Category: Book Tag Page 3 of 4

It’s been ages since I’ve done a Tag, I need to do more of them, I enjoy reading and assembling them. This one caught my eye. I’ve seen this on various blogs—like Booker Talk and Lou’s Book Stuff—but can’t seem to find the creator, so I can’t credit them. I’d like to if anyone knows who did it.

The last book I gave up on

Well, that’s easy, I just posted about that a couple of weeks ago, The Writer’s Library. But I have an easier time DNFing audiobooks, it seems, I’ve done that a couple of times in the last year. The last time I DNFed a book I was reading was back in 2017, Wrath of an Angry God.

The last book I re-read

I’m working through a couple of series as re-reads on audiobooks, the most recent of these was Raven Cursed by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator), the last book I re-read was Robert B. Parker’s Ceremony (if that feels like splitting hairs, it kind of is. But the act of sitting down with a book to re-read feels different to me than putting on an audiobook while I drive or work.)

The last book I bought

I can’t remember which was technically last (I didn’t tie a red thread around either of them), but I picked up these two most recently: The Curious Reader: Facts About Famous Authors and Novels | Book Lovers and Literary Interest | A Literary Miscellany of Novels & Novelists edited by Erin McCarthy & the team at Mental Floss and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition by Douglas Adams, Chris Riddell (Illustrator).

I’m both a little shocked and a little proud that it’s been more than two weeks without buying a new book.

The last book I said I read but actually didn’t

Wow…I don’t remember, it’s been so long since I’ve done this. Probably something for a class in the last century. More recently I might have confused a book’s title with a previous one in a series (fairly certain I’ve done that in conversation about John Rebus or Fiona Griffiths books).

The last book I wrote in the margins of

I can only do this with a clear conscience in math or language textbooks, I get the arguments for people doing it to books, but it just feels wrong to me. So, that would be Learn Biblical Hebrew by John H. Dodson (didn’t help me enough, either).

The last book I had signed

2020 probably made it hard for all of us to get one signed, but I was able to get Devri Walls to sign a copy of her most recent novel, Venators: Legends Rise.

The last book I lost

As I’ve been unpacking my books after my move—and taking the opportunity for the first time in years to really organize them, I’m finding a lot of holes that I know shouldn’t exist. Sure, I have a few boxes yet to be unpacked, but I’m worried about some of these missing books. I could list a few here, but the two books that are bugging me more than some of the others are Solomon vs Lord and Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine. I don’t know why the gap on the shelf there bugs me more than some others, but it really does (and yes, I’ve left gaps just in case I find some of these MIA books).

The last book I had to replace

That’d be the aforementioned Ceremony by Robert B. Parker. I have no idea what happened to the paperback I bought back in the late 1980s. Just all of the sudden, it wasn’t there, and I needed it for the re-read. I didn’t have time to go shopping/have something shipped, so I got an ebook. After decades of reading it in paperback it didn’t feel right (was still a great read, it just felt strange. See Garth’s comments about the studio for Wayne’s World).

The last book I argued over

Actually argued? Nothing’s coming to mind…

Matthew Hanover and I discussed the ending to Matthew Norman’s Last Couple Standing a little and had divergent takes on the ending—I think I owe him a response, but I was waiting to finish my post about the book and work it into that. Months later, it’s one of those books I haven’t posted about.

I know my friend Paul and I have disagreed about how much we appreciate Johnson’s Depth of Winter and Herron’s Slow Horses. Although, The Jigsaw Man could be a reasl source of conflict, as soon as he finishes/DNFs it.

The last book you couldn’t find

I’m not sure what the difference is between this and the above question about being lost. I guess it has to do with wanting to buy a book/read a book, but you can’t find a copy anywhere?

This is a dangerous question, there have been a few books lately that fall into that category, but in trying to answer this prompt I’ve done another search and have found every one of them. I almost spent $70 in trying to answer this (but have resisted the impulse to complete the purchase). I’d better stop before I get in real trouble.

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.

I saw this over at Books are 42, and I needed a break from looking backwards. Nice to look ahead a bit.

How Many Books Are You Planning on Reading in 2021?

200

That’s the goal I’ve set on Goodreads since 2017, have beat it each year since. Seems like a good one to stick with.

Name Five Books You Didn’t Get to Read in 2020 But Want to Make a Priority in 2021?

The Mermaid’s Pool by David Nolan
Troubled Blood by Robert Galbrieth
Evil Valley by Simon Hall
Fools Gold Ian Patrick
The Border by Don Winslow

Name a Genre You Want to Read More of in 2021?

Lad Lit/Lad Lit-type stuff.

I just like the headspace these books leave me in.

Three Non-Book Related Goals for 2021

Non-Book Related Goals? People have those?
Spend time with my family without most of them further than 6′ from me.
Get a different/better job. One I can grow in.
Drop the weight I’ve put on since I’ve started sheltering-in-place, regain the fitness I’ve lost (and had barely just begun to get!).

What’s a Book You’ve Had Forever That You Still Need to Read?

Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley

I’m pretty sure that I’ve mentioned this in one ortwo tags before for similar reasons. Clearly, it’s not working yet.

