pastries | The Quirky Book Nerd

I was tagged by the awesome Jesse over at Books at Dawn. Thank you so much for tagging me! He’s a fantastic book blogger, so definitely head over there and check him out.

As an avid viewer of The Great British Bake Off, I am not only incredibly excited to do this tag, but also happy to say that I know what most of these pastries are! I have a feeling I may be quite hungry after completing this however…

Croissant: Name a popular book or series that everyone (including you) loves.

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

This is one of my all-time favorite series; it helped me discover my love of reading and my passion for writing as well. I feel like this is definitely a bit of an obvious choice, but come on! It’s Harry Potter! Who doesn’t love this series? Okay, I’m sure there are some people, but it is undeniably very widely loved and has touched many lives.

Side note: I used a picture of The Chamber of Secrets here because, though I definitely seem to be in the minority on this from what I’ve seen, this is my favorite book of the series! What’s your favorite?

Macaron: Name a book that was hard to get through but worth it at the end.

1984 by George Orwell

This is one of my favorite novels, but it was surprisingly difficult for me to get through due to the writing style. I have always been able to read through the writing of Shakespeare with ease, and yet Orwell’s far more modern writing style was oddly tricky for me. Don’t get me wrong, his prose is beautiful, but for some reason it didn’t click quite as well with me as some other authors’ work has. It was an extremely slow read, but the story itself is an absolutely fantastic one and was well worth it!

Vol-au-vent: Name a book that you thought would be amazing but fell flat.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I read Divergent last year and completely loved it, so I was incredibly eager to continue on with the trilogy. However, I read Insurgent earlier this year and it fell very flat for me. It started out fairly well, but it quickly began to drag on, and I felt that it was quite repetitive at times. It lacked a lot of the qualities that I liked about the first book; I even found the characters had been negatively altered and were quite frustrating. I was really hoping to love this book and, in the end, was very disappointed with it.

Pain au chocolat: Name a book that you thought would be one thing but turned out to be something else.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls was absolutely nothing like what I expected it to be just from reading the synopsis. I believed it would be a story about ghosts or supernatural creatures; I assumed this was going to be a typical Halloween type read. It is absolutely not. It is about a very different type of monster, and this book…oh man, this book! One of the best novels I have ever read, and one that will always remain at the top of my favorites list.

Profiterole: Name a book or series that doesn’t get enough attention.

Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

Love and Other Unknown Variables was just released last year and is by a debut author. I always love discovering new authors, so I decided to pick it up when it was first released, and I am so glad that I did. This is not the typical type of story that I usually read and enjoy, but I completely fell in love with this novel. It is very well written, and a sad yet beautiful story of love and friendship with a powerful message. It even made me tear up multiple times, which is extremely rare for me to do when reading. I have not heard much at all about this novel since it came out, and it definitely deserves more attention than it has gotten.

Croquembouche: Name a book or series that’s extremely complex.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

At the moment, I have mainly watched the television show, but I am just starting to get into the book series now. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite series, and it is definitely exceedingly complex. There are so many different plot lines to follow, most of which tie into or overlap each other in various ways. And the names! I have the hardest time keeping everyone straight. This complexity, however, is what makes this series so engrossing and addictive; you can’t help but get completely lost in this world.

Napoleon: Name a movie or TV show based off a book that you liked better than the book itself.

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

It is definitely a rare occurrence for me to find a movie or television show that I prefer over the original book. However, the most recent film version of Prince Caspian was one of the few movies based off a book that I enjoyed more than the book itself. I absolutely love the entire Chronicles of Narnia series, but I felt that this was the weakest of the novels and that some parts of it dragged on a bit. The movie managed to stick to the general storyline very well and include all the important plot points while improving on the aspects that weren’t quite as strong.

Empanada: Name a book that was bittersweet.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God is an incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking story. The main character, Janie, goes through so much pain and suffering, but gains the freedom that she has always wanted for herself. Despite all of the sad moments, there are also many uplifting, powerful, and bright points in the story as well. It is by far one of the most bittersweet novels I’ve ever read, and a longtime favorite of mine.

Kolompeh: Name a book or series that takes place somewhere other than your home country.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Embarrassingly enough, I still have not yet started this series even though I’ve owned it for ages. But I figured I would use this here because it takes place in one of my favorite cities: Prague. I had the pleasure of traveling to Prague for the first time last summer, and I completely fell in love. It is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen in my life, and I am so eager to go back and spend more time there whenever I get the chance. My experience there has also made me even more excited about diving into this series!

Pate a Choux: Name one food from a book or series that you would like to try.

Pumpkin Pasties from Harry Potter

There are so many different types of food in novels, particularly the Harry Potter series, which sound absolutely delicious. However, as I’ve managed to mention in all of my fall themed posts lately, I’m pretty certain I have an addiction to pumpkin! I absolutely love all things pumpkin related, so pumpkin pasties have always appealed to me ever since I first heard them mentioned in these books. I’d love to try one…or twenty…