Today I am excited to be writing my first response to a blog tag on this site! I had a few of these on my old blog, and they are a lot of fun! E.G. Bella tagged me in this fun tag about books and reading! You can find her post here.
But first, the rules for this blog tag:
Thank and link to the blogger who nominated you (Thank you, E.G. Bella! And seriously, check out her site, she’s amazing, and going to be publishing soon! :))
Include the tag graphic in your post. (See below)
Answer the ten questions the blogger asked.
Nominate between five and ten bloggers.
Ask your nominees ten book-related questions!
Don’t feel bound to these rules.
(Most importantly) Have fun!
Here are my answers to Bella’s questions:
When is your ideal time to read?
Anytime! I have tried to make reading something I do whenever I find time, even if it’s only a few minutes. I also listen to audiobooks while I’m cooking, cleaning, or doing other mindless tasks. I used to read at night, but now I prefer to put everything else away when my husband gets home from work. My truly ideal time to read is when all my other work is done. It is easy for me to get distracted knowing I haven’t done any writing yet or that I have to make supper, but when my work is done, that’s my favorite time to relax and sit down with a good book. But seeing as there is always more to do, reading is also great to do to take a break between tasks.
Standalones or series?
Either one! There are many times that I enjoy a series, such as the Lord of the Rings, Narnia, The Hunger Games, or Harry Potter, but I also like reading standalones. Since I am a fast reader, one thing I love about a series is that I don’t have to be done with the characters and story I love in such a short amount of time. A nice part about standalones is that you don’t have to “commit” to the rest of the books, hoping they are just as good. It seems like sometimes authors make another book just because they feel like they should, but then it can’t match up to the first one. In a great series, the last book is often the best!
Do you ever skip around while you’re reading?
Not really. I like to read it all chronologically and let things surprise me as they come. Sometimes I will look back if I’m confused about something I can’t remember, but I very rarely skip ahead. If it’s a really intense scene, I will sometimes skim the page more than read it, but then I go back and read it through more slowly, but that’s about the closest I come to skipping around.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?
So far this year, I’ve read 6 books: My Dearest Dietrich by Amanda Barrett, A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers, Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons by Arabella W Stuart, Radical by David Platt, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, and The Green Ember by S.D. Smith (which I haven’t finished yet). They were all different and I enjoyed them all very much, but I think my favorite was Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons. This is an older book and is now public domain. It tells the true stories of the missionary wives of Adoniram Judson– Ann, Sarah, and Emily– the first two died while doing mission work in Burma, and the final raised all the children her husband left behind. Theirs are powerful stories of women of faith who followed God regardless of the cost. I liked this book so much because of how inspirational it was to be women of God by following the example of these remarkable missionary women, while also being relatable and presenting hard truths of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Do you have a favorite story trope? If so, which one?
When I first read this question, I didn’t think I had one, but after thinking about it, I have to say the “peasant who became a princess” Cinderella storyline. This is a pretty common one (especially among fairytales) so it can become cliche, but if re-done correctly it can portray a new story and emotional connection each time.
What color are most the covers of the books you own?
What a fun question I wouldn’t have thought to ask! I own many different colored books, but looking at my shelves, most of them display shades of blue, gray, brown, red, white. I also have to add that I love my old book covers. 🙂
Do you ever read nonfiction books? How often?
Yes! I used to not read much nonfiction, but in recent years I have realized how helpful and insightful they are. Recently most of the nonfiction I’ve read could be defined as Christian living, theological, and biographies. I also read writing books sometimes. I read nonfiction much slower than I read fiction, but I am often reading one of each at a time.
What is your least favorite genre? Favorite?
This is a hard question to answer, especially since I haven’t read from every genre and books within a genre can vary quite a bit. From what I have read, I can say horror is my least favorite genre. I had to read a couple Edgar Allen Poe stories for school awhile back and I was not a fan. However, because I had to read them, I do understand why some people find them intriguing.
My general category of “favorite” would be adventure novels. (Not choose your own adventure, but just stories with lots of adventure). I enjoy fantasy, historical fiction, dystopian, romance, and mystery but the thing I love about them is that feeling of being on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. I tend to dislike a romance story without any other plot points, a historical fiction without a real plot, sci fi or fantasy that get so lost in the world they forget the story, or a dystopian that is just trying to make a point. I look less at genre and more at whether a story idea captures my attention.
About how many books do you usually read in a year?
I’ve only kept track of this for a few years, and even then my numbers have not been exact, but in 2020 I read 55 or 56, in 2021 I probably read between 30 and 40, and so far in 2022 I’ve read between 5 and 6, so I’m guessing I’ll be at about 30 or 40 again this year.
Which of these three are most important to you: plot, worldbuilding, or characters?
Despite my comment above about adventure and a good plot, the characters are the most important part of a story for me, in both reading or writing. Despite being an introvert, I do love people (just in moderation 🙂 ) so realistic relatable characters mean a lot to me. I feel like a good plot or amazing world is nothing if you don’t have characters who are living and breathing in that world and those situations. As I mentioned above, plot is important because I get interested in what the characters are going to do and how they will react to certain situations. Worldbuilding is less important to me than it is to some, though it is probably one of those things that can easily go unnoticed when it is done right. J.R.R. Tolkien’s complex world, culture, peoples, and languages of Middle Earth are impressive and Lord of the Rings wouldn’t be the same without it. That being said, I think it could have still been a story I would have enjoyed if it had less attention to these details.
There we are! What a fun tag, thank you again, E.G. Bella!
I’m still working on my blogger connections, but if you are reading this post and have a blog, consider yourself tagged! If you want to post your link with your responses in the comments, feel free! If you don’t have a blog but are a reader who wants to answer questions, comment below to answer some or all of my questions!
Here are my questions:
- What is one of your all-time favorite books?
- What is a book you have read recently that you did not enjoy? Why?
- What are some “musts” or “must nots” in a book?
- What was the last book you’ve finished?
- Where do you read? (outside, on your bed, at the kitchen table, etc.)
- What is one of the oldest books you’ve read? (excluding the Bible)
- Do you have any books that you were “forced” to read (for school or otherwise) but then really enjoyed?
- What is a book turned into a movie/TV show you think was done well? One that was not done well?
- Do you like books that make you cry?
- Paperback, hardback, kindle/ebook, or audiobook?
Enjoy! Happy reading, everyone!