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Tuesday, December 21, 2021

The 12 Days of Christmas Book Tag

Hello, everyone!


It’s been another long time since I’ve had a post, but here I am today on the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century. I’m way too excited about that.


Now that I finally have time to write, its a little lame of me to just put out answers to a tag instead of a review of some kind. But, this is what I’m in the mood for as it is so fun and Christmasy (wow, is that actually a word? My computer is not correcting me on that for once…). I hope that I’ll be more refreshed for movie and book reviews in the new year. You read that correctly, this is probably my last blog post for this year, 2021. I hope to have a nice stash of thoughts ready for you all in January! In the meanwhile, please tell me some highlights from your year and I will get around to answering comments.


Two years ago, Hamlette created a 12 Days of Christmas Movie Tag that I had a ton of fun filling out HERE, and last year she put a twist on it with books instead. I was not officially tagged, but I had fun with my stolen goods anyway. I hope you enjoy my answers!



The 12 Days of Christmas Book Tag:

Rules: 

#1 Use a different book for each prompt 

#2 Add photos and/or explanations of how your choices fit the prompts 

#3 Tag a few friends to play along 


(Hamlette calls these guidelines, so I might bend them a little...)


1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree -- book that involves agriculture 


Farmer Boy - by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Most of the Little House books involve farming of one kind or another, but this one stuck out to me for a few reasons, one of them the title. I distinctly remember a scene where it froze before people thought it was going to, so in the early morning the people on the farm were running around and trying to water the potatoes (or was it corn? Maybe I don't remember it so distinctly) to save them.




2. Turtledoves -- book about a long-lasting relationship 


David Copperfield - by Charles Dickens has a whole tidal wave of relationships. Some are short, but many span great lengths of the book. Whether it is a girl waiting for the love of her life, or a father doing everything to find his adopted daughter. I was not a huge fan when I read it, but now that it has sunk in a little, I think I should give it another go.




3. French Hens -- book that takes place in France 


Is it cheating to use two from the same author? Oh, well, I’m going with A Tale of Two Cities - by Charles Dickens. One of those cities is in England, and the other is in France… It’s about revolutions and sacrifice and revenge and one of my favorite books that Dickens wrote.




4. Calling Birds -- book where people talk on the phone 


Take your pick of any Nancy Drew book by Caroline Keene. Pretty much every book has a moment where Nancy gets a call telling her to drop the case. Sinister, eh? She never listens and the people behind the mystery end up where they deserve. And Nancy herself uses the phone a lot to call Bess, George, Hannah, Ned, and Mr. Drew.




5. Golden Rings -- book with multiple romances 


*grumbles* WHY is it so hard for me to always come up with answers to the romance question? I read enough books that have them. I’d been doing well on my own, but now I might have to resort to looking through Goodreads to remind me what I’ve read…


Ah, Winter - by Marissa Meyer is the last book in The Lunar Chronicles and has quite a few romances being wrapped up. It gets a little steamy for me two or three times, but in general I support the characters. I know I can think of five possibilities, but they don’t all get together.




6. Geese A-laying -- book with a birth or that features babies 


Mary Poppins - by P. L. Travers. Most are familiar with one of the movie versions, so a few years ago I decided to listen to an audiobook of the original. Michael and Jane are not the only Banks children, as they have two younger siblings, twins John and Barbara, who are infants. The whole book was a little strange, but everything involving those two babies broke my heart. 




7. Swans A-swimming -- book where someone goes swimming 


I hate that the only one I can think of is in the book The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - by Ann Brashares. The reason I don't like it is because the two swimming scenes are rather awkward.




8. Maids A-milking -- book with cows 


This one has stumped me above all others and is the last one I’m answering (I don’t know why I always feel the need to tell you guys that. I guess I’m just ensuring that I am honest?) Isn’t there something about Mr. Harrison’s cow in Anne of Avonlea - by L. M. Montgomery? I don’t remember the specific circumstances. Maybe I should be rereading that one instead of the third book. I know that in Patrick McManus’s any of collections of short stories there is bound to be one that mentions the evil cows that hate fishermen. I don’t get it, but then again, I’m not a fisherman.




