Ice Cream Book Tag 

I saw this over at Marianne’s Blog (Let’s Read) and liked the wackiness of it, so....  

1. Vanilla - A book you wish had more flavour: 

Allegiant by Veronica Roth. This was a very disappointing end to a pretty good series up till that point. But despite being much better than the risible film it produced this was still a very bland and mediocre read.  

2. Chocolate - A long book or an immersive world that you enjoyed indulging in: 

Dominion by C J Sansom at 690 pages was very immersive for a whole host of reasons. 

3. Strawberry - A romance that was super sweet: 

Oh, I REALLY don’t do Romance novels! About the best novel I’ve read recently with a reasonably strong romantic element in it was The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. 

4. Ice cream sundae - A book encompassing all the elements you love: 

The Afghan Campaign by Steven Pressfield. A gritty war story about the Greek invasion of Afghanistan during the time of Alexander the Great. Visceral and full of wonderfully realised action and pathos.   

5. Milkshake - A book that blends genres: 

A really good mishmash of genres I read recently, and really enjoyed, was Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann. The blurb on the back described it as “a glorious mash-up of alternate history, science-fiction, supernatural horror and detective thriller”. 

6. Sprinkles - A book with a colorful cover: 

I do like a good cover and, more than once, have bought a book because of it. One of the most colourful of my reads (at least recently) was The Hunger Games – Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins which was an almost fluorescent orange colour!  

7. Ice cream cake - A book worthy of a celebration Ice cream cookie sandwich or three scoops on a cone - a book with multiple perspectives: 

All Involved by Ryan Gattis. This was THE surprise hit of 2021 for me. Totally blew me away. Told the tale of the LA riots from multiple viewpoints weaving together a totally gripping narrative. 

8. Waffle cone - A book you felt compelled to read very quickly: 

Munich by Robert Harris. Despite just previously reading about the history of the Munich Crisis I found this novelised version very difficult to put down. Despite knowing pretty much the whole story going in this still felt like a gripping political thriller. 

9. Pint - A book you set aside but plan on going back to later: 

This isn’t something I normally do. I either read a book or DNF it. Very few books get a second chance. 

10. Your preference - cup or cone? 

Cone – especially with soft vanilla ice cream, sprinkles (or syrup) and a Cadbury's flake. Yummy! 

11. Your preference - favorite flavour? 

Growing up it was always mint-choc chip, but I did also enjoy Neopolitan which was a mix of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry that I always annoyed my mother by letting it partially melt and then mixing them together in the bowl. These days it's probably Haggen Das vanilla or strawberry cheesecake flavours.    

12. Your preference - toppings? 

‘Hundreds and thousands’ (aka sprinkles) if anything. 

13. Your preference - favourite local ice creamery 

Not a thing here, mostly. Although you do get them in holiday resorts.