Booking Through Thursday

Today's Booking Through Thursday looked fun so I'll jump in!

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

What books did you get for Christmas (or whichever holiday you may have celebrated last month)?

Do you usually ask for books on gift-giving occasions or do you prefer to buy them yourself?

This year I received a shocking low quantity of three books for Christmas. I don't think that I've ever received less than 5. But apparently I'm becoming harder to shop for in the book department. ;D I do LOVE receiving books, but I admit that it's hard to know what I have and have not read (or own) and might like. The books I DID receive were fabulous and post-Christmas I, well, gifted myself with some titles that I was looking forward to. (I do a really good job gifting myself with books. Are you surprise? Not? What?)

These are the books I did receive:





I can't wait to pounce upon An Experiment in Criticism but in the meantime, this week I've been getting ready for this:



And the above mentioned carnival is what I've been gifting myself for. Ready for it? It starts next Tuesday....(or, in my case, it starts Monday)!

Booking Through Thursday

Today's Booking Through Thursday looked fun so I'll jump in!

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

What’s the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you’ve read recently?

(Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean funny, since we covered that already. Just … GOOD.)

My answer is the unlikely:



It was enjoyable, fun and a completely unintended-from-the-book's-original-intent good for me read.

Look for a review of it next week!

Happy Booking Through Thursday!

Booking Through Thursday

Today's Booking Through Thursday looked fun so I'll jump in!

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers–we’ll do more detail at some later date)

1. Reading something frivolous? Or something serious?

Something serious.

2. Paperbacks? Or hardcovers?

Hardcovers!

3. Fiction? Or Nonfiction?

(That's a nasty unfair question!) However, I think I will say non-fiction.

4. Poetry? Or Prose?

Prose. (See my post at 5 Minutes for Books today re: my love of all things Anne of Green Gables and poetry.) Lady of Shallot anyone? But only for a moment!

5. Biographies? Or Autobiographies?

Biographies!

6. History? Or Historical Fiction?

Just the facts, please.

7. Series? Or Stand-alones?

Stand-alones.

8. Classics? Or best-sellers?

Classics. More truthworthy.

9. Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose?

FRUITY! (I can't help it.)

10. Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness?

Plot. Please.

11. Long books? Or Short?

If I HAVE to choose - long!

12. Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated?

Non. Definitely non.

13. Borrowed? Or Owned?

Owned.

14. New? Or Used?

Used.

Booking Through Thursday

I haven't participated in a Booking Through Thursday in awhile so I thought I'd do it today.

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

“So here today I present to you an Unread Books Challenge. Give me the list or take a picture of all the books you have stacked on your bedside table, hidden under the bed or standing in your shelf – the books you have not read, but keep meaning to. The books that begin to weigh on your mind. The books that make you cover your ears in conversation and say, ‘No! Don’t give me another book to read! I can’t finish the ones I have!’

In pictures, these are the books that are "haunting" me. (However, I have never once had the thought, "Don't give me another book to read!" These books just plague me in the back of my mind. I know I should get around to them - well, maybe - but I just haven't for whatever reason.)

This book has been sitting on my shelf FOREVER! Lots of ladies I know are Francine Rivers fans and so I kinda gave in and bought this one because they all rave about her. I'm not quite there yet and, obviously, given the dust that has collected on this one, I'm not all together convinced. Yet.



Sarah at Library Hospital talked about the Dr. Doolittle stories awhile back which prompted me to purchase a copy. And I have every intention of reading it. Really, I do!



Many years ago I thought I would read something a little bit outside of my usual reading comfort zone. Many years later I'm still staring at it thinking I should read it sometime.



Lastly, I picked up a copy of the following at our library's booksale, oh, two years ago. I like Bombeck and I KNOW I will enjoy this book. I just haven't picked it up yet.



And my goodness - the covers on all of the above books are OLD ones. Which makes me feel like I've wasted even more time in not getting to them in a timely manner! ha!

Happy Booking Through Thursday to you!

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

“This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”

This is the list I came up with:

1. The Bible
2. Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
3. The Blue Castle, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
4. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis
6. Face to Face, by Steve Wilkins
7. Gleanings from Joshua, by A.W. Pink
8. The Great Lives Series: Esther, by Charles Swindoll
9. Grace-Based Parenting, by Tim Kimmel

And that's as far as my list takes me off the top of my head!!! That's an interesting exercise. Perhaps those are the titles I should spend the rest of my life focued on, eh?


Well, I DO plan on focusing on the Narnia books again during the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge which I'm hosting here. Come back June 19th if you'd care to join in!

Happy BTT!

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to…

1. Are you currently reading more than one book?
2. If so, how many books are you currently reading?
3. Is this normal for you?
4. Where do you keep your current reads?

