(My dream home has room for a cozy library like this one.)
One of my favorite beauty bloggers, The Belle Lumiere, had this book tag on her blog a few days back and being the voracious reader that I am I decided to steal it for myself! I know it's a little bit different than what I normally do but I thought it might be fun- I definitely want to hear all about what you are reading too because I always need recommendations!
1. Post these rules 2. Post a photo of your favorite book cover 3. Answer the questions below 4. Tag a few people to answer them too 5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you’ve tagged them 6. Make sure you tell the person who tagged you that you’ve taken part!
(The cover of my favorite book, The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Atwood)
I'm tagging the following: Kristen, The Boston Fashionista Elissa, Style-Wire Erika, Cafe Fashionista Belle, I Know What You Wore Last Season Ally- Allyson in Wonderland
What are you reading right now?: The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?: Probably The Red Queen, the next book in the series. But I have a bunch of new books on my iPad that I haven't started yet so we'll see!
What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to?: Middlesex, The Marriage Plot, 1Q84, Anna Karenina,
What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now?: New York Magazine, Lucky, Vogue, Elle and Town & Country.
What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?: I'm sure everyone says this but truly the first Twilight. I read it right around the time that the books were getting a lot of attention because they were making the first movie and I thought, "Hm. I bet I'd like that too!" I have never hated anything more. Besides the awful story, the writing itself is just atrocious! I wanted to throw it across the room multiple times. Needless to say I haven't read the other books in the series.
What book seemed really popular but you didn’t like?: See above.
What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?: For a grownup read, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and for a little more fun The Hunger Games series. I guess I have a thing for strong women in dystopian societies?
What are your three favorite poems?: "And because love battles" by Pablo Neruda, Little Birds by Lewis Carroll, and Stars by Emily Bronte.
Where do you usually get your books? Library, book stores, iTunes, Mobilism forums...
Where do you usually read your books?: In bed or sitting out in the sun.
When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits?: Yes, I'd stay home "sick" from school with a pile of new books to read. I'd leave them stacked on one side of the bed and as I finished them created a stack on the other side of the bed. I'd also usually be eating grilled cheese with ketchup and coffee milk. Does Hood still make Coffee Milk?
What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?: The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani. It takes place over the course of a year during the depression. You slowly learn why this girl has been "sent away" from her family and it's not what you think! A little bit mystery, a little bit heartbreaking, and all amazing.
Have you ever “faked” reading a book?: Twice in high school and multiple times in college.
Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?: Literally all the time. Lately, it's worked out pretty well but it used to always be a disappointment.
What was your favorite book when you were a child?: So many! My parents taught me to read when I was very young so I sort of skipped mid-range books. They'd also read me chapter books earlier than most and then I'd read them over and over so most of the books I remember from childhood aren't picture books. Memoirs of a Book Bat, A Little Princess, A Secret Garden, The Westing Game, A Wrinkle in Time, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. OH and I loved the Wayside School books!
What book changed your life?: I don't remember what book made me fall in love with reading because I've always, always needed a book to read every single day. So I guess that whatever book was the one that hooked me was the one that changed my life.
What are your top five favorite authors?: Margaret Atwood, Phillipa Gregory (trashy and historically inaccurate but I love them), Emily Bronte,
What book has no one heard about but should read?: I read The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman on vacation this year. I found it in the condo we rented and its so beautiful. Completely heartbreaking and you find yourself torn between doing whats right and doing what feels right while reading it. Highly recommended.
What are your favorite books by a first-time author?: Is it bad that I don't really keep track of first books? I do remember being both impressed (and disappointed) by Curtis Sittenfield's first book, Prep. Disappointed just because I found the main character to be SO frustrating and irritating! American Wife, her second book, was better. I have Sisterland waiting for me on my iPad so we'll have to see how she's progressing!
What is your favorite classic book?: Wuthering Heights. Also, I'm not sure if it's a "classic" yet but I love Atwood's Alias Grace.
Five other notable mentions?: A Song of Fire & Ice (The Game of Thrones books series)- even though the writing is a bit terrible and things are rarely ever clear and need to be read at least twice- it's such a fully realized world and the characters that are written well are so vivid! I really can't figure out where the story is headed after five books and it's a good thing! Harry Potter, of course! Those books are masterpieces. I like Karen Harper's The Last Boleyn (written twenty years before The Other Boleyn Girl) and have read it multiple times. I also love Sarah Dunant's The Birth Of Venus. I've read her other books in the hopes that they will be as awesome (most recently her new novel, Blood & Beauty: The Borgias) and they've all fallen flat compared to Birth.
