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This week I'm looking at Book Tags.
Love them or hate them, they are very much part of our blogging world and you see a lot of them during blog visits. There are some about books, some about hobbies, some about blogging and life in general. There are probably book tags to suit the interests of most readers.
Personally I like them! I'll do the tag if I find the questions are reasonably easy to answer, regardless of whether the main theme appeals. To give you an example of what I mean, I once did a tag called Four London book tag. I've never read this book series but I loved the graphics and thought the questions were interesting so I did all the questions except the bonus ones which asked about the series itself. I guess you could say that the name of the tag never puts me off looking at the questions to see if I find it interesting. I'll always take a look at a tag that I see on blogger friends blogs and see what I think.
There are of course some types of book tags that I don't do. I have my computer downstairs in our living room so that I can chat to my dad during the day as I blog. There are no books or bookcases in this room at all. All my bookshelves are in my bedroom for easy access when I read at night and that's where they stay unless I need to bring a book down to finish reading early in the morning before the computer switches on. Due to this I never take part in these tags where you have to pick books off shelves and refer to page numbers and names etc. I try to avoid going up and down stairs as much as possible as it makes me breathless so I avoid tags where I need to fetch and carry books to take part!
While I'm thinking about book tags, there are of course questions that seem to keep popping up in them that have no appeal to me and occasionally don't make sense to me. 'Pick a book that you were forced to read' is a good example. If we are talking about required reading for school or university, yes I get that but if we are talking about being forced by friends, then I don't get it. No friend will ever persuade me to read something I really don't want to! Friends can recommend books to me or say how great they are but they can never make me read something that I am dead set against! The final choice in reading a book will always be mine. This kind of question doesn't personally appeal to me.
I also never answer questions about book boyfriends. I'm just not into that kind of thinking. I read the book then move on, and don't sit thinking about dates with fictional characters! I don't really get the book boyfriend thing. I don't have book hangovers either-I don't get why I would need to take several days between books to analyse it and sort out my feelings before reading my next book! I literally put down one book and then pick up the next! Well, unless it is time for bed when I finish the first one...then I'll start the next one the following day! I'm also the kind of reader who DNFs a book and then forgets about it so I never answer questions about books I keep going back to before I get it finished. I either finish it first time round or not at all. No second chances for books I'm just not enjoying. The same goes for books I struggle with. If I struggle with a book I DNF it-I don't struggle on for weeks forcing myself to get it finished, so I never answer that question either.
On the whole though, I find book tags are fun if you like this kind of thing. One thing I often ignore are the rules. I don't believe in tagging other people to take part as I'm not always aware who has or hasn't done the tag or who may not take part in things like this. I get round this by offering an open tag to anyone who wants to take part, and leaving that choice to the individual. If there are too many rules, it can be offputting so I'm always happy to see a straightforward tag!
Do you take part in book tags? What kind of book tags do you like or dislike? Which questions in book tags do you generally not answer or don't get? Do you tag certain people or leave it open? Are you put off by too many rules or complicated tags?
I always just tag everyone too instead of any individual people lol. I tend to avoid those book tags that ask questions where you answer with specific books though. I mean, I do them sometimes, but the reality is that my followers haven't read most of the books I have since I read so much indie, and so those posts are hard for people to comment on. I like the tags that ask questions about bookish things or that have interesting enough questions that I can explain the answers and still make the post fun.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I have never done those ones where you have to come up with your own Qs for the people you tag. Way too much work.
It can be hard to think up interesting sounding questions, I certainly agree with that! I think questions need to be fun and easy enough that you don't need to sit for days trying to come up with an answer!
DeleteGreat thoughts. I like books tags here and there but am always hesitant about tagging people because I know some don't. I particularly enjoyed the Halloween ones I saw and did this year. Like you, the book boyfriend question is one I don't really answer. I guess it's because I'm older and the way I see it, I'm happily married and don't need a book boyfriend - haha. I always turn it into a dog question :)
ReplyDeleteI love reading tags as they give us more insight into the blogger and they are a change of pace.
The Halloween one I saw on your blog was a lot of fun! I like ones where I can copy lovely graphics or make up my own and the questions are interesting and pretty easy to answer. Dogs are better than book boyfriends any time!
DeleteI love book tags. Some people say they make your blog look unprofessional, but my blog IS unprofessional. It’s a hobby. Tags give me a chance to talk about books I haven’t mentioned in a while, and they break up the review monotony. I rarely follow the rules of tags, though. I don’t tag people, and I don’t always answer all the questions.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I enjoy doing book tags and I wouldn't care if some people thought it looked unprofessional. My blog is about fun and stuff so book tags will always be there!
DeleteI love book tags too. I have a few on my blog. I’m doing an emoji one soon. I think they’re a fun and creative way to share the books you’ve read or are interested in. They’re also a good way to discover new books. They help me when I’m in a writing slump too. Something I can put on my blog when I’m short on ideas. But I make sure I tag everyone who’s interested. I rarely tag individuals. All in all, I think they’re pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply! It's been crazy this week. I do enjoy a book tag with interesting questions. I'm planning to start a few more next year as well when time allows!
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