His Dark Materials Book Tag

After I've finally finished Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials"-series, here comes correspondent book tag, originally created by Holly Dunn Design on Youtube.

1. What editions of the books do you have?

Like almost all of my books, I read this series on my Kindle. Which is kind of a shame, because the books are so beautiful. But there's just no more space on my shelves....

2. Which is your favourite book?

Definitely the first one. I loved the language, the setting, the story, the mystery..... With every book, the story got more confusing, and my reading experience wasn't that enjoyable anymore. I just didn't think that all the strands of the story were nicely tied up in the end. From the first book, I was expecting something quite different than what I got.

3. Who is your favourite character?

Does Pantalaimon count as a character? I love his character, his sweetness, the way he looks out for Lyra and is always there for her. Wouldn't we all love to have a daemon? And if he doesn't count, it has to be Iorek Byrnison. He's such a good friend to Lyra, brave, reliable and intelligent, everything you'd want in a friend.

4. What would your daemon be?

Of course I don't know, but I like to think a cat. I love cats. They're strong characters, have a mind of their own, can be affectionate but also distant. And just imagine always having a cat with you – the dream!

5. Which world would you most like to live in?

This is boring, but I think I'd stay in ours. As fascinating as the idea of daemons is, I wouldn't necessarily want a daemon who could betray my feelings to others.

6. Which object would you choose? The alethiometer, the subtle knife or the amber spyglass?

The alethiometer, of course! To tell the future, to ask what to do next, to be in contact with the dust that permeates all the worlds. Yes! The subtle knife seems a bit too dangerous to me – yes, I'm a coward, and the amber spyglass is nice, but doesn't really do much, does it?

7. Have you read any of the accompanying literature? -Lyra's Oxford, Once Upon a Time in the North or The Collectors?

No I haven't yet, and I won't anytime soon. I just need a break from the series, because reading it got quite tiring for me at the end, since I didn't enjoy it that much anymore. I am planning on reading The Book of Dust this year, however. 8. What has been your experience with the series? When did you first read them, have you re-read them etc?

I've just finished them for the first time. I guess my experience would be quite different if I had read and loved the series as a child, but that's not the case. Maybe I expected too much for it. After the first book I saw so much potential with the religious and philosophical discussions about our world and believes. Some of that is in the books, but it just wasn't enough for me.


Did you read the series? Tell me about your experience!