9. Ladies Dancing -- book with a dance scene 


In Cloaked - by Rachel Kovaciny (the very creator of this tag, Hamlette herself!) (read my review HERE), characters enjoy dancing and have chances to do so. They happily reference this back to Pride & Prejudice - by Jane Austen, which says “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.” I was able to get two in one!



10. Lords A-leaping -- book about athletes 


You guys should see for now how I answer Harry Potter in almost every tag (and my Theology professor probably thinks I’m obsessed with it. I’m not, just all his essay questions work really well with it!). It works, okay? Quiddich is a hard game! I’ll be specific and say Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because Harry and the Weasleys go to an official match between Ireland and Bulgaria. Plus, you have to be pretty athletic to survive the Triwizard Tournament.




11. Pipers Piping -- book with someone playing a musical instrument 


In Little Women - by Louisa May Alcott, Beth March plays the piano. I know I use this book a lot, but it is so sweet and nostalgic! I know many people who play the piano in real life but I’ve never picked it up besides a few scales. I keep trying to convince my sister to learn “Ophelia” - by The Lumineers because there is a lot of awesome piano in it.




12. Drummers Drumming -- book with characters in the military


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - by Mary Ann Shafer and Annie Barrows. While none of the characters it revolves around are in the military, they hear stories about when Guernsey was occupied by Germany and there were lots of soldiers around then. Some were rather important.





I stole this, so I don't think I can tag anyone, but please let me know if you fill this out so I can look at your answers!

This was the perfect thing for me to do this afternoon. I was feeling a little dull when I started, but now I'm lively again. I'd forgotten how much I love blogging! It is so refreshing. No better way to vent your feelings than pounding them out on a keyboard, right? Thank you to Hamlette for making this!

I hope that you all have a happy, merry, jolly, and all around peaceful Christmas and end of the year. Joy to you all!


Chloe the MovieCritic

12 comments:

  1. Fun tag! I guess some of my highlights from this year would be going to the OBX, going to Awesome Con again, and spending time with my family.

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    1. Thanks, Rachel! Those all sounds like they were a blast! Since my life has been so busy I've started to really value quiet moments with my family. <3

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  2. I am here, the answerer of all of your agricultural questions! XD

    Yes, in Farmer Boy it was the corn they needed to water, to the best of my memory, because the little corn plants were all bent over under the weight of the ice, and were going to break off, and the water melted the ice. Or at least, that's my recollection (it's been a while).

    (I have trouble with romance questions, too.)

    Oh, I LOVE the P. L. Travers Mary Poppinses, and I especially love John and Barbara!

    And yes, Anne of Avonlea starts out with a spectacular mishap involving Mr. Harrison's cow, which I'm not going to try to explain, because it's too good in the original. *shoos you toward the book*

    I totally want to hear more about all your Harry Potter-including essays! :)

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    1. Yay, Sam! You have just what I needed: answers! XD

      Ah, so it was corn. Okay, that makes sense that it was ice instead of frost, because you can get ice off but frost runs a little deeper and is harder to get rid of. And true, even if the water was cold, it was still warmer than the ice...

      (Why are we like this??)

      I only read the first book, but did you read any farther? John and Barbara are sweethearts! </3

      Well, I guess I'm home NOW, so I could very well take a look at what happens actually...you said it starts the book so its probably in the first few chapters so it shouldn't be too hard to find. And I never mind reading about Anne. ;)

      Hmm, maybe I should make a post about it then! :) I keep having hundreds of ideas and just need to sit down and write them all out...

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  3. hello Chloe! I'm slowly but surely acquainting myself with my friends' friends in blogging, in anticipation of the day when I inevitably make a blog of my own. You look like a lovely person to meet, so I've decided I'd head over here and say hello.

