On your nightstand now:I'm also just about to start Getting the Girl by Susan Juby, but it's next to my computer at the moment rather than on my nightstand.
Book you've "faked" reading:After Sons and Lovers, I was done with this guy forever. But my English professor was decidedly not. I'm sure there are other books I didn't finish in high school and college, but I can't remember which ones.
Book you've bought for the cover:I've never, that I can recall, bought a book for the cover. But here's a book that I wish I'd liked as much as I like the cover, how's that?
Favorite book when you were a child:I can't pick just one! I wanted to be Laura. But then later I wanted to be Tia even more. And there was this other book that I really adored, whose title I can't remember.
Book that changed your life:I read a lot of books that changed my life, when we were deciding whether or not to homeschool our then 2-year-old son. But this is the one that clinched it.
Favorite line from a book:
Yeah, right. If I could remember lines from books, I wouldn't need Librarything and this blog to remember everything I read!
Top five favorite authors:
Michael Cunningham, Ron Carlson, William Wharton, Christopher Moore, Dick Francis. Shoot, surely there's a woman in there, too? How about Barbara Kingsolver?
Books you recommend as regeneration when people say, "I'm bored by almost all contemporary American writers":Nobody's ever said that to me. But if they did, I might recommend this one.
Book you can't believe that everyone has not read and loved: Mine. (I'm kidding)
Book you are an "evangelist" for: See "Book that changed your life," above. I recommend this book to every parent that tells me they're considering homeschooling their kids. But I definitely don't recommend it to parents who have no desire to homeschool--because once you read it, you'll never look at sending your kids to school the same way again.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:My sons and I waited so long for this book to come out, and our days (yes, we took days) sitting out on a blanket in the sunny front yard immersed in the end of Harry's story will always be some of my favorite memories of this time of our life.
Great picks! Especially the Little House on the Prairy books. Duh! Why didn't I think of that? I was consumed by those as a child. And, oh, the clothing choices they inspired! Of course, that was back in the 1970s when the Holly Hobbie look was "in" anyway, but still . . .
ReplyDeleteMy answers are here. Thanks for playing!
Books on my nightstand: none because my cat always knocks them off!
ReplyDeleteWe are such twins. Your life-changing/evangelist book is one that I read in my research to figure out if homeschooling was for us (it was). And when we were kids, if I had spotted you reading those kid books, we would have had to be pals instantly.
ReplyDeleteBook on my nightstand – Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky. It’s historical fiction about the flight of the French out of Paris as the Nazis were invading France. I’m enjoying it so far, though of course, I know the ending will be very sad.
ReplyDeleteI faked reading Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend. I needed a second Dickens book to accompany Great Expectations for a high school research paper.
Picture books I loved as a child were The Pumpkin Giant, Little Black Sambo, and The Biggest Bear. As I got older, I loved Nancy Drew and collected the whole series.
I rarely buy books, so I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything for the cover. One of my book-related pet peeves is when publishers put actors’ pictures on the cover if the book has been made into a movie.
Family Matters also had a big effect on my decision to homeschool. Playful Parenting was another book that affected my parenting a lot.
Book I want to read again for the first time -- It’s hard to believe, but I don’t think I read Little House on the Prairie as a child. When I read it out loud to them my boys and I loved Laura’s playful spirit and slightly naughty side. I would read it myself, if I were a kid again.
The only books I can remember “evangelizing” for are a series of books, by Peggy Kaye, that I used in homeschooling – Games for Reading, Games for Math, and Games for Writing.
I don’t really have an answer for a book I can’t believe everyone hasn’t read and loved. But, I can’t understand it when people don’t appreciate an full encyclopedia set. We use ours all the time.
Christopher Moore is kind of fresh and funny, if you’re bored of contemporary American authors.
Karen
I remember you evangelizing the Peggy Kaye books to me, Karen. :-)
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