I used to read 4-5 books at a time but once I realized that I could plough through books faster if I only focused on one book at a time, I stopped reading so many at once. Occasionally I'll still dig in to 2-3 at a time. It is entirely dependent on mood and length of book.

For example, if I'm reading something like Wives & Daughters I may take pauses between chapters to visit something else. However, inevitably I get to the point where I just want to GET THE BOOK OVER WITH and so everything falls by the wayside so that I concentrate fully on completing the larger story.

Right now I'm currently in between books, kinda wandering listlessly. I wanted to read something for comfort sake so I picked up my old copy of Hinds' Feet On High Places and that's the one and only thing I'm reading at the present. However, I just received the book The Bookends of the Christian Life and that's kinda tempting. So who knows! I may be into two books by the end of today, I don't know!

As for where I keep my books? I laugh.

Everywhere.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

“What’s the worst ‘best’ book you’ve ever read — the one everyone says is so great, but you can’t figure out why?”

Well, I feel somewhat like a broken record here but the worst book I think I have ever read is The Shack. (You can see my review of The Shack here.) I know so very many people think that it's just wonderful but in my opinion it is theologically unsound. It has just enough things in it that appear to be true to be distracting. I really dislike books that I feel do not offer a firm foundation but that are able to sway people's emotions so wildly in any given direction. This is not the type of book that I feel generally charitable towards.

My ability to become riled over a bad piece of fiction and to come to the conclusion that something is just flat out awful depends most on what kind of theology is presented in the book. In my opinion, books have the ability to express a great deal of thought and are good tools for explaining someone's world view. I'm not going to care so very much if some one's world view is "benign" in the sense that the chances of one particular author being able to sway the masses are concerned. If an author is expressing a belief or opinion about the very nature of who God is, and if people are likely to be influenced by that thought, then I'm probably not going to like the book, unless the author's opinion is firmly entrenched in scripture. Accuracy on that particular subject is extremely important.

I would say that I would probably care about an author's opinion if it came to a social issue that had the ability to really change society. A good example of a book that was able to change society is Uncle Tom's Cabin. Abraham Lincoln, upon meeting Harriet Beacher Stowe, is reported as saying that this was the lady who managed to start the (civil) war. Books have power and I firmly believe that! So I'm going to naturally care about the message that they are communicating as I think anyone should. People read. People think. People act.

I'm going to tolerate/ignore/not mind any book that deals with policies that I don't think are detrimental but perhaps a bit unwise or not very well thought out. I'm going to loathe any book that suggests that something evil is really very good, or any book that says God isn't what He said He is.

This was an interesting question and it is helping me to clarify what I like and don't like about certain books. Obviously, I'm hashing this out for myself as I type. Still learning. Still thinking.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

What book do you think should be made into a movie? And do you have any suggestions for the producers?

Or, What book do you think should NEVER be made into a movie?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

My answer to both questions is the same, really. I think The Mysterious Benedict Society would make a fantastic adventure movie and I'd love to see it! However, at the same time, I'm not sure that I really WANT it made into a movie because it already works so well in my head. Plus I just love the book so much that I'd be mad if Hollywood messed it up. My tip to the producers would be to make sure they cast Constance WELL! And I don't know how that could be done well.

Another book that would make an awesome chick flick movie is Austenland: A Novel which I read a few years back. It fits the I-love-Pride-&-Prejudice-and-especially-Mr.-Darcy bill very well and should delight, oh, a half million (give or take) female viewers. It reads like a chick flick and its a fairly fun story so I'd give two thumbs up to turning that one into a movie.

What about you? What was your answer to this question?

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

(When it comes to books and collectibles.)

COLLECTIBLES?

Hardcover? Or paperback?
Illustrations? Or just text?
First editions? Or you don’t care?
Signed by the author? Or not?

Well, if I could afford it I'd always choose the hardback if I really like a book. Hardbacks are nice and I don't worry about them falling apart so very easily. But I don't necessarily mind paperback. I'd just like them to be in good condition.

As for illustrations - depends on what I'm reading, really! On the one hand, I like my imagination to go to work and provide the images for the words I'm reading. On the other hand, I need some help from the author to figure out what the scene is, or how a particular character looks. Obviously, I prefer illustrations in children's books and sometimes YA fiction. I never expect it in adult fiction so I'm not applying my answer to adult works.

First editions? Naw, I don't care. Unless it's a Lucy Maud Montgomery book in which case I'm liable to get a little excited. (I have a first edition Anne of Green Gables and Anne's House of Dreams which I'm particularly fond of.

Signed by the author? I really don't care.

What about you? In what form do you enjoy your books?

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question:

Since “Inspiration” is (or should) the theme this week … what is your reading inspired by?

What is my reading inspired by?

