Hello my comrades!

Today is a very exciting day.

Today I get to debut something I’ve been working on FOREVER. I had this thought a while back and my lovely friend Andrew (of Pewter Wolf fame) was a more than willing participant of my tag… 

Yes… you see that right! I have come up with prompts for lots of the characters on Friends. I am absolutely in love with this tag. 

Without further ado… over to Andrew!

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I LOVE Friends. Yes, I admit that this show has huge problems (let’s not get me started on this as I can go on a huge rant about the fat/sexist/homophobic/mental health jokes among other things), but Friends is one of those shows I enjoy watching hugely!

So, when I was asked to be involved in this tag, I JUMPED at the chance (though I had to really think them over while I was holiday in Cyprus. Plus, I kept emailing Steph, going “Wait! What about Emily? What about David? Or Richard? Or Mike?! NO WAIT! WHAT ABOUT JANICE?! I MUST HAVE A QUESTION FOR JANICE!!!” which I fear might have pushed her over the edge! I mean…)

But enough of the gifs! Let’s get my Friends game on, play “I’ll Be There For You” by the Rembrandts on full blast and get this party started!

Ross: Seems harmless, but problematic – Name a book you had problems with

Oh Ross… I’m sorry, but I have such hatred for this character. I have no idea what happened or why. I mean, at the start of the show, I wanted him to get Rachel! But, somewhere during series 3, he turned into such a dingbat twit, but that I was screaming at Rachel to “Run, Rachel! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER!!!”. Plus, when he had his mental health crisis in season 5/6/7, I hated how it was played for laughs, and not addressed.

*deep breaths*

Yes, I have strong feelings!

Anyway, a book that I have problems with. Oh, I have loads. Every book I read, I have always have problems with. But I can’t think of any. I want to say Harry Potter for some unknown reason. I think that, when Deathly Hallows ended, it’s ended right (to me). But from when it end (2007) to now, things have happened that has left me questioning the series, the author and Warner Bros and the morales the books put forward.

I LOVE the book series, but everything else that’s around it has left me feeling uneasy…

Monica: neat and tidy – Name a book/series that ends satisfyingly

Monica is one of the few characters that I liked and was rooting for to get her happily ever after. I wanted her to get married, have kids and be happy so the fact the show ended where it did with her makes me very happy.

Ooooh! This is a hard one to answer. The first thing that popped into my head was the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. I remember reading Clockwork Princess, and feeling really happy with the ending as it ticked all the boxes, even the ones I didn’t think were going to ticked as it would go against something else. But it just worked and I had such fun reading this trilogy that I must reread it in the near future!

Chandler: funny and relatable – Name a firm fave 

I’m always conflicted on Chandler as, while I love his character and am glad that he and Monica get together (I rewatched the earlier seasons and it’s clear as anything at he and Monica were going to get together), I kinda wish his character was gay or bi as it would open up stories for him and other characters.

Name, am not sure what you mean by firm fave (book? character? author?), I’m going with book and, even though I admitted with Ross that I have faults with Harry Potter series at the moment, a firm fave of my is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It’s always been a favourite of mine (though this might have changed due to a reread of Goblet of Fire), but both these books make me so happy to read and I always got to them when am in a slump.

Phoebe: reliable and friendly – An author you always rely on

I adore Phoebe because she doesn’t give a damn on what other people think of her. I wish I was more confident and more happy in my own skin like her.

I’m not sure how to answer this, but seeing as I have read auto buy authors in the past and gone “Oh dear”. But a handful of authors break this, and one of them is Garth Nix. I adore his writing and his Old Kingdom series always feels me with joy when I read them.

The same goes with Kathy Reichs. She’s one of the few crime writers I read and I adore!

Rachel: she grows on you over time – Name a book/series that’s grown on you over time

Rachel’s character development over the ten seasons makes me weirdly happily. I think her character has the most growth out of all the main six.

Oh, this is a interesting question as I can name one series and one book for this.

The series is Melinda Salisbury’s The Sin Eater’s Daughter trilogy. I remember reading the first and, liking it, but not loving it. The second – The Sleeping Prince – grew on me, but when I read The Scarecrown Queen, I became obsessed!

As for book, it was a book I read on holiday. Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince. I started reading it and, for the first 20-30%, I kept pausing and going “Wait, what?” but as the book became more complex and the characters became more flawed and twisted, I was became to enjoy myself more and more. And now, I need Wicked King!

Joey: looks good on the outside – A book whose cover is better than its contents

I like Joey, though I do think the writers made Joey dumber as the seasons go on. If the early seasons, he’s very street-smart. But in the later seasons, he becomes a bit of the dumb sex addict jock of the group.

Plus, we’ve all been stung by wanting a book that looks super pretty but when you read it… Oh, hell to the no!

Gunther: always there, always ignored – A book you’ve had on your TBR forever

Oh, Gunther…

I’ve started to do regular culls so the book that has been on my TBR the longest always changes. Though, not on my kindle. The eBook that I had for the longest time without reading is Witch Child by Celia Rees. I’m not sure why I haven’t read it yet, I would blitz that within two or three days!

I think the physical book that always appears and disappears on my TBR over the past few years is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It’s been one of those books I’ve always wanted to read, and I always buy a copy, only to give it away several months later. I always chicken out as everyone LOVES it. But I was given it this Christmas as part of Book Blogger Secret Santa and I am determine to read it this year. I WILL READ THIS DAMN BOOK THIS YEAR, SO HELP ME!

Carol and Susan: keeping it diverse – An LGBT+ book you love/hate/wanna read

I really wished the show used Carol and Susan more! But they’re used at the start and then are only mentioned (and I get why but still, Ross and they have a child together!!!)

I’m always wanting to read good LGBT+ novels, and I have been mostly lucky to read books that make me hugely happy – Simon vs the Homo-Sapiens Agenda, Simon Can’t Even, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Carry On, The Rest of Us Just Live Here, Half Bad, Release, Every Heart A Doorway, Malec (well, I only read the first 3 Mortal Instruments, but I rooted for them more than I did Jace and Clary!) …

And there are so many more I want to read – Noah Could Never, Call Me By Your Name, A Closed and Common Orbit, Running with Lions, books 2 and 3 in the Wayward Children series, all Adam Silvera and so many others that I can’t remember off the top of my head. I just hope these are wonderful and won’t break my poor emotions…!

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If you’d like to do the Friends tag, I’d love to host your post here on A Little But A Lot, but I am also more than happy for you to post it on your blog, just credit me and link back to this blog post! 

Enjoy my friends! Let me know if you want to feature on my blog with this tag!

S x