Bookish Tag Post: Olympic Book Tag

 
 

I wasn’t planning on doing this tag since I’ve never actually done any tags before, but I figured this would be my one and only chance since the Olympics don’t last very long and won’t be around for another four years… So here I am! Doing my first tag.

I have to admit I don’t watch many of the sports, but, since I used to be a gymnast, I am always super excited about the summer Olympics just for the chance to watch the gymnastics. It’s the only sport I actually know anything about it, so it’s the only time I actually get to shout things at the TV and get all anxious the way other people do when they watch football or basketball or soccer or whatever other sports it is that people watch.

I’m sure this won’t be my most popular post since it’s going to be a list of books that most people haven’t heard of, but I figure it’s been a while since I’ve actually talked about some of these lovelies, and maybe you guys will find some new books to try!


Credit and much thanks to Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight for creating this tag!

Opening Ceremony
(A Book You Loved from the First Page)
Artificial by Jadah McCoy

Artifical by Jadah McCoy | reading, books
 

This was one of those books that gripped me right from the start because I loved the main character’s voice.
(Artificial Review)

Cycling
(Favorite Road Trip Book)
Incubus by Amanda Meuwissen

Incubus by Amanda Meuwissen | reading, books
 

I’ve never read any legit road trip books, but this was like a road trip Supernatural-style since they drove around the country killing monsters.
(Incubus Review)

 

Triathalon
(A Book with a Good Love Triangle)
Steal the Light by Lexi Blake

Steal the Light by Lexi Blake | reading, books
 

I couldn’t make a post like this and not include my favorite series somewhere! I actually do like love triangles even though most people hate them, and the one in this book was so especially, amazingly heart-wrenching.
(Steal the Light Review)

Handball
(A Book You Didn’t Really “Get”)
Lux by Courtney Cole

Lux by Courtney Cole | reading, books
 

You all know I don’t normally rant or like to say bad things about books, but I am still not over my anger toward this one. I think the tag was talking about the type of books that just go over your head, but this one I didn’t get simply because IT DIDN’T EVEN MAKE THE SLIGHTEST, TEENIEST, TINIEST BIT OF SENSE. It was a book of nonsense. I tried so very hard to go with the flow and piece things together and accept the weird paranormal turn that the supposedly psychological thriller/contemporary series took, but seriously nothing added up or made any sense. And it was a shame because the first book was pretty amazing.

Beach Volleyball
(A Book Set in the Summer)
Trailer Park Fae by Lilith Saintcrow

Trailer Park Fae by Lilith Saintcrow | reading, books
 

I don’t read books really set in specific seasons, and I especially don’t read those summertime, feel-good, contemporary type books (not that there’s anything wrong with them, they’re just not at all my thing), so this was as close as I could get since some of the book is set in Summer’s Court in the fae realm. Plus I’ll take any excuse to share this cover 😉
(Trailer Park Fae Review)

Fencing
(A Book with a Lot of Fighting/Bloodshed)
Captive by Jex Lane

Captive by Jex Lane | reading, books
 

This is possibly the most violence and fighting-filled book I have ever read. I mean, even the cover has swords and blood on it lol (not that Matthew needs swords, being a vampire and all).

Gymnastics
(A Book with a Lot of Plot Twists)
The Ferryman Institute by Colin Gigl

The Ferryman Institute by Colin Gigl | reading, books
 

I had a hard time choosing just one book for this, but I went with this one since even in my [not yet posted] review I mention how twisty it got near the end.

Swimming
(A Book that Made You Sob)
The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Death Cure by James Dashner | reading, books
 

I don’t sob in books. I’m not an emotionless monster, I still feel things, I promise, I’m just not a big crier in general. But this book did make me shed a few tears!
(The Death Cure Review)

Golf
(A Slow-Paced Book)
Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason

Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason | reading, books
 

A direct quote from my review: “Yes, it was slow-paced, but it was deliciously slow-paced, the kind that sucks you in and wraps you up in it.” I’m a firm believer that slow-paced is not a bad thing when it’s done right!
(Rises the Night Review)

Trampoline
(A Childhood Favorite)
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster | reading, books
 

I read this when I was 9 or 10, and I just LOVED the interesting, fun, clever play on words that this book was so full of.

Equestrian
(A Book Featuring Animals)
Withered + Sere by TJ Klune

Withered + Sere by TJ Klune | reading, books
 

I really don’t read about animals much, but this one actually has a dog as one of the main characters, and the protagonist is able to “hear” the dog in his head.
(Withered + Sere Review)

Hurdles
(A Book You Struggled to Finish)
The Faerie Guardian by Rachel Morgan

The Faerie Guardian by Rachel Morgan | reading, books
 

I don’t DNF, so I have quite a few books I struggled to finish, which is why I’ve decided to go in a different direction for this one. This was one of those rare books that I didn’t like in the beginning, but then it actually did get better. The first half of this book got completely on my nerves, but now here I am about to read Book 6 in the series as soon as I have a chance.
(The Faerie Guardian Review)