Excellent question. Most excellent.

Ultimately this:

Proverbs 1:1-7 (King James Version)

Proverbs 1
1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

2To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

3To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

4To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

5A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

6To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

As the title of my blog suggests, I wish to increase in wisdom and knowledge. I like to pick books that both reform and straighten the way that I think. Stories have morals and opinions and each one spouts of its own world view. So I like to examine world views, dissect and interrogate the books I read in some senses.

Do I read for pleasure? Yes I do. Because I think it's ok to do so. (ha!) But ultimately - I'm reading to know.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question - which is a bit more unique than usual.

What songs … either specific songs, or songs in general by a specific group or writer … have words that you love?
Why?
And … do the tunes that go with the fantastic lyrics live up to them?

I'm going to give it to you in You Tube form, in keeping with the Lucy Maud Montgomery Challenge. The Lady of Shallot. (Words by Tennyson; sung by Loreena McKennitt)

There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

This song is long but hauntingly beautiful. Take a listen and see what you think. It's quite unique and I'd love to hear your thoughts! I could listen to it over and over again . . .

Booking Through Thursday - and a repost if you missed it the first time!

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question. Here is my answer:

It’s a week or two later than you’d expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but … what were your favorite books from 2008?

I posted my favorite books in 2008 (along with my least favorite) back in December. But here are the highlights:

CARRIE'S BEST BOOK DISCOVERY in 2008



The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and it's beloved (by me) sequel, released in 2008.

You can review my reviews of The Mysterious Benedict Society. and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by clicking on the links attached.

And joy of joys the third book in The Mysterious Benedict Society is coming out soon!


CARRIE'S FAVORITE CLASSIC READ IN 2008



I enjoyed reading Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, with the 5 Minutes for Books Classics Book Club. My review of Jane Eyre was done as a Reader's Diary and was the second of such diaries.

MOST INTERESTING NON-CHRISTIAN BOOK ON RELIGION:



The Year of Living Biblically, by A. J. Jacobs.

MOST INTERESTING NON-FICTION CHRISTIAN WORK:



The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, by Tim Challies.

What were your top favorites in 2008? I look forward to finding out!

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question. Here is my answer:

So … any Reading Resolutions? Say, specific books you plan to read? A plan to read more ____? Anything at all?

Name me at least ONE thing you’re looking forward to reading this year!

Well, primarily I'm starting the year off with a L.M. Montgomery Challenge which just got started. (If you want to join in, here's the link up page. That's probably the thing I am most excited about right off the bat.

I know that I know that I know that I also really want to read the following books this year:

1. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

2. Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings
(Which is definitely going to be unconnected to the L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge but I still want to read it very badly!!!

3. The Third Book in the Mysterious Benedict Society series. And no, I don't think it's going to be released. At least, I haven't heard anything about it. But I still wish to read it! ;)

What about you?

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks for lists! Here are my answers:

1. Do you have a favorite author?

It's really becoming a toss up between Lucy Maud Montgomery and C.S. Lewis. I guess we'll say I have a favorite male and female author.

2. Have you read everything he or she has written?

I have read everything that L.M. Montgomery has written (and own it all also - with the exception of Jane of Lantern Hill which I loaned out to someone who never returned it!). I have not read everything by C.S. Lewis.

3. Did you LIKE everything?

I'm learning to sort of critique Montgomery which you'll see in some upcoming book reviews that I have in the works. As for C.S. Lewis . . . critique!? I don't think that well of myself. Do I LIKE everything he wrote? I find some of it too brainy for me. That's my only problem but it's mine and not his.

4. How about a least favorite author?

Well, William P. Young, of course!

5. An author you wanted to like, but didn’t?

Charles Dickens. But you know all about that.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday asks the following question. Here is my answer:

What, if any, memorable or special book have you ever gotten as a present? Birthday or otherwise. What made it so notable? The person who gave it? The book itself? The “gift aura?”

You know, this is quite sad, but the best books I've ever been given are ones I've specifically requested. The problem is (amplified now that I'm at 5 Minutes for Books) that I HAVE a lot of books. So guessing as to what I might not have is frequently a dangerous activity.

Two Christmases ago I found Les Miserables in my stocking. It was a present from my husband who knew I wanted it. I LOVED that book.

For my birthday this year a friend of mine sent me a copy of I Wish for You a Beautiful Life - which I had wanted.

Those are two books that were hugely impacting and/or enjoyable for me and that I loved very much and even more so because of who gave them to me.

Basically, I'm not a fun one to surprise with books. Anymore these days and I hope people DON'T try to pick books for me.

I realize I'm being difficult.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday has prompted us to participate in the following book meme. Here is my answer:

“Name a favorite literary couple and tell me why they are a favorite. If you cannot choose just one, that is okay too. Name as many as you like–sometimes narrowing down a list can be extremely difficult and painful. Or maybe that’s just me.”

