Inside and Out – Book Tag – A Conglomeration of Thoughts

I’ve never done a book tag before, so this is actually my first one! I saw this tag on Kittie Marie’s blog and decided to join in.

The tag

The Inside and Out book tag is an old one. Well, technically not that old, but when it comes to the internet anything up to a few months ago can feel ‘old’. When I saw that many people were unsure about the tag’s origin, I naturally had to drop everything and start researching to figure out whodunnit (or rather, who started the tag). My years of reading crime fiction has paid off at last. Here’s what I learned.

YouTube user MathomBooks created the tag in 2012, with a BookTube video about the tag posted on 4 June 2012. The BookTube (Book YouTube) channel MathomBooks was created on 3 June 2012, with approximately 35 videos posted that year, and then approximately 30 published years later in 2016. The tag is an acronym for each of the questions: the first letter of the first word of each question corresponds to a letter in INSIDE & OUT. My mind was partially blown when I learned this because I didn’t see anyone else mention that it’s an acronym.

Notes: A lot of blog posts with this book tag that I found missed question four, so I have added it back in. Question eight was missing the first two words, so I also included those to keep the original acronym alive.

1) Inside flap/back of the book summaries: Too much info? Or not enough?

I find that inner-flap summaries and blurbs usually provide me with enough information to either pique my interest or tell me that I’m not interested.

In their post, Kittie Marie mentioned wanting more information in book summaries so one can go into a book knowing if they are going to love a book or not based on common bookish tropes they might enjoy. I think I partly agree with that too because, after all, haven’t we all had the experience of looking forward to a book and then ultimately not enjoying it after spending all that time reading it? Also, haven’t we all been curious about a book and then added it to our TBR only to never look at it again? That could have been our next favourite book and we’d never know.

2) New book: What form do you want it in? Be honest: Audiobook, eBook, Paperback or Hardcover?

I think I’d have to say hardcover. I’m definitely more of a physical book reader rather than an audiobook or eBook reader because I’ve never really gotten into either eBooks or audiobooks. I guess I technically also don’t care too much about whether a book is hardcover or paperback. I do find myself preferring hardcovers but will often opt for a paperback as they are usually cheaper and occupy less space on a shelf.

3) Scribble while you read? Do you like to write in your books; take notes, make comments, or do you keep your books clean, clean, clean?

The only books I have ever been able to bring myself to write in were books I had to read for university. It doesn’t help that a lot of the books I read are library books and so I certainly can’t exactly leave comments in those! I do find it so fascinating to see comments that other people have left behind in a book, however.

4) In your best voice, read for us your favorite 1st sentence from a book.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” – Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen.

This is the first one I thought of. I like it because it sounds so literal and serious and yet it’s actually a funny and sarcastic sentence.

5) Does it matter to you whether the author is male or female when you’re deciding on a book? What if you’re unsure of the author’s gender?

It typically doesn’t, although I do ideally like to have a good mix of authors, rather than just all authors from similar backgrounds.

6) Ever read ahead? Or have you ever read the last page way before you got there?

Never! I’m the kind of person who may sometimes intentionally cover the bottom half of a page in a particularly tense part of a book so that I don’t get ahead of myself and accidentally catch a glimpse of a spoiler a moment too soon.

7) Organised bookshelves or outrageous bookshelves?

It’s a bit of a mix, to be honest. I think it’s a kind of organised chaos – it looks somewhat illogical but most books are organised by genre.

8) Under oath: have you ever bought a book based on the cover (alone)?

No, I don’t think I have, but I have picked books up off of bookstore and library shelves to read the blurb because the cover looked nice!

9) Take it outside to read, or stay in?

Stay in. I find it way more convenient!

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment down below. I tag anyone and everyone who is interested in doing this book tag; do let me know if you do it because I’d love to check out your post!

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