I first saw these two tags over at Angel’s Guilty Pleasures and thought they looked like fun. So why not combine them into one This or That Tag? I actually did ANOTHER This or That tag a couple of years ago, so feel free to check that one out too!
The creator of the first one is Ayunda @ Tea and Paperbacks.
This or That?
Reading on the couch or on the bed?
Both, but if I have to choose, I prefer bed. I even lay down in the middle of the day and read sometimes.
Male main character or female main character?
I tend to read more books with female MCs, so I guess I prefer them?
Sweet snacks or salty snacks when reading?
Sweet snacks always trump salty ones. Always.
Trilogies or quartets?
Trilogies. I mean, really, I think duologies are awesome.
First-person POV or third-person POV?
I guess first-person, but this isn’t really an important distinction to me.
Reading at night or in the morning?
I tend to read most at night, in bed. I don’t feel like I’m shirking any other duties that way.
Libraries or bookstores?
I have to choose? I’m going with libraries because that’s how I listen to almost all my audiobooks (and I listen to LOTS of them!).
Books that make you laugh or books that make you cry?
Books that make me cry, for sure. I’m a sucker for a heartbreaker!!!
Black book covers or white?
Um, white, I guess? I mean, if I have to choose one of these. I mostly chose white because black seems more common. I really love colorful books, though (the more colorful the better).
Character-driven or plot-driven books?
Ooh, this is a tough one. I think I need character-driven books that have a great plot. The characters are the heart of the book for me.
This second tag originated with Cait @ Paper Fury.
This or That?
Series or Standalones?
Series. Even though I prefer shorter series (like I said above, duologies are perfect), I still prefer series to standalones.
Magic Earned or Magic Born?
I’m not sure I have a strong preference here in reality, but I like the idea of magic earned better.
Enemies to Lovers or Friends to Lovers?
Friends to lovers, hands down. Enemies to lovers has to be done just right for me to like it. If the guy is a jerk at the beginning of the book (as I often find happens in E to L books), I have a really hard time rooting for the couple.
Hilarious Banter or Emotional Ruin?
Emotional ruin. I mean, I love me some banter, but a book that makes me sob is The Best!
Love Triangle or Insta Love?
Love triangle. Of course, these can be terrible, but I’ve actually read some books with a realistic love triangle that I like. Insta-love is a much harder sell, in my opinion.
Keyboard Smash Names or All Names Start with the Same Letter?
Probably keyboard smash. I can just make up a pronunciation and go with it.
Mean Parents or Dead Parents?
I suppose I prefer dead parents? Mean parents are just … mean.
Supermodel Looks or Constantly Says How “Plain” They Are?
Cait is killing us with these choices! I have to choose one of these? I guess I prefer supermodel looks that just aren’t mentioned much.
Face on Cover or Typography on Cover?
I don’t usually love covers with just typography, so I’m going with faces for this one.
Villain Turning a Little Good or Hero Turning a Little Bad?
I definitely prefer for the villain to turn a little good.
Best Friend Dies or Love Interest Dies?
Best friend dies. I mean, if I have to choose somebody to go?
Awesome Writing with a Dull Plot or Amazing Plot with a Murderously Bad Writing?
I guess I’d prefer awesome writing with a dull plot. I just can’t read murderously bad writing.
Cliffhanger Ending or Heartbreaking Ending?
Is this mid-series? Then cliffhanger, for sure. But I’d way prefer a heartbreaker if there are no future books!
Breaking the Spine or Dog-Earing the Pages?
Oh, come on. Just, no. Fine—dog earing.
“Bad Boy” Trope or “Perfect Golden Boy” Trope as the Love Interest?
I’m going with the bad boy, but this definitely wades into dangerous territory because of the whole thing I said about enemies to lovers. I need the “Bad Boy with a Heart of Gold” trope, not just an actual jerk of a bad boy.
These were fun!! You should definitely join in if you haven’t done these tags before! Or just let me know some of your answers in the comments!
Oh man, I’m going to have to do this tag! This is a good one! Also agree on friends to lovers which is why I enjoyed writing Summer Haikus so much.
Yes! I loved Summer Haikus for that very reason.
This is so much fun. I might do this tag now. There are some good questions 🙂
To answer one of the questions, I agree that insta-love is harder to sell. Love triangles can get tropey, but I’ve seen some done well!
Let me know if you do it so I make sure not to miss it! I thought this was a fun one!! (Plus, it has the added benefit of being a relatively quick post that’s still interesting to read—those can be rare.)
I tend to read more books with female MCs, but I don’t seek them out. It just works out that way. You know I am all about the characters in the book. I get the bulk of my reading done really early in the morning, when my eyes are fresh.
That’s how I am about the male vs. female thing. I don’t know that I specifically prefer one over the other, but I definitely read more female MCs.
I freaking love this and I’m so going to do it! We have similar likes, but I have to pick enemies to lovers! I love the hate so much and the tension. I’ve read a lot of e to L and I’ve actually found some where the guy isn’t really jerk. It’s just more of just good ol’ hate. And dog earing over breaking the spine!
I think I’m probably in the minority with the friends to lovers thing. And I definitely agree that there are some cases where the characters hate each other for a very specific reason that doesn’t involve one of them being a jerk—I’m fine with it in those cases.