Synchronized Swimming
(A Book With a Great Friendship)
The Heartless City by Andrea Berthot
How to Date Dead Guys by Ann M. Noser
Hereafter by Terri Bruce

The Heartless City by Andrea Berthot | reading, books
How to Date Dead Guys by Ann M. Noser | reading, books
Hereafter by Terri Bruce | reading, books
 

I just couldn’t choose. All of these have beautiful friendships, and the ones in How to Date Dead Guys and Hereafter are especially unique and different from the usual.
(The Heartless City Review)
(How to Date Dead Guys Review)
(Hereafter Review)

Bonus: Books that Actually Feature Olympic Sports
These Battered Hands by Laurel Ulen Curtis
Blind Landing by Carrie Aarons
Finding Our Balance by Lauren Hopkins

These Battered Hands by Laurel Ulen Curtis | reading, books
Blind Landing by Carrie Aarons | reading, books
Finding Our Balance by Lauren Hopkins | reading, books
 

You’ll notice I didn’t include that YA gymnastics book that just came out, and that’s because, from all the reviews I’ve read, it’s just about drama and not gymnastics. These, however, are supposed to do a much better job of portraying the sport (I’ve only read the first one, and that one did a great job of it).

That’s it! I’m not tagging anyone specific. If you wanna join in and make your own post, consider yourself tagged! And don’t forget to leave a link if you also do/have done this tag so that I can visit!

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Are you watching the Olympics this year?
What's your favorite summer Olympic sport?
Have you read or do you plan to read any of these books?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

34 thoughts on “Bookish Tag Post: Olympic Book Tag

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  1. Lucia @Reading Is My Breathing

    This is awesome tag, I think I am going to do it myself .
    And yes, I watch Olympics, mainly water sports and athletics. Swimming is my favorite because I used to swim “professionally” as a kid and teenager 🙂
    Also, I like books featuring sports so the last 3 you mentioned got my attention for sure!

    1. Kristen Burns

      It was fun, you should do it!

      Ah, yes, anytime someone has done a sport, that’s always the favorite 😉

      I actually don’t read many books with sports since I read mostly fantasy, but sometimes I can’t resist reading about gymnastics!

  2. Geraldine @ Corralling Books

    I reckon this tag was an awesome pick to do, if you had to do only one tag, you know?
    I’m pretty excited about the Olympics – always love watching the swimming event xD
    So looking at your response, you put the Death Cure down! I haven’t even read the Maze Runner – it;’s in my bookshelf somewhere…but ahh I’m keeping my mind on that when I pick up The Maze Runner!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I guess it is. Although now that I’ve started, who knows, I might go tag crazy 😛

      A lot of people like the swimming! It can definitely be fun to watch.

      Haha, yeah, when I started the Maze Runner series, I wasn’t expecting to end up getting emotional over it. Sometimes books surprise you!

  3. Greg

    This is a fun tag. I remember your review of Artificial and I’m tempted to read it. I love her Tipsy Reader reviews on youtube and wish she’d do more. 🙂 The Death Cure has a nice cover and after watching The Maze Runner I’m curious about it now. The Faerie Guardian actually looks good and I’ll have t go read your review to get the gist, but it looks like a series I might like. And I don’t think I’ve read any books that feature Olympic sports per se, or at least I can’t remember if I did.

    I like rowing, swimming and diving- those are the big three for me. Track and field and beach volleyball are also faves.

    1. Kristen Burns

      If you like her humor and tipsy reviews maybe you’d also like her writing style? I haven’t seen the Maze Runner movie, but I did enjoy the books. I was surprised that I enjoyed them, actually. I don’t even remember what my review of the Faerie Guardian says, it was probably awful since it was one of my first, sorry, haha.

      I don’t know if I’ve ever watching rowing or track or volleyball, but I have been watching some of the swimming and diving! I especially love the synchronized diving, so cool!

    1. Kristen Burns

      It was fun! I guess if you feel meh you probably shouldn’t force yourself to finish. What number book did you stop at though? Because after Book 3 it changed to a different MC, and I haven’t quite liked the new MC as much.

  4. S. J. Pajonas

    I love love love the Olympics and I’ll watch just about any of the sports because I’m an Olympics junkie. Lol. I set my multicultural contemporary romance, SUMMER HAIKUS, around the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I really loved writing about running marathons and Japan for that one. 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha if you’re an Olympics junkie, I think I’m like an Olympics snob since I really only watch the gymnastics and sometimes the diving. That’s cool that your book is set around the Olympics though! And what a perfect idea to put it on sale 🙂

  5. Lola

    Tags like these can be fun to do once in a while! I haven’t done one in a long time, but used to do them more regularly. I can imagine that if there is a sport you know more about it’s also more fun to watch it.

    As you know Artificial wasn’t a book for me, but I do think it’s one of those books that gives a good feel for the voice/ writing from the first page. Although sadly in my case it was a voice that didn’t work for me.
    I have read a few road trips books, but not a lot. I can vaguely remember a paranormal romance book I once read with a road trip. And any reason to share that cover for Trailer Park Fae is a good reason, it’s a great cover!
    I didn’t realize you had read the Maze Runner series. I haven’t read it, but I heard good things about it.

