The Hufflepuff Book Tag

Wednesday 13 May 2020




My wonderful wife found this book tag and suggested we do it. In true us fashion, she completed and posted it way before I did. So here I am lollygagging behind. She found this from a YouTube channel called Abigail's Book Corner. Don't forget to also read Rooting Branches Hufflepuff Book Tag and while you're there, check out her other blogs as well.


Harry Potter: Which Harry Potter book is your favorite?




My favorite Harry Potter book is book 3, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I think that not only is it a good book, but it the best of the books that can stand on their own. 

J.K. Rowling may be slowly turning into a human dumpster fire as time goes on, but we can always escape to the original books, which in most cases, pass the test of time... that is if you ignore how she treats fat characters and the fact that Harry and Ron suck as main characters. But if you ignore that, they're still great books, especially the third one.


Loyalty: Hufflepuffs are known for their undying loyalty. Name an insta-buy author.




I don't buy a lot of brand new books anymore. But I know when Rebecca Roanhorse's next book comes out, I'll buy it and gobble it up faster than my cats eat their treats. Or a dog with bacon, that's another good analogy. I found her through Audible. Each day Audible has a different book on sale for a couple bucks and that's how I found her first book Trail of Lightning. I listened to it and fell in love right away. When the second book, Storm of Locusts, came out, I bought it right away. I'm eagerly anticipating the third book in the series so when it's available for preorder, I'll jump in it faster than lightning would strike.

Update: I learned that Rebecca Roanhorse's new book is coming out in October and isn't part of The Sixth World series that I love so much. But, none the less, I have preordered it.


Animals/Magical Creatures: As Hufflepuffs, we tend to have a great love for animals. Name a book/series that has your favorite animal/magical creature in it.



I was having a hard time with this one until Anne reminded me of The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa. I was focusing too much on the magical aspect of this question forgetting that I could choose a magical creature OR an animal.

In The Traveling Cat Chronicles, Hiro Arikawa does a great job writing from the cat Nana's point of view and making it totally believable that a cat would think things like that. She wrote from the perspective of a cat without it being cringey or tryhard which isn't always an easy thing to do. Nana had a unique personality without being a caricature.


Trustworthy: We Hufflepuffs are very trustworthy, however books can also be very trustworthy. Name a series in which none of the books disappointed you.



I try not to use an answer more than twice in these tags, but I just have to with this one. If you've ever read a book tag blog by me then you may know my answer to this. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is the most reliable book series I have ever read.

I liked the first book and it sucked me into a now fifteen book series with two short story collections. Later, in this very blog, I'll b honest about some of the problems with the earlier books in the series, but each book that comes out is the best one in the series. Which means that so far, Skin Game (the 15th book) is the best while Storm Front (The 1st) is the worst (or least best).


Caring: Us Hufflepuffs care for others a lot, even fictional characters. Name a book/series whose main character holds a special place in your heart.



I haven't read this book for at least ten years now, but I still remember Amberle Elessdil. Not only is she a great character, she is more than just the sidekick to her male counterpart Will. Amberle is a well written character that has stayed with me far more than anyone else in the book, or the Shannara series as a whole, ever did.

I almost don't want to reread the Shannara series since it holds such a special place in my heart and Amberle Elessdil is, and hopefully will stay, one of my favorite characters of all time. I'm also terrified of watching the show and learning that I've been saying the name wrong this whole time.

Update: I now know that I'm pronouncing the name wrong. It's pronounced "Amber Lee" where I was saying "Amber El."


Kindness: Hufflepuffs always strive to be kind to others, no matter who they are. Name a book/series that you love despite its flaws and imperfections.



I'll admit it. Even though I love The Dresden Files there are some iffy elements. While there are quite a few female characters, Dresden can't help but comment on their bodies. He's also admittedly "old fashioned" when it comes to women in the sense that he opens doors for them and pays for dinners and such. Some have mistakenly called him a chauvinist, but I also think those people don't know what the word actually means. Does Dresden have an outdated attitude of chivalry? Yes. Yes he does. Does he patronize, disparage, or otherwise denigrate females in the belief that they're inferior (i.e chauvinism)? No. No he doesn't.

I love this series but it's not perfect. But now that I'm more aware of gender and other social issues that I once was, I can also appreciate that this series does have good female characters, even if Jim Butcher includes body descriptions as part of their introduction. Also, Dresden thankfully avoids the Women in Refrigerators trope (bad things happening to women as a way to move a male's story forward).


Patience: Hufflepuffs tend to be very patient, and that's a useful trait when reading slow paced books. Name a book you struggled to get through, but stuck it out until the end.



If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have put Brent Week's Lightbringer series at the top of my loved series list. But the second to last book in the series Blood Mirror was so painfully slow that I had to force myself to read it. My friends who have read the final book in the series swear that The Burning White is better than Blood Mirror, but they also didn't have the same issues I did with the book. So we'll see when I finish the series, but Blood Mirror was so hard to read that it killed the series for me.


So if you're a Hufflepuff, consider doing this book tag too and letting me know what your answers are. Are you a different house? That's okay, I won't judge you. You can find your own book tag and then let me know! Maybe we can find new books to love.


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