Here in the United States, it’s Thanksgiving Day. A time where people usually spend time with loved ones, eat traditional foods, and share what we are grateful for. But this year, I broke with tradition, and plan to stay home to do some reading and work on my blog in glorious, much-needed solitude.

However, in order to feel at least *slightly* in the Thanksgiving spirit, I decided to do one of my favorite things … a book tag! I came across this Thanksgiving book tag idea on The Sassy Book Geek, although it originated from Erin & Becca on YouTube. I liked the idea, and rather than tag anyone, I’m going to leave this open for any and everyone who wants to participate to just join in on the fun.

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

I tend to shy away from fluff books, since I lose focus when a book has no real plot to it. However, occasionally I’ll find the rare book where plot is less important than the character for me. Junky by William S. Burroughs was one of those books. Rather than having a typical plot, this memoir is more of a stream of consciousness story than a plot driven story. I have misgivings calling this book fluff, however, because Burroughs openly discusses his experiences in not one but two stigmatized groups of his time: being a gay man, and being addicted to substances (notably heroin) when either of those things were scandalous (this book was published in 1953). But yeah, no plot line.

2. Turkey- What book made you want to fall asleep?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez was definitely turkey for me. It just kind of meandered through literally a century of this one family in a village, and it felt like I was reading it for a hundred years. Plus, all of the characters seemed to be named the same thing.

3. Gravy- What book makes the whole series worth reading?

I loved the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas from start to finish. With that being said, A Court of Mist and Fury was my favorite, and really made the entire series worth reading for me. It was exciting and unpredictable, and I could not put it down. But when I got close to the end, I kept reading slower because I didn’t want the story to end.

4. Stuffing- What book is stuffed full of action scenes?

Protect the Prince by Jennifer Estep had a ton of action. The main character is constantly targeted by would-be assassins, and has to think quickly and fight back even quicker if she wants to stay alive. It doesn’t hurt that she can smell people’s emotions and is a bad-ass gladiator queen as well. My dog was clearly not affected by the action in the book – she was sound asleep as I read intently.

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

I generally commit to reading a book and follow through, especially when I receive an ARC. However, Will by Will Self was a memoir that was so atrocious that I couldn’t continue reading past 40%. It was described as eloquent, but was a barely coherent, illogical, rambling story that jumped back and forth in time with no warning and was basically only about drugs. It had ellipses between words for no reason in every single paragraph, words were randomly italicized, and three words (almost always including an f-bomb) would be mashed into one big word that made no sense. I have nothing against cursing, but within reason. I might have stuck with it, but once the author began making statements about how dying a virgin would be a greater human tragedy than the Holocaust and describing how he would abuse the family dog on purpose, I threw in the towel.

6. Cranberries- What book has the sweetest romance?

For this one, I have to say Hook by Gina L. Maxwell. I don’t read very many romances, but the romance that she wrote between Captain Hook and John Darling in her reimagining of Neverland was probably one of the sweetest things I’ve ever read. I didn’t expect to enjoy a romance, and had never read a M/M romance, but it was such a great story that I can’t stop raving about this.

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

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown is probably the corniest book I’ve read. It’s a children’s book about a little boy who has a bulletin board fall on him overnight and makes him flat. He has all kinds of cool adventures, and while no one had heard of it when I was young, apparently it’s a favorite in more recent years. The cover definitely got redone since I was young. I still love the book though.

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

Let me start off by saying that I love long books. I’m a fast reader, and I love how long books let me stay immersed in the story for longer than a day. I really struggled to think of books that were too long, but ultimately came up with the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Yep, the whole series could be shortened. I just wasn’t invested in the story or the characters, and felt like it was all just dragged out way too long.

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

I don’t often get into reading slumps, but any Harry Potter book by J.K. Rowling can immediately capture my interest. There hasn’t been any shortage of books that I’m excited about reading lately though, so I’m giving thanks for that! (See what I did there?)

10. Dog/Cat- What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food that you would steal from the table?

My mom makes this amazing side dish that I literally wait all year for. It’s candied yams and crushed pineapple that are mashed together, then topped with corn flakes and brown sugar and baked.

I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving has a thoroughly enjoyable day. If you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you also have a thoroughly enjoyable day as well. And feel free to jump in with this Thanksgiving Book Tag if you’d like to!