Accio Books Tag

Yes. I am aware this is super old. But I've only recently had a chance to actually catch up on YouTube, and I just discovered Kristina Horner's Accio Books tag. While I don't make videos, and when I do, they take FOREVER, I thought, there's no reason I can't write a blog post! And I'm bored right now, so here we go. (Check out Kristina's video here!)

The Accio Books program is something run by the Harry Potter Alliance (one of my favourite organisations), and it is an annual book drive! "Since 2009, Harry Potter fans around the world have donated more than 100,000 books to underprivileged or underserved readers." (Check out this page for more information - it is mainly an American organisation, meaning I don't get to participate as fully due to limited access, but I absolutely adore the idea.)

Here's the tag!

1. What was your favourite book growing up?
Oof. What a question. And I'm going to cop out and list like ten million! My family is pretty much made up of voracious readers, so I have NEVER had a shortage of books. (And I am aware of  how lucky I am to have that childhood experience, and sharing that experience is part of the reason I love the Accio Books drive.) I think I read a lot of classics handed down from my mum - Anne of Green Gables (I reread this series every year, pretty much); Chronicles of Narnia; Nancy Drew (every time my grandparents went to a garage sale, I got a new Nancy Drew book!) - there were so many. Harry Potter also came out when I was seven years old, so I am totally counting that as part of my favourite books growing up. Also Babysitters Club, and I read a lot of Mercedes Lackey's books. I read above my age level, and one of the funniest/frustrating stories my mum tells me is that they would get notes sent home from school from teachers concerned about my reading material.

2. What's the best lesson you ever learned from a book?
I think it's gotta be Harry Potter themed for one lesson - love. That was a MASSIVE part of shaping  my life, because I started reading them so young. Love and perseverance, and learning what can come of those and what can't be fixed by them is so important. (And that your friends will get you through anything - Harry would have been nothin' without Ron and Hermione, especially Hermione.) I also learned that it's okay to show that you're smart! (That's from a lot of books.)
Otherwise, lessons I learned from Anne Shirley - that you can't have ridiculous levels of optimism because it's just not realistic and you'll crash - but you should try to strive for some optimism no matter what.

3. What would your dream library look like?
Realistically - a room with three and a half walls just bookcases. Just floor to ceiling bookcases, but three and a half walls because one wall would have a huge bay window with a super comfy window seat looking out onto a lake! And a super comfy chair in a corner with a lamp. And room in the middle so I could spread out on some pillows sometimes. I want to make that happen!
Fantasy - definitely gotta go with Beauty and the Beast library. That one's been in my head for my whole life!

4. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?
HM. I'm probably going to surprise no one and say Hermione. Even with all her trials and tribulations, she is just one of my favourite people ever.

5. What's your favourite fictional food?
Any time I read ANY story wherein ANYONE goes to a faerie court, I want everything in the feast except the meat. ALWAYS. (And I would be hard pressed to remember that if I eat it, I'm stuck in faerie forever.) Or you have to love raspberry cordial - although luckily, that's not actually fictional. That's just one of my favourite scenes. Also any of Marilla's preserves. I am going to have to make a trip to PEI.

6. What fictional book from Harry Potter would you most like to read?
I totally had an answer prepared, and then Kristina mentioned Lockhart's books - and YES! I want to read all of those! They would be fascinating and more than likely super pretentious and hilarious.
Other than that, I definitely want to read The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter, and Hogwarts, a History. Come on, Jo Rowling!

7. What books are you donating to Accio Books and why?
Again, it's much harder to figure out where I can donate books in Canada, and I definitely don't have the resources to ship books - also, I'm behind the times here - but if I was able to, I would have a hard time choosing. And would probably end up replacing the copies of whatever I donated, because I would want to donate books that meant a lot to me and would be entertaining for others, and not books I felt lukewarm about.

Well, that passed about twenty minutes! Excellent. I love this initiative, and it was fun trying to answer these questions, and having to peruse my literature memories. (Especially because of the majority of my books are still in storage, two years after I moved.)