Meme of Reading Questions - Part 1

1. Favorite childhood book?
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

2. What are you reading right now?
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird by Mary McDonagh Murphy, Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson, and The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.

4. Bad book habit?
Thinking I can read more than I can!

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

• Every Last One


• Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton


• The Wives of Henry Oades


• Shoot to Thrill


• The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet


• Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide


• I am Scout: A Biography of Harper Lee


• If You Come Softly


• Imperfect Birds


• Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow into Troublesome Gaps - And What We Can Do About It


• Will Grayson, Will Grayson


• A Quiet Belief in Angels


• Hiroshima


• The Lord is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm


• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane


• Blue Plate Special


• Raw Edges: A Memoir


• Ten Cents a Dance


• The Last Ember


• Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter


• The Cinderella Society


• The Kayla Chronicles


• What If the Earth Had Two Moons?: And Nine Other Thought-Provoking Speculations on the Solar System


• The Heart is Not a Size


• The Nobodies Album

6. Do you have an e-reader?
Not yet.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Usually two or three at a time.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
A bit - but I'm not sure it's because of the blog.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far)?
Willow by Julia Hoban.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year (so far)?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. (This was actually a re-read from my high school years.)

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Very infrequently - and usually only with a good reason.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I read a lot of different kinds of things - as long as the writing is good - so my comfort zone is pretty big. What I don't usually enjoy is horror and romance, and I'm also somewhat classics-challenged.

13. Can you read on the bus?
No, because I get motion sickness.

14. Favorite place to read?
Either in bed or sitting in my favorite chair with my feet up on the ottoman.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I'm usually happy to do it.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Yes. I like to mark passages and put notes in books that I expect to re-read or reference again.

18. Not even with text books?
That may be where I started with the habit.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
The only language I'm able to read in is English.

20. What makes you love a book?
To become an all-time favorite, a book has to change me in some way - changing the way I view myself or the world.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
It really depends on the person.

22. Favorite genre(s)?
Young adult (especially realistic fiction). Historical fiction. Mystery/suspense/thriller. Science fiction (especially time travel and dystopias).

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did)?
Classics.

24. Favorite (auto)biography?
Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Yes, indeed.

To be continued.

It's Tuesday ... Where Are You?

Hosted by raidergirl3 at
An Adventure in Reading.
Today I'm in high school in Georgia, having recently been inducted into a secret society. (I'm reading the young adult novel The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy.)

Library Loot - August 11

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg and Claire to encourage bloggers to share what they’ve checked out from the library.



I'm adding a few more books to my to-read pile, despite the "leftovers" from the prior visits to the library. On this visit, all three of my kids and I also got to pick a book to keep for completing the summer reading program!

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
(I put this one on my to-read list back when Alix reviewed it, but I didn't get to it then. Recently I noticed via Facebook that Alice was reading it - as well as its sequel - so I decided that it's time.)

Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott
(This one was on the "new releases" shelf and I felt in the mood for Anne Lamott, so I picked it up.)

Pink Brain, Blue Brain by Lise Eliot
(I'm not sure where I first saw this one,
but I was intrigued, so I put it on hold.)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson
by John Green and David Levithan
(I'm excited about this new young adult collaboration between the author of An Abundance of Katherines and one of the authors of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.)

This Is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis

Published in 2007. 176 pages.


After reading Suey's recent review at It's All about Books, I just had to pick this young adult novel up from the library.

This Is What I Did is a very quick but gut-wrenching read. What I loved most was the unique way the story was presented, as if the character Logan is writing it and with graphics added. Immersing myself in its stream-of-consciousness feel, I really felt like I was getting inside Logan's head, and I had a hard time putting the book down. I also loved the palindrome notes that Logan's new friend Laurel gives him.

This was Ann Dee Ellis' debut novel. I'll definitely be looking for more of her work!

For more information:

• Ann Dee Ellis' blog.


• Natasha's review of This Is What I Did at Maw Books.

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The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum

Published in 2010. 369 pages.


The Golden Spiral is the sequel to The Hourglass Door, with the third installment in the trilogy, The Forgotten Locket, to be published next summer.

Despite some lags in the plot and a few concerns about the quality of the writing, I do find myself invested in Dante and Abby's story.

My inner teenage geek definitely loves to think about the implications of time travel:

"The loop has to be closed," Leo repeated.

"I don't understand," I said. "What loop?"

"Certain things have to happen because they have already happened. And if those things don't happen one way, they have to happen another way." [page 224]

There is a Reading Guide at the end of the book that I think would be fun and beneficial for teens wanting to discuss how the book relates to their own lives. The questions include the topics of hobbies, support systems, memories, what makes for a good relationship, and making choices.

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Library Loot - August 4

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg and Claire to encourage bloggers to share what they’ve checked out from the library.



I'm eager to read the "loot" I picked up this week, although I still have "leftovers" from the past several visits I've made to the library!

The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran
(This is August's pick for the Book Buddies.)

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
(After reading Florinda's review, I moved this one up on my to-read list.)

This is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis
(After reading Suey's review, I just had to pick up this one.)

Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton
by Rebecca Shambaugh
(I put this one on hold after reading an article about it on Forbes.com,
and it became available this week.)

It's Tuesday ... Where Are You?

Hosted by raidergirl3 at
An Adventure in Reading.
Today I'm in Maycomb, Alabama, in 1935. It's a hot summer day, and I've been at the courthouse for the trial of Tom Robinson. (I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Actually, I'm re-reading this novel from my high school senior lit class because of its 50th anniversary.)

God Went to Beauty Schoolby Cynthia Rylant

Published in 2003. 56 pages.


I read this short book while my son had a swimming lesson. I then re-read some of my favorite parts. Later, I read some of the book to my family. I guess you could say I liked it!

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication summary calls it "a novel in poems that reveal God's discovery of the wonders and pains in the world He has created." I call it a thought-provoking view of God as Immanuel ("God [is] with us"). It is tender as well as funny, and it lifted my spirits.

In addition to the title poem, among my other favorites are

• "God Went to the Doctor" (And the doctor said, "You don't need me, you're God." And God said, "Well you're pretty good at playing me, I figured you'd know what the problem was.")


• "God Went Rollerblading" (in which God feels invincible - apparently, although He knows He's invincible, He doesn't always feel that way)


• "God Got Cable" ("Every now and then, even God needs a break.")


• "God Got a Desk Job" ("The only thing that got Him through to the end of the day was Snickers bars.")

and the concluding poem "God Died."

Melissa (of Book Nut) posted her review here.

Here is a YouTube clip from 60second Recap™:



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