The Mysteriously Nameless Tag of Doom

Hey y'all! Evangeline @I Just Happened tagged me for this awesome tag. I'm not exactly sure how it came by its name, but the questions are a great deal of fun! Let's get down to them, shall we?

~What book has been on your shelf the longest?~

Shadow of His Hand by Wendy Lawton

I don't know if this book has been on my shelf the longest, but it's been there for a while. I absolutely adored this book when I was a kid. I probably read it a hundred times. The book is practically falling apart. I was obsessed with learning about WWII, which is when this book takes place. I also have the autobiography, Trapped in Hitler's Hell, which this book is based on. Both are excellent. I'd recommend them to anyone.

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

Current read: The Long Patrol by Brian Jacques and Dewey, the Library Cat by somebody rather.<-- I'm totally nailing the MLA citing, aren't I?

Last read was The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.

I have no idea what I'll read next. I'm usually just proud that I've finished a book. 

What book did everyone like, but you hated?

I don't know. Charles Dickens? The Boxcar Children (though did anyone really like those?)? 

Oh wait, I know! Elsie Dinsmore. *mic drop* I better move on before I start ranting. 

What book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

Probably Captives by Jill Williamson. I keep saying I'll read it at some point, but I have a few hesitations because of the reviews I've read on Amazon. If any of you have read it, please let me know what your thoughts are about it. 

What book are you saving for retirement?

Am I going to live that long? I don't know about that. Probably any crossword puzzles sitting on the shelf. Except why not start those now? 

 Last page: read it first, or wait ’til the end?

Wait until the end. Obvi. I'm not my mom. Or Monk. Just because I can figure out the details of the story before I get to the end, doesn't mean I can't enjoy the author's artwork. They put hours of hard work into it. It's the least I can do to thank them for caring that much for us.

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

I don't know what I think about them. I know each and every person in the section is important to the writer and thus important to the readers, but sometimes I don't want to read them. I like well-written dedications, though.  Especially Lemony Snicket's and Rick Riordan's. Those alone are reason enough to get the books. 

Which book character would you switch places with?

Kale from The Dragon Keeper Chronicles. I mean, she gets to work with dragons All. Day. Long!! Of course, what's his face is an ungrateful, stuck-up, self-centered little jerk who I probably would have shot instead of saved, but that's beside the point. Everyone else is so much fun!!

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

Jules got this book for me, along with a few other books, and wrote a special note in it. You probably can't read it, but it was super awesome to open up the book and see the note. 

Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way.

The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill

I won this book about a year ago as an ARC. So I guess that's the one book I acquired in an interesting way. 

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

I gave away a three-book collection of Shakespeare works to Jules a number of years ago. I found them at a used book sale and knew she liked them, so I picked them up. 

Which book has been with you most places?

Besides my Bible, probably Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill, but y'all probably already know that. 

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

Okay, let me tell y'all a little story about my epically awesome mom. She never really made us read things we didn't like (it was probably too exhausting for her to fight with us whining kids she wanted us to enjoy reading). So, except for my one year stint at a homeschooling academy, I never really read too many books that I hated. The books that I hated during that year, I still don't like. 

Used or brand new?

Depends. Most of the books I want I have to get used, not to mention that this brokish college student can afford to go to a used book sale. The same can't be said about new bookstores. But a new book always looks so great!

Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?

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

I'm going to go with Evangeline on this one and say Prince Caspian. Most movies, while good in their own right, pale in comparison to the book. 

Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks included?

That's my secret, y'all-- I'm always hungry. <-- interestingly enough, Taylor Davis's version of the Avengers theme just started playing as I typed this. Also, I did not steal this from Jules. We're just so awesome, we thought of the same reference to answer the same question. Anyway, moving on. Yes, of course, some books have made me hungry, especially cookbooks with gorgeous pictures and any of the Brian Jacques books. That man knows how to write about food, y'all. 

Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

I don't know if there's someone I agree with about books 100% of the time. So, I guess I'm the answer to this question.

Is there a book out of your comfort zone (e.g., outside your usual reading genre) that you ended up loving?

The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series. I wasn't sure if I was going to like them, but I ended up loving them! #myfavoriteseriesever

~The Retag~

As always, if I've tagged you for this and you've already been tagged, then yay! Double tag! For this one, I tag:

Ivie @Ivie Writes

Gray @Writing is Life

Mary @Sunshine and Scribblings

I hope y'all are able to do it!

So there you have it. I didn't have as many pictures for this tag, but I'll make up for that in the future. Fridays in December will be tag makeup posts. Except, of course, for the final Friday.

Have any of y'all read the books mentioned? Does anyone actually know who Dan Brown is? What book has a special memory to you?