    A few things about me: I'm originally Sam's friend, love LOTR (But probably not as much as her) and also enjoy the hundreds of Christmas cookies that invade my house each year. I'm most commonly known as Faramir, but I also appear as Faramir the Bold (Especially on NaNoWriMo, where Faramir was already taken. :( ).

    This tag looks really interesting. Maybe I should try some of these books, as I haven't read the majority of them.

    Wishing you get the equivalent of five golden rings (AKA good Christmas presents);

    Faramir

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    1. Gah, that came out wrong. I meant to say, I started out as Sam's friend. (Yes, I am still friends with her.)

      Sorry for the inconvenience!

      Faramir

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    2. Why, hello Faramir! It's so nice to meet you! :) I just read and commented on blogs a lot before I made my own, so as someone who once did the same thing, it's great to hear from you! That's so kind of you to stop by! :)

      Tbh, I don't think anyone loves LOTR as much as Sam. I enjoy it, but am more of a Narnia person myself... Christmas cookies are so fun. I am not a fan of making them because decorations take HOURS and all my patience away without asking permission. Faramir the Bold is a good and strong name. I'm the worst at coming up with names for myself but I usually bestow everyone I know with a nickname.

      This tag and these books ARE fun! You said you haven't read the majority, but which ones have you sampled?

      Thank you for your Christmas wishes! I did indeed receive the equivalent of five golden rings. One to rule them all, especially... ;) What about you?

      No inconvenience at all! I am a pro at phrasing things in ways that I think only make sense to me, but I understood you perfectly! :D

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  4. Ahhh, so much goodness here! I'm glad you nabbed this and filled it out :-)

    Farmer Boyis such a fascinating book. It makes me hungry. So much food! I read somewhere that Laura was always entranced by Almanzo's stories of his childhood filled with bounteous food because her family was generally just scraping by, and nearly starved during The Long Winter. Writing that book about him must have been a really fascinating process for her.

    Haha, so true about Nancy Drew. All those threatening phone calls! Poor kid.

    Evil cows that hate fishermen? Hmmmm. I am somewhat intrigued.

    Haha! I love that Cloaked lets you reference Pride and Prejudice and use two books for one prompt :-D Very fun.

    Using TGLAPPPS for the military question is great. The occupying German soldiers played such an important part in the lives of so many characters, even if they're gone by the time the book starts.

    Merry Christmas, Chloe!

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    1. I'm so glad that you made it in the first place, Hamlette! :-)

      It makes me hungry, too! I remember one time it said that potatoes or something "melted like butter" in Almanzo's mouth and as a kid I thought that was such a weird thing to say, haha! But, a few weeks later I had some kind of food that did just that! Now whenever I get that sensation I think about this book. I hadn't thought about how that must have been for Laura because it was so different! That's true. I remember especially in, as you said, The Long Winter, a certain incident with oyster crackers. Another food that I was so excited to finally try based on these books!

      And my family wonders why answering the phone is one of my least favorite things...maybe too much Nancy Drew!

      My dad has read those stories of Patrick McManus's in any order but the order they were written, so I'm not quite sure what to tell you about the evil cows. Maybe you'll have to check out his collections yourself! They never fail to make me laugh.

      It especially helped me as I am prone to not making decisions and two are better than one, right? It's almost like it was written for this intent, even though that was years ago! :-D

      Thank you! I've seen many war movie and read a few war books, but for some reason my mind always goes to that one specifically when asked that kind of question. It's probably what stuck with me the most!

      Thank you so much, Hamlette! I had a great one, and I hope you did, too. Happy 2022!

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  5. Great choices! Hope you had a good Christmas.
    This post reminded me that I need to read Little Women.

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    1. Thanks, Skye! I did have a great Christmas! Just what I needed, like it always is. :) What about you?
      Little Women is long but precious, so the time flies merrily by. I hope you enjoy it!

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