One Word That You Hope 2021 Will Be?

Irenic

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.

I saw this over on Way Too Fantasy last month, and it looked fun. It was maybe a touch too long in the end. But still, hopefully you enjoy. I’d like so see what you all come up with for these.

Do You Get Sick While Reading In The Car?

Not typically, but on a recent road trip, I got hit hard by it. I was in misery, my wife couldn’t understand what was going on–reading’s supposed to be the thing I can do anywhere, anytime. Thankfully, it passed after a miserable hour (and I was able to finish the book before it was my turn behind the wheel).

Which Author’s Writing Style Is Completely Unique To You And Why?

I honestly don’t get this question (and read a few other bloggers versions of this tag, which didn’t help). Lisa Lutz, Josh Bazell, Russell Day, Douglas Adams, Abbi Waxman jump to mind as great voices, with fantastic styles. If I spent more time, I could find another dozen names to list, but I’m not sure any qualify as “completely unique to me.”

Harry Potter or Twilight? Give 3 Reasons Why.

Harry Potter

1. Better written, better plotted, better executed.
2. I liked each successive Twilight book less. Exponentially so.
3. I want to re-read Potter several more times. Can’t see myself ever picking up a Twilight again.

Do You Carry A Book Bag? If So, What’s In It (Besides Books)?

Not since college.

Do You Smell Your Books?

Of course. I’m only human.

Books With or Without Illustrations?

Don’t know if I have a preference one way or another, but I’m always in favor of a well-done and fitting illustration.

What Book Did You Love While Reading, But Discovered Later It Wasn’t Quality Writing?

“Discovered” bothers me in that question. I find it amusing that every version of this I read points at Twilight. There are plenty of books I really enjoy while not being all that impressed with the writing, but I can’t think one that fits this scenario.

Do You Have Any Funny Stories Involving Books From Your Childhood?

Should probably ask my mom–she’d be the one who’d remember those. I just remember never having enough of them 🙂 (a problem that plagues me to this day)

What Is The Thinnest Book On Your Shelf?

Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

What Is the Thickest Book On Your Shelf?

Jane Austen The Complete Novels by Jane Austen

I have a Don Quixote paperback that’s about the same size, but I have an image of The Austen, so I’ll give that the credit.

Do You Write As Well As Read? Do You See Yourself Being An Author In the Future?

I have written a few novels that should never be seen by anyone. A handful of short stories, essays, and whatnot. I don’t see myself developing the necessary discipline to get published, but you never know.

When Did You Get Into Reading?

I don’t remember a time that I wasn’t. There are stories of me getting into reading when I was three and starting to figure out that the black squiggles meant words. Once I got into school and had a lot more options available to me, my addiction got worse.

And worse.

And worse.

And now…

What Is Your Favorite Classic Book?

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

What Was Your Best Subject In School?

History/Social Studies/Government. Though English classes were always my favorite.

If You Were Given A Book As A Present That You Read Before And Hated, What Would You Do?

Thank profusely and add it to my shelf. Not to read again, but to remember the gesture.

(and to chuckle to myself about, I’m sure)

What Is A Lesser Known Series That You Know Of That Is Similar to Harry Potter or the Hunger Games?

Similar to Potter? Jeremy Scott’s The Ables, just replace Wizards and Witches with Super Heroes.
Similar to the Hunger Games? Mercedes Lackey’ Hunter series, you’ve got the media/celebrity thing, the exceptional young woman from a rural area who proves to be a superstar/super-competent fighter.

What Is A Bad Habit You Always Do (Besides Rambling) While writing?

I can’t spell definitely to save my life. I overuse “honestly,” “to be honest,” ellipses, and so on.

What Is Your Favorite Word?

Sesquipedalian? Floccinaucinihilipilification? Indeed? Flummery?

Pfui. Too many to choose from.

Are You A Nerd, Dork, or Dweeb?

Nerd. (I prefer Geek, but it wasn’t an option)

Vampires or Fairies? Why?

Fae.

Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?

Shapeshifters. Changeling (formerly, and now, known as Beast Boy was one of the first superheroes that I got into–and remains a favorite. Then I got into Lycans and similar characters. I just find them interesting.

Also, the use of angels always leaves me a bit uneasy. No one gets them right, and it’s usually stepping too close to the sacred for my comfort.

Spirits or Werewolves? Why?

Werewolves. This is related to the above. Spirits are to ephemeral, ineffable, and insubstantial to really work for me.

Zombies or Vampires? Why?

Vampires. They have brains, agency, personality.

Love Triangles or Forbidden Love?

Forbidden love, I guess.

Full-on Romance Books Or Action-Packed With A Few Love Scenes?

Action (or something else) packed with romance on the side.

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.

I’ve seen this on various blogs, but can’t seem to find the creator, so I can’t credit them. I’d like to, if anyone knows who did it.

