“Look, I wanted to be an individual but my ma wouldn’t let me.”
Erin ~ Derry Girls
Ahh, Derry Girls. My ultimate show that I totally haven’t watched it like a dozen times in a year now…
So Derry Girls is a 90s set comedy sitcom following a group of teenagers lives as they live in Derry, Ireland during the Troubles. This is an interesting look into how their lives went during such a bleak time, and does well to balance the humor of being a teenager whilst looking at all the events that happened with The Troubles over the time.
Aoife from Pretty Purple Polka Dots created this tag over on their YouTube channel and thank you to them for doing this because it is the perfect tag, one that I didn’t know I needed!
Erin – a book it took time to warm to
Most definitely City of Brass by S.A Chakraborty, that is a very info heavy book and I gave up the first time I read it during 2019 but I picked it up again a year later and pushed through and found the last 200 pages or so quite riveting but I think it will take me a while to pick up the next book!
Michelle – your favourite strong female character
I love all of the characters in the Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo, from Alina to Nina and Inej and I can’t forget about Zoya as the ultimate bad-ass character in the King of Scars duology!
Clare – an LGBT romance (bonus points if it’s an F/F romance!)
I was late reading The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar, like a year after it being released (who would’ve thought?). I loved this story with the whole rivals to lovers aspect and exploring both Nishat’s and Flavia’s cultures and dealing with coming out in their society, their schools and their families!
Orla – a character with their head in the clouds
I don’t think I read many books with characters that fit this prompt but in Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, seems to fit this prompt quite well. Every single person in this book has come back from a magical world that fits them perfectly and coming back to the real world, which they don’t understand anymore? Well, a lot of people get stuck into the fantasies of their world and wishing that there would be a way to get back.
James – a translated book
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa has interested me since I saw it shortlisted for The International Booker Prize 2020, and it had a unique plot of different items in the world being taken away and every single person has to forget them. But what happens when it goes too far? When a person’s voice is taken away or a body part? This is such a quiet novel that is very ominous and will leave you feeling very chilled and disturbed by the end of it!
Sister Michael – a book you studied at school
I remember reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestley, and The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. I don’t really remember much about them because it’s been a while but i remember being annoyed reading The Book of Lost Things bit by bit each lesson so I went to the Library and borrowed the book and finished as soon as I could because nope, I am not taking weeks to find out what happens in a book, thank you very much!
Granda Joe – a grumpy character you can’t help but love
Oh, this was a hard one to answer but I guess Holland from A Darker Shade of Magic is quite grumpy, mainly cause he’s like ten years older than everybody else and just doesn’t want to deal with all this nonsense. He’s been through a lot already and doing more seems nonsensical!
Ma Mary and Da Gerry – your favourite bookish parents
This has always been a hard question cause I never really notice parents in books, or that they make a huge impact on me due to them not being a big part in a lot of the books I read. I did like Lil Potkin’s mother in Potkin and Stubbs and how they worked together by the end of the first book!
Jenny Joyce – your favourite bookish clever clogs
I’m not sure if I have a favourite but The Bumblebear by Nadia Shireen is the only book coming to my mind and it is specifically this line:
“Aren’t you a bit big” asked Amelia, who was a rather clever little bee.
The Bumblebear by Nadia Shireen
Aunt Sarah – a book with a pretty cover
Aren’t all the rune editions for the Shadowhunter novels absolutely gorgeous? My latest one I’ve acquired is Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare and I am in love with the green cover with golden moths!
Uncle Colm – a book you can’t shut up about
Honestly, any of the books I loved in 2020 have been gushed and promoted from me and I’m sure everybody is fed up of me talking about books like Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B Alton, Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia which are brilliant and gripping reads and will fulfil a Middle-grade, Young Adult and Adult if you want books from different categories!
Friends Across the Barricades – tag three Derry Girls lovers in the book community – doesn’t matter whether they’re a blogger, Book Tuber, Bookstagrammer, or your best friend!
- Mary from Book Store Vibe
- Tatiana from Ideesalire
- Jay from Blog by Blog
Alright, I’m out and definitely not going to watch Derry Girls again…
“Winking! At your age?! Christ, I feel sick.”
Aunt Sarah ~ Derry Girls
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