Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Have you ever wondered which book has stayed on my shelf the longest? Which popular classic disappointed me? Which book changed my life?
I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome!
In today's video I'm taking on the I Dare You Book Tag, answering 20 questions about my reading life, favorite books, unpopular opinions, memorable reads, childhood classics, science fiction discoveries, and much more.
This tag is at least 8 years old, but no one seems to know who created it. I was tagged by Pat @BookChatWithPat8668 (thank you Pat!)
Prompts:
1. What book has been on your shelf the longest?
2. What is your current read, last read, and the book you'll read next?
3. What book did everyone like, but you hated?
4. What book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't?
5. What book are you saving for retirement?
6. Last page: read it first, or wait 'til the end?
7. Acknowledgement: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside?
8. Which book character would you switch places with?
9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life? (Place, time, person)
10. Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way.
11. Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person.
12. Which book has been with you most places?
13. Any "required reading" you hated in high school that wasn't so bad two years later?
14. Used or brand new?
15. Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?
16. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
17. Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks included?
18. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?
19. Is there a book out of your comfort zone (e.g., out of your usual reading genre) that you ended up loving?
20. Tag people
Topics include:
📚 My oldest book
📚 Current and next reads
📚 Books I didn't love
📚 Books that changed my life
📚 Cancer, reading and memoir
📚 Used vs new books
📚 Science fiction surprises
📚 Book-to-film adaptations
📚 Book recommendations
Chapters . Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:30 #1 My oldest book(s) – rats & trains
03:53 #2 Current, last & next reads
07:46 #3 A Popular book I didn't love
09:06 #4 A Book I may never “read”
11:10 #5 Saving books for retirement?
12:36 #6 Reading the last page first?
13:36 #7 Thoughts on Acknowledgements
14:22 #8 A literary character I'd switch places with
14:59 #9 A Book tied to a personal memory
18:25 #10 A Book acquired in an unusual way
20:27 #11 A Book I gave as a gift
21:11 #12 A Book that's travelled with me
23:13 #13 School reading
24:16 #14 Used vs new books – The End of Normal
27:21 #15 Dan Brown thoughts
29:10 #16 Movie vs book
32:50 #17 Cookbooks that make me hungry
36:30 #18 Whose recommendations do I trust
39:53 #19 A Book outside my comfort zone
41:33 #20 Final thoughts
Books mentioned include:
The Tale of Samuel Whiskers (or The Roly-Poly Pudding) - Beatrix Potter
Railway Series (incl The Twin Engines reference) - Rev. W. Awdry
A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Century of Fiction: The New Yorker Edited anthology (The New Yorker)
Magersfontein, O Magersfontein! - Etienne Le Roux
Liberation and Corruption - Peter Hain
The Warden - Anthony Trollope
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
The Turn of the Screw - Henry James
The Bible (Oxford World's Classics edition) -Various contributors
Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
The Emperor of All Maladies (a biography of cancer) - Siddhartha Mukherjee
Chess (Schachnovelle) - Stefan Zweig
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
1066 and All That - W. C. Sellar & R. J. Yeatman
Adam Bede - George Eliot
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The End of Normal: Witness to the Unravelling of White Power in South Africa - Max du Preez
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption -Stephen King
Nigella Christmas = Nigella Lawson
Feast: Foods That Celebrates Life - Nigella Lawson
How To Cook - Delia Smith
Ulysses - James Joyce
Finnegans Wake - James Joyce
Agatha Christie (novels)
William Shakespeare (plays)
even Ringo Starr gets a passing mention!
Booktubers mentioned:
Pat = @BookChatWithPat8668
Gareth - @bookssongsandothermagic
Steve - @saintdonoghue
If you enjoy BookTube, literary discussion, classics, modern fiction, science fiction, or simply love talking about books, I'd love to hear your own answers in the comments.
👍 Like the video if you enjoyed it.
📖 Subscribe for more book reviews, reading discussions, classics, literary fiction and monthly reading updates.
And for the almighty algorithm:
#BookTube #BookTag #Reading #Books #BookRecommendations #Classics #Literature #ReadingCommunity
Have you ever wondered which book has stayed on my shelf the longest? Which popular classic disappointed me? Which book changed my life?
