It has been a while since I have done a book post, so when I was tagged in the Thank You, Next Book Tag by Holly from the Nut Free Nerd, I decided to give it a go. Thank You, Next is inspired by the Ariana Grande song “thank u, next”. So if you’ve ever heard the song, you’ll see where these prompts came from. Alright, onward to the tag!
Name a book you said “thank u, next” to (a book you did not finish)
Recently, this book is Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. I really wanted to get into this book since I do enjoy Green’s work, but I only got through the first few chapters. Maybe I’ll pick it up one day again because I do believe the timing of when you read a book does matter on whether or not you’ll finish it.
Name a book that taught you love (a book you loved)
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. It’s a beautiful story about love and life. It is one of the very few books I have read in a single day. I was also crying so hard when I finished it. I also related to Eleanor in a lot of ways, mainly being plus sized. And to see her be loved by someone made me feel like I could be loved too. It’s such a beautiful story.
Name a book that taught you patience
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It is the longest of the seven and to me was not the most interesting ever. When I read it the first time, my brother and I had this agreement that we had to read the book before the movie. So I had one week to finish this book and did that take a lot of patience.
Name a book that taught you pain
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. Her poetry, especially in that collection, hit home for me in so many ways. I’m almost scared to read it again because I was so emotionally vulnerable at the end of it.
Name a book that you loved at the time of reading, but in hindsight, you don’t like as much, though you still learned something from it
I kind of hate to say this, but I think it’s Looking for Alaska. I loved this book a lot, probably because of when I read it being a very interesting time in my life. Now, having a few years pass, I can see its flaws more clearly.
Name a book you are currently talking to
Nothing recently, unfortunately. I have been reading a ton of Webtoons if that counts. Which I think should since I stay up super late reading them sometimes.
Name the book that going to last (the book that helped you love yourself a little bit more)
Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls by Jes Baker was a book I read in college. It talks a lot about being able to love yourself regardless of your weight or appearance. Jes talks about her own struggles and how difficult they are and validating that these are terrible moments but they shouldn’t define us. I say this book specifically because there was a moment where the light bulb turned on in my brain and I started a Facebook post about loving myself. I think that was the first step I took in that direction intentionally.
And that’s the tag! If you want to try this, here are the prompts.
- Name a book you said “thank u, next” to (a book you did not finish)
- Name a book that taught you love (a book you loved)
- Name a book that taught you patience
- Name a book that taught you pain
- Name a book that you loved at the time of reading, but in hindsight, you don’t like as much, though you still learned something from it
- Name a book you are currently talking to
- Name the book that going to last (the book that helped you love yourself a little bit more)
If you had to turn a popular song into a tag, what would you choose? Leave me a comment.

Turtles All the Way Down was really odd, because I loved the main character and the portrayal of her struggles but everything else was so meh. The plot felt non-existent, and the forced romance was such an unnecessary addition, I felt it took away from the actual strong points of the book… This is a cool idea for a tag though, I might have to branch out a bit and do it!
I feel that way about a lot of John Green’s books–I loved them at the time, and I look back fondly on them because of nostalgia, but I have a feeling that I wouldn’t enjoy them the same way if I read them now. Glad you enjoyed this tag!