Rules:

• Be Honest! (ummm, really? Why bother lying here?)
• Answer all the questions (what’s the point otherwise?)
• Tag at least 4 people (so I’ve failed, I’m going to break this rule)

1. What book has been on your shelf the longest?

That’s a very good question, I’m not 100% sure, but I think it’s an a copy of

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

I think I got it at a neighbor’s garage sale just before I entered 7th grade, and while my mother was hesitant to let me read such salacious material (and she should have been), she allowed it. Not only did it blow my mind, but I distinctly remember some high schoolers seeing me reading it on the school bus and being impressed. It probably saved me from some hazing.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Last read: Looking for Rachel Wallace by Robert P. Parker
Current read: Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn
Next read: The Curator by M. W. Craven

3. What book did everyone like, but you hated?

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

As I said when I read it. I really, really liked it until the end. And then…nope. Just nope.

4. What book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read… but you probably won’t?

Maybe The Wheel of Time series, but I think I got honest about that a long time ago. Early Delillo? Oh, oh, Dennis Lehane’s Live by Night. I bought the hardcover the week it was released eight years ago, and I just don’t see it happening.

5. What book are you saving for your retirement?

The Wheel of Time series? I don’t know, I have a hard enough time planning the rest of this summer, I’ve got 20+ years until retirement, there’s no way I can think that far ahead.

6. Last page: Read it first or save it to the end?

Do I look like Harry Burns to you? The last page should be read last. That’s why it’s called that.

7. Acknowledgement: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside?

I find them frequently interesting, if at a glance, they’re more than just a list of names, I’ll give them a read.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

If the switch involved gaining his intelligence, then the choice is easy.

Nero Wolfe created by Rex Stout

He spends most of his days reading, drinking beer and eating gourmet food. What’s not to like?

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (place, time, person)?

Pretty much every book on my shelves does.

10. Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way?

Er…I really can’t think of anything that fits. Like most people, I’ve had the suprise find at a Library Sale, or Used Book store, but there’s really nothing terribly interesting there. The closest I came was when I was checking out a new indie store last year, and I tried to special order a paperback of Tom Jones, but one of the clerks insisted they had a copy. Their inventory didn’t show one, but he went off and looked through books that hadn’t been entered yet and came back with this spiffy hardcover in a slipcase. No online store is going to do that.

11. Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person?

One of my own books? Um…no. I’ve “given” a few away via loaning them and not getting them back, but that’s not what the question was going for.

12. Which book has been with you most places?

It’d be a tie between: God Save the Child, Mortal Stakes , Promised Land, The Judas Goat,Looking for Rachel Wallace, Early Autumn, A Savage Place, Ceremony, The Widening Gyre , Valediction, A Catskill Eagle, Taming a Sea-Horse, and Pale Kings and Princes by Robert. B. Paker (13 of the first 14 Spenser novels. The first (as I mentioned) didn’t make the move with my family in 1988. But those have been everywhere I’ve lived since, including the various dorm rooms in college (most other novels stayed at my parents).

13. Any “required reading” that you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad two years later?

I can’t remember hating anything that I didn’t keep on hating (e.g., Heart of Darkness, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, The Grapes of Wrath). I think I apprecaited The Great Gatsby and A Farewell to Arms more when I read them a couple of years later, but that’s as close as I get.

14. Used or brand new?

Either, but I skew new.

15. Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?

I read one of them twice–sure, it had different titles (Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code) and covers both times. More than enough for a lifetime.

16. Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?

Sure, Matthew Vaughn’s Stardust is better than Gaiman’s (but if I read the latter a couple of more times, I may be swayed). I really dug Crighton’s Jurassic Park, but I might have enjoyed the movie a bit more. But the ultimate example of this is Let the Right One In (either version, though the Swedish is probably superior)–couldn’t finish the book (and I got pretty far, I think).

17. Have you ever made a book that made you hungry, cookbooks included?

A lot of what Elvis Cole and Spenser eat and/or cook does. I’d love to eat Nero Wolfe’s scrambled eggs (from The Mother Hunt. Faith Hunter’s Nell Ingram gives me cravings for stuff I shouldn’t eat as she discovers what food is like outside the cult she was raised in. Almost every cookbook I’ve eaten has made me want to eat. No fantasy novel has ever got me hungry (I like stew as much as the next guy, but not that much)–especially Martin’s “six page descriptions of every last meal”. But the best book along those lines is:

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Even thinking about this book years later makes me hanker for the spicy soup and spicy sandwich. Still, that’s not what the prompt was about, technically, but as I noted when I wrote about it, I had to fight to not interrupt my reading and demand that my son bring some sourdough home from the bakery he worked at.

18. Who is the person who’s book advice you’ll always take?

Most people I know IRL are intimidated by giving me book advice (which is odd, I’m always open to suggestion) Still, Micah’s got a pretty good track record, Paul’s pretty spot on.

19. Is there a book outside of your comfort zone that you ended up loving?

Probably, but once I ended up loving (or at least enjoying it), I’d stop considering it outside of my comfort zone. The only thing that I can think of at the moment is the Romance Novel:

Finding Felix by Jo Platt

Which was a heckuva fun read (and only outside of my comfort zone as it’s marketed as Romance). If a thing tells a story, it’s my comfort zone–or close enough, anyway.

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.