The Seven Heavenly Virtues Book Tag

My thanks to Lashaan at Bookidote for this intriguing meme!  My track record for this kind of post is atrocious, so my apologies in advance for any blundering mistake I will make…

 

CHASTITY

Which author/book/series you wish you had never read?

That’s a more difficult one than it seems at first glance… I doubt I could list any series, because if I don’t like book 1 there is no chance for book 2 to make its way in my reading queue, so let’s see… a book I would like to forget… Probably the unlikely prize could go to Amanda Bridgeman’s AURORA: DARWIN, a novel that promised an intriguing space adventure and ended up pushing a great deal of my “no way!” buttons.

TEMPERANCE

Which book/series did you find so good, that you didn’t want to red it all at once, and you read it in doses just to make the pleasure last longer?

I’m going to flunk this one, because when it comes to books I love, I am a glutton (see? a deadly sin among all these virtues! Bring on the torches and pitchforks!)  😀

CHARITY

Which book/series/author do you tirelessly push to others, telling them about it or even giving away spare copies bought for that reason?

Easy, James S.A. Corey EXPANSE series, the very best space opera one could find on the shelves these days. Great characters, intriguing story and a record of eight published books (with the ninth and final on its way) where the pace never lags a single moment.

DILIGENCE

Which series/author you follow no matter what happens and how long you have to wait?

(((huge sigh))) G.R.R. Martin and his Song of Ice and Fire: I’ve been captured by this story since 2002, when there were three published books, and since then I’ve joined the crowd of Mr. Martin’s victims waiting for the next book(s) to come out, while he chuckles evilly in the background…

PATIENCE

Is there an author/book/series you’ve read that improved with time the most, starting out unpromising, but ultimately proving rewarding?

Patience is definitely NOT one of my virtues, but sometimes I do try to make an exception, and one of the times in which such effort was rewarded was with Seanan McGuire’s OCTOBER DAYE series: the first two books, while enjoyable, are not on the same level as the following ones, where characters and story really take flight. By book 3 I was a devoted Toby fan, as I am still.

KINDNESS

Which fictitious character would you consider your role-model in the hassle of everyday life?

While I’m a bit too old to consider role-models, there is a fictional character that always had my utmost admiration: Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, mother of Miles Vorkosigan, the protagonist of Lois McMaster Bujold’s series with the same name. Cordelia is a strong, determined woman, but she can also balance kindness and insight, wisdom and clarity of mind, and a good dose of humor that always make her appearance on the scene a welcome sight.

HUMILITY

Which book/series/author do you find most under-rated?

There is a urban fantasy series I discovered almost by chance, Greg Van Eekhout’s DANIEL BLACKLAND, a story about an alternate world where magic is wielded by ingesting the bones of mytical creatures, therefore gaining their powers. It’s a pity that this series does not get more recognition, because it’s a very intriguing one.