30 Day Book Challenge! The Grand Finale

Thus we come to the final day of the "30 Day Book Challenge" (in quotations, of course. because.)! It has been quite fun for me to review old favorites and hear of yours - thanks for bearing with my obsession. :)

Our final four questions for today are (drum roll, please):

Day 27: What is your favorite genre?

I'm not a great fan of science fiction, self-help, or how-to books. Oh, or vampire stories. Aside from these genres, I pretty much like 'em all. Historical fiction, fairy tales, Christian philosophy/theology - these are probably my top three.

Day 28: What is the first book you can remember reading on your own?

Elsie's Holiday at Roselands. The memory of reading this book is distinctly etched in my mind. I was laying on the sofa, having hurt my ankle, and reading of little Elsie, hurting her ankle, and was suddenly filled with a warm and fuzzy kinship for the similar plights in which we two found ourselves. I remember noticing the cover of the book - the first time I really took the time to notice the cover since I had begun to read in earnest - and thinking it would always be special to me. It is. :)

Day 29: Who is an author you wish was more well-known?

This is another "all of them" question for me. True, Dickens and Austen are well-known, but in name only, and because of the movie adaptation of the their books rather than because people really know them. Most people today are all over the story of Pride and Prejudice, but few know of what I am talking if I bemoan Jane Austen's infuriating tendency toward microscopic denouements. Oliver is known everywhere as a book descrying the plight of a little orphan boy, but nods of understanding are rare when I mention Dickens' elaborate descriptions and similes. Even the well-known authors are unknown.

But if I were to quit soliloquizing, I would say, practically, G.K. Chesterton, Elias Boudinot, Anthony Esolen, and Rosemary Sutcliff. In that order. It would also be cool if people knew who Stratford Caldecott is, but as I have yet to actually read his books, I feel slightly unqualified to mention him.

Yes, that was more than one author. Congrats to the mathematicians who caught that.

Day 30: Which book are you reading right now?

Speaking of Dickens...Our Mutual Friend is at my bedside right now. Although I have already watched the movie (whoops), this delightful tale is living up to every expectation in all the complex layers of Dickens settings and characters. It's going to be a favorite, I know already.

And that, my dear friends, wraps up our 30 Day Book Challenge! Thank you so much for coming along for the ride. Do comment and tell me your answers to these questions, if you care to share! I would especially be interested in knowing your favorite unknown authors!

30 Day Book Challenge! Days 12-13: Playing Favorites

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Good Monday morning to you all! I will be answering two of the questions today, to make up for skipping Sunday posts. The first question is the most fun. ;)

Day 12: Who are your favorite authors?

Firstly, I have to say that I an so relieved this question isn't "Who is your single, solitary, favorite author of all time?" Secondly, I have to wonder, then, who to include and who to leave out. If I've only read one book by the author, does that qualify me to say he is one of my favorite authors? Or is it simply that I just really like that particular book? Practically speaking, there are very few authors I've met through books that I don't like...how do I know if they're my favorites? Maybe I'm just enjoying the moment of indecision too much. Maybe I should move on and just answer the question.

- C.S. Lewis

- Charles Dickens

- G.K. Chesterton

- Rosemary Sutcliff (one of the authoresses of whom I've only read one book - but she is a fabulous writer!)

- John Milton

- Joel Rosenberg

- Baroness Emma Orczy

...to name just a few. :)

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Day 13: What is your favorite book from childhood?

Put simply: I. Don't. Know. 

There is not a book that stands out above the rest as one I love the most through childhood.

The Elsie Dinsmore series was dear to my heart.

So were the Tintin books, honestly.

Peter Pan was a favorite from the time I read it - but that wasn't until "later" (about 13 or 14).

Black Beauty - in fact, any and all horse books - was an obsession for a while.

Perhaps the book I loved as a child and still love the most is The Princess and the Goblin.

In short - there are too many to count! :)

Now it's your turn! Tell me, please, your favorite authors so they can become mine, too! And tell me your favorite book from childhood so I can read it!

When We Have Something Nice To Share

When I was a Little, Mama had a whole set of "Rules of This House" coloring sheets that my siblings and I were habitually amused by coloring. Many of those pictures, and the rules they accompanied, are permanently stamped in my brain - "When we make a mess, we clean it up," "When someone is sorry, we forgive him," "When we open something, we close it" - that sort of thing. We said them while we colored. We said them when mama would quiz us on them. And we said them when they gave us authority to get something from another person {ugly sin nature, I'm afraid - just goes to show that rules without a renewed heart won't get you too far!}. Anyway, one of the most-repeated rules was "When we have something nice to share, we share it," and it is in the spirit of this well-learned rule, that I share these things with you today:

 

~ A Laugh ~

 This picture...it just...I mean...the longer you look at it, the funnier it is!



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~ An Article ~

I was really impressed and encouraged by this review of the the 'Hunger Games'. Most articles I've read before either angrily ranted against the story, or mindlessly defended the entertainment of the tale. Douglas Wilson sensibly analyzes the novel and it's moral implications ~ certainly worth reading!

~ A Song ~

This song is "The Megs'" favorite song at the moment. She roams the house singing it, requests to listen to it, and lip-sings along while it plays. Good thing it truly is beautiful! :)

 

A lovely weekend to you all!



30 Day Book Challenge! Day 13: Authors!

For a change of pace, we change our focus from books to the minds and characters who dreamed them up!

Day 13: Who is your favorite author?

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Hands-down, a-hundred-percent, no-doubts-about-it C.S. Lewis! I've already mentioned his writings twice in this challenge - from the Chronicles of Narnia to That Hideous Strength - and I'm anything but sure that he won't show up again! Why is he my favorite? Well, I pretty much love everything about him. His conversational style of writing, his perfectly-expressed thoughts and descriptions, his talent in leading you logically from one point to the next, his understanding and portrayal of deep emotions and feelings that go beyond words, and his general brilliance! This is not, of course, to say that I actually agree with everything he said/believed, but, put simply, I am always challenged and encouraged to view life with "eternal eyes" (that is, in the perspective of eternity) after reading his books. Plus, who couldn't love a guy with quotes like:

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite."

"If I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

See? He's wonderful. What is your favorite book you've read by him? Who is your favorite author?