The Name Tag

Not for the first time, I've decided to take a Youtube tag (or in this case more specifically a Booktube tag) and do it here on my blog instead. I had originally meant to make a video on my channel, but I've been so bad at making videos lately that it was taking too long to get around to.

I have no idea who started this. If someone knows, please let me know so I can credit them here. The purpose of the tag is to take your first name and find books that start with each letter of your name that have some sort of meaning to you. Since my name is Haley, I'm going to list five books (or series, which might technically be cheating) that start with each letter that are important to me.

H: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone (i.e. the Harry Potter series) by J.K. Rowling. I think it's fitting that the first letter of my name is also the first letter of Harry's name and, therefore, the entire series. All of the books start off "Harry Potter and the..." so I think I can safely combine them all here with it only being cheating a little bit. Harry Potter has definitely affected my life more than any other books. I've always loved reading, but Harry Potter was something else entirely. The first story I ever wrote was Harry Potter fanfiction too, so I think I can contribute my love for writing to Harry Potter.

A: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. I almost chose Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen for this to kind of represent all Sarah Dessen books, as they were what really got me reading young adult. However, Part-Time Indian is one of my all-time favorite books, so I had to choose it. Since it's a more recent read, I can't give any stories about it really affecting my childhood. Still, I love how this book is able to portray a story so honestly, even it's really terrible bits, but do it with an amazing sense of humor. Plus, it's always nice to read books that are coming from an entirely different background than what you've experience.

L: Little House in the Big Woods (i.e. the Little House series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Along with Harry Potter, the Little House series kind of defined my childhood. Harry Potter got me into fantasy books and writing, but Little House got me interested in history. (Fun fact: I was a history minor until the workload became so full that I wouldn't graduate on time unless I dropped it.) Being intrigued by pioneers led to wanting to learn about all parts of history, but I still have a particular fondness for the 19th century thanks to Little House.

E: Endless Magic (i.e. the Star-Crossed series) by Rachel Higginson. This is another one of my favorite series, but I read it once in college. I don't have any stories about how it affected my childhood or really my life at large, but I can say that I love the series. This is also the originally stopping point of the series (although it's sense been expanded much to my happiness), and I love endings. I can say that this was one of the first series I read that was self-published, and it kind of introduced me to that entire concept.

Y: Your Novel, Day by Day by Mary Anna Evans (i.e. the only book I seem to have read whose title starts with a "y"). I don't really have much to say about this one, since the only reason I chose it is because I had no other "y" books. I do remember liking this book though, and I guess it can represent my love for writing.

Feel free to comment with books that have impacted you somehow that start with the letters of your name (or link to where you do this tag). I'd be interested in hearing your answers.