you liked the pictures and are coming to my defense regarding the Buddenbrooks thing! I still think I could have handled it better, but it’s kind of reassuring to know that I’m not the only one nettled by obnoxious people 🤣 That girl sounds so annoying! Though I don’t know what’s worse – bragging even though you have nothing to brag about, or constantly reminding people of your achievements, even if they are very much real. I mean, that guy I was talking about really was clever, but somehow that intelligence didn’t extend to knowing not to mention said cleverness at every opportunity he got 😅

      And omg, yes, reading After on Wattpad was an experience for sure 😂😂😂 It was like watching a train wreck unfold, but somehow, I couldn’t stop reading and wondering what bizarre thing was going to crop up next, either… So I guess the book must have done something right 😂

      And don’t worry about that tag situation! You’re not alone there on any account 😅 And thanks again for tagging me for this one – even though I got to it months later, I had so much fun! 🥰

      Liked by 1 person

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    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I’m so happy I’m not alone in my reader guilt 🤣🤣 Though I’m lowkey judging you for the #9 thing lol 😜
      And the coding is kind of going? 😅 I’m basically just waiting on the computer to finish calculating and hoping the program will terminate some time in the next few days… Then it’s on to the next stage!

      Liked by 1 person

  17. FangirlFlax says:
    Reply

    I found the tag!🥳

    You know something? I’ve been actively wondering why anyone would ever burn a book, beyond some deep psychosis, but your phonebook burning (I am a 90s kid, 100% old enough to remember it!) might be the one sane reason to do that! 😅😅

    Mansfield Park is the final Austen I’ve got left to read, and I’ve heard… Mixed things about it, to say the least. I hope it’s not the sole Austen I’m not keen on. 😅 As for your pretending to have read a book you haven’t–my experience with doing the same was similarly involving someone with far too much arrogance. Sometimes it’s just human to need to knock them down a few steps, even if it’s not the big thing to do. 😅

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Yes, phonebooks are excellent firestarters! They’re so flammable 😁🔥 Although, yeah, I’m seriously wondering what kinds of books other bloggers have burned for that question to have been added to the pool… I WAS kind of tempted to torch Cursed Child, though, so I guess I shouldn’t judge too harshly! 😂

      Ohhh, yeah, Mansfield Park 😅 It was… something. The beginning was really promising, but the ending was just not it. I was so disappointed in Jane!! Still, I do also know lots of people who like it, so fingers crossed you turn out to be one of them! And, you know, it does have Edmund, whom even a certain vampire was jealous of 😉

      And lololol, when you talked about the pretentious people at university who made you succumb to such lows in your version if this tag, I instantly related!! 😂😂😂 Seriously, some people are just so full of themselves!

      Liked by 1 person

      • FangirlFlax says:
        Reply

        😂😂😂 Cursed Child is roughly the size of a phone book, so there’s that!

        I WISH someone had told me Mansfield Park had an Edmund before now! I would’ve read it as a priority 😂😂 I think I might be pre-inclined to love it now just because the association is already making me laugh!

        Right?! Funnily enough, those same people did usually tend to go for Twilight to insult, as low-hanging fruit. Everything seems to go back to Twilight with me 😂😂

        Liked by 1 person

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