The second one was brutal! Those options were hard!! Rock, meet Hard Place. 😉 I love stories that have a friends-to-lovers romance, Like you, if someone is a jerk at the beginning, it’s hard to root for them later on. They were still terrible, and shouldn’t be given the time of day.
Fun post!
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? ?
I agree! Cait was killing me with these choices!!
I feel the same about enemies to lovers. If characters are jerks at the beginning of the book, I have a hard time forgiving them. I also can’t stand bad writing. That’s the biggest reason I DNF books.
Yeah, I’m not a fan of a relationship that starts off with one character treating the other really badly. That’s certainly not how ALL books with this trope work, but I’ve read my fair share of them. And bad writing is just painful!!
Whew, these are tough! I don’t really mind dog-earing books, so I’d totally choose that over breaking the spine. I’d want a villain turning a little good instead of a hero turning a little bad, but it also depends on the story. I’m much more of a character-driven book fan than a plot-driven one.
-Lauren
I know! Cait put us between a rock and a hard place over and over again with this one!!!
Nice to see the two This or That combined. Loved reading your answers.
Thanks for sharing your tag and giving me the idea!
Ahh I love your answers for these tags! I would also pick a book that makes me cry, somehow I’m all for the emotions haha. And yes to friends to lovers, my favorite <3
I love to laugh, but a book that can make me cry is the ultimate!
I’m totally a couch/chair reader. I’ve never been able to read in bed. And definitely character-driven books. I’m 100% a character-driven reader. Plot, what plot? LOL
I can tell I’m starting to get old now, though, because just in the past year or so I’ve had a harder time staying awake when I read in bed!
Oh we were twins there for awhile and then it derailed lol
I love enemies to lovers, laugh over cry and noooo to love triangles.
Iv’e done the first this or that before but that second one s TOUGH. Like Sophie’s Choice tough lol I might have to give that one a go.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
Ha! Well, I guess it was almost meant to be. 🙂
Oh that’s fun. I agree with most of your answers too! I love a series more than a standalone.
I don’t like series that go on forever, but I do tend to like the types of books that are in series.
Some of these choices are so difficult! I don’t even know if I could make a decision between the supermodel or super plain option! But I do know that I’d pick happy books that make me laugh over emotionally wrecking books that make me bawl any day!
That supermodel one felt impossible. The only reason I went the way I did was because at least in that option you weren’t constantly reminded of it. LOL!
I think we agree on MOST of these which is not a surprise at all hahah. Though it is funny that we not only like the same stuff, but read at the same times in the same places! Though I will say, I prefer the golden boy to the bad boy hahah.
But I am 100% with you on most of the other stuff- especially your explanation of love triangles versus insta-love because EXACTLY! That is exactly how I feel about it! These are really fun- and some are really hard to choose!
I couldn’t think of many specific examples of “golden boys” in my books, which is why I didn’t choose it. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’m second-guessing that one. I might actually be more team golden after all (for instance, when I read a love triangle and there’s a “good guy” choice and a “bad boy” choice, I pretty much always root for the good guy).
Yas, high five for the reading at night in bed team! 😛 I gotta go with libraries too for that same reason. Oh man, Cait’s questions are tough lol, but I agree with most of your answers! I’m not a huge of fan of just typography covers either, usually.
I agree that Cait’s questions are really hard! She’s truly testing us here!
This is a fun tag! I’d prefer make me laugh to ruin me, and I read in bed day or night. It’s comfortable and quiet, away from the TV. And character vs plot driven is tough, I like both sometimes. I do need my character to be developed enough in a plot driven story to “know” them. Great post, Nicole! 🙂
I totally agree with you about reading in bed. It’s never off-limits!
So much fun! I need to do this one myself if I get the time. I personally know that a lot of times I prefer first person. At least with the romance I read I tend to like that. I also love both male and female POV in those types of stories. I never understand when people get so irritated about love triangles. Some of the greatest stories are love triangles, but we’ve always loved them, like Gone with the Wind for one example.
I’ll confess that I’ve never seen (or read) Gone with the Wind. So I’ll just have to take your word about that one. LOL!
Oh I love these!! I really want to answer these now, lol. I think I will. 🙂
I agree that the Paperfury questions are harder to answer.
I think about half my answers would be similar to yours.
You should definitely do it!
[…] Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction responds to some bookish this or that tags […]
I completely agree, sweet always trumps salty. Well, unless I’m craving popcorn. Then salty here I come! And the question – Best Friend Dies or Love Interest Dies? Oh my gosh that’s horrific lol! Obviously I’d go with best friend too but such a horrible situation *hides face*.
I know, right? How are we supposed to choose with options like that?!
[…] found this tag over at Feed Your Fiction Addiction, and it looked like a fun, quick way to talk books. I’d love for you to share some of your […]
Thanks for linking up!
ooooh I love this tag!! It was so fun to read your answers… We do read a ton of female protagonists… so I love getting a male one every once in a while. Haahah I always feel like I’m a both sort of person. But there’s no question the best friend has to go before the love interest for me too. ❤️
There were lots of these that were really tough to answer. Sometimes it’s impossible to choose!!
[…] found this tag through Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and thought it’d be a fun, quick way to discuss books. Since many, but not all, of these tags […]