The Perfect Book Tag

I was tagged in this fantastic post by The Orangutan Librarian. I’m not attempting to write a book, but I’ll give it a go. Huzzah for participation!

The Perfect Genre: pick a book that perfectly represents its genre

Of course, I’m going to go with fantasy. As much as I like many other genres, fantasy is always my favorite. I have to say The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien perfectly represents this genre. Tolkien’s world is fully realized, it has the hero’s quest, a great group of fascinating characters, and of course there’s Smaug. He’s the quintessential fantasy dragon.

The Perfect Setting: pick a book that takes place in a perfect place

I feel like I use The Night Circus in a lot of my posts, but I can’t help it. It’s so gorgeous. I’d love to wander through the Cirque de Reves. Anyone who hasn’t read this book, needs to add it to their (probably already overflowing) to be read pile.

The Perfect Main Character

This question was really hard on me, because I usually don’t love the main characters in books. Because they are often used to further the story, I find myself getting annoyed by how shortsighted or flat-out stupid they can be. I do love Slowhand, though.

The Perfect Best Friend

Charlie is so sweet and considerate. He takes the time to get to know all his friends’ quirks, their likes and dislikes. He’s loyal to a fault, and he has a loving heart.

The Perfect Love Interest: pick a character who you think would be the best romantic partner
I’ve got nothing. I am bereft of any sort of interest in bookish romances.

The Perfect Villain: pick the character with the most devious mind

Dolores Umbridge is absolutely vile. What makes her so incredibly disturbing, though, is that she’s firmly convinced she’s right. She thinks she’s justified in everything she does, and people like that are very, very dangerous.

The Perfect Family: pick the perfect bookish family

I didn’t want to post Harry Potter twice in a row, but the Weasleys are the perfect literary family. They pretty much adopted Harry. Not because he was “the Chosen One”, but because they saw a kid who needed love. They’re boisterous, fun, a little bit chaotic, but loving and sweet.

The perfect animal or pet: pick a pet or fantastical animal that you need to see in a book

(art by Matt Stawicki)

I’ll always choose dragons. I actually collect dragons. I have figurines, stuffed animals, even a stained glass window hanging. This particular dragon is a favorite of mine, featured in Dragonlance.

The perfect plot twist

I loved every mind-bending moment of this book. Stuart Turton’s second novel, The Devil and the Dark Water will be coming out sometime next year. I have no idea what it’s about. I truly don’t care: I’ll still be in line to buy it as soon as it releases. His writing is astounding.

The Perfect Trope: pick a trope you’d add to your book without thinking

Does the whole “small group will goes on an epic journey” thing count as a trope? If so, then that’s the one I’d add without a second thought.

The Perfect Cover: pick a cover that you would easily put on your own book

I love everything about this cover, from the gold-and-blue embossing, to the title. It has a mysterious, dark fairy tale feel to it that I can’t get enough of.

The Perfect Ending:

I want to say The Night Circus again, but I’ll refrain. I love books that feel like they’re continuing on beyond the final page, and we can catch up with the characters years down the road and chat like old friends. Both Alix E. Harrow and Erin Morgenstern have captured that feeling perfectly in their novels.

So, there you have it. I’m not going to tag anyone here, although I might tag some people on Twitter. If you feel like participating, please do. I’d love to see what others think!