BOOK TAG: The March Madness Booktag [ORIGINAL]

I truly believe there comes a point in every book blogger, booktuber, or book lover’s life where they find the urge to connect their love of books with something that no one else* in the book community cares about and then make a tag about it.

*To be fair I have met one of my good Bookstagram friends through our love of March Madness

Which brings us to my very random non bookish love of college basketball and this tag.

For those of you who don’t know what March Madness is, check out this article because it does a better job explaining the whole thing than I could. But, it basically is the playoffs for college basketball where 68 teams play a ton of games and only one team is left in the end.

Many other organizations make “March Madness” brackets so you are probably some what familiar with them. Or you may be familiar with this Gif:

I have been making brackets for college basketball since at least 2009 and am ~~semi~~ obsessed. I watch way more college basketball than any human should really watch in their life and I have loved almost every moment of it.

Selection Sunday: an upcoming release that you are looking forward to

If I am Being Honest by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka. I loved their coauthor debut, Always Never Yours, so much and I AM HYPE for their new book. I even contributed to this post by Allie Reads to talk about my excitement. See my review for Always Never Yours: HERE.

Sweet 16: a teen protagonist that you love

So many, but Lara Jean Song Covey from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. She is such a lovable character and actually feels like a teen.

Final 4: any top four books you think of. Top four you have read recently? Top four you have bought and are eager to get to? Top four books on your TBR? Top four books on your shelf? Be creative!

Here are the last four books I’ve rated 5 stars (some reviews are to come so pretend you’re surprised when you read those)

The Unhoneymooners (eARC) by Christina Lauren
The Raven King (reread) by Maggie Stiefvater
The Bride Test (eARC) by Helen Hoang
From Lukov with Love (reread) by Mariana Zapata

Top four books on my fourth shelf on my bookshelf

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Championship Game: a book that has a competition or dual

Can I say Hamilton by Ron Chernow?

16 Seed: an underrated book/series that deserves love

(TBH often the 16 seed team sucks, but last year a 16 seed team made history by being the first to defeat a number one seed. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY PICKS HERE.)

Just One Day by Gayle Forman, this got a lot of love when it was first released, but I love it so much.

Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid was such a great short story and even though I wish it had been longer it worked perfectly the way it was. This short story gets lost in the hype for her other books, but it is such a great (and quick) read. Also, idk if this is still true, but it was free for Amazon Prime members when I downloaded it.

Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Dolls was a lot of fun and still dealt with some serious issues. I have a review here if you want to see more of my thoughts.

The Fire & Thorns series by Rae Carson. This is a fantasy series that more people need to read. The first book is okay, but the rest is awesome!

The top #1 Seed: a good (but over-hyped) book

Stalking Jack the Ripper. Look I LOVE this series, but I don’t think it is for everyone and I think people end up picking it up because of the hype and not enjoying it as much as the people who are hyping it up.

Buzzer Beater: a book that surprised you (in a good or bad way)

I did a whole post on this topic for Blogmas 2018, so I guess it was uncreative of me to make this a question. I’ll say Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, I got it for free as a prize for a summer reading program and picked it up on a whim and really enjoyed it. It was weird, but I really enjoyed it.

When the moment in this gif happened I literally jumped off the couch and cheered. I am aware I am a dork, but please watch the last video I have linked below. Thank you.

Favorite Team: your favorite squad in a book

THE DREGS IN SIX OF CROWS. But, more recently I loved the crew in The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chockshi. I loved the characters in this one so much and love their little crew dynamics. They truly love each other, but are definitely a little dysfunctional.

Mascot: favorite animal sidekick

ngl I am not a huge fan of animal sidekicks. Why did I write this question?

Bracket Buster: a book that hurt you

I have been so stressed about basketball games that I have started shaking and certain teams have betrayed my trust forever due to ~certain things~. But, book wise; I felt physical pain while reading Queen of Air and Darkness.

Sports Bar: a book with a great setting

Disclaimer: I really do not like hanging out in sports bars ugh, but that cable free life requires me to go places to watch the game since NCAA limits their streaming on their site *eye roll*

But, I love the atmosphere of The Scorpio Races even if it is deadly. I don’t want to be there, but I love reading about it.

Thanks for indulging me with this tag. I am so excited for this year’s games. IF YOU WATCH MARCH MADNESS GAMES TWEET ME.

Also, anyone can do this tag. I understand it is very niche, but anyone who does it ily forever.

Here are some of my favorite March Madness YouTube videos for the two people who read this and think “huh. Sounds interesting.” I highly recommend the last video.

2018 highlight reel

my faves wisconsin beating the so called best team that year

epic game with a buzzer beater FT. BILL MURRARY