besummer2019 – Nine Tale Vixen

[Bookending Summer] Recommended Reads: Series Spotlight

Published on July 22, 2019December 12, 2020 by Isabelle @ Nine Tale Vixen15 Comments

Since I associate summer with having free time to read, it’s the perfect time to dig into a book series! Ideally I like to read them one after the next, so that I can pick up on as many parallels and callbacks as possible … and so that I don’t forget about the series until it appears on my Goodreads feed three years later.

Disclaimer: I’m pretty bad at finishing series, so I can’t personally vouch for every single book on this list since I haven’t read them all [yet]. But I’ve mostly stuck with completed series (i.e., all installments published) so that you have the option of reading them back-to-back-to-back, though there may be a couple of exceptions, and tried to avoid repeats from my other recommendation lists.

This post is part of Bookending Summer 2019, which is organized by Sam & Clo! Today’s prompt, “Series Spotlight,” is hosted by Rachel @ The Must Reads.

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[Bookending Summer] Top 10 Book Settings I’d Like to Visit

Published on July 18, 2019November 20, 2022 by Isabelle @ Nine Tale Vixen21 Comments

Escapism is one of the top reasons why I read: the opportunity to explore all kinds of worlds with varying degrees of removal from the one I live in. Sometimes I’m in the mood for something just a little different, other times I want a setting whose rules I can barely wrap my head around. But whatever you’re looking for, it probably already exists in some book somewhere — and if it doesn’t, you can always write it yourself.

In other words, book cities and worlds certainly make for great hypothetical summer vacation destinations; since I won’t actually get to go anywhere cool this year, I’m sort of living vicariously through fictional characters. Y’know, business as usual.

This post is part of Bookending Summer 2019, which is organized by Sam & Clo! Today’s prompt, “Summer Vacation: Top 10 book cities / worlds you’d like to visit,” is hosted by Jeimy @ A Novel Idea.

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[Bookending Summer] Build-a-Story

Published on July 14, 2019December 12, 2020 by Isabelle @ Nine Tale Vixen9 Comments

And with that, we’ve arrived at my final hosted prompt!

Thank you again to Sam and Clo for this opportunity, and I hope you all had as much fun with my prompts as I had coming up with and writing them all!

Since July is Camp NaNoWriMo month, why not try putting together the basics of a novel? I’m sure you’ve noticed that most books contain several familiar elements; it’s the specific combination that makes each one unique!

So in whatever order makes most sense to you, choose a basic plot, an appropriate setting, your favorite tropes (including a beginning trope and an ending trope), some archetypal characters, and anything else necessary for us to understand the heart of your narrative.

You can use the lists I’ve linked or search up your own!

This post is part of Bookending Summer 2019, which is organized by Sam & Clo! Today’s prompt, “Build-a-Story,” is hosted by yours truly — so if you do this prompt don’t forget to link back to this post!

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[Bookending Summer] Table for Two

Published on July 13, 2019December 12, 2020 by Isabelle @ Nine Tale Vixen11 Comments

Another day, another Bookending Summer prompt! Today I get to share the prompt idea that inspired me to sign up as a host, and the one that I’m personally most excited about.

Quality time is definitely one of my love languages, and I was also inspired by a video from one of my favorite YouTubers (taking everyone i love on dates). Since starting college some of my favorite memories have been dining hall hangouts with my friends, so in my mind dinner is a great opportunity to spend time with the people you care about.

Lucky you, you’re going on a dinner date — romantic or platonic, as you prefer — with any book character you want! Tell us who they are and why you chose them, where you’re going (fancy restaurant from their book? picnic in Central Park? Feel free to be creative and detailed), and what’s on the menu. Bonus points for multiple courses and/or dishes inspired by or straight out of books!

This post is part of Bookending Summer 2019, which is organized by Sam & Clo! Today’s prompt, “Table for Two,” is hosted by yours truly — so if you do this prompt don’t forget to link back to this post!

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[Bookending Summer] Down and Acrostic

Published on July 12, 2019December 12, 2020 by Isabelle @ Nine Tale Vixen13 Comments

Welcome back to Bookending Summer!

I wrote a lot of acrostic poems in elementary school (more than half of which featured my name and were meant as fun “about me” activities for the new school year) but haven’t really revisited the form since. While cleaning up my Goodreads shelves, several book titles caught my eye, and I thought it could be fun to combine the two!

Pick a summer-themed word (ex: beach, fireworks, heatwave, barbecue, vacation) or the title of a book with summer vibes. Write it vertically, then try to fill in titles that start with each letter (you can omit determiners like “the” and “a”). For example, if your first book is Radiance, then you might have [The] Raven Boys, Anna Undreaming, Darius the Great Is Not Okay, and so on.

Difficult mode: Use only books that fit a theme, such as “three-word titles” or “YA contemporary” or “squad goals.”

This post is part of Bookending Summer 2019, which is organized by Sam & Clo! Today’s prompt, “Down and Acrostic,” is hosted by yours truly — so if you do this prompt don’t forget to link back to this post!

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[Bookending Summer | Discussion] Every Body Is A Beach Body

Published on July 11, 2019November 8, 2022 by Isabelle @ Nine Tale Vixen11 Comments

Hello and welcome to my first Bookending Summer prompt! I loved participating in Bookending Spring earlier this year, and I was so excited to be picked as a host this time around. (Fun fact: this was actually the last prompt I came up with, after Clo @ Book Dragons suggested something to do with body positivity.)

Swimsuit season is here, but you don’t need any special diets or workout routines to prepare. Media plays a huge role in making us think otherwise, though — discuss what constitutes body positivity in books, what you’d like to see more of, any recommendations for body-positive books, et cetera.

This post is part of Bookending Summer 2019, which is organized by Sam & Clo! Today’s prompt, “Every Body Is A Beach Body,” is hosted by yours truly — so if you do this prompt don’t forget to link back to this post!

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[Bookending Summer] Characters Who Personify Summer

Published on July 9, 2019December 12, 2020 by Isabelle @ Nine Tale Vixen9 Comments

With the sun beating down every time I dare step outside, it’s been pretty much impossible to forget that we’re in the middle of summer. But on the bright side, Bookending Summer has officially started, and today I’m sharing my first post for the event!

Charvi’s original prompt specifies “sweet and cheerful” characters; while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that view on summer, I decided to diversify my list a little more … because my feelings on summer are a little more complicated.

This post is part of Bookending Summer 2019, which is organized by Sam & Clo! Today’s prompt, “Summer Personified,” is hosted by Charvi @ Not Just Fiction.

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