I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome!
In today's video I'm taking on the I Dare You Book Tag, answering 20 questions about my reading life, favorite books, unpopular opinions, memorable reads, childhood classics, science fiction discoveries, and much more.
This tag is at least 8 years old, but no one seems to know who created it. I was tagged by Pat @BookChatWithPat8668 (thank you Pat!)
Prompts:
1. What book has been on your shelf the longest?
2. What is your current read, last read, and the book you'll read next?
3. What book did everyone like, but you hated?
4. What book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't?
5. What book are you saving for retirement?
6. Last page: read it first, or wait 'til the end?
7. Acknowledgement: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside?
8. Which book character would you switch places with?
9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life? (Place, time, person)
10. Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way.
11. Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person.
12. Which book has been with you most places?
13. Any "required reading" you hated in high school that wasn't so bad two years later?
14. Used or brand new?
15. Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?
16. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
17. Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks included?
18. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?
19. Is there a book out of your comfort zone (e.g., out of your usual reading genre) that you ended up loving?
20. Tag people
Topics include:
📚 My oldest book
📚 Current and next reads
📚 Books I didn't love
📚 Books that changed my life
📚 Cancer, reading and memoir
📚 Used vs new books
📚 Science fiction surprises
📚 Book-to-film adaptations
📚 Book recommendations
Chapters . Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:30 #1 My oldest book(s) – rats & trains
03:53 #2 Current, last & next reads
07:46 #3 A Popular book I didn't love
09:06 #4 A Book I may never “read”
11:10 #5 Saving books for retirement?
12:36 #6 Reading the last page first?
13:36 #7 Thoughts on Acknowledgements
14:22 #8 A literary character I'd switch places with
14:59 #9 A Book tied to a personal memory
18:25 #10 A Book acquired in an unusual way
20:27 #11 A Book I gave as a gift
21:11 #12 A Book that's travelled with me
23:13 #13 School reading
24:16 #14 Used vs new books – The End of Normal
27:21 #15 Dan Brown thoughts
29:10 #16 Movie vs book
32:50 #17 Cookbooks that make me hungry
36:30 #18 Whose recommendations do I trust
39:53 #19 A Book outside my comfort zone
41:33 #20 Final thoughts
Books mentioned include:
The Tale of Samuel Whiskers (or The Roly-Poly Pudding) - Beatrix Potter
Railway Series (incl The Twin Engines reference) - Rev. W. Awdry
A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Century of Fiction: The New Yorker Edited anthology (The New Yorker)
Magersfontein, O Magersfontein! - Etienne Le Roux
Liberation and Corruption - Peter Hain
The Warden - Anthony Trollope
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
The Turn of the Screw - Henry James
The Bible (Oxford World's Classics edition) -Various contributors
Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
The Emperor of All Maladies (a biography of cancer) - Siddhartha Mukherjee
Chess (Schachnovelle) - Stefan Zweig
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
1066 and All That - W. C. Sellar & R. J. Yeatman
Adam Bede - George Eliot
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The End of Normal: Witness to the Unravelling of White Power in South Africa - Max du Preez
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption -Stephen King
Nigella Christmas = Nigella Lawson
Feast: Foods That Celebrates Life - Nigella Lawson
How To Cook - Delia Smith
Ulysses - James Joyce
Finnegans Wake - James Joyce
Agatha Christie (novels)
William Shakespeare (plays)
even Ringo Starr gets a passing mention!
Booktubers mentioned:
Pat = @BookChatWithPat8668
Gareth - @bookssongsandothermagic
Steve - @saintdonoghue
If you enjoy BookTube, literary discussion, classics, modern fiction, science fiction, or simply love talking about books, I'd love to hear your own answers in the comments.
👍 Like the video if you enjoyed it.
📖 Subscribe for more book reviews, reading discussions, classics, literary fiction and monthly reading updates.
And for the almighty algorithm:
#BookTube #BookTag #Reading #Books #BookRecommendations #Classics #Literature #ReadingCommunity