I think I'm going to have to say that my favorite literary couple is Father Tim and Cynthia from the Mitford series. I like how relaxed and easy going they are. Of course, they are older and past the age of parenting. They have only themselves and their professions to worry about. However, despite having different life focuses to some degree, they still manage to really love and support one another fairly well.

If I had to pick a second, I'd probably say Elizabeth & Darcy but no doubt about a hundred other people would say the same thing and therefore I don't want to. I like their wit and banter but we don't really get to find out how they fared after getting married. So my confidence level for them isn't as high as Father Tim and Cynthia.

Yup. I think those are the two I'll go with.

****

P.S. Heh. Heh. (Guilty look.) I just saw that someone else listed Anne and Gilbert and now I feel TOTALLY ashamed. They would actually be my first pick. Followed by Father Tim & Cynthia and THEN Elizabeth & Darcy.

Booking Through Thursday

This week Booking Through Thursday has prompted us to participate in the following book meme. Here are my answers:

What was the last book you bought?

The Mysterious Benedict Society (for a gift to friend). See my review of The Mysterious Benedict Society and find out why you have reason to "fear" (if you are a close friend of mine) that you will find this under the Christmas tree this year.

Name a book you have read MORE than once.

Anne of Green Gables

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

Yes! Just recently in fact.

Discover Your Child's Gifts, by Don & Katie Fortune which I reviewed over at 5 Minutes for Books. Fantastic and earth shattering (for me anyway) in a basic and fundamental way.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

All of the above.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Both!

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

I'm not an English major so I go for the gripping plot.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)?

Anne (of Green Gables, of course).

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

How about I just tell you what I'm reading at this exact moment? Actually, I haven't decided. I'm in between books and haven't made up my mind what's next.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?



The last book I read was Letters for Lizzie which I read for 5 Minutes for Books. I loved it even though it was a relatively difficult book to get through. Stay tuned for more thoughts on that.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

I gave up on Three Cups of Tea just the other day.

Did you play? Leave a note and I'll go read your meme!

Booking Through Thursday

This week's question on Booking Through Thursday is:

What, in your opinion, is the best book that you haven’t liked? Mind you, I don’t mean your most-hated book–oh, no. I mean the most accomplished, skilled, well-written, impressive book that you just simply didn’t like.

I have several of these, really. But I'll still with the one that is still nagging at me. Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. I just don't like Dickens. He's too wordy, he is hard to understand and is just plain BOOOOOORRRRINNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mother is a huge Dickens fan. (She likes Dickens. She isn't huge.) I have friends who like Dickens. I have friends who don't like Dickens but still read him. I'm about to join their ranks because I've agreed to read Bleak House with Sarah this month. If all goes well, and I get through this alive, I might go back to A Tale of Two Cities. Might. We'll see.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's questions on Booking Through Thursday are:

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

The short and concise answer to this question is: No! In fact, if the book is a fad book, I'm not likely to read it for years. Silly of me sometimes, yes. I guess it just goes to show that I'm not inclined to trust public opinion. But sometimes it's right and when it is - oh boy!

Don't miss my giveaway today!

Booking Through Thursday

This week's questions on Booking Through Thursday are:

If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite reasons to read is for the story. Not for the character development and interaction. Not because of the descriptive, emotive powers of the writer. Not because of deep, literary meaning hidden beneath layers of metaphor. (Even though those are all good things.) No … it’s because you want to know what happens next?

I'm actually quite bad at being able to tell (most of the time) whether or not a story is "well-written" or not. This can be considered a blessing or a curse. I'm not English Major Minded as you can probably tell from the way that I write. The downside to this is that I have the ability to annoy even myself in the knowledge that I miss punctuation problems and grammatical errors. The plus side is that I am at liberty to enjoy a story more fully than other of my friends or family simply becauase I can blindly ignore the writing problems and can therefor focus on the story itself. So, as you can see, it is a blessing and a curse.

I love getting lost in stories and being interested only in what happens next.

That being said, regardless of the writers ability, I am completely inept at ignoring the message of the book. The message is the most glaringly obvious part to me. I see it sometimes even when I don't want to see it. That can destract me from simply wanting to know the end of the story. If I disagree with the meaning or message of the story, my chances of liking the ending are slim to none. I cannot seperate the message from the story. That is impossible.

So the answer to this week's question is yes and no. I love the simplicity of story-telling but if a truth (or otherwise) is intended to be communicated, that is what I shall focus on. Stories are meant to be vehicles for moral values. Jesus used stories all the time to communicate truths about Himself and God. That is a story's primary purpose - to enlighten and instruct. I just wish it weren't that way sometimes.