Today I thought that instead of making a lot of resolutions that I have no intention of keeping (I just know I won’t so there’s no point in denial) I’d make a book tag based on some of the most popular best intentions.  I googled the top ten resolutions and the following tag is based upon those.  This is my Good Intentions Book Tag – after all you can have good intentions at any point in the year:

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Exercise more : This is a book that is a real chunkster, in fact you will need help to even pick this book up:

For my first good intention I’ve chosen a book that I haven’t read yet but would love to pick up soon because it’s all about vampires and I feel hungry for a book with fangs.  Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff – I’m looking at you.  This book (the hardcover at least), weighs in at a lovely 752 pages – the gauntlet is down.  I must read this book.  For this particular choice there are two covers – do you have a favourite.  I’m partial to the first in this case although what’s not to love about a dishy hunk with his shirt off?:

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Lose weight : A book that is not a chunkster; a short story or novella.  A book you could probably read in one sitting:

In this instance I’ve gone for a book that I just managed to squeeze in towards the end of 2021.  Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M Valente.  This is such an unusual book.  I struggled at first to write a review because I didn’t want to give away spoilers – here is a snippet of my tangled thoughts ‘This is a strange tale that is strangely compelling. I had no idea what to expect and yet it managed to defy any expectations that my subconscious had secretly formed and it’s the sort of book that makes you want to read it again, and probably again after that, I mean a fourth read would probably help to pick up those few pesky clues you missed in your haste to reach the end.’  This is an author who manages to charm and delight with her evocative and fairytale-style writing and at just over 100 pages this definitely fits the brief for this particular ‘good intention’.

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Eat healthy : A book that is good for you.  This is a book that made you feel so happy that you wanted to give it a big hug:

Now this was a struggle because I could have gone for a number of books for this particular intention.  There are a lot of books over the years that I may have waxed lyrical about (*ahem, Lord of the Rings*) so I thought I’d choose something unexpected.  Unexpected because although I loved this book I don’t think I’ve banged on about it anywhere near enough.  The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow is a beautiful book.  It’s a book that overwhelmed me with feelings.  The writing is lush – I kid you not – and it gave me that feeling, I’m sure you all know what I mean, where it felt like the author had written this especially for little old moi!  (Also, talking recently of ‘cover catnip’ – will you just take a look at this gorgeous cover:

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Fulfill your ambitions : A book that has a lot going on.  Plenty of different threads, points of views and action but everything eventually comes together in a very satisfactory fashion:

Again, I had a few books that I could have used for this one.  Books that feel so busy that at first they feel like they’re going to overwhelm you with their ‘busyness’.  The book I’ve eventually chosen is a book I loved.  There is plenty going on here but it’s all so good and the imagination on display is absolutely outstanding.  The Empire’s Ruin by Brian Staveley (#1 Ashes of the Unhewn Thrown).  This was already on my ‘best of‘ list but I couldn’t help using it for this particular prompt because it has a slew of wonderful characters, a fantastic plot and it really does take the reader on a voyage of discovery.

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Spend more time with the family : A series of books that you love and that has developed more than you ever anticipated:

I had a few series of books that I could have used for this.  Series where you come to love the characters over the course of time.  Good examples are the Harry Potter series of books where the characters literally went through school as the series progressed, The Toby Daye books are another fine example as are the Sookie Stackhouse books but eventually, I couldn’t help myself.  I had to go for the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs which I’m now waiting for the next release (#13)(I’ve not listed all the covers for this one but below are a small selection:

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Tick off an item from your bucket list : Reduce the tbr.  Choose a book from Mount TBR that you would like to read this year:

This is an easy one – well, I say that but I’m actually going to include two books here that I’m really keen to read –

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant.  I’ve seen some excellent reviews for this one and I’m excited to read it.  

And, December Park by Ronald Malfi because I read and loved his latest book Come With Me (in fact it’s on my ‘Best of’ list this year and so I wanted to check out some of his earlier books.

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Save money : A book that was an absolute bargain – you would have to be crazy in fact not to have bought this book:

The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher is the last bargain I bought for Kindle at only £1.99.  It sounds amazing and I can’t wait to pick it up.  Here’s the blurb:

A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel.

Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.

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Get Organised : A book with a glossary, maps, useful words, lists of people – this book is one helpful book, it wants you to know ALL the things and it’s not afraid to use footnotes and other devices to help you do so:

Again, I could easily have used Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings here because he certainly provides a lot of additional information.  However, I’ve used another book that I read a few years ago and that really stood out to me because of its use of footnotes.  I confess that this method of writing doesn’t always work for me but on this occasion I just went with it and the additional information added a perfect extra level of detail to the story – although I confess I didn’t read all the footnotes *hangs head with abject shame*.  My book is Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

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Start a new hobby : A book that is outside your comfort zone.  Perhaps everyone was raving about this book, maybe it was over-hyped, you hesitated to pick it up in fact, but when you did – you loved it:

Finally, a book that is outside of my comfort zone.  To clarify, for the most part I read SFF, I also like to read a little crime/thriller/horror and also some history.  So, I’m not really going to include those in books that fall outside my usual reading zone.  I’ve gone for romance.  I could have actually kept this within the fantasy genre and opted for the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon but I’ve decided to go for something different.  The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons.  I loved this book when I read it and still have lovely memories of it – it would be interesting to reread it actually to see if I still feel the same way.

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That’s my top ten Good Intentions Book Tag. 

I’m going to tag a few bloggers but, obviously, no pressure at all to take part.  Also, if you’re not tagged but would like to take part please feel free to join in and drop me a link so I can check out your answers.  Here’s to good intentions for 2022.

Books, Bones and Buffy 

The Bibliosanctum

Space and Sorcery

Powder and Page

Bookforager

Cupcakes and Machetes

Confessions of a YA Reader

Greg’s Book Haven

The Bookworm Chronicles

Way Too Fantasy

Evelyn Reads

Dab of Darkness

Pages and Tea

The Captain’s Quarters

Brainfluff

Lexlingua

The Critiquing Chemist

One More

Bookertsfarm

Book Den