    And yes a slow pace isn’t a bad thing when done well and it fits the book. I love it when there are animals in books, a lot of cozies have pets in them, so i wouldn’t have much trouble finding a book with animals. The trouble would be picking only one. I once had a book that I almost DNF’d, but ended up loving it. It’s great when that happens, but on the other hand it’s also a shame it doesn’t start off good too.

    The cover for Blind Landing is pretty and really conveys the Olympic theme. the first book that comes to mind about Olympics/ sports I read is Summer Haikus by SJ Pajonas as it takes place during the Olympics and the best friend of the main character is the one who participates and not the main character.

    This was a fun post to read! And I saw a few books I don’t remember reading your review for, so those probably were up on your blog before I started following, so it was interesting to see them now.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, it was kind of a spur of the moment decision to do the tag lol, but it was fun.

      I do remember that Artificial wasn’t for you, but it really is a book that has a strong voice right from the start, whether it turns out to be a voice you like or dislike lol.

      Lol, I’m still obsessed with that Trailer Park Fae cover.

      I don’t read a lot of popular series, but last year I basically forced myself to read a few just because I felt so out of the loop, so I read The Maze Runner series, the Divergent series, The Selection series, The Hunger Games series, and the first two books in Uglies. The Maze Runner was the only one I actually enjoyed, which surprised me.

      I have read a few books with pets, mostly zombie pets actually, which is odd lol, but they weren’t really significant.

      I did post some of these reviews right when my blog was still brand new, so that makes sense that you haven’t seen them. They were my favorite books, so I wanted to tell everyone about them immediately, which obviously backfired since I had no followers lol.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I enjoyed the whole Gardella Vampire Hunters series, but Rises the Night was *especially* amazing! Aww, sorry you won’t get to watch the Olympics, but thanks 🙂

  6. Kazza

    All I can say is GYMNASTICS – I laughed at your book choice, because of the twisty bits, lol. Gymnastics has live streaming …and beyond… in this house because of my son. I love it too, I used to be a MAG judge.

    Nice list and great concept behind it all. I should grab Lexi Blake’s book, I enjoy her books under that name but I love her Sophie Oak books – read them all.

    Have fun with the gymnastics – the USA women’s team are on fire. I swear they could front 3 different teams and still win gold. But Mustafina is my girl. lol Oh, and I do love watching Kohei Uchimura. Fabulous gymnast 🙂

    Thanks for the thoughtful books and the post.

    1. Kristen Burns

      YEAH GYMNASTICS. I watched a lot of the live streaming in 2012 but this year I just haven’t had the time or energy, so I’ve just been watching the primetime coverage. I don’t know what MAG is though?

      I didn’t come up with the concept, but it was fun to do! I’ve actually never read any of Lexi Blake’s other books because I don’t care for BDSM and almost exclusively read SFF, and Thieves is her only paranormal series, but I LOVE the Thieves series so much.

      The US women’s team is dominating! Mustafina has gorgeous barwork though. Unfortunately I missed men’s trials and they hardly showed any on the primetime coverage last night for the team finals, so I haven’t seen Kohei, but I might try to find the men’s finals online.

      Glad you liked it!

      1. Kazza

        Gymnastic tragics unite! 🙂 MAG = men’s artistic gymnastics.

        Mustafina is a good all round gymnast but plagued with injury – floor and bars, yeah, really good, but she had a brain explosion the other night in qualifiers so no beam final for her 🙁

        The Thieves series is now on my radar, thanks for the heads up on that.

  7. AngelErin

    This is such a fun tag!! I love it. I may have to do it. Also, I’m not a big sports person. I do LOVE to watch gymnastics though. Swimming and diving is fun to watch too. I also like a few in the Winter Olympics. Pretty much I watch sports once every two years when the Olympics come on. LOL!!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I don’t watch any other sports either, just gymnastics and occasionally some other Olympic sports, so I’m totally the same. The synchronized diving was amazing!

      1. AngelErin

        Yes the synchronized diving is so awesome! I haven’t seen a lot of it yet, but so far I think all the women are So GOOD! It’s such a fun one to watch for sure.

        1. Kristen Burns

          I only saw a little of the women, I saw more of the men’s synchronized diving. It’s too bad there was so little of it because it really is so good!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m not as fond of the winter Olympics. I suppose I like the figure skating since that’s similar to gymnastics. Haha, that’s dedication, getting up in the middle of the night!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Right? This tag has such a limited time frame, haha, and it did seem like a fun one. And yay! These books are some of my favorites, so I’m always happy when I can get other people possibly interested in them 😀

  8. Kim @ kimberlyfaye reads

    I’m happy to see you did this tag… even if I’ve not read even one single book on your post! 🙂 I need to check out the three Olympics reads though and see if any of them tickle my fancy. I’ve been looking for more Olympics books to read.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha, most people probably haven’t read these books, but it was still a fun tag! I’ll have to go check out yours when I finish commenting 🙂 Enjoy the gymnastics books if you read them!