Thursday, September 14, 2006

Thursday Thirteen* - The Book List

I love books!!!

1. Always on any book list of mine - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.

2. Most Read - I'm not really the type of person that goes back and reads books over and over because I don't have time. If I'm going to read, I'd rather read something I've never read before.

3. First book I read myself - The Berenstain Bears Go to School by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

4. Favorite Childhood book - I loved to read as a kid...this is a very hard question. I loved Judy Blume books, the Ramona books, The Secret Garden, The Borrowers, Babysitter's Club...I really can't pick just one.

5. Religious book - I don't read much non-fiction...it's hard for me to get into. But I have really enjoyed Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs, and And the Bride Wore White by Dannah Gresh. I have started Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller and am really liking it so far.

6. Favorite Series - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. These books are very long (because the author is awesome at giving you lots of details!) but worth it. She weaves such a wonderful tale that you can't help but get caught up in it. I also love the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. She just amazes me with the things she comes up with. I am anxiously awaiting the seventh book.

7. Favorite Charles Dickens book - Umm, I would not say Dickens is a favorite author by any means. I had to read Great Expectations in school, and it was okay. So I guess I'll say that one.

8. Hardest to get into, but worth the trouble - Gone with the Wind. The beginning is sort of slow, but trust me, it is SO good...way better than the film (which is good too). I also read Seabiscuit by Laura Hilldebrand becuase I got it free with the movie. I don't normally like non-fiction but this was different. It was hard for me to get over that "anti-non-fiction" thing of mine.

9. Worst book - I have a list of those that I had to read for school. I would say The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck for sure, and The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

10. Makes me cry - The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albloom, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson.

11. Totally can't relate to, but love - We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates (cry story as well).

12. Favorite Newbery Award - I had to look up which books had won the Newbery Award. My favorite of the list I saw was definitely Holes, by Louis Sachar. That is a great book (and since it's for kids, it can be read in just a few hours!).

13. Best surprise of the year - I really haven't been able to read much this year besides Drums of Autumn and The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series) because they are so long. But I did read The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis and really enjoyed it.

14. Current reading - And the Bride Wore White by Dannah Gresh; Blue Like Jazz, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and The Patriarchs (Bible study) by Beth Moore

15. Not yet checked off, on the 2006 reading list - A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, Vince Flynn's newest book in the Mitch Rapp series, the rest of the Narnia books, The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks and a whole bunch of John Grisham books I got for really cheap at a used book store!

*I just realized that this is 15 and not 13. Whatever...I copied it from someone else, so oh well! But, you get the gist...

4 comments:

Monica B. said...

I love your list!!! I'm always looking for a good book to read. I've heard that almost anything by Nicholas Sparks is usually pretty good but I haven't got a chance yet to sit down and read one yet. I tried to send you an email at hotmail but it didn't work. What the email said was "Link cleaned out his car the other day and we found some Christmas/Valentine's letters that had got stuck in the seat and not mailed and one of them was to you guys. So, you will be receiving a letter from us that is a bit out dated. Sorry." Thanks for a good reading list!

Lauren said...

Monica,

You're welcome. I usually only read books that come on recommendations from friends and family, so I hardly ever find that I am reading a book that isn't good. Hopefully you'll find the same. Looking forward to your letter :)

Robby and Lynsey said...

I usually don't really ENJOY reading (I fall asleep too easily!) ... but I ADORE The Poisonwood Bible and also love the Berenstain Bear books. I also rather enjoyed Suzanne's Letter for Nicholas (or whatever that title was) by Sparks. Have you read Skipping Christmas by John Grisham? It is also an all-time favorite. The movie didn't do it justice. (as don't most movies that are based from books) ;) Since I see similar 'likes' here ... if I ever get a craving to read a book sometime, I'll know where to come for good references - THanks! :)

Lauren said...

Lynsey,

I did read Skipping Christmas but never did see the movie...I wanted to, but just never got around to it. I was fairly certain it wouldn't be as good :)

I really like John Grisham books--I have read several of his recent law novels but am just now reading his first few--A Time to Kill, The Firm, etc. Another excellent book by him that is not about law is A Painted House. It is told from the perspective of a 7 year old boy in the South in the 60's, I think. VERY good. I really liked that one.

I hope you enjoy